a true crime book club. discussion

Hey everyone! After today’s live stream Peter thought it would be a great idea to have a place where we can suggest what we want to read next.

So have at it! Fire away! What do YOU want to read?

I know a few of us where talking about possibly doing a Stephen King book in the fall. Some of the recommendations were Carrie, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Firestarter, etc. (basically one of his more well known but shorter novels to fit in the two weeks). :)

In the stream, Peter said he thinks he has "In the Country We Love" by Diane Guerrero on his list, but he's not sure.

I really think we should read it.

It's a non-fiction by the girl who plays Maritza on Orange is the New Black. About her Colombian parents being deported from the U.S. when she was a kid, and her being left behind here to fend for herself, and how the system fails so many children of immigrants when their parents are deported.

Also:
Battle Royale
The Stranger Beside Me (true crime/Ann Rule)
Gerald's Game (Stephen King. It's a thriller about a lady trapped handcuffed to a bed. Not horror.)
Purple Hibiscus
Out (by Natsuo Kirino)
The Secret Life of Bees
and something by Joyce Carol Oates
and something by Chuck Palahniuk

I feel like doing true crime again could be a good idea, considering all of the positive feedback there was when we read I'll Be Gone in the Dark.

Sara, I totally agree. They’re fun reads!

I just got one recently that I haven't yet started. Let's see if I can find it in my TBR box

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
by Mark Haddon
Year one by nora roberts
Perfume by patrick suskind
anything by Anne rice or Stephen king

I'd love to do The Stranger Beside Me.

11/22/63 by Stephen King. It's a wonderful story and probably one of the greatest books I've ever read. It's not typical King horror (although I love that too), but more like clever time travel suspense. It's great for any fellow history nerds too. It's hefty, like many of his books are, but soo worth it.

John Saul! The Manhattan Hunt Club. Actually anything by him is good (IMHO.)

The Help, Kathryn Stockett.

I loved The Help. I really like John Saul as well. "Punish The Sinners" is a great novel by him. A really good horror book that is a good Summer read is called "Disturb Not The Dream" but I worry that it would be hard to find. For Stephen Kind "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" is a good choice. It always felt like a Summer book to me though.

ooo john saul, second child was so good when i read it 20 years ago. i wonder if it still holds up.

The collector by Fowles. This would be a great fall spooky book.

The Wicked Deep could be fun.

I also just found this one and it sounds intriguing! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Undead Girl Gang is next on my list. I'm usually an Overdrive kindle book reader or buy off of Thriftbooks, but the cover is so awesome I actually bought a brand new copy. Everyone I've heard mention it on booktube has raved about.

How about All the Ugly and Wonderful Things By Bryn Greenwood? I just saw it at our local library and it piqued my interest. Not the kind of book I would normally gravitate to, it's reviews on Good Reads inticed me to pick it up. But I would rather read it with a book club because it seems discussion worthy.

Brittany wrote: "Undead Girl Gang is next on my list. I'm usually an Overdrive kindle book reader or buy off of Thriftbooks, but the cover is so awesome I actually bought a brand new copy. Everyone I've heard menti..."

I second this.

I'm on the waiting list for it at the library (and it's almost my turn), but I'll put it off if we're going to do it for the book club.

I want to buy a brand new copy for my bff even though she's not a reader. Because it has all her favorite things: witches, Mexicans, overweight persons, girl gangs, & zombies.

ok, im looking for some spooky, scary books to read. e.g ghosts/hauntings, murders, anything like that. does any one have any suggestions? i want something thats gonna scare the bejeezus out of me! :)

I am also thread jacking.. I'm sorry, tell me to delete if not allowed since this was technically for people to provide books not ask for them.

Anyone have any good romance reccs? After reading some cutesy YA romances earlier this year (Simon, Dumplin) I am looking for some others I can add to my list. And not just YA fluffy - any genre and any steaminess level. Where I am particular with romance is that I don't like a lot of major tropes - love triangle, insta-love, love interest is a jerk, the girl unlike all other girls. But I'm open minded and will give almost anything a go. Bonus points for diverse recommendations!

Hollie wrote: "ok, im looking for some spooky, scary books to read. e.g ghosts/hauntings, murders, anything like that. does any one have any suggestions? i want something thats gonna scare the bejeezus out of me! :)"

Try The gospel of evil by Patrick Graham. I love horror books and this is the only one that gave me a nightmare

Mandee wrote: "I am also thread jacking.. I'm sorry, tell me to delete if not allowed since this was technically for people to provide books not ask for them.

Anyone have any good romance reccs? After reading s..."

I've read a lot of Nora Roberts books that are romances. The only thing is they are a bit insta-lovey, but it balances out because usually other things are going on besides just the romance itself. If you pick a series, a couple is the focus of one book but you continue to see them throughout the others in that series. If this interests you, I can give you some more specific recs.

P.S. The Rose Hill Mystery series by Pamela Grandstaff is a mix of romance and mystery.

Hollie wrote: "ok, im looking for some spooky, scary books to read. e.g ghosts/hauntings, murders, anything like that. does any one have any suggestions? i want something thats gonna scare the bejeezus out of me! :)"

I don't get spooked by books easily but I thought You by Caroline Kepnes was pretty creepy (it's from the POV of a stalker and there is murder. Lot of language and very detailed stuff though). The audio is especially fantastic. Going to be a Netflix series soon.

Some of Stephen King's and Dean Koontz's books can be very unsettling.

The Merciless by Danielle Vega could be one to try if you like exorcism type stuff.

I've yet to find a genuinely good ghost story!

