Going by the list of my favorite reads from years past, my favorite Halloween authors so far have been (in alphabetical order and not entirely surprisingly):

* Raymond Chandler

* Agatha Christie

* Arthur Conan Doyle

* James D. Doss

* Daphne Du Maurier

* E.T.A. Hoffmann

* Shirley Jackson

* Ngaio Marsh

* Peter May

* Sharyn McCrumb

* Edgar Allan Poe

* Terry Pratchett

All of these feature with anywhere from two to five favorite reads over the course of the past three bingos.

That said, Joy Ellis was a bingo 2018 discovery (perhaps the biggest discovery of last year's bingo, in fact), and I've read several other books by her in the interim already, so I'm definitely going to try and wiggle another one of her mysteries into bingo 2019 as well.  Similarly Fredric Brown's Ed & Am Hunter mysteries, another one of last year's  great discoveries (huge hattip to Tigus!).  And even just generally speaking, I'm definitely planning to make room for some classic mysteries from both sides of the Atlantic. 

On the other hand, it's very much going to depend on the makeup of my card how much horror I'm going to (re)visit, be it classic or otherwise.  So even though I read two novellas by E.T.A. Hoffmann for bingo 2016, it's not a given that I'll return to his oeuvre this year; and the same is true for Poe (and virtually all other horror writers).

Oh man.  So many! 

Biggest new discoveries:

* Fredric Brown: The Fabulous Clipjoint -- huge thank you to Tigus, who gifted his Ed & Am Hunter omnibus to me.  Where had Brown been all my life until then?

* James D. Doss: Charlie Moon series (via books 6 & 7, White Shell Woman and Grandmother Spider) -- tremendously atmospheric, centers on a Ute policeman (and his best friend, the [white] sheriff of the nearby town, as well as Charlie Moon's aunt, a shaman).

* Joy Ellis: Jackman & Evans series (via book 2, Their Lost Daughters) -- writing so intense it literally took my breath away; set in a suitably wild and lonely corner of Norfolk (and great characters to boot).  Just ... wow!

* Gabriel García Márquez: Crónica de una muerte anunciada (Chronicle of a Death Foretold) -- the deconstruction of an honor killing; an utter and total gut punch in 100 pages.  It had been years since I last read García Márquez, and I am so glad I finally picked this one up.

* Shirley Jackson -- yeah, I know, late to the party and all that, but what can I say ...?

* Peter May -- wonderful writing, really brings the Outer Hebrides (Harris and Lewis Islands) to life; and great crime page turners to boot.

* Sharyn McCrumb: Ballad series ( via books 3 & 5, She Walks These Hills and The Ballad of Frankie Silver) -- these had been sitting on my TBR forever, and I'm so glad I finally got to them.  Man, but that woman can write.

* Terry Pratchett: Night Watch series -- Angua rules!

* Andrew Taylor: The American Boy -- great historical fiction that definitely also made me curious about Taylor's books set in the 17th century (this one is set in the 19th -- the eponymous boy is Edgar Allan Poe).

* Cornell Woolrich: The Bride Wore Black -- not so much a discovery of the author but of this novel (that ending!!), and I'm definitely planning to read more books by him.

All favorites by year, including rereads:

2016

Isabel Allende: La casa de los espíritus (The House of the Spirits)

Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None

Agatha Christie: Halloween Party

Arthur Conan Doyle: The Adventure of the Speckled Band

Arthur Conan Doyle: The Hound of the Baskervilles

Arthur Conan Doyle: The Sussex Vampyre

James D. Doss: White Shell Woman

E.T.A. Hoffmann: Der Sandmann (The Sandman)

E.T.A. Hoffmann: Das Fräulein von Scuderi (Mademoiselle de Scuderi)

Washington Irving: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Shirley Jackson: The Lottery

Henry James: The Turn of the Screw

Peter May: The Blackhouse

Edgar Allan Poe: Selected Tales

Terry Pratchett: Feet of Clay

Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman: Good Omens

Mary Shelley: Frankenstein (Kenneth Branagh audio)

Oscar Wilde: The Canterville Ghost

2017

Jane Austen: Northanger Abbey (Anna Massey audio)

