New Book by the Author of The Time Traveler's Wife

Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife, explores the world of gothic literature in her latest novel, Her Fearful Symmetry. Although this story takes quite a turn from her previous work, it still requires some suspension of belief to make it through the plot.

Elspeth is dying, in London, leaving her younger lover, Robert behind to mourn. Rather than leaving her worldly possessions to him, she leaves her flat and its contents to her twin nieces, whom she has never met. Julia and Valentina have grown up with their parents, Edie and Jack, in Lake Forest, Illinois. Edie and Elspeth were twins as well, but estranged.

The twins move into Elspeth's flat, and begin exploring London, meeting their neighbors in the building, Martin, who has severe OCD, and Robert, Elspeth's former lover. Before long, they also realize that Elspeth herself is occupying the flat as well, and they and Robert begin communicating with her. As Elspeth grows in strength, she discovers she can remove souls from living creatures when, in trying to pet the twins' kitten, she accidentally hooks its soul and removes it from its body. She is able to put it back in, with Valentina's help, and the kitten seems unscarred from the experience. This gives Valentina an idea to finally escape the over-bearing Julia once and for all. But will Elspeth and Robert agree to her plan?

This book has so many things I like in a story - ghosts, cemeteries, romance, family secrets, London. Niffenegger's writing style is lovely and the story slowly unwraps. I have a difficult time believing Valentina was willing to go as far as she did in order to escape her twin; perhaps that is part of what makes this story so ultimately horrific. The ending is a bleak one, devoid of much hope for the future for the parties involved. In short, this is a beautifully written gothic horror novel for our times.

Silver Bells by Luanne Rice

There are a plethora of holiday fiction titles available from such wide-ranging authors as Debbie Macomber to John Grisham to Christopher Moore, so there is a good chance you can find something to your taste. The good news about most of these titles is they are short in length and easy to read - who has time to delve into something heavy this time of year? The bad news is they are predictably really popular around the holidays, we may not have exactly what you are looking for on the shelf!

This was my first attempt at a Luanne Rice book, but I know a couple of people who really like her books, so I started with Silver Bells. Catherine Tierney is a lonely widow in New York City. Christy Byrne is an overwhelmed widower from Nova Scotia who peddles his Christmas trees every December in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. Since his wife's death a few years earlier, Christy brings his 2 children, Bridget and Danny to New York with him. The previous year, Danny and his father got into an argument, and Danny ran away. This year, Christy is back and is determined to find Danny to bring him back to the farm. While Christy and Catherine discover a growing attraction for one another, Catherine struggles with letting Christy know that Danny is doing okay, since she and her friend Lizzie have been helping him out for the last year. Will Christy get his wish to have his family back together? Will Danny be able to keep making it as a homeless teenager? Will the ghost of Catherine's husband free her from her sadness, enabling her to find love again? I think we all probably know the answer to these questions, seeing that it is a holiday book, and holidays are the time for miracles.

The book itself is not long (a plus,) it features religion quite prominently, and ends with an appropriately heart-warming conclusion. If you like sweet stories and do not mind religious overtones, give this one a try to put you in the holiday spirit.

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Looking for a creepy read for Halloween? Heart-Shaped Box should fit the bill nicely. Jude Coyne is an aging rock and roll star with a taste for the morbid - so when he is tipped off about a "ghost" that inhabits a recently deceased man's suit for sale on an internet auction site, he can't resist. The suit arrives - in a black, heart-shaped box - a few days later. Jude, his live-in girlfriend, Georgia, and his personal assistant, Danny have no idea what is in store for them.

The ghost wastes no time making himself known to the inhabitants of the house, not only making personal appearances, but also infiltrating the dreams of the occupants of the house, as well as transmitting his voice over the radio and TV. Jude, a wee bit disturbed by all of this undead activity in his home, discovers that the dead man just happens to be the stepfather of his previous girlfriend, who committed suicide when their relationship ended. Presumably, the ghost has come back with the intention of enacting revenge on Jude - by goading Jude into killing not only himself, but also anyone who tries to help him.

As Jude and Georgia attempt to outlast the ghost, Jude is also trying to outrun his dying father, a cold and abusive man, who is on his deathbed in rural Louisiana, and who he has not seen in over 30 years. As Jude and Georgia flee his farm in an effort to solve their ghostly predicament, they grow closer to figuring out a way to not only outsmart their ghost, but also determine what really happened to Jude's former flame. Through this all, Jude learns to grow up and see what is really important in his life...but is it too late?

I really enjoyed this book, I thought the ending was surprisingly upbeat considering the subject matter. It is interesting to note that the author, Joe Hill is Stephen King's son. He seems to have the same gift for story telling that his father does.

Stop by and check out some of our other Horror titles on display for Halloween. We've got something for everyone!