I’m on vacation, and it’s one of those damp sticky mornings when it’s so gloomy you have to put all the lights on at 9AM. The beach is out of the question. Instead I sweep some dead flies and spider eggs out from behind a chair and settle down with a good book. I’ve been on a bit of a crime spree lately (reading-wise) so every book on my TBR is dark—the more murder and mayhem the better.
We are in a golden age of crime fiction, especially crime fiction by women, and there’s a lot to choose from. But if you’re looking to brush away some sticky cobwebs and curl up with some great gloomy YA reads, I have some suggestions for you.
- Dark fiction needs villains and here are 9 YA Villains More Terrifying Than Whatever’s Hiding in Your Closet.
- YA thriller writer Alexandra Sirowy shares some of her favorite Girl Heroes & Villains.
- I still remember the absolute terror I felt as a child when I woke from a nightmare and would lie there stone-still until the first light came in my bedroom window. But I also loved creepy stories, maybe because the nightmare was contained within the pages of a book. This piece from BookRiot On the Importance of Creepy Kids’ Books makes the point that “Being a child is a scary, strange and unsettling time, and the stories that articulate these anxieties help children navigate the world.”
- If you’re craving some YA crime fiction, here are YA author Catherine Doyle’s Top Five: YA Crime Novels.
- Mysteries hold a very special place in the world of crime fiction. One of my favorite mysteries as a young adult was The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. But there are plenty of page-turning mysteries in the YA genre as well. Check out these 10 Fierce YA Mysteries Agatha Christie Would Totally Have On Her TBR for some great suggestions including Blue Voyage, Diana Renn’s intricately crafted mystery set in Turkey.
