New fiction & mystery books for October

If you're looking for some exciting reads, here are a few suggestions filled with supernatural thrills and a lot of mystery. You can search for these new books by using the World Catalog search box here on BookBag to see if they're available at your local library, or use the Amazon.com box to buy a copy.

The Ghosts of Lone Jack, by Lance Lee Noel (Spinning Moon Press). Jared Millhouse and his dad plan to spend an uneventful summer on his grandfather s farm in Lone Jack, Missouri. Then Jared runs into the ghost of a Civil War innkeeper and wonders if he s lost his mind. With the help of his grandfather--and some local characters--Jared and the Crossroads Gang uncover the truth about the Civil War battle that trapped so many bloodthirsty ghosts in Lone Jack.

They even recruit a pair of eccentric ghost hunters to help. When it comes to facing the local bully, dodging the power-crazy sheriff, or escaping convicts, Jared can count on his friends. Together, they face haunted baseball diamonds, embattled cornfields and abandoned mines. But when Confederate and Union ghouls line up on the battlefield, the entire town relives the gruesome Battle of Lone Jack, as it was fought in 1862. Then only Jared can save the town from its ghosts.

The Monster Variations, by Daniel Kraus (Delacorte). There's a killer loose in a small town, using a pickup truck as the murder weapon. All too quickly three twelve-year-old boys — James, Willie, and Reggie — are thrust into adulthood as their seemingly idyllic town quickly becomes the epicenter of these horrific crimes. The only protection they have from becoming the killer’s next victims is a strict curfew -- but it’s summertime, and the last thing the boys want is to be cooped up inside.

When Willie becomes the murderer’s next target—and fortunately escapes -- the boys set out to investigate: the murderer, the dangerous class bully who may hold answers crucial to their survival, and the “monster” — a mysterious “dead thing” that stands at the threshold of their manhood. Yet as the violence escalates and their summer becomes more intense with each passing day, the once-united boys begin to question not only the murderer, but also each other -- and themselves.

The Blue Umbrella, by Mike Mason (David C Cook Press). When Zac Sparks’s mother dies, he’s sent to live in Five Corners with his cruel old Aunties. It isn’t long before Zac knows something strange is going on. Five Corners is populated with weird characters—a midget butler, a girl who doesn’t speak, a blind balloon seller, and a mysterious singer who is heard but not seen. Then there’s the Aunties’ father, Dada. Zac’s first encounter with Dada is so terrifying he faints dead away.

The one bright spot is Sky Porter, the proprietor of the general store across the street, a friendly soul who encourages Zac — when the Aunties aren’t looking — and shows him a kindness that is sadly lacking from his dismal life. But Sky isn’t what he seems either, and when Zac learns Sky’s amazing secret he realizes, to his dismay, that this wonderful man may have a very dark side as well.

The Domino Men, by Jonathan Barnes (William Morrow). Henry Lamb, an amiable and anonymous file clerk, pushes paper in the Storage and Record Retrieval section of the Civil Service Archive Unit. His life has always been quiet and unremarkable—until the day he learns that he's expected to assume the covert responsibilities of his universally despised grandfather, now lying comatose in the hospital.

But there are formidable enemies lining up to oppose Henry, all gathering in and around the royal family. His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Arthur Aelfric Vortigern Windsor—the sniveling, overbored, underappreciated sole heir to the British throne—has been shaken from his resentful malaise by grisly, seductive visions of unrestrained power . . . and by an extremely potent narcotic called ampersand.

And an unspeakable evil lurks in the cellar of 10 Downing Street: the twin, serial-slaying schoolboy nightmares, the Domino Men—so-called for their hideous desire and terrifying ability to topple every towering edifice in the city, one after the other . . . just for a giggle.