October 27, 2020
Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Mildly Suspenseful Books
I’m linking up today with That Artsy Reader Girl: Top Ten Tuesday: Halloween Freebie.
Are you a HSP (highly sensitive person) like me? Or do you like the scariest and most thrilling reads?
Does the thought of reading scary books cause anxiety?
I have a bookish confession: I’m an October Outlier. I don’t read books that fall into the horror, true crime, crime fiction, paranormal, or thriller categories or are too scary or spooky. I’m highly susceptible to nightmares. So…..this makes a typical Halloween post rather tricky! If you share my preferences and would rather have recommendations for “slightly suspenseful,” I think you might like today’s list!
I have discovered that I can tolerate a bit of suspense! However, I won’t promise you that I haven’t peeked at the last page to be sure my favorite characters are still alive!
Here’s my list of books that I have enjoyed that have a bit of suspense but are not too scary! I should also note that none of these books have a Halloween theme or setting.
Is there a certain type of book that you enjoy reading in the fall?
*Titles are Amazon affiliate links.
10 Books That Are Mildly Suspenseful
All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny
#16 in the Chief Inspector Gamache/Three Pines series (mystery/detective). Love the family and father/son themes in this one! My full review of All the Devils Are Here.
The River by Peter Heller
Wilderness survival. My review of The River here.
Castle of Water by Dane Hucklebridge
Survival “Castaways” style. My review of Castle of Water.
The Huntress by Kate Quinn
WW11 histfic/thriller. My review of The Huntress.
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
Contemporary refugee story. My review of American Dirt.
The Girl With Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee
Memoir, Escape from North Korea. My review of Girl With Seven Names here.
Woman 99 by Greer Macallister
Rescue from an asylum . My review of Woman 99 here.
Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff
The circus meets WW11 histfic. Not Reviewed.
The Hunger Games Trilogy
This is a page-turning series I enjoyed far more than I anticipated! Not reviewed.
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
Complicated family drama (TW for abuse). My review of The Great Alone.
QOTD!
Do you have a mildly suspenseful title to add to this list?
ICYMI:
10 Popular Books With Mature Characters
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Reading Ladies 
The Great Alone is suspenseful. My post here has a participation feature. I hope you’ll play along.
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Thanks for commenting and leaving your link! Hopping over now!
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I enjoyed the Hunger Games, books and movies. https://pmprescott.blogspot.com/2020/10/ttt-102720.html
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Same! Thanks for commenting and leaving your TTT link! I’m hopping over now!
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I’m glad you found some books despite not being the horror novel fan. Neither am I. And since this was a Halloween freebie and we don’t really celebrate Halloween in our country, I did a slight twist on my TTT. I know, that’s usually your thing, right?
Anyway, I’ve only read the first book of the Hunger Games from your titles. It was a book club read, I doubt I would have touched it otherwise. It was alright but not my thing. None of those that surprised me.
Anyway, happy reading and Happy Halloween.
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Thanks for commenting and leaving your TTT link! I’m hopping over now to check it out!
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I just read your post on autumn customs and love it! I’d love to trade in Halloween!
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In the end the kids get sweets and that seems to be international.LOL
Btw – I love the picture with the pottery pumpkins. Are they yours? Beautiful.
Have a happy Halloween.
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That picture is from the retailer Pottery Barn….I just realized I didn’t add the source! Must edit! Thanks for commenting!
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Pottery Barn. I know that from Friends. 😀
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🙌😍
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The Great Alone sounds interesting.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
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It was all the suspense I can tolerate! 😂 Thanks for leaving your TTT link…hopping over now to check it out!
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The Hunger Games was a fun series.
My post.
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More fun than I imagined! Thanks for commenting…I’m hopping over now to check out your post!
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I love thrillers and ghost stories, but I prefer mildly suspenseful/scary to an out-and-out creep fest! This is a great list and I’ve read half of them. I haven’t gotten to ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE yet, but I love the Gamache series. It’s one of my all-time favorite mystery series, so I’m reading it slowly so I can really enjoy it 🙂
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
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I hope you love All the Devils! One of my favs of the series! I’m heading over to read your post now!
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LOL, I love that you go for “mildly suspenseful”. I don’t read a lot of crime thrillers, but I do love horror and suspense. The Great Alone and Woman 99 were both five-star reads for me, and I really do want to read The River (I read his novel The Dog Stars, and loved it.) Love your candy corn image!
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Thanks for commenting and for understanding! I think you’ll love The River! Happy reading!
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I love The Hunger Games, one of my favourite series!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2020/10/27/top-ten-tuesday-287/
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I enjoyed it way more than I expected I would! Thanks for commenting and leaving your link! I’m hopping over to read it now!
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Yay, that’s so great when that happens!
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Thanks for sharing mildly suspenseful reads. I’m not a huge lover of suspense. I agree that Hannah’s book had that great mild suspense aspect to it.
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These books fall into the “just right” category for me! Any more suspense and I’d have a nightmare! Thanks for commenting!
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Your welcome! Thanks for stopping in and commenting!
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This looks like a great list of books, Carol. There are a couple I’ve read, a couple I own but haven’t read yet, and some that sound good but are entirely new to me. Perfect blend for a book blog list. Thanks!
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I started reading Louise Penny books recently. My book club members rave about her novels, including All the Devils are here. But, I do find her books only mildly suspenseful. I like to listen to her books on Overdrive. I am going to give The Great Alone a go. I started it after Educated and never quite finished it.
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Mildly suspenseful is why I love LP! 😂 All the Devils is quite suspenseful (by my standards!) toward the end! Yes, the narration is great for LP books! The narrator for the few several books has died, but the next narrator is great, too. Great Alone has some suspenseful parts…enjoy! Thanks for commenting! Happy reading 🙌
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Oh, I may give All the Devils a read then. I like both narrators. I was sorry to have heard that the first narrator died from LP. I will try A Great Alone! Happy reading to you as well.
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All the Devils is among my favs of the series! I hope you enjoy! 😍👍
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Great take on this top ten. I don’t read spooky so I didn’t participate this week, but I could have done a similar post. I have read a few of these, but not all. You are a bad influence on my TBR, Carol.
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It’s mutual Carla! 😂😂😂 I haven’t done top ten in a few weeks and was determined to put something together for a freebie week! One person did snacks so that was creative!
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I am trying to get caught up reading blogs. I had my cataract surgery on Tuesday, so was not on the computer much for the last two days.
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That’s right! Don’t overdo it! 😎
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Now this is a great idea! While I don’t usually have an issue with more horrific books, I usually overdo it during the beginning of October and have to lighten up my reading by the end of it … too many horror novels for too long and I’m not a happy camper. But a little suspense? I can get behind that all year long.
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Thanks! I can imagine that overdoing it at the beginning of October might be tempting! 😂 A little suspense is always good! Thanks for commenting!
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