Bookwild - Fall Hopefuls on Our TBRs with Gare

Episode Date: August 21, 2026

This week, Gare and I share fall book releases we are excited about! Kate’s Books The Occidental Book of the Dead by T. Geronimo Johnson  Have You Seen Romit? By Chital Mehta It Looks Like You in the Dark by Mathilda Zeller The Turning of Sally Mae by Nuzo Onoh Lethal Kiss by Taylor Grothe Gare’s Books The Little Red House Liv Andersson Killing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar The Witch by Freida McFadden This B Just Won’t Die by Tanya Pell All the Little Secrets by May Cobb All the Bookwild Links:Check Out the Bookwild SubstackSubscribe to Bookwild on YouTubeGet Bookwild MerchFollow @imbookwild on InstagramCheck Out Author Social Media Packages Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrianMacKenzie Green @missusa2mbaErin Ashley @bellametaphor 

Well, I'm back with Gare, as you all know, because you probably read the titles before you start these. But just listen to every episode. Yes. Whether I'm here or not. Yeah. But we've got here twice this month. I mean, I think you've been here twice last month. It was just, I think we talked about that.

It was just authors. Yeah. Yeah. July was big. I'm still, I'm still reeling from July and all aspects of life. But. Yeah. July and August, reading-wise, have been fucking intense.

Yeah, same. I've had some really good ones, too. Like, I really am having that feeling again of, like, can I finish my work so I can get back to reading? That's always a fun one. Yeah. I've got a new one I'm going to start here soon, and I don't want to jinx myself. But I'm hoping that it's a winner for me. I don't know if you saw Emma's comment or not yet, but you and I have the same blanket.

Emma introduced me to this because she was using her pink one when we recorded. And I was like, well, I need that. And so she saved it for me at the bookshop. And then when you posted your week in reading, you had your green one as the background. So you'll have matching blankets. God, it's on my lap. The blanket, the bookish blanket saga continues. I'm obsessed of this blanket.

It is so soft. stretchy. Is it good threads? Well, you know what? I bet a lot of people, I bet a lot of people have it because it was something called like, I think bookish goods was what she said. Yes, that made me sense. I ordered

like a few things from different like bookish websites. But I really like book threads. I think they have a lot of comfort color too. I'm big on. I'm actually wearing comfort color right now. My God, I'm obsessed. Yeah. I'm

extroverted around books for anyone who's trying to read it. I love that. That is so funny because... I'm a little bit obsessed with printing my own shirts. I just washed and dried and folded my book wild. Oh, yeah. One. And I wanted to wear it today, but it's too hot here for me to wear black.

Oh, yeah. I get that. Because of Murphy. I feel that. Taking them out. Same. I have bang wings, but they're well hidden. But I have bang wings.

wings from walking our dogs in this humidity. Oh God, it's so hot. I hate that. At least they're not fully, they're not fully... Larry. Larry. Yeah. Yeah. I love Larry. I think he's... I know. It doesn't... He's a stand-up guy. He's fantastic. He's great. He's great. Oh, my goodness. He has the bangs of a serial killer, but he's a great guy. Oh my gosh. Speaking of serial killers and bangs, though, I

I almost sent this to you. So now I do have to tell this story. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that the show Furious is about a detective, a female detective played by Amir Awesome. You're just trying to keep your face straight. This isn't Gare's favorite show, and that's okay. But it's only because of who plays the serial killer. There's a female serial killer and there's a female detective. And all you need to know for the story is that I was watching it. And the serial killer. has a lot of different wigs. Again, I don't think this is spoilery. Like, that's like a very... I think it's in the trailer. Okay, that's very, like, uh, like, in disguise doing bad things to do. But she has a wig that is exactly my hair.

And she was saying some hilarious unhinged shit. And I meant to take a picture and send it to you and be like, what the fuck is it with me and my bangs and serial killers? This is amazing. This is like... This is your legacy. This is your legacy is to be like, I'm going to 100% be in my own style and do, like, whatever I want. Yeah.

And have a very clear cut signature of like black pink banks. Yep. Like, and then like, here comes Larry and here comes whack-a-doodle from Furious. And it's just like, you know what it is, though? I think the plot to the show is very good. It is. It's very compelling. I love Emmy Rossum.

I do too. She's so good in it. I think it's the actress that plays the serial killer. There's something that I can't put my finger on. And part of me thinks that she almost like overacts. I get what you mean. Because it's she as a character is very campy. And sometimes camp feels like that.