Emily Brontë: Wuthering Heights (Prunella Scales / Samuel West audio)

Raymond Chandler: Farewell, My Lovely (Elliot Gould audio)

Agatha Christie: Mrs. McGinty's Dead (Hugh Fraser audio)

James D. Doss: Grandmother Spider

C.S. Forester: The African Queen (Michael Kitchen audio)

Gabriel García Márquez: Crónica de una muerte anunciada (Chronicle of a Death Foretold)

Shirley Jackson: We Have Always Lived in the Castle (Bernadette Dunne audio)

Ngaio Marsh: A Surfeit of Lampreys (Anton Lesser audio)

Ngaio Marsh: Death and the Dancing Footman

Ngaio Marsh: Night at the Vulcan

Ngaio Marsh: Opening Night (Anton Lesser audio)

Ngaio Marsh: Overture to Death (Anton Lesser audio)

Peter May: Coffin Road

Sharyn McCrumb: She Walks These Hills

Ovid: Metamorphoses (David Horovitch audio)

Plutarch: Theseus

Edgar Allan Poe: The Purloined Letter

Terry Pratchett: Men at Arms

Robert Louis Stevenson: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Christopher Lee audio)

Cornell Woolrich: The Bride Wore Black

2018

Fredric Brown: The Fabulous Clipjoint

Daphne Du Maurier: Rebecca (Anna Massey audio)

Joy Ellis: Their Lost Daughters (Richard Armitage audio)

Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling): Lethal White (Robert Glenister audio)

Sharyn McCrumb: The Ballad of Frankie Silver (audio narrated by the author)

Walter Mosley: White Butterfly (Michael Boatman audio)

Terry Pratchett: The Colour of Magic (Nigel Planer audio)

Terry Pratchett: Wyrd Sisters

Mary Roberts Rinehart: Locked Doors (Anne Hancock audio)

Andrew Taylor: The American Boy (Alex Jennings audio)

Book source ~ ARC. My review is voluntary and honest.

Emergency dispatcher Celia Montrose is out on a hike looking for some lost petroglyphs, but when she finds them her life changes in a way she never would have believed. Transported to another world with no idea how or why, Cele is just trying to survive in a desert with no water. When a group of strange men come across her, she’s afraid, but her need for water is now desperate. She trusts them, but is watchful. The leader of the group, Lord Dahleven, is just as wary of her. Is she a spy, ally, or something else? He thinks she may be Fey-marked, but he needs to hoof it back home to warn his people of impending war, so he drags her along for the ride until he can figure her out. And that’s when things go sideways.

I don’t read too many time travel stories anymore, but this is more like world or dimension travel even if the people of Alfheim are living like times long past. The writing is good, the characters interesting, the world is fascinating, and the plot is decent. My main problem is with Celia. Her singlemindedness to get home blinded her to everything else around her. And this makes her act like a damn moron. Plus, I had a hard time with the insta-love between her and Dahleven. But other than that this is a tale that will keep you turning the pages.

I'd been waiting for the perfect moment to read this book. So, finally, the weather was warm and sunny, I had my cold drink  and was sitting in the garden.  And after reading 10% ... I was bored out of my mind.

Some days later I tried again. This was torture. I read 20% and nothing happened. So disappointing.

Third try. I can do this. I'm ready. I can conquer this book...

At 32 %

I'm done.  I imagine this is worse than Chinese water torture. It's soooo slow, has pages and pages of description and nothing has happened.

I actually loathe Benny's family. Where's the grovelling? After years of bullshit, they own her some serious grovelling. And there's nothing, nada, zilch,.. because Frankie is such a "generous soul". Yeach! You are a fucking doormat, Frankie!

Bye, bye, The Promise. I hope to never meet you again.

My household became Frankie fans way back when my oldest (now 17) was in 6th grade and his teacher showed a Frankie weather forecast talking about a monster blizzard that hit our state.  This book (written with children in mind) is a quick and fun read learning about Frankie's life, Autism, and weather.  I recommend this book, especially if you have kids.  They will refer back to it when they want to recall "what Frankie said about that!" .