“Now Autumn’s fire burns slowly along the woods and day by day the dead leaves fall and melt.”
–William Allingham (1824-1889)

Yes, autumn is here again! And you know what that means. It’s time for…

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril XI!

Started by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings, R.I.P. is a reading challenge in which imbibers come “together to enjoy the literature most associated with the darkening days and cooling temperatures of Autumn:”

Mystery
Suspense
Thriller
Gothic
Horror
Dark Fantasy

Carl says that “it is time to embrace the delicious thrill of things that go bump in the night, to figure out if the butler actually did do it, to cover our eyes during the scary bits and to conquer our fears together.”

To learn more about the wonderful R.I.P. reading challenge, click here.

I will be doing Peril the First, which means I will read at least four books. Here’s what I have in mind so far (though this may change):

Blood on the Tracks by Barbara Nickless (railroad murder mystery with a human-canine detective duo)

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (Just as in Wolf Hall, a ghost appears. You know I’m all about ghosts!)

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (a Gothic parody)

Paco’s Story by Larry Heinemann (The narrator is a ghost, so perfect for R.I.P. Also, this book beat out Toni Morrison’s Beloved–which I loved–for the National Book Award. Interestingly, Beloved won the Pulitzer and, like Paco’s Story, is a ghost novel.)

The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne (I know…who’d have thought the creator of Winnie-the-Pooh would ever write a murder?)

I have already started reading The Red House Mystery, which reminds me quite a bit of Agatha Christie’s writing style. Not surprising, since both Milne and Christie were writing in the 1920’s, and both authors made use of the country house setting. Review to follow.

So, how about you? Are you participating in the R.I.P. reading challenge this year…or any other autumn-based challenge?

Need some recommendations for R.I.P.? Allow me to do a little shameless self-promotion and suggest you check out 31 Ghost Novels to Read Before You Die.