Good Reads & Views

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver
Fiction

Told in journal entries from Jack, one of three members of an ill-fated scientific expedition to the Arctic in 1937, this is an excellent and unusual ghost story. The Arctic summer is brief and winter sets in before long, with no daylight at all. The expedition camp is at Gruhuken, an uninhabited and remote bay, off Spitzbergen, and when a medical emergency arises, Jack is temporarily on his own, with only a pack of huskies to keep him company. But is it truly only Jack and the dogs out there? You can feel the cold and desolation of the place and you keep turning the pages to find out what lurks in the darkness. Very effective evocation of unease . . .

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
J Audiobook

The week before Christmas for the last few years, I have listened to an audiobook version of A Christmas Carol on my way to and from work. The classic story puts me in the Christmas spirit, and I love Charles Dickens’ lavish descriptions of things like produce at a grocer’s shop as “apoplectic opulence.” Jim Dale’s reading is one of my favorites and always reminds me of his readings of the Harry Potter series. Give it a try – you might develop a new Christmas tradition!

A Place of Secrets by Rachel Hore
Fiction

Auction appraiser Jude travels from London to Starbrough Hall to evaluate a collection of books and instruments once belonging to a seventeenth century astronomer, and finds herself in a labyrinth of unfolding secrets. The astronomer’s missing daughter, the little gypsy girl with the diamond necklace, Jude’s little niece’s nightmares, all have ties to a haunted folly where the astronomer once surveyed the universe. If you like this one, try also The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield and The Ghost Orchid by Carol Goodman.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn 
FIC Flynn, Gillian

Libby Day was seven years old when she escaped the brutal killings of her sisters and mother, and her testimony sent her 15-yr. old brother Ben to prison. Now, 24 yrs. later, Libby’s life has been on a downward spiral and she is desperate for cash. Agreeing to revisit the case for the “Kill Club” – a group of true crime enthusiasts – she is at first only interested in the money they pay her. Eventually, though, she has to face up to the possibility that her brother might be innocent. Dark and gritty, with some unpredictable twists.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters 
FIC Waters, Sarah

The narrator of this eerie story is Dr. Faraday, a country doctor who returns to treat a patient at Hundreds Hall, where his mother once worked as a parlor maid. The Ayres family has owned the house for centuries but the once grand Georgian estate is in decline and the family members have fallen on hard times. Some dark power seems to shadow Hundreds Hall and its occupants. Is the house haunted? Or is it all just imagined? The book does a good job portraying village life and the social class struggle in postwar England. A spooky, satisfying read. Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.