Our staff share the books that made their skin crawl this year.

‘The most disturbing book I read this year was The Love of a Bad Man by Laura Elizabeth Woollett . This utterly compelling short story collection offers readers an unusual and affecting reading experience, coupling true crime with literary fiction. Each story centres on a real-life woman enamoured with a 'bad man’ – 20th century criminals from the USA, UK and Australia. Woollett’s immense skill in bringing each relationship to life makes for chilling reading. The stories led me down some disturbing internet rabbit holes late into the night, so desperate was I to find out more about each case. This is an accomplished and engrossing collection, but definitely not for the faint-hearted.‘ – Stella Charls, marketing and events coordinator

'I don’t think I am going to be alone in listing The Call as the book that gave me nightmares this year. I read it before bed one night, and promptly had a nightmare about the Sidhe and their creepy little ways. This book genuinely made my skin crawl, but don’t let that put you off because it’s an addictive and highly entertaining read.’ – Nina Kenwood, marketing manager

‘I finally got around to reading Patricia Highsmith this year, after constant recommendations, and The Talented Mr.Ripley did not disappoint. It is by far the best crime novel I’ve ever read, but it is so much more than that, too – it’s a tragic tale of a queer man terribly oppressed by mid-century homophobia, the end result of which is horrific and brutal. It outlines, in such a nuanced and believable way, how small acts of duplicity and manipulation can lead to much graver and fatal decisions. But it was Ripley’s unbearable web of lies and the sheer physicality of his guilt that gave me at least one sleepless night while reading this excellent book!’ – Michael Skinner, bookseller at St Kilda

‘Peadar Ó Guilín’s YA horror The Call freaking terrified me. I had a nightmare immediately after reading this story of sadistic Irish fairies and even now, months late, soft cheese gives me a chill.’

‘Two other terrific YA books that got under my skin this year (even if they didn’t give me nightmares…) were Justine Larbalestier’s My Sister Rosa (a taut psychological thriller featuring a Shirley Temple-esque psychopath) and Frances Hardinge’s The Lie Tree (part horror story, part detective story, part historical novel). The latter has a particularly creepy scene with rats, if that’s your thing.’

‘On a very different note, I also read Steve Cannane’s Fair Game this year and his investigation into Scientology’s links with Australia is well-researched, revelatory and chilling.’ – Bronte Coates, digital content coordinator

‘I’m a sucker for a good supernatural thriller, so when an advanced copy of witchy horror novel Hex arrived, I snagged it straightaway. This bestselling novel is the work of a young Dutch writer – Thomas Olde Heuvelt published his first novel at the age of 16 and went on to win a slew of literary awards (as you do). The story was unexpectedly funny, as well as being deeply, deeply creepy.’

‘The town of Black Spring has been under the curse of a witch who was burned at the stake in the seventeenth century. And this is not one of those 'maybe / maybe-not’ curses that frequently crop up in supernatural thrillers. The witch definitely exists. In fact, she wanders through the town at will, popping up in people’s lounge rooms or at the ends of their beds. The townsfolk spend a great deal of their time trying to track her movements with an app on their phones, and disguising her with a bit of shrubbery so visitors don’t spot her. She seems like a relatively benign (if horrifying) part of life in Black Spring. That is until a group of teenagers start messing with the status quo…‘

'Without giving much away, reading the start of Hex made me feel like a kid playing with a Ouija board – it was scary and a bit silly too – but soon enough I was consumed by a feeling of creeping dread that didn’t let up until the very end, and maybe for a little bit after that too…’ – Lian Hingee, digital marketing manager