Spooky Season

Looking for Trouble

Dark and Shallow Lies

How can a teenager just disappear in a town full of psychics? That’s the mystery that 17-year-old Grey tries to unravel in “Dark and Shallow Lies.” La Cachette, Louisiana is known to be two things: a tiny town with a shadowy past, and the self-proclaimed “Psychic Capital of the World.” So, when Grey’s best friend vanishes, she starts to question everything, and everyone, to try to find out why and what happened. Secrets, lies and mystery set along the swamps, writer Ginny Myers Sain’s debut novel will enchant YA readers and more. Paperback, 432 pages, $11.99. Perfect for teens who love: watching Buzzfeed’s “Unsolved” and channeling their inner Nancy Drew

Morbid Mystery

The Butcher and The Wren

A serial killer is on the loose in south Louisiana. Forensic pathologist Dr. Wren Muller is on the job. Muller must decode the motives and techniques of the killer with the hopes of preventing even more murders. When the intensity of the crimes rises, the investigation becomes a battle of wills and a race against time. “The Butcher and The Wren,” by Alaina Urqhart, co-host of the true crime podcast “Morbid,” and a former autopsy technician, is a psychic thriller that will have readers on edge from the first page to the lastcalled Hardcover, 256 pages, $27.00. Perfect for those who love: watching “Silence of the Lambs”

Destination: Doom

A Haunted Road Atlas

Take a road trip like no other with “A Haunted Road Atlas” by the spooky podcast team from “And That’s Why We Drink.” Christine Schiefer and Em Schulz guide readers and trip-planners through a terrifically terrifying trip across the country with stops, shocks, shops and more. From crime scenes to supernatural sightings, the Atlas is full of fun trivia and things to do along the way, including a visit to Louisiana with notorious sites and characters. Paperback, 304 pages, $24.99. Perfect for those that love: hearing scary stories around the campfire or from the backseat of the car (be sure to lock your doors!)

Bewitching Classic

The Witching Hour

A mysterious mansion, a passionate love affair and an ancient history of magic and mayhem haunt readers in “The Witching Hour,” the first novel of the Mayfair Witches trio by iconic author Anne Rice. Soon to be made into an AMC TV series, this first in the series follows Rowan Mayfair, a brilliant neurosurgeon with certain special powers, who must unlock and explore her own legacy of intrigue and heritage of witchery, and the unseen forces that guide her. Poetic, engrossing, over-the-top drama ensues. Mass market paperback, 1056 pages, $9.99. For those that love: the New Orleans Lower Garden District, paranormal romance, witchy stuff and ‘90s camp couture

Swamp Tour

Bayou D’Arbonne Swamp: A Naturalist’s Memory of Place

What really lies in the swamp? For many, the swamps of Louisiana are places of mystery, with creatures that are both sinister and beautiful, mysterious and unknown. For others, swamps are full of nostalgia and wonder. Whichever the case, the natural wetlands and swamps of Louisiana are treasures to be protected and appreciated for their unique diversity of flora and fauna, and as part of our collective culture. In “Bayou D’Arbonne Swamp: A Naturalist’s Memory of Place,” biologist Kelby Ouchley presents a personal look at the north Louisiana bayou that he grew up exploring, and why it, and other wetlands like it around the state, are invaluable to our identity and to our environmental security for generations to come. For those that love: alligators and turtles, Louisiana iris and scarlet ibis, swamp tales and rougarous 

Congratulations to chef, cookbook author, restaurateur and Louisiana Life 2020 class Louisianian of the Year Melissa M. Martin for her recent James Beard Foundation win. Her book “Mosquito Supper Club: Cajun Recipes from a Disappearing Bayou,” titled after her New Orleans restaurant of the same name, brought home the top media award for “U.S. Foodways.”