Sinister.

Good murders are hard to come by.

I love an unsettling story and murderer or three hiding among the pages. But what I enjoyed the most about the following books was the sinister atmosphere the authors were able unfurl from page one, build on and maintain until the very end. Slow, creepy storylines that make you feel queasy.

Earlier

The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh

I’m not the biggest fan of dystopian plot lines but three sisters trapped and isolated in an island paradise by their parents is a premise I can get behind. There’s so many sinister threads running throughout; ritual “therapies”, sisterly jealousy, disappearances, and a “miracle” pregnancy.

The New York Times described it as “a twisted fairy tale about toxic masculinity” but it’s also about family, power and female rage—a winning combination.

Now

Other People's Clothes by Calla Henkel

While this is pegged as a literary thriller, it’s also a meditation on the intensity of friendship where life begins to imitate art and art is a Warholian party scene-cum-gruesome murder. Set in Berlin, there’s Berghain rejections, an Amanda Knox obsession (this was a little too on the nose) and a steady sinister atmosphere hanging over everything.

Was The Twist twisty enough for me? Not so much but I enjoyed the whole unravelling of the plot and the sanity of the central characters.

Later

Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh

Will be picking up Sophie Mackintosh’s newest novel simply because I loved The Water Cure so much but also because I can’t ignore the reviews—“sapphic romp” / “shimmering fever-dream”—or a cover this good.

Something else

If you read the first edition of Have A Nice Book and earmarked some #SadGirlLit to read, let me direct you to this piece by AirMail my friend (Hi, Noelle!) sent me.

Sarah Manavis’s Low Shelf Esteem (read it simply for the incredible punny headline I wish I’d thought of) takes a closer look at the “passive struggle” of these Sad Girls who seem to be sticking around.

P.S Next week I’ll be introducing Well-Read, a series where I invite well-read friends to share their favourite reads.

Enjoy!