And I almost like think that like it's her overacting. like she got a very good role and like is talented but like it's like she's doing a little too like she needs like bring it back just a little bit you know what I mean yeah Amy Rossum what's what's so fantastic about her acting is how restrained she is so yeah yeah she's reminding me so much of um good long legs uh Micah Monroe's performance where she's like not moving her face much always, not always saying everything, but like you can feel that she's a deeply stressed individual. And I feel like Emmy is doing that very well where like she feels like a shell shocked person over and over again. And I'm like, damn, girl. Yeah. I just watched reminders of him

with Micah Munro and it and Tyreek Withers. How was it? I thought it was really good. Okay. I thought it was really good. I obviously wish I would have read the book before, but like, it was one of those things. I hadn't read the book before and I was like, I'll read the book before the movie. Right. But then like randomly one night last week, I noticed that the movie was like streaming on Peacock, I think. And so I was like, there, I don't have to look for anything. And I was like, oh my God, it was really good. It was really good. I really enjoyed it. Speaking of books that you try to convince yourself to read before an adaptation comes out, I'm seeing so much about East of Eden and with like Florence Pugh and Kit Harrington on Netflix.

And it's like October 1st. I think I just saw a post before this. That's why it's like top of mind. And I looked at the audiobook in his 25 hours long. And like I knew it was like a close to 700 page book. So like what was I expecting? But I'm like, can I get myself? to read this long-ass book before the adaptation. So I'm, I am in a similar.

Your book wild. Of course you can. Yeah. Well, I think audio will make a huge difference because I can, like, it just, yeah, I can fit it in with a lot of stuff, cleaning, walking. That would be intense for me. Yeah. I like, feel like there's a quote from it and I really don't think this is a spoiler either

because I haven't even read the book. One of the most popular quotes from it is one that like had me crying. in therapy in my 20s, but there's a quote that says, like, and now that you know that you can't be perfect, you're free to be good. So I would assume that the story is going to resonate with me, because that's, like, been one of my favorite quotes since I was, like, 20 years old. So I feel like I should give it a shot. And it's, I feel like I'm just, like, blabbering because I had a lot of caffeine before this. But I feel like, even if I just, like, fit in a couple hours each day, I could like slowly read it is the other option.

I'm like literally learning that like I could just allow myself to read multiple books at the same time. I think you can. I think you totally can. Yeah, which is so interesting. That's another one of those things. Like when we started, I didn't listen to audiobooks. I had never reread a book. And what was the one that I was just talking about?

It just left my brain already. I can't remember. whatever I was saying before is the third one. I've, like, changed so much. Well, that's why you're bookwild. I mean, I think that we all have, like, ways that we, like, evolve as readers, too. Yeah.

Even if you, like, stay in the same genre or, like, whatever you do, like, you always... And that was kind of my icebreaker. Oh, go on. I was going to ask you, you feel like, I also want to say the reason I laugh when you talk about East of Eden Yeah. It's because I used to think this movie was based on, I used to think this movie when I was

little was called East of Eden, but it's called Exit to Eden. Oh. And it's like a Gary Marshall movie. And it has Rosie O'Donnell and Dan Aykroyd in it. Wow. And they like go undercover as like in like a sex club. to like solve like a murder Oh

Zoom gave us balloons for sex club guys Sex club But it is a book called exit to Eden And I used to get them confused So when people were talking about like EAST of Eden And I was like I watched the movie

But anyway I mean the titles are extremely close Yeah Yeah Double E's checks out Little Eden Yeah But we are big social media people

So I want to know if there's anything that you think social media is responsible for you either picking up or wanting to pick up that you think you might not have tried otherwise. Right. So like, for instance, you are techie becky. So everything is like electronic. Us who don't even know a lot of electronic things. We browse in the bookstores. Right. So like when I go to Barnes & Noble or any bookstore, I look at like the new releases and then I go to like the thriller section. But I wouldn't go to, I wouldn't just browse like the romance section or like fantasy or things like that because like I'm like, that's not my genre. You know, I might pick up a thriller I've never heard about in a bookstore. But I want to know if you think that there's anything social media that has like convinced you that you either want to read or. We go.

I can't stop talking about it. But it's like it's not like I'm necessarily. But Into the Blue by Emma Brody was funny because you just said romantic. Like you said romance and fantasy. Okay. So first of all, even the cover. Like I even like it. Like it's a pretty cover.

Yeah. But even this cover like alone was not going to make me think like that's probably a book for me. And my friend Nicole, who is a librarian. and I will tag her so you guys can go follow her if you want to as well. She posted about this one in her stories. And she and I have had conversations kind of about like multiple genres already. And what she said though was she was like, I'm at I think it's 50% when there's the big explanation that happens. But in her stories, she was like everyone says, everyone told me to read this.

I'm so frustrated by these characters, but everyone says, like, the reveal makes all of the buildup worth it. And so that intrigued me enough. And it was one of those things where, like, I trusted, not trusted, because it's like, it's not like you don't trust people who, like, have different reading tastes. But I knew that we had enough in common with, like, the things that were, like, intriguing to us. And, I mean, saying, like, these characters are so frustrating, but I also love them. but like what's going to change everything, like it was very intriguing. And if you listen to every episode like Gere told you to, you heard me talk about it nonstop.

