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 on My Spring 2026 To-Read List. Should be fairly simple. Although, I do normally end up running over to NetGalley to bolster my review shelf whilst writing these ‘look ahead’ posts. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen today. My NetGalley shelf is already groaning at the seams….
1. Evil in the Family by Michael Wood
All families have demons. Some are more deadly than others…
A FAMILY SLAIN
When Detective Inspector Foley is called out to a crime scene, nothing could have prepared him for the level of brutality inflicted on the victims. And with terrifying similarities to another recent murder case, he fears there might be a serial killer running loose in London.
A PATTERN OF MURDER
With no suspects and no DNA at the crime scenes, Foley enlists the help of Forensic Psychologist Dr Olivia Winter to catch the killer before they strike again.
AN UNSTOPPABLE KILLER
As the killings become more frequent Olivia and Foley must focus on what could drive the killer to murder entire families. With his job and reputation on the line, is Foley risking everything by putting his trust in Olivia, a woman whose own past echoes an eerie similarity to the investigation?
2. The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer
Follow the Rites…
Nothing less than the survival of humanity is at stake.
From Marcus Kliewer, a new ‘titan of the macabre and unsettling’ (Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author), comes a supernatural horror about a young woman who accepts a caretaking job from Craigslist, only to discover the position has consequences far greater—and more dangerous—than she ever could have imagined.
EXCITING OPPORTUNITY:
Caretaker urgently needed. Three days of work. Competitive pay. Serious applicants ONLY.
Macy Mullins can’t say why the job posting grabbed her attention—it had the pull of a fisherman’s lure, barbed hook and all—vaguely ominous. But after an endless string of failed job interviews, she’s not exactly in the position to be picky. She has rent to pay, groceries to buy, and a younger sister to provide for.
Besides, it’s only three days’ work…
Three days, cooped up in a stranger’s house, surrounded by Oregon Coast wilderness.
What starts as a peculiar side gig soon becomes a waking nightmare. An incomprehensible evil may dwell on this property—and Macy Mullins might just be the only thing standing between it, and the rest of humanity.
Follow the Rites…
Follow the Rites…
Follow the Rites…
3. Last One Out by Jane Harper
He had been here, that was clear from the marks in the dust. And he had been alone.
In a dying town, Ro Crowley waits for her son on the evening of his twenty-first birthday.
Sam never comes home. His footprints in the dust of three abandoned houses offer the only clue to his final movements. One set in. One set out.
Five long years later, Ro returns to Carralon Ridge for the annual memorial of Sam’s disappearance. The skeletal community is now an echo of itself, having fractured under the pressure of the coal mine operating on its outskirts.
But Ro still wants answers. Only a few people remain. If the truth is to be found in that town, does it lie among them?
Last One Out is a hugely atmospheric mystery from the author of The Dry, Force of Nature, The Lost Man,The Survivors and Exiles.
4. I Did a Bad Thing by Louise Jensen
Oh, God. There’s so much blood.
Panic skitters around every cell in my body. I can’t breathe.
I need to hide the evidence. From everyone.
What have I done?
When Mia Finch begins documenting her daughter’s battle with a rare blood disorder, she never expected to become a popular social media influencer. And she never expected that fame to turn into a nightmare …
One year later, a true crime documentary airs looking into the case of the Finch family tragedy. As the documentary uncovers more about what really happened to the Finches, public interest in the case reaches fever pitch. In a world where everyone is watching, how can you keep your darkest secrets hidden?
I Did a Bad Thing is a one-more-chapter psychological thriller exploring how even the most well-intentioned lies can spiral into catastrophe – and murder …
5. Dark is When the Devil Comes by Daisy Pearce
HE’S A KIDNAPPER. BUT SHE’S THE REAL MONSTER . . .
Dark Is When the Devil Comes is the utterly gripping and chilling new novel from acclaimed horror author Daisy Pearce.
Hazel is twenty-seven, and her life is falling apart. As an amateur mycologist – someone who studies mushrooms – Hazel’s hobby takes her to some dark places, but following a traumatic divorce she reluctantly finds herself back in her childhood home in the shadow of the sprawling Idless wood. To start rebuilding, she takes the plunge and arranges to meet her estranged sister Cathy; she also bumps into Suzie, an old school friend with whom she shares a dark childhood secret.
But then Hazel meets Andrew, who claims to have rare fungi growing in his old farmhouse. Lured out into the wilderness by curiosity and no little professional ambition, Hazel is trapped by Andrew, shut in the basement with no help for miles around.
