13 Books to Consider Reading in October

*Ghosts of Gotham - This is one of the best books I've read this year. Investigative journalist Lionel Page is hired to locate and authenticate a lost manuscript by Edgar Allan Poe that tells the story of a man who cannot die. As Lionel follows the story, it becomes clear that he's following something more powerful than logic. Ghosts and magic are real, and this is one story that Lionel can't debunk.

*The Haunting of H.G. Wells - After a reporter pens a tale of ghostly bowmen rising to the aid of British troops during WWI, author H.G. Wells is dispatched to the Front as a correspondent to further boost morale. While the tale of the bowmen may not be true, Wells finds himself in a land of ghouls, and the ghosts of those he saw die follow when he returns home, where he becomes embroiled in a plot to disable Great Britain from the inside out.

*The Girl in Cabin 13 - FBI agent Emma Griffin is sent to a small town to investigate a string of disappearances believed to be the work of an unidentified serial killer. On her first night in Feathered Nest, a dead body is left on Emma's front porch, and things don't slow down from there.

*Moriarty's Men series - This is a reimagining of Sherlock Holmes' arch-nemesis. Instead of James Moriarty, we have Jemma Moriarty, a brilliant young woman who escaped from a cult that worships a very real demonic race. On her quest to avenge her sister and take down the cult, Jemma has amassed a criminal empire and enlisted the help of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, his assistant Dr. John Watson, and Scotland Yard inspector Garrett Lestrade.

*A Beautiful Poison - Three friends who were separated by circumstance are reunited as the people around them begin to die from various poisonings. As the trio work to solve the crimes, old secrets surface, and to make matters more complicated, a horrible outbreak of influenza strikes the city. This book kept me on my toes until the very end, and when the villain was finally revealed I almost didn't believe it.

*Harley Merlin series - I am currently reading book 7 of this 9-book series, and then it switches main characters and begins following one of the secondary characters (I haven't decided if I'll keep reading beyond book 9). Harley Merlin is a young magical born from a set of very powerful parents. Her aunt, who is responsible for the deaths of Harley's parents, is on a mission to become a goddess and take over the world. Harley and her band of misfit magicals are working to stop her.

*The Night Circus - Two young magicians are pitted against each other in a competition that's confined within a black-and-white circus that moves without notice and is only open at night. The two magicians fall in love, not knowing the competition will only end with one of their deaths.

*The Cousins O'Dwyer trilogy - This series focuses on three cousins - Iona, Connor, and Branna - living in the modern world who fulfill their ancestors' quest to rid the world of a great evil. Throughout the journey, each finds love and connects with the original three.

Circe - Circe is the daughter of the sun god, but she's not like the other gods, so she goes to live amongst the mortals of Earth. There, she discovers she is a powerful witch. When Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, Circe hones her craft and earns the wrath of both gods and men.

Drawer #7 - A woman with no name and a face she doesn't recognize fights her way to freedom with skills she didn't know she had. Then she meets Freddie and they start digging into who she is and the dangerous secrets she doesn't remember.

Sutton Place trilogy - Five hundred years after Queen Edith curses the ground her husband hunts on, Richard Weston is awarded the land and builds a manor house, but his family will soon pay the curse's price. Weston's son and heir, Francis, will be executed for a crime he did not commit - adultery with Anne Boleyn.

The Impossible Julian Strande duet - Alice is the new caretaker of Strande Estate, home to inexplicable noises, haunting legends, an amateur magician, and a ghost. Deep within the walls of the manor, a malevolent spirit has taken an interest in Alice. The author calls this a "villain romance," and although she guarantees a happily ever after, it may be a dark path.

The Night Crossing - This is a fictitious tale about Bran Stoker and the supernatural adventure that led to his creation of Dracula.