Books Update: Dark Times

Creepy new fiction, the latest in crime and horror, and 50 States of Terror

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story October 23, 2020 Carson Ellis Dear Reader, Halloween came early this year, and it continues to endure in all its dark, plague-ridden fury. These are, as our cover puts it, dark times. But horror, dread, morbid speculations and unsolved mysteries are best enjoyed between two covers, and that’s where this issue will take you. We’ve got the latest mystery by John Banville, who sheds his Benjamin Black pen name but still plays with crime novel conventions in “Snow.” Ian McGuire, author of “The North Water,” one of our 10 Best Books of 2016, has a new novel, “The Abstainer,” which he discusses on this week’s podcast. And there’s creepy new fiction from Sayaka Murata, Alice Hoffman, Rumaan Alam, Hiroko Oyamada, Graham Swift and more. Plus, the latest in crime and horror, and 50 States of Terror, our guide to the scariest book from every state. So go ahead and grab your flashlight and a book, dive under the covers and don’t come out. Please stay in touch and let us know what you think — whether it’s about this newsletter, our reviews, our podcast, our literary calendar, our Instagram or what you’re reading. We read and ponder all of it. I even write back, albeit belatedly. You can email me at books@nytimes.com. Pamela Paul Editor of The New York Times Book Review @PamelaPaulNYT Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Like this email? Sign-up here or forward it to your friends. Have a suggestion or two on how we can improve it? Let us know at newsletters@nytimes.com. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. THE BOOK REVIEW PODCAST Real-Life Political Violence Fuels Fiction in ‘The Abstainer’ Ian McGuire talks about his new novel, and Elisabeth Egan discusses Romy Hausmann’s “Dear Child.” FICTION crime Pushed From the Clock Tower, Buried in the Yard In Marilyn Stasio’s new crime-fiction column, the bodies accumulate at a rather alarming rate. By Marilyn Stasio fiction To Sayaka Murata, Nonconformity Is a Slippery Slope Her new novel, “Earthlings,” asks: If you don’t belong in the “Baby Factory,” do you even belong on Earth? By Lydia Millet fiction John Banville’s New Murder Mystery Starts Like a Game of Clue “Snow” is a classic policier like the novels written under Banville’s pen name, Benjamin Black. But it is a superbly rich and sophisticated one. By William Boyd fiction What Happens When a Vacation Goes Wrong — and Not in a Funny Way? In “Leave the World Behind,” Rumaan Alam imagines what happens when homeowners interrupt their renters’ idyll to seek refuge from a crisis. By Afia Atakora fiction She Tumbled Into a Hole, and Her World Broke Open Hiroko Oyamada’s novel “The Hole” is a surreal and mesmerizing tale about gaps in memory and a woman’s transformation. By Hilary Leichter fiction The Rebel, the Policeman and a Chase Through Britain and Beyond Ian McGuire’s historical novel “The Abstainer” pits an Irish separatist against a police constable in 19th-century England. By Roddy Doyle Grim, Ghastly and Gruesome: New Horror Fiction Looking for a book that will scare the pants off you? We’ve got some suggestions. By Danielle Trussoni fiction ‘Plain Bad Heroines’ Is a New Kind of Lesbian Fiction In her adult debut, Emily M. Danforth revisits Mary MacLane’s controversial 1902 confessional diary, with a contemporary Hollywood twist. By Lena Wilson Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT fiction A Love Triangle and a Variety Show in Seaside England “Here We Are,” by Graham Swift, is a nostalgic look at the world of magicians and song-and-dance acts facing changes in taste and technology. By Kathryn Hughes fiction Tear Down That Will: An East German Guide to Breaking the Spirit In Jennifer Hofmann’s debut novel, “The Standardization of Demoralization Procedures,” an aging Berliner loses his sense of self. By Dalia Sofer fiction When Witches Run in the Family In this prequel to “Practical Magic,” Alice Hoffman revisits the lives of women who refuse to do as they’re told. By Edan Lepucki the shortlist Debut Novels About Seamy Underbellies and Dark Turns “Straight From the Horse’s Mouth,” “The Nightworkers” and “These Violent Delights” examine the grimmer side of things. By Andrew Ervin NONFICTION nonfiction Untangling the Story of a Deadly Blaze and ‘The Arsonist’ Who Lit It The new book by the Australian writer Chloe Hooper recreates the events surrounding a lethal 2009 fire in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley. By Beejay Silcox nonfiction The Problem Is in the Internet’s Bones In “The Tangled Web We Weave,” James Ball looks to the structure of the internet and the history of its growth as the deeper sources of our current problems. By Margaret O’Mara CHILDREN’S BOOKS children’s books Invasion of the Memory Snatchers In Kory Merritt’s “No Place for Monsters,” an invisible force is snatching kids in the night, erasing them not only from their beds but from everyone else’s memory. By Christian Mckay Heidicker children’s books Trick or Treat: It’s Mom and Dad! The world’s worst parents come back to haunt us, in Lois Lowry’s “The Willoughbys Return.” By Lucinda Rosenfeld Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT FEATURES by the book Martin Amis Is Committed to the Pleasure Principle in Books “In plainer terms, we read literature to have a good time.” 50 States, 50 Scares Before you pick up one of these hair-raising, shiver-inducing novels, you’re going to want to close the curtains and check the locks (twice). By Tina Jordan sketchbook Literary Inspiration for a Sad Covid Halloween at Home When all you’ve got is a blanket and a lot of snacks, you can become “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” and other desperate moves. By Jessica Olien New & Noteworthy Visual Books, From Extraordinary Women to Van Gogh’s Letters A selection of recent visual books of interest; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading. Letters to the Editor Readers respond to recent issues of the Sunday Book Review. 11 New Books We Recommend This Week Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times. inside the list Pete Buttigieg Dropped Out of the Presidential Race and Wrote a Best Seller In “Trust,” the wunderkind politician underscores the importance of what he calls “overlapping circles of belonging.” By Elisabeth Egan New in Paperback: ‘Me,’ ‘Border Wars’ and ‘Imaginary Friend’ Six new paperbacks to check out this week. By Jennifer Krauss Best Sellers Combined Print & E-Book Fiction Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction Hardcover Fiction Hardcover Nonfiction Paperback Trade Fiction Paperback Nonfiction All Lists New International Books Illustration by Thoka Maer Your sneak preview of books coming out in 2020 from around the world. Get globetrotting. Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. 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