So yes, social media for the win. Social media for the win. Yes. What about you? Yes. I figured. Oh, you're, You're, that is huge.

It's insane. I've seen, like I saw it kind of in the trunk of your car, but that's even bigger when it's like human for scale. For everyone listening, he just pulled up his box set of Akatar. Thrown a glass. Throne of glass. I have Akatar here. I'm not going to try to lift that one as well. But social media, I have a Sarah J. Moss bookmark here.

Oh, wow. I am I feel like we all have that experience of like when you started reading again and you found what worked for you. And like for me it was like obviously thrillers

and I just remember like binging all three Gillian Flynn books back to back. Oh yeah. I remember picking up like different series and like being obsessed with them. I remember like backlist Karen Slaughter, like, binging all those.

So, like, I feel like the longer that I stay in that genre, some of the magic is gone. Like, you know what I mean? Like, sometimes when you read, like, a thriller, you're like, I kind of have read this before. This one didn't land for me. And then, like, the ones that you love, you're like, well, I'm kind of used to this author or used to this style.

So, like, what I've seen on social media is so many people who are not fantasy readers are like trying a court of thorns and roses and throne of glass and they're like this was my gateway into fantasy and so like I had FOMO and I got them and I haven't read them yet but I like plan on it and I'm just like really really excited too

because I kind of want to get lost in a book again and when I was little there was something that was fantasy that I kind of liked and I'm not going to talk about it because of the author is a piece of shit. But I remember like just being lost in that world and like being like, oh my God, this is so,

so, so good. And I'm obsessed with it. So yeah. I want to try fantasy because of social media. I feel you. Well, and mine point out like anyone can even see it. But an Academy for Liars was the one was like

my adult fantasy experience where I was like, oh, like, I really fuck with this. Well, technically 9th House would have fallen under that earlier since that was 23 for me. But then there was like no more like fantasy until an academy for liars. And that was when I was like, oh, I love dark academic fantasy. So I had that experience with that.

And I feel like kind of like how John Fram's no road home is what I always think of, coincidentally as my road to horror the yeah an Academy for Liars was like me being like oh there really is like a lot of fantasy that I enjoy it's so weird too because what I've heard

is a court of thorns and roses is the most digestible because it's like not super high fantasy and then why yeah correct when it came out that one

I think that's what I've heard too. I think that there's like pretty spicy stuff in it. Okay. Someone told me that it was, and maybe it just was class class. Maybe thrown a glass. I think I've heard it's like the least spicy. I think thrown of glass is less spicy. Oh, really?

I know literally nothing. But then I've heard because there's like three series. And so I heard that a court of thorns and roses is like less like high fantasy. Okay. So start with that. and then like throne of glass is like mid and then crescent city is like the most like world building and all of this. In Crescent City is it urban for what is it modern?

Yeah. It's so odd to me that we call it urban fiction when we truly just mean modern. Modern or modern fantasy. I was thinking about that today too. Yeah. But like the cover does not give. It looks. Yeah.

It gives very high fantasy. Or high fantasy. Yeah. And I was like reading the synopsis today. and it was like this woman had the perfect life working all day and partying all night until a demon murdered her closest friends. All right. This was the one she did for fun, right? I think so.

I didn't know if it was even going to and then ended up just writing a whole other series. Yeah. Okay. So now I'm like. Blood is what the first one's called. Pretty, I'm pretty like obsessed with like wanting to dive into these. When are you going to fit it in? So many pages of books.

That's literally my problem. I feel you though because actually Red Rising that series, I don't know what the series name is. I just know that's the first one. And that the dude is like way hotter than you think he's going to be who writes it. The first time I saw him, I was like, wait, what? Well, and it's like weird too because like the other one that has piqued my interest is fourth wing. Yeah. And like Michael B. Jordan is turning that into a show or a movie?

I know. I'm like, that almost made me want to read it. But I think I'll be able to watch it better than I'd be able to read it. I know it's, I know it's angsty. And that doesn't work for me super often. So that's like just the main reason I haven't tried it. But in a movie that typically kind of, I think probably just there's less time invested too. Or no, it's a series, right?

Not a movie. I think it's going to be a series. Yeah. Yeah, I think, yeah, I think it's going to be a series. I just, I don't know. It's, like, crazy to me that they're turning all of these in because it's got to be expensive. I would think so. The only thing is there are some cases where if you're relying heavily on graphics, you could

maybe be doing it in that big blue room. I can't remember what they call it, like the blue dome or something. Yeah. But surely that's still pretty expensive, I would think. I would think, yeah. So I don't know. Stay tuned to Gary Dee. I also want to read children of blood and bone. But then I got, who, that got messy. I'm not even going to try to even go into it. But tell me, just let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Take your money. Let it go. Let it go move on, take your money.

