Looking for a thrill ride? Read these thrillers!

by MK French

I have one more Halloween reading recommendation - a supernatural thriller. The second thriller is one of the choices on Amazon's November First Reads list. If you are a Prime member, you can read it for FREE now.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

When Shadows Burn by Todd Brown

October 2025; Koehler Books; 979-8888248737
audio, ebook, print (312 pages); supernatural thriller

Within Raven's Cross, Virginia, people always wanted to forget the old Scott House. When a teenage girl goes missing, the townspeople blame newcomers, and old grudges resurface. True crime podcaster Timothy Michaels was hoping to chase the story of the haunted house, and finds that there is a legacy of complicity and cruelty, as well as a willingness to kill to keep secrets buried.

Tim had left the town and is back to perhaps start a podcast about the Scott House. It has its own local creepy legend about it, which got magnified in time. We meet various residents, some of whom are stereotypically small-town, small-minded people. Some deliberately seem to enjoy bullying others just for the sake of being bullies, and a creepy cast to the evenings comes in. The local gossip enjoys spreading rumors that others believe, and it gets completely out of hand. The horror vibe intensifies as more people disappear, with Tim and a local high school teacher trying to investigate a potential supernatural infestation. 

I don't want to spoil the horror elements or the truth when it's revealed in the final quarter of the book. The truth makes it a different kind of horror. We slide from supernatural to a very natural kind of horror, with the townsfolk showing incredible spite and willingness to hurt others without listening for truth. It's actually really sad, for all that the epilogue gives a little hope for the town's future. Hopefully, readers will be better than the townsfolk are. 

Buy When Shadows Burn at Amazon

The Fix by Mia Sheridan

November 2025; Montlake; 978-1662529634
audio, ebook, print (379 pages); thriller

Eleven years ago, Cami Cortlandt’s mother and sister died in a violent home invasion. She rebuilt her life in the same town, and now a distorted voice on the phone asks her if she wants a do-over.  A disturbing video of a room with bars on the window, trapping a young boy inside. She has only four days to find him, so she enlists the help of Rex Lowe, an old classmate whose past is tied to her own. Cami races to uncover everything she can about the boy: where he is, who he is, and why she’s the only one who can save him.

We start out the novel with the night of the attack that left Cami's mother and sister dead. The worst is elided over, but we understand exactly what happened to all three of them while they were tied up in their bedrooms. The fallout included a selfish boyfriend who wrote her off to go to Princeton, and Rex being tainted by rumors that he was involved simply because he asked about her well-being at the hospital. She gave up her son for adoption, and he went to the army, and in everyday life, that would be the end of it. The anonymized call sets things into motion, and Cami doesn't know anyone else good with computers who can help her find the boy.

I didn't expect to see the invasion on the page or have it take up the first part of the novel before the time skip eleven years later. I found it jarring, as we were no doubt meant to; the devastation that left her and Rex's lives so changed would have been less impactful if we didn't understand what happened. The race to find the boy is engrossing, as is the fallout; this part of the book moves especially quickly, and we see it all come together for the finale. I really enjoyed the ending and the feeling that justice prevailed after all. 

Buy The Fix at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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