Hello and a very warm welcome to damppebbles. It’s Tuesday which means it’s time for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday post. I’ve decided to take part in That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday meme to mix things up a little here at damppebbles. Add a little bit of variety to our bookish weeks.

The meme was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish but has lived with Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl since January 2018. It was created to encompass a love of books, of lists and to bring readers together. If you would also like to take part then you’re very welcome: the more, the merrier. Just make sure you link back to Jana’s post every week. If you don’t have a blog, then no problem, just add your list to the comments below.

This week’s theme is Books I hope Santa Brings. Would you believe me if I said I don’t actually have anything for this list at the moment. I have so many books on my shelves (physical and digital) that I’ve been trying to avoid ‘shopping’ for new books! Which means I don’t actually have much of a wish list at the moment. Everything on there has been on there a while and you’ve probably seen it already. I’ve also not asked Santa for any books this Christmas! I know, I’m letting the bookish side down. I’m starting from scratch here. Still, there’s time for me to have a mooch and come up with a list of books I would love to add to my collection. It’s never too late?!? He works up until the very last minute, right…?!! 

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1. The Cut by Richard Armitage
You saw her die

Thirty years ago, one of Ben Knott’s schoolfriends was murdered. Another went to prison. The story ended. The village of Barton Mallett tried to move on.

Now her killer is back

As the murderer’s sentence ends, the village is chosen as the unlikely location for a feature film by a Hollywood producer, with Ben’s son Nathan cast in the leading role.

Can you keep hiding the truth?

As the film takes shape, Ben begins to recognise the storyline – from his own past. As his son becomes immersed in a tale of bullying and retribution, things turn dangerous, and an uncomfortable truth begins to emerge. Ben must choose between the safety of his children and reopening the wounds of the past. How much is he willing to risk to protect his family – and himself?

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2. The October Film Haunt by Michael Wehunt
Ten years ago, Jorie Stroud was the rising star of the October Film Haunt – a trio of horror enthusiasts who camped out at the filming locations of their favorite scary movies, sharing their love through their popular blog. But after a night in the graveyard from Proof of Demons – perhaps the most chilling cult film ever made, directed by the enigmatic Hélène Enriquez – everything unraveled.

Now, Jorie has built an isolated life with her young son in Vermont. In the devastating wake of her viral, truth-stretching Proof of Demons blog entry — hysteria, internet backlash, and the death of a young woman — Jorie has put it all, along with her intense love for the horror genre, behind her.

Until a videotape arrives in the mail. Jorie fears someone might be filming her. And the “Rickies” – Enriquez obsessives who would do anything for the reclusive director – begin to cross lines in shocking ways. It seems Hélène Enriquez is making a new kind of sequel…and Jorie is her final girl.

As the dangers grow even more unexpected and strange, Jorie must search for answers before the Proof of the movie’s title finds her and takes everything she loves.

This riveting and layered horror novel unleashes supernatural terror in a world where truth can be manipulated, and nothing is as it seems. Beautiful and horrifying, with an unforgettable cast of characters, The October Film Haunt will shock and delight readers all the way to its breathless final page.

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3. The Bolthole by Peter Papathanasiou
Located off the coast of South Australia, Kangaroo Island lies surrounded by violent seas harbouring deadly great white sharks and forgotten shipwrecks.

Over the centuries the Islanders have cultivated a sense of self-sufficiency, independence and resilience. But times are changing: multimillionaires from the mainlaind are building immense clifftop mansions and filling the skies with private planes and helicopters. A quiet paradise is being transformed into a bolthole for the rich and privileged. And the locals aren’t happy.

Richard Marlowe, a wealthy “blow-in” to the island, goes missing, last seen wading into the ocean for a dawn swim. A shark attack is blamed, but things don’t add up. Reuniting for a new investigation, Detective Sergeant Manolis and Senior Constable Sparrow arrive on the island, but their presence isn’t welcomed, either. Faced with hostility from both Islanders and newcomers, their attempts to locate the missing man are derailed by a civil war over limited resources, a fragile environment, and fractured community dynamics.

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4. Runner 13 by Amy McCulloch
250 miles through the desert. One killer among them.

Adri entered the world’s toughest race to outrun her past and prove she still belongs.