Don't make it offered for all the other authors who want their books turned into a movie or series. I know. Some people are really. really hands-on and some are just like it was making me think when I was at Thriller Fest in 2025 I got to see John Grisham which was wild

but he talked about how like the first time he met Stephen King I think he had like a couple books out and I can't even remember the name of it but the one the one with like essentially the man a man's daughter is raped And then during the trial, he, like, walks up to him and shoots.

A time to kill. A time to kill. Thank you. So around the time that that was about that way, he was thinking about options or whatever, Stephen King's advice to him was if you, like, are going to go through it, make sure you're in the mentality that you're like, I'm signing this contract. I'm taking this money. And someone else is like taking this journey in another medium. And he was like, if you can let that go. then do it. And I'm like that it's such cool. I like love hearing like Stephen King giving John Gersham advice even though I don't read either. Not many of their books actually. Well, it's like funny too because like there are some adaptations that are so close to the book and people still complain about them. I thought the girl on the train movie was so close to the book and I thought it was so good.

And, like, people were like, this is nothing like the book. And I didn't like and da-da-da-da. And I was like, the only difference is like literally like being in, I think like New York City compared to like London. But like that one, what I thought was very close. But like, tell me lies, excellent book. Yeah. But there wasn't much they could do with like a TV series. Right.

Further than one season. Mm-hmm. So I think what they did with that where they kind of like went off the rails regarding the plot. Mm-hmm. worked out fantastic for them. Yeah, clearly. And so, I don't know, just take the money. I know it is fascinating, seeing adaptations.

And I'm just like, in general, I'm like, like, even telling me lies is a great example. Did it carry on the essence of that book? Definitely. And then, like, even like Project Hail Mary recently, like, somehow, like, managed, I think it's like a 16 or 17 hour audio book so I don't know how many pages it is um how do I not have a trophy copy of that book that's kind of shocking anyway I'm surprised you do yeah I just realized I've kind of never like even really like held that book anyway um the essence of like all of the essence of that book they really did fit into like two hours and 40 minutes so cool I really want to

watch that. Oh, prepare. Well, you don't cry. You're not crying. Tyler was legit, like, concerns. Like, and he just shouldn't be surprised anymore. Like, I can't

help myself, especially in IMAX. Like, God, I'm so emotional. I get so moved by movies. I was a little emotional with Baddalen Klein and the new I know you did last summer movie, so I kind of get that. But other than that, not really a crier.

Unless it's in Southport. I'm like, meh, especially a man. Sorry. I'm not crying over a man. That's not. Fucking same, dude. It's 2026. We're crying over men.

I'm not crying over a man. No. Absolutely not. Well, I guess we should talk about our fall books that we're excited about. Yeah. So many. We were talking about this.

It's kind of funny. Like, he just had like, Gare had a little less than he expected. And mine is like, I could do a whole other episode of this, like, right after. I kind of go. And this is the thing that's like a little rough for me when we do an episode like this, is that there are books like with friends like you, yesteryear

fruit fly that weren't on my radar until they were released. Right. So like, if you have a book coming out in the fall and you're an author and you're listening to this, my list does not hinder on like that. But usually when we do an episode like this, I'll start

I'll like go through like all of the arcs that I have, what I have on Nat Galley. But I was like going through and making my list and then usually like I'll pick the five that I think I could be most passionate speaking about. And like I had like six today and I was like, oh, I just got to cut one because I was like, oh, I don't know. Like, I don't know about that one or like, that one might not work for me.

And so I'm very happy with my list, but it's nice. It's five that I, if without them, I would have not had much to discuss today. Oh my gosh. Yeah. It is like sometimes I'm. surprised. I'm like, we are so hardcore in the book world. Yeah. And but yeah, there are still so many books where I'm like, or it's like I find out like one or two weeks before it's coming out. Like, and I'm like, how do I not know about this? But it still happens. And this, those were with friends like

you and fruit fly were like that for me. I could have known about with friends like you. Yeah. I could have known about with friends like you ahead of time but I requested three arcs of the book and didn't receive any so that's not on you just had to just had to wait for it to be released right but you know well it's not my monkey I yeah I just I just have so many um I know well I just have so many um I know well sorry I just have so many And I'm like, here are the five fucking bucks I'm going to read between Labor Day and Thanksgiving. And I'm like, I'm like sleep deprived and on caffeine. So I'm just like saying whatever comes to my mind clearly.

Yeah. I felt like I had, what was it? Oh, 9th House. That is kind of my segue. I had someone, my voice just left me. I had someone reach out to me this week about a book called Leithful Kiss by Taylor Growth. And the email pitch said, Ninth House meets Jennifer's body.

And I was like, I am opening this email. Yes. Yes. Send to me immediately. It is about Marcella. Marcella plans to keep a low profile at her new university job, aside from occasionally feeding on a co-worker.