As Cathy and Suzie desperately begin the search for her, Hazel starts to feel that something darker and even more terrifying than Andrew resides in that farmhouse. But is the power living in the dark with her or . . . much, much closer.
Discover the brilliantly creepy and twisty new novel from Daisy Pearce, author of Something in the Walls. Part psychological thriller, part horror, it will thrill fans of books such as The Last House on Needless Street by Caitriona Ward, Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough and Home Before Dark by Riley Sager.
6. Trad Wife by Sarah Langan
Your favourite influencer is about to be exposed . . .
Every day, millions watch Mia Wright, the “trad wife” queen, on her idyllic 300-acre farm. With her handsome husband, seven perfect children, and a life of from-scratch meals, she’s an icon of modern femininity. But behind every perfect image is a lie.
Desperate to save her tarnished career, journalist Jenny Kaplan arrives at Black Swan Farm to profile Mia. Jenny is ready to write a scathing exposé, determined to uncover the deception behind Mia’s curated life.
But there’s something wrong at the farmhouse.
It slithers through Jenny’s dreams when the children sing strange nursery rhymes at night. She’s losing time. She’s losing her hair. She starts to worry that she’s losing her mind.
There is a horror at the heart of Black Swan, and it’s waiting just for Jenny.
7. The Library After Dark by Ande Pliego
In the centre of New York stands the city’s most notorious library.
It has a history of mysterious disappearances and freak accidents. But tonight, it opens its doors to welcome a group of strangers for an exclusive after-hours tour.
The famous author. The journalist. The professor. The bookseller. The architect.
They are here to see a legendary book – one of the most valuable in the world. But each visitor also has other, more sinister reasons for being in the library after dark.
As the tour takes them deeper into the building, one of the guests meets a gruesome, inexplicable end – and the others realise they are living on borrowed time.
The search for the murderer forces them to confront awful truths about themselves and decide which secrets are worth dying – or killing – to keep.
8. Backstabbers by Eliza Jabore
Jade, Stef and Zoe are hiking Washington’s Bones Hollow Trail, braving cougars, snakes and the storms that roll in without warning. The friends’ paranoia isn’t helped by listening to a true crime podcast about the serial killer whose hunting ground they’re hiking through.
Then when Stef twists her ankle – badly – there’s no one to hear them scream for help. The only sign of life for miles is a cabin that looks straight out of a horror movie, with an owner who’s a little too eager to invite them in.
The friends must soon find a way to survive as things spiral out of control. After all, who can you trust when your back’s against the wall? But unfortunately for them, the only thing more twisted than this nightmare is their friendship…
9. One of the Family by Mark Edwards
One of the family is dead.
One of the family is missing.
And one of the family might just be the killer…
Patrick couldn’t believe his luck when Holly fell for him. She’s wickedly funny, beautiful, and with an intimidatingly successful father, Charles.
So when she invites him to Charles’ mansion for a New Year’s break in Scotland, all he’s hoping is that they’ll accept him as one of the family.
But everything feels a little off. Whispers in hallways. Rumours of a body that got found nearby the previous year. And something very strange about Charles’ new girlfriend.
Every family has secrets, and Patrick tells himself all he needs to do is survive the next few days.
But then the first body is found, and Patrick realises that all he needs to do is survive the next few days…
10. Summer Slasher by E.L. Chen
FROM SCREEN TO SCREAM
When Patrick invites his old high school friends to stay at the remote Portnoy cabin for the weekend, they couldn’t be more excited.
‘80s cult flick Slasher was filmed at that location, and the Horror Film Club has always wanted a peek inside. Preppy Patrick, jock Jason, cheerleader Tiffany, stoner Freddy, goth Jennifer, nerdy Michael, and good girl Carrie may have occupied different social strata in high school, but were united by their love of horror movies.
But when night falls, and the eponymous masked killer is spotted, the reunion takes a deadly turn. The friends discover their tires deflated and the phone line disconnected, and soon they’re being stalked by a mysterious assailant. Is someone trying to make their Slasher experience as authentic as possible?
One thing is for sure–this is one summer they’ll never forget.
Slasher Summer is a fun, twisty horror romp that pays tribute to classic slasher movies–and also affirms that the real horror is never being able to escape who you were in school.
No last minute NetGalley dashes needed. I have clearly requested FAR too many books as I was able to make the entire list from what I already had on my NG shelf. Yikes! And I’m the one who said this year they were going to keep their NG shelf under five books. How did you find today’s theme? Have you read any of these books? Planning on reading any? 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 theme is!
damppebbles.com 
Some of these sound really creepy, great picks
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