This thread is actually meant for suggestions for the book club vs suggestions for your own personal reading. Emily was kind enough to make a thread for member recommendations so can we take that over there? (Just so that everything doesn't get fumbled.)

Thanks a bunch, guys! :)

J.N. wrote: "Hollie wrote: "ok, im looking for some spooky, scary books to read. e.g ghosts/hauntings, murders, anything like that. does any one have any suggestions? i want something thats gonna scare the beje..."


oooohhhh yes I loved You, that was great, event went on to read the sequel, which I thought was equally as good.

Thank you!! going to add the Merciless onto my list and look at some more Stephen King! :)

Hollie wrote: "ok, im looking for some spooky, scary books to read. e.g ghosts/hauntings, murders, anything like that. does any one have any suggestions? i want something thats gonna scare the bejeezus out of me! :)"

Okay I don't get scared easily, in fact it rarely happens but this book has scared me each tie I read it. I think I was around 11 my fist read. "Disturb Not the Dream" by Paula Trachtman. It is free with kindle prime. It is a good Summer horror novel.Here is the link. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DQVJVYB/...

LittleDeadRedGoddess wrote: "Hollie wrote: "ok, im looking for some spooky, scary books to read. e.g ghosts/hauntings, murders, anything like that. does any one have any suggestions? i want something thats gonna scare the beje..."

Im not easily scared either, so definitely going to check this out, Thanks! :)

Hollie, your welcome!

Hollie wrote: "ok, im looking for some spooky, scary books to read. e.g ghosts/hauntings, murders, anything like that. does any one have any suggestions? i want something thats gonna scare the bejeezus out of me! :)"

I don't get scared too easily, but Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay scared me half to death, especially towards the end. I finished reading it in bed one night and I couldn't sleep afterwards. I'd definitely recommend his books.

Jade wrote: "Hollie wrote: "ok, im looking for some spooky, scary books to read. e.g ghosts/hauntings, murders, anything like that. does any one have any suggestions? i want something thats gonna scare the beje..."

Thank you, Ive added this one to my reading list, now too! :)

I just purchased The Shining by Stephen King, so suggesting that for one of the fall reads.

I’d like to add to the list an option for The Devil in the White City: A Saga of Magic and Murder at the Fair that Changed America.

Seriously the longest title but my niece recommended it and it sounded interesting.

As quoted on Amazon “Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America’s rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair’s brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country’s most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his “World’s Fair Hotel” just west of the fairgrounds—a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium.

Burnham overcame tremendous obstacles and tragedies as he organized the talents of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim, Louis Sullivan, and others to transform swampy Jackson Park into the White City, while Holmes used the attraction of the great fair and his own satanic charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths. What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake.

The Devil in the White City draws the reader into a time of magic and majesty, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others. Erik Larson’s gifts as a storyteller are magnificently displayed in this rich narrative of the master builder, the killer, and the great fair that obsessed them both.”

The Devil In the White City would be interesting. Last I heard, there’s a movie in development starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

I had no idea it was a true story until I read further. I’m going to put it in my TBR.

devil in the white city is so good. erik larson in general is great!

Emily wrote: "Mandee wrote: "I am also thread jacking.. I'm sorry, tell me to delete if not allowed since this was technically for people to provide books not ask for them.

Anyone have any good romance reccs? ..."

For quick suspense/thriller romances I recommend Sandra Brown. She has lots of options some of my favorites are Deadline, Mean Streak, and Friction. Also her newest Seeing Red is good.

Suggestions:

The Book of M by Peng Shepherd
Death On The Nile by Agatha Christie
Kill Creek by Scott Thomas- (Halloween book read?)
The October Country by Ray Bradbury- (this could be a great autumn read?)

I'm assuming the dates are when we start reading the books? I've never seen one done this way so I wasn't completely sure.

Shannon wrote: "I'm assuming the dates are when we start reading the books? I've never seen one done this way so I wasn't completely sure."

There is an updated reading schedule that I posted a minute ago. Check that out.

Id like to add to the list : Silence of the Lambs.

Mel wrote: "Id like to add to the list : Silence of the Lambs."

OMG! Yes!!!

I think Silence of the Lambs would be a good choice. I own it but it’s just been sitting here for years.

Happy Birthday or Whatever ..by Annie Choi
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine...by Gail Honeyman
Confessions of A Failed Southern Lady..by Florence King
and just cause it's Steampunk...The Philosophers Flight...by Tom Miller

I also second Devil in the White City!! Fascinating look at Chicago during the Great Fair

The Rainbow Comes and Goes by Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt. I think she’s an amazing, interesting woman. I would love to see some memoirs on the list.

Life as we knew it Susan Beth Pfiffer is a fantastic book.

Michelle wrote: "Brittany wrote: "Undead Girl Gang is next on my list. I'm usually an Overdrive kindle book reader or buy off of Thriftbooks, but the cover is so awesome I actually bought a brand new copy. Everyone..."

Update: I DNF'd Undead Girl Gang.

It was abysmal.

Then I read the spoilers for it, just to see whodunnit. That made it even worse.

I retract my suggestion.

I am watching peters latest vlog . I have 2 book suggestions for May 2019.

Either

The wood chipper murderer.

Or

The Elizbeth smart book :)

I was also looking into the Elizabeth Smart book. added it to my tbr

J.N. wrote: "I'd love to do The Stranger Beside Me."

YES!!! Love this idea!

Emily wrote: "I am watching peters latest vlog . I have 2 book suggestions for May 2019. Either The wood chipper murderer. Or
The Elizbeth smart book :)"

The wood chipper murderer. Sounds cool!