But when a professor is murdered, she realizes she's far from the most dangerous monster on campus. Teeming up with ambitious assistant professor Lacey to uncover what's lurking beneath Preston University, Marcella finds their investigation turning into an unexpected attraction as both women become increasingly fascinated by the other's darker side. That sounds fantastic. It also kind of reminds me of, I don't know if that's a spoiler. They never learn. Yeah, I was going to say the same thing.

Okay, yeah, that's not a spoiler. No. Not from what I just read. Also kind of gives a little They Never Learn. That's what I just said. What am I thinking of? I'm like, I think that's what I just said.

No, I'm not thinking of... Yes, I was thinking of They Never Learned, but the other one I'm thinking of is... Oh my God. It's Viracurians. Never saw me coming. Never saw me coming. Yes.

I'm like they never learned you're like yeah should I think I just said that I'm not sure literally it was like oh yeah they never learned by but yeah very curian her book yeah great start Garrett that sounds really good

I am excited I think I'm going to interview the author like I was like yeah I'm interested here dates so we'll see that's awesome to be continued Well, I was inspired by Miss Jennifer Hillier Because she blurred this book And I think this is one of those things where like it was out

But they're republishing it maybe Or is like independent or possibly independent I just know that it wasn't on my radar until they sent me an advanced copy of it And like some people are like I love this book and I've never heard other people people talk about it and like other people are like I've never heard about this book and I'm excited to order it. So it is called The Little Red House by Liv Anderson. And it comes out September 8th. But I'm going to tell you guys ahead of time my synopsies that I have written

myself, some of them are lengthy because I feel like there's important details that like will make you want to read it. And then other of them are Vegas fog. Because I'm like, This is all you need to know. You've got range. So in 1997, Eve Foster's daughter Kelsey runs away to New Mexico and vanishes. Although her body's never found, Eve is convinced that she was the victim of a serial killer targeting women in the area. Years later, Eve dies and left everything to her two adopted twin daughters. Lisa, the good daughter, gets the wealthy estate in Vermont, and Connie receives a property in New Mexico.

the last of Eve's cruel games as Connie was often her target. Connie arrives to New Mexico to find a small rundown red house in the desert with a mysterious caretaker named Jet Montgomery. Shortly after she arrives, she finds that there are a string of murdered women in the area and she's desperate to find the truth. That sounds amazing. It sounds really good. I do wonder what the republish is. Yeah. But.

I'm very excited. for it. I wonder if I have. It's somewhere over there. I really love the cover, too. It just looks very fall. Yeah. I also like, I feel like when you read the synopsis and you're like, oh my god, this

woman, like, her daughter is like missing and like you feel bad for her because like she's like her daughter's never found and she's like it was probably a serial killer. But then you find out that she has like. two adopted daughters, and, like, one of them she treats really well, and the other one, she treats, like, shit. So I'm kind of like, oh, okay. Yeah. That would be terrible. I'm very curious about... Adopted kids already are like, nobody wants me. It's terrible to be the other. Yeah. Yeah. So, like, that's why, like, it says... Not all adopted kids. It's just, there's that. Like, it says that Lisa's the good daughter who gets the wealthy estate in Vermont. And then Connie,

who was often her target gets this like little red dilapidated house in New Mexico. So it's like why'd she send her there? Interesting. I love a book that's like a thriller that has like a shitty mother in him. Same actually. They tend to be like Arctic for me. Bad mommy. Like that guy was like I was.

They tend to be cathartic for me. Well, I love when things are cathartic for you. Like, of all the words, just slip into an accent. That is a fancy one, so. I guess so. It's not like you were like... You guys are getting me in a word form.

You know, you're cathartic. Oh, wow. That is interesting. So they must be like, because, like, you can get the audiobook right now for anyone who was wondering, so... Yeah, kick it off. Interesting. Okay.

Well, I have another one, but I don't have a segue way. But it's called It Looks Like You in the Dark by Matilda Zeller in a remote anupiate, yes, in a remote Anupiate village threatened by a new mining operation. Young to Pisa sets out into the darkening Alaskan wilderness after her sister Esther disappears. Her search forces her to confront both the violence brought by outsiders and the terrifying Kush Tuka of a local legend, a creature that takes the form of someone you love and may be closer than she realizes. And this is giving me Leviticus.

That is, again, that's like within the premise of the trailer is that these two teenage boys who at least like each other or are in love at the beginning of it, um, get cursed by a monster that like takes on the form of the other person to try to kill them because they love them. It was fantastic. I actually saw it with Emma. I might be on streaming now. You'll you have to. It's fantastic horror. Is it digestible? What? Is it digestible? Oh, totally. Yeah. Okay. So I'm not going to like there's no I'm not I'm not too dumb to watch it. Not even a little bit. Like it is very straightforward. It's very straightforward with its metaphor of like the church making you think you should be scared of someone that you like love and trust and something that is very beautiful. That's like the metaphor. There's not like any other mental scaffolding going on. What was the book we were talking about? And I was like, am I too dumb to read that? And you were like, what was it?