But when runners start to fall, one by one, she realises the heat isn’t the only danger.

Someone out here is hunting them…and Adri might be next.

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5. Girl Falling by Hayley Scrivenor
Finn and her closest friend Daphne grew up in the imposing shadow of Australia’s Blue Mountains, their uneasy bond forged by both losing their sisters at a young age. Now in their twenties, Daphne is at university, while Finn has remained in the mountains and fallen in love with newcomer Magdu – a young woman with troubles of her own.

Though tensions arose during Magdu and Daphne’s first meeting, Finn is looking forward to a day of rock climbing and bonding for the three women on the cliffs near their town. But nothing goes as planned and, in a horrific accident, Magdu falls to her death.

In the aftermath, the friends become the focus of a police investigation. Was it really an accident? Or did something far more sinister play out that day?

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6. Dead in the Water by John Marrs (this one isn’t even out until January 2026, so I’m hoping Santa can time-travel!)
When Damon survives a near-drowning, his life flashes before his eyes. Every memory is crystal clear—except one. A dead boy. A face he can’t place. A moment he doesn’t remember living. At first he tells himself it’s a trick of the mind. But everything else he saw was real. So why not this?

With his waking life stalked by the disturbing scene, confusion quickly turns to obsession. Desperate for answers, Damon digs into his fractured past, and becomes convinced that the only way to remember…is to die again. And again. And again. When he meets a perfect stranger who’s all too willing to help, the stage is set for his dice with death.

But if this is what it takes to uncover the truth, maybe some memories are better left buried…

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7. The Truth about Ruby Cooper by Liz Nugent (again, time-travel needed here — not out until March 2026)
If my sister hadn’t been beautiful, none of it would have happened.

Ruby Cooper and her sister, Erin, live an idyllic life in their close-knit church community in Boston. But when Ruby is sixteen, she is involved in an incident that causes her family’s world to implode.

Across decades, the fallout leaves a wake of destruction behind Ruby in Dublin and Erin in Boston.

Not that Ruby wants to think about the past.

But it can’t stay a secret forever.

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8. Clown in a Cornfield 3: The Church of Fendo by Adam Cesare
Quinn has just survived yet another bloody run-in with the murderous clown Frendo, but somehow still she knows this won’t be the last. Tired of being hunted and seeing innocent people hurt, Quinn believes the only way to beat the horror is to take justice into her own hands–and stop the Frendo followers herself. Little does she know that this path will take her across cornfields and state lines, to where she will have to face the most dangerous and bloody menace yet: True believers.

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9. Vanish by Shelley Burr (more time-travel needed, this one is published in January!)
People go to the isolated Karpathy farm looking for a new life. Is it a commune? Is it a cult? Or something far more dangerous?

Lane Holland’s crime-solving career ended the day he went to prison. Yet one unsolved case continues to haunt him: the disappearance of Matilda Carver two decades ago.

Against the odds, Lane finds a lead – a mysterious farm community where Matilda lived briefly, led by the enigmatic Samuel Karpathy. The farm attracts lost souls. People looking for answers. People hiding from their pasts. People who have nowhere else to go.

But some of those who go to the farm seem to vanish without a trace.

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10. Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
‘Buy my stepfather’s ghost’ read the e-mail.

So Jude did.

He bought it, in the shape of the dead man’s suit, delivered in a heart-shaped box, because he wanted it: because his fans ate up that kind of story. It was perfect for his collection: the genuine skulls and the bones, the real honest-to-God snuff movie, the occult books and all the rest of the paraphanalia that goes along with his kind of hard/goth rock.

But the rest of his collection doesn’t make the house feel cold. The bones don’t make the dogs bark; the movie doesn’t make Jude feel as if he’s being watched. And none of the artefacts bring a vengeful old ghost with black scribbles over his eyes out of the shadows to chase Jude out of his home, and make him run for his life …

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I know, I didn’t think the subject of Santa and time-travel would come up on the blog today either!! Not my greatest list but I would LOVE to receive any of the above books. Yes, I may have to wait a while for some of them but patience is a virtue, right? Are you taking part in Top Ten Tuesday this week? Let me know in the comments.

So there we have it! If you fancy joining in next week then head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl’s blog to find out what the next topic is!