The quintessential small town makes the perfect setting for our favorite meet-cute romances or amateur sleuth cozy mystery. But we took it up a notch and curated a list of thrillers that feature small towns with mysterious pasts. Just in time for spooky season, you will find ghost stories, folklore, and hidden secrets. Snuggle in and open up your next spine-tingling read.
Some Of Us Are Looking by Carlene O’Connor
In late summer, the Dingle peninsula is thronged with tourists drawn to County Kerry’s dark mountains and deep, lush valleys. For Irish vet Dimpna Wilde, who has returned to run her family’s practice after years away, home is a beautiful but complicated place—especially when it becomes the setting for a brutal murder .
The Last Witch In Edinburgh by Marielle Thompson
For fans of Sarah Penner’s The Lost Apothecary and Alix E. Harrow’s The Once and Future Witches, this lush, atmospheric novel from the author of Where Ivy Dares to Grow blends witchcraft, queer love, a vibrant Edinburgh setting, and Scottish folklore for a propulsive and emotional story exploring what it means to resist the patriarchy and find your voice.
The House by the Cemetery by Lisa Childs
Six Feet Under meets Succession with a gothic twist after the suspicious death of a midwestern funeral home empire’s wealthy patriarch in New York Times bestselling author Lisa Childs’ dark, twisty, horror-tinged new series for readers of Megan Collins, Samantha Downing, Stacy Willingham, and Rachel Hawkins.
Where I End by Sophie White
Winner of the Shirley Jackson Award, a modern gothic horror where a young woman falls into a dark obsession after a new artist and her baby arrive on her small Irish island.
Haunted by Kat Martin
A captivating and twisting tale where a murder in 1898 and one in 2024 dovetail and connect in unexpected ways from New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin and perfect for readers of J.A. Jance, Tony Hillerman, and Ramona Emerson’s Shutter.
In The Lonely Hours by Shannon Morgan
In a bewitchingly melancholy, thrillingly modern ghost story for readers of Eve Chase, Megan Shepherd, and Lisa Jewell, the new inhabitants of a centuries-old castle perched on a remote island in northwest Scotland must confront its tragic and terrifying history…
The Sorority by Nancy Bush
In a chilling, masterfully twisting new novel of suspense, the New York Times bestselling author of The Camp explores the dark side of friendship . . . Every school has its cool girls, and at River Glen High, they’re known as The Sorority. The name began as a joke, but it holds a grain of truth. Because they’ve made a pledge to protect one another . . . no matter what the cost may be.
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