I can't remember I think it was we used to live here well yeah you definitely did ask about that one got that one right there too but I felt like there was one recently but you definitely asked me that about that one I think it was we used to live here because I think that

we recorded recently and like I tried reading it and I was like well I did read it and I was like we were talking about it was like you know I'm fuck I'm just going to do it and maybe I don't know, but that's funny. I have one that I feel like my theme is like, your theme is like horror. And my theme is like thrillers that would be good horror movies.

Yeah. That makes sense. So. Yeah, because this little red house cover looks horror. Yeah. And my next one is Killing the boogeyman by Richard Chisholmire. Oh, yeah. It's the third in the boogieman trilogy.

And I am telling you guys, if you are able to, eyeball read these books because he does a fantastic job of like somebody catching the boogeyman on like CCTV or like a ring cam. And he like went and did all of these pictures that are in the book and did all of this himself. So. So it's there's really cool things in these books. If you are an eyeball reader. not, it's still a fantastic reading experience. They're so good. But the third one is about the notorious

serial killer known as the boogeyman. I'm not going to say his name to avoid spoilers for the first two books. But he disappears from prison, leaving behind a hangman puzzle in the words it's time. So bodies start turning up near

Richard Chisholmars' house, echoing the boogeyman's signature and the world is up in arms from news outlets to police chasing shadow. But meanwhile, they're crazed online community fans of this serial killer are celebrating his escape. So now Richard is realizing he's about to come face to face with his biggest nightmare. This series is so friggin' good. This series is so friggin good. It's kind of like, it's kind of like Richard Chisholmars version of The Shards by Brett Easton Ellis, where like he is writing about a character named Richard Chisholmire who is like, just gone out of

college wants to be a writer is like hearing about all these weird murders in his hometown and like realizing there's a serial killer on the loose and like the serial killer and him start to like play a little cat and mouse game but the series is just so good and I'm like pumped for the third one I can't wait I need to read it I haven't read any of them you I think you would I think I would too fucking devour them they're so good yeah they're so much fun I also need to read House of Leaves still. By Daniel? By Daniel.

Is it Mark Danieluski? No. What's House of Leaves? One second. What am I thinking of? Oh, yeah, that is his name. Okay. I thought it just, on the side, it didn't look like that was his name, but yes, this one.

But I got it after I saw back rooms because, like, Every list of like what to read if you loved backrooms was like you have to read this. It's liminal space horror. But it's the same where like it's formatted. Like you actually did find someone's like documentation. So like you kind of can't even read it on Kindle is like I don't think you can even buy it on Kindle actually. Oh, okay. Because like the formatting is so different and it has like handwriting in some of it too.

and like highlights. And so you're like trying to like solve this investigation through this. But I'm so intimidated by it in the sense that I forgot how much I just don't read physical books. I want to read that too. Yeah. That book's been floating around since I was in high school. I know that I think this was like a 20 year anniversary edition because there's like some additions to it. And you'll have to download his sister's album. His sister's album. His sister is an artist named Po. Po. Oh. And she has an album called Haunted.

And if you listen to the album as you read the book, they like coincide with each other. And she uses like interpolations of their father's recorded voice. Whoa. And the songs. And they're like, it's like one of my favorite. It's one of my favorite albums. And like her brother wrote, like there's a song. and on the album called House of Leaves.

Oh, interesting. And like the album and the book go like together kind of. It's one of the best albums I've ever heard of my entire life. So. Damn. Yep. Maybe in the winter. Maybe things will be slower.

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. You know what? Do it the week of Halloween. Treat yourself, girl. Mm. Actually, I just, our bookstore is having, uh, or,

like another bookstore that's downtown is having like a women of horror night uh october 29th amazing it's like rachel harrison kiley lee baker and i can't remember the third one but i was like all right i guess i'm going to another bookstore do it up yeah that sounds incredible it is oh it's my turn i would i think house of leaves made me feel like i had taken my turn Okay, so my next one is called Have You Seen RoMeat by Chital Meta? This one, I'm also interviewing her. When her adopted son Roemate disappears during a trek in the dangerous forest of southern India, Ushah defies her dismissive husband in an unhelpful police force to search for him herself.

Joined by a fearless young trekker, Ushah's increasingly perilous journey forces her to in front not only what happened to RoMeet, but also the societal expectations and beliefs that have shaped her entire life. Just good old existential crisis, you know. But yeah, I can't remember who pitched that one to me, but I am interviewing her. That sounds really good and very, very twisty. Yeah, it sounds a little bit literary, possibly. I'm not sure. I haven't read it yet, but it comes down in October. Maybe I'm going to be a literary thriller girlie, and you're going to be a literary...

You are. You are a literary. I know, when I just think... I feel like literary thrillers are, like, harder to come by now. Probably because so many people are like, it's not a thriller. Yeah.

