(Hyperion)
Autumn is the perfect time to get spooked by a book and Seven Days writer Margot Harrison’s debut novel “The Killer in Me” is a great choice. Although written for ages 14-17, this is a book that will also appeal to adult readers. The chilling tale is told in alternating viewpoints — Nina is a 17-year-old girl who is terrorized by nightly visions of a serial killer, and Warren is one of the only people she trusts, a good friend and ally, a friendship that started when they were younger classmates. The seemingly psychic visions disrupt Nina’s life in a devastating fashion: she begins abusing uppers to keep herself awake all night and stave off the intrusive “dreams,” she becomes increasingly withdrawn from her family and school activities, putting her future in jeopardy. When she enlists Warren to take a plot she has concocted to the next level, surprising facts are revealed, and the story takes an unanticipated twist. Harrison’s plot is so original, and so conniving, you’ll be happy to suspend disbelief, hop on board, and buckle up for a wild and crazy road trip. It’s no surprise this book was a finalist for a Vermont Book Award.
— Reviewed by Jenny Lyons of The Vermont Book Shop in Middlebury.
 
8 Spooky books to haunt the night
The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson
In the House in the Dark of the Woods, by Laird Hunt
Dracul: Dacre Stoker, by Dacre & J.D. Barker
In the Night Wood, by Dale Bailey
Heart-Shaped Box, by Joe Hill
The Woman in Black, by Susan Hill
Long Black Veil, by Jennifer Finney Boylan
Slade House, by David Mitchell