Looking for Halloween Thriller Recommendations?

Fright Fest isn’t just about horror reads; there are some pretty great thrillers out there that will give you a good chill!  To assist you in picking the perfect spooky Halloween read, Janet Rudolf, editor of the Mystery Readers Journal, has compiled quite a list of thrillers set during Halloween.  Without further ado…

Janet Rudolph is the editor of the Mystery Readers Journal, and creative director/writer at Murder on the Menu and TeamBuilding Unlimited. She blogs daily at Mystery Fanfare and DyingforChocolate.com, facilitates a weekly mystery bookgroup, hosts literary salons with mystery authors, and has been a committee member on numerous mystery conventions. A long time contributor to the mystery genre, she received her Ph.D. in religious mystery fiction. She lives in the Berkeley (CA) hills with her husband, a golden retriever, and two cats.

Halloween Mysteries: Boo!

Following along the lines of Jenn’s Frightfest, I’ve chosen to post my extensive, but all-inclusive, list of Halloween mysteries. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and every year I post a list of Halloween mysteries on Mystery Fanfare. For the most part, I have avoided ghost stories, vampire (now a genre in itself) and horror. As always, I appreciate any additions to the list.

Green Water Ghost by Glynn Marsh Alam
Witches Bane by Susan Wittig Albert
Antiques Maul by Barbara Allan
Far to Go by May Louise Aswell
Ghouls Just Want to Have Fun by Kathleen Bacus
Trick or Treachery: A Murder She Wrote Mystery by Donald Bain and Jessica Fletcher
The Spirit of Murder by Laura Belgrave
The Long Good Boy by Carol Lea Benjamin
Spackled and Spooked by Jennie Bentley
Watchdog by Laurien Berenson
Death of a Trickster by Kate Borden
Post-Mortem Effects by Thomas Boyle
A Graveyard for Lunatics by Ray Bradbury
The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Hunt Ball by Rita Mae Brown
Death on All Hallowe’en by Leo Bruce
Wycliffe and the Scapegoat by W.J. Burley
Death Goes Shopping by Jessica Burton
Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing by Ann Campbell
The Wizard of La-La Land by R. Wright Campbell
The Halloween Murders by John Newton Chance
Death with an Ocean View by Nora Charles
Frill Kill, Tragic Magic, Photo Finished by Laura Childs
Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie
Lost Souls by Michael Collins
Not in My Backyard by Susan Rogers Cooper
A Catered Halloween by Isis Crawford
Silver Scream by Mary Daheim
Winter of Secrets by Vicki Delany
Throw Darts at a Cheesecake by Denise Dietz
Trick or Treat, The Halloween Murder by Doris Miles Disney
A Map of the Dark by John Dixon
Ghostly Murders by P. C. Doherty
Died to Match by Deborah Donnelly
Cat with an Emerald Eye by Carole Nelson Douglas
Not Exactly a Brahmin by Susan Dunlap
The Bowl of Night by Rosemary Edghill
Door of Death by John Esteven
The Witchfinder by Loren D. Estleman
Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich
Dead Ends by Anne C. Fallon
Sympathy For The Devil by Jerrilyn Farmer
Dead in the Pumpkin Patch by Connie Feddersen
Blackwork by Monica Ferris
Scary Stuff by Sharon Fiffer
The Lawyer Who Died Trying by Honora Finkelstein
The Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke
Halloween Murder by Shelley Freydont
Trick or Treat by Leslie Glaister
Mommy and the Murder by Nancy Gladstone
A Few Dying Words by Paula Gosling
Hell for the Holidays by Chris Gravenstein
Nail Biter by Sarah Graves
Deadly Harvest by Heather Graham
Trick or Treat by Kerry Greenwood
Quoth the Raven, Skeleton Key by Jane Haddam
Southern Ghost by Carolyn Hart
Hide in the Dark by Frances Noyes Hart
Revenge of the Cootie Girls by Sparkle Hayter
The Fallen Man by Tony Hillerman
Murder on the Ghost Walk by Ellen Elizabeth Hunter
Long Time No See by Susan Isaacs
Murder Among Us by Jonnie Jacobs
A Murder Made in Stitches by Pamela James
The Violet Hour by Daniel Judson
Wed and Buried by Toni L.P. Kelner
The Animal Hour by Andrew Klavan
Ghastly Glass by Joyce and Jim Lavene
Death Knocks Twice by James H. Lilley
Halloween Flight 77 by Debbie Madison
Satan’s Silence by Alex Matthews
Tricks: an 87th Precinct Mystery by Ed McBain
Poisoned Tarts by G.A. McEvett
Death on All Hallows by Allen Campbell McLean
Trick or Treat Murder by Leslie Meier
Dancing Floor by Barbara Michaels
The Violet Hour by Richard Montanari
Dead End by Helen R. Myers
Nightmare in Shining Armor by Tamar Myers
Hatchet Job by J.E. Neighbors
Retribution by Patrick J. O’Brien
Halloween House by Ed Okonowicz
The Body in the Moonlight by Katherine Hall Page
Twilight by Nancy Pickard
Murder at Witches Bluff by Silver Ravenwolf
Poltergeist by Kat Richardson
Spook Night by David Robbins
A Hole in Juan by Gillian Roberts
Magnolias, Moonlight, and Murder by Sara Rosett
Death of Halloween by Kim Sauke
Mighty Old Bones by Mary Saums
Murder Ole! by Corinne Holt Sawyer
Dance of the Scarecrows by Ray Sipherd
The Sterling Inheritance by Michael Siverling
Recipe for Murder by Janet Elaine Smith
Carbs and Cadavers by J.B. Stanley
In the Blink of an Eye, Halloween Party by Wendy Corsi Staub
Murder of a Royal Pain by Denise Swanson
Mourning Shift by Kathleen Taylor
Halloween Homicide by Lee Thayer
Inked Up by Terri Thayer
Charlie’s Web by L.L. Thrasher
Strange Brew by Kathy Hogan Trochek
Murder by the Slice by Livia J. Washburn
Five-Minute Halloween Mysteries by Ken Weber
The Scarecrow Murders by Mary Welk
Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner
Killer Mousse by Melinda Wells
Ghoul of My Dreams by Richard F. West
All Hallow’s Eve by Charles Williams
Killer See, Killer Do by Jonathan Wolfe
All Hallow’s Evil by Valerie Wolzien

Short story mavens don’t worry: Here’s a list of Halloween Mystery Short Stories:
Trick and Treats, edited by Joe Gores & Bill Pronzini
Asking for the Moon (includes “Pascoe’s Ghost” and “Dalziel’s Ghost”) by Reginald Hill
Murder for Halloween by Cynthia Manson
The Haunted Hour, edited by Cynthia Manson & Constance Scarborough
Murder for Halloween: Tales of Suspense, edited by Michele Slung & Roland Hartman.
Mystery for Halloween (an anthology), edited by Donald Westlake
Boo!

Thank you Janet for this most impressive list!  Can anyone else think of any other thrillers set during Halloween? If so, I’d love to hear about them!  Also, if you do happen to read and review one of these books, I’d love to hear what you think about it!