And so now they don't want to say it. Maybe literary suspense is what they... I don't know. I need more of them. But... Speaking of the complete opposite of a literary thriller, I'm very excited for The Witch by Frieda McFadden. Nice.

I need a popcorn thriller. She's my girl. And like, this is the perfect October read. It's about a woman named Julie who lost everything and has nowhere to go except for Pemberton, her family's sprawling 17th century estate in rural Massachusetts. Officially there to check on her aging grandmother, unofficially. looking for a place to disappear. So as soon as she arrives, weird things start happening.

The grandfather clock stops at 3.41 a.m. lights flicker and a voice cries out for help outside of her bedroom door. As Julie digs into the house's history, she finds that a woman was executed in 1692 for witchcraft, and she believes that the Pemberton estate is haunted by women whose voices refuse to stay silent. Wow. she's going witchy she's never gone witchy right i don't think she's ever done supernatural okay and i'm kind of excited for this but like also like i don't know if there's i don't know the formula i have the book i haven't even looked at the first page because i know i won't stop so i don't know if there's like dual

pov or dual timeline with this one oh yeah um but yeah like going a little witchy i also like kind of dig that it is giving like a little bit Simone St. James vibes where like it could be supernatural or it could not be supernatural. Oh, that's true. So you know what? I'm just going to go with it and I am very excited for it. And the cover is fucking cool shit. I like that cauldron. Yeah, I love a cauldron. Who does it? Boil me alive. Christian nationalist, I guess, maybe. They don't have to read this book or anything which he if they don't want to. Yeah, this one sounds fun.

October 6th. Well, I have a horror fantasy leaning one called The Turning of Sally May by Nuzo Ono. After surviving horrific abuse, Sally Mae Jenkins is sent pregnant to Africa, where she becomes entangled with Amara,

a supernatural healer, healer whose powers have bound her to a terrifying spirit. When Sally Mae's unborn twins attract the attention of competing supernatural forces, their frightening powers may give her the means to exact vengeance on everyone who wronged her back in Texas. It's got some range going on. Any time a woman is like, I'm going to extract revenge on the people that have done me wrong and like go.

Go ahead. Burn it down. Kill Bill. Maybe literally. Go after them. I don't pay for your gas. I'm not going to Texas. It's too hot for me.

Yeah. But I call me when you get there. Texas and Africa are too hot for me. Yeah, what I. I don't know where she lives. I was going to tell you a story. There's this woman who used to live in like the United States and she

worked in corporate America and she's in like a whole other country like Kenya maybe or something but like she like lives in this like bungalow and like it shows her like she does she's on TikTok and she like goes to bed at night and she is like here's what I have to do

to like put the netting around my bed so no snakes and spiders and everything can get in. I have seen that. And there's a python that's like haunting her like village that she lives in and she's was giving like a tour of her house and you could see the python's head out from her roof. Oh. Like underneath her roof. So it's like in the walls of her house somehow, but it can't get into her house.

Oh, God. When I saw this python's fucking head. Oh my God. I thought there was a crocodile. Nightmare fuel. Nightmare fuel. People were like, girl, are you alive? Oh.

I literally, you will never. catch me. I'm not going to Africa. I'm only staying in the U.S. in Canada. Mm-hmm. I am not dealing with snakes that big. Hell no. I'm not dealing

with bugs that are the size of my head that will kill me with one bite. Dude. I'm not. No scorpions. Mm-mm. No spiders. Asinopedes. No heat.

No heat. No heat for me. No, thank you. I microdose it. sin books. Yeah. Actually, there's a pretty magnificent snake on this cover. What am I? A snake on the cover? I will watch

a snake movie. I love Anaconda. I love Lake Placid where there's like the huge crocodile and like I'm realizing I'm not a creature feature person. I am a huge creature feature person. There's this badass

bitch in the movie crawl that you would love. She is the toughest character in horror I think I've ever seen. Oh, wow. And Krall is basically like a college student who can't get a hold of her dad and there's a hurricane like going toward his house. And she like goes through the barricade and like tricks the police so she can get to her dad and like finds him injured in the basement. And the house starts flooding. But there's a alligator in the basement with him.

So the house is flooding and she's like swimming in the house trying to save her dad. So good. Dog in it. Dog does not die. There we go. Dog has like the funniest fucking moment where like the dog, it's like a little, I think it's like a little pomeranian or something. But it's like swimming in the house and then like it comes face to face with the alligator and it's like fuck this. And like the dog like turns around and starts like swimming in the opposite direction.

But the dog does not die. Good. That's always good to know. Speaking of bad bitches and horror. Go on. I'm very excited for This B Just Won't Die

by Tanya Pell. Like literally B? Like literally just the letter B. Okay. It is about Barbara Jacobs, who's a former scream queen, whose career has taken a turn. She was cast as a star

of a horror franchise 20 years ago, and it was the role that shaped her career, but also kept her in a box that she's desperate to escape from. Now at 40 years old, she meets and ends meet by signing old photos of herself and doing meet and greets at horror conventions. When a producer calls her to be the host of a hot new horror docu-series, this is the break that she's been looking for. That is until fans around her begin to die that mimic the kills from the horror movie she starred in. Now she's forced to be a final girl in real life.

