As for a Halloween read recommendation that you’ve never heard of before (a bit late for Halloween, but never too late for a spooky read, I hope), that’s a bit tough, as my go-to spooky recommendations are either a Stephen King book or your own The Guardians. I also figure you’ve heard of/read Val McDermid, Jo Nesbo and Stuart MacBride, who are all fantastic writers of creepy psychological mysteries.

So, not sure how scary these books are, but they’ve both caught my eye for creepy covers and titles:

Boxer Beetle, by Ned Beauman
The Hangman’s Daughter, by Oliver Potzsch

You’ve likely read it already but my pick for a Halloween book is Affliction by Russell Banks. It begins, as I recall, on Halloween (after a bit from the narrator, the surviving brother), and the descent of Wade Whitehouse deeper & deeper into himself and his suspicions as the novel goes along, and the lingering effects of abuse, makes for a startling tale.

Congrats on The Guardians, it’s a great read! Hope it takes off south of the 49th.

For a real scare, of course, you could just watch the Leafs… (Go Habs!)

Larry

Andrew