I love what's happening in the movie starts happening in real life, trope. Oh my God. Me too. And also I just realized, Stephen Graham Jones gave this a really good blurb. I saw the cover yesterday. Oh, really? Yeah.

Is it the Barbie and the blood? Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. It looks so good. And I think that it's going to be like, there's one, Curse of the Reaper by Brian McAlly has that.

And it's so freaking good. And it's like, it's definitely like thriller horror. Mm-hmm. Yes, it's on my CBR. It's been there since 2022. It's so much fun. It's really fun. But that one's really good because that one is about the guy who played the horror villain throughout the franchise and then they're rebooting it and they hire somebody else to do it. Oh. And he's like, no, this character is me. So it's kind of like if like method. Yeah, it's kind of like if like Robert England like didn't want to give up Freddie Kruger. Basically, you know, like if they were remaking A Nightmare in Elm Street, which they are doing. And like, whoever plays Freddie Kruger was like being stocked by Robert England.

Wow. That is a fun concept. It is fun. Yeah. So I think they do like a lot with like, I feel like it happens a lot more with actresses where they like are popular for being a scream queen and then people don't give them chances in like other genres. Um, so like you always. always like kind of like see that as a trope like in this book but it was really fun to see like the villain too. Yeah. From from like the Brian Macaulay book. So. Very fun. Well my next one is just a just a mystery thriller. Wow.

I know. I keep seeing people post about this one and I got I think I got passed on NetGalley or whatever. whatever. But it is called the Occidental Book of the Dead by T. Geronimo Johnson. And the cover is very cool. But George Washington Johnson escapes poverty by joining the army and later the Atlanta police force, building an affluent life while continuing to patrol the neighborhood where he grew up. After a violent encounter with a white teenager triggers an escalating web of lies, Johnson is forced to confront the compromises he has made and the corruption racial divisions and the broken systems that have shaped both his life and America. Someone comptus to essay Cosby. I've had this one on my TBR for a while.

And as I was reading that, I was like, oh yeah, this was the one that they, I think they may have compared it to all the sinners bleed. And that was enough to get it on my TBR. And this one comes out on the 15th, right? what does it say here October 6th oh that's what Goodread says it could be wrong um I wrote an article for she reads oh yeah about the best 2026 fall like book club picks I think um and I have this one on there and so like I just don't have a copy of it yet from the publisher but I am dying to read that one also I I think it sounds very fascinating. And I like the like blurry slash grainy cover.

It's like the cover just stands out without being repetitive. Yeah. No, this sounds fantastic. 670 pages if Goodread is correct. So it's a big one. Oh, it's that long? If Goodreads is right. Like it could be sometimes Goodreads is wrong.

God damn. Let me see here. 672 pages Okay Okay So we're going to be 20 hours for the audiobook God damn

I probably will be how I consume it I will be eyeball at reading it But hopefully we can read it together That would be fun I think the net gallery The audiobook has been on NetGalley So I'm like hoping that I get approved for audiobooks more lately

So I'm hoping it's out in paper back in Canada That would be nice, especially 670 pages. Yeah, I am not carrying that around. No, no, no, no. I'm going to check for all my Canadian friends. Nope, hardcover. Oh.

Try Blackwells. Maybe it'll be a macha read. Yeah, right. Much of a blow up. Well, my last one is one that I am speaking on behalf of both of us. Yes. It is called All the Little Secrets by May Cobb, and it comes out November 17th. And I, if you have not read the first one, which is called All the Little Houses, then this is why my synopsis is so vague.

Because I literally just copied it from what the publisher said. Oh, good. So that way I'm avoiding spoilers because it's like a bitchy murder mystery, and it's fantastic. but Longview is a place quite familiar with the social scandal in unsolved crimes, but now that the queen has fallen from her throne, there's more at stake than just pinning a murder on someone. For those who would relish in their empire, like a certain tradwife or a deviously ambitious daughter,

the town crown is there for the taking if you're not taken to jail first. No one is innocent here, not in the land of big hair and bigger mischief. You can't get what you want without a little. little collateral damage and everything is bigger in Texas. It's such a May, what am I trying to say? Synopsis. Right. The tone.

Yeah. Oh, my God. I just love her. I loved all the little secrets or all the little houses and I could like not put it down and was like feverish with it. So like I'm just I'm ready for like a fucking pumpkin spice donut and like three leaves to follow and picking this thing up. you know like I am not

no I can't read I can't read a makeup book in this heat oh my gosh I know I need my brain to be fully functioning it's not melting saying I feel you those are our fall

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