The fall season always has such fun and cute activities. Pumpkin patches, apple picking, corn mazes, pumpkin carving, drinking apple cider, farmer’s markets, and… hikes! Sure, a little hike could be a cute little fall activity. But what if we channel fall’s spooky energy and give some spook to your next hike? Sounds thrilling and spine-chilling, right? So, we’re giving you seven books that give off mysterious hiking vibes.
The Hike by Lucy Clarke
Maggie, Liz, Helena, and Joni are lifelong friends who plan a girl’s trip each year. Their destinations usually include pools and palm trees, but this year is different. They decide to hike a challenging mountain range in Norway. Although they have incredibly minimal experience, they skeptically begin their four-day hike. The trip goes well until they progress deeper into the forest and further away from civilization. The women start to feel like they’re being watched and sense that a presence has joined them on their hike. Things escalate when they find a woman’s body lying lifeless at the bottom of a ravine. Each of the friends is hiding a secret, but one has a secret that could end their lifelong bond. And to make matters worse, this secret could even end one of their lives.
The Woods Are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins
Neena and Josie are best friends who survived high school’s cliques together. With college quickly approaching, they plan a memorable adventure before 2,000 miles separate them. They decide to embark on a three-day hike into the woods of the Pisgah National Forest. They are inexperienced hikers but are enthusiastic about beginning their first hiking trip. Unfortunately, their enthusiasm quickly turns to exhaustion. As patience and stamina simmer down, tensions increase, and secrets begin coming to light. Neena and Josie begin turning on each other and find themselves way off-trail. They are led into a dark and spine-chilling situation. Will their friendship be able to survive this hike? And will they be able to survive the dangers that lurk behind the thick forest trees?
The Hiking Trip by Jenny Blackhurst
In 1999, Maisie decided to hike the West Coast Trail in Canada and leave her life behind in the United Kingdom. She was having a great experience and met a bunch of new people. Maisie formed a close bond with a brother and a sister named Ric and Sera. Everything was going well until things took a turn for the worst and resulted in murder. Twenty-five years later, bones are found near the trail that Maisie once hiked. Investigators suspect they are Sera’s remains and Laura begins to panic. Laura seems to have a perfect life – a husband, two children, a dog, and a beautiful home. But everything isn’t as it seems once the murder on the West Coast Trail resurfaces. As she tries to keep her past hidden, her life of secrets and lies begins to crumble. Someone is stalking Laura and trying their best to make her reveal the truth.
Wicked River by Jenny Milchman
Natalie and Doug Larson just got married and want to begin their marriage with an adventure. Doug pushes for an extreme experience, and Natalie hesitantly accepts. They plan their honeymoon destination in the Adirondack Mountains and embark in the six-million acres of forest. They become severely lost as they progress deeper and deeper into the woods. They begin to face hardships in the wilderness, and things rapidly escalate when they come across a lifeless body. They quickly realize they aren’t alone, and someone secretly lurks behind them. This mysterious man refuses to let Natalie and Doug walk out of these mountains alive and uses the forest to his advantage. They are fighting for their survival, and their stalker is fighting for their disappearance.
Hiking Sticks, Hawks, and Homicide by Mary Lucal
Martha Sloane has a demanding job and loves the fast-paced city life in Boston. But when her Aunt Lorna passes, she must go to Riley Creek, Tennessee. She plans to stay a week to sort out her aunt’s things, but things don’t go as planned. She discovers a man’s dead body hidden under a pile of leaves in her aunt’s backyard. Investigators immediately suspect Martha’s aunt had something to do with it. However, she begins her investigation to clear her aunt’s name. Martha ditches her life in Boston and becomes the owner of a small business called Birds ‘n’ Beans. As she works with local hikers and bird watchers, she secretly works to get to the bottom of this murder. Will she be able to uncover the truth before she is overcome with debt, deceit, and betrayal?
Force of Nature by Jane Harper
Five women hesitantly embark on a journey through the Giralang Ranges in Australia. This journey is a corporate retreat meant to develop teamwork and resilience, but things go terribly wrong. Only four of them returned, and one of the women, Alice, had completely vanished. Before her disappearance, Alice was secretly working with a Federal Police investigator, Aaron Falk. They were financially investigating her company and discovering information that could put the company at stake. Once the four women return, they tell Aaron what occurred on their tragic journey. However, each woman seems to have a different story. This is when Aaron dives into the mystery head-first and tries his best to reveal the truth. As he begins investigating, he quickly realizes that her disappearance is way deeper-rooted than he thought.
The Hiker’s Guide To Murder by Jodi Linton
Andie and her brother Kyle celebrate his birthday by hiking the Kindling National Forest. They do this each year, just the two of them, and for an entire day. Their hike was going great until they discovered a woman’s lifeless body in a cave. Andie can’t help but submerge herself in the middle of this mystery. She is determined to solve the murder before it negatively impacts the winter’s tourism season. Sheriff Zac Mars is officially investigating the case and knows that Andie isn’t going to back down. She used to babysit Zac, but they quickly developed a complicated relationship. They decide to begin a friendly competition to determine who will figure out the mystery first. But as Andie digs deeper, she discovers another body and realizes that she’s in way more danger than she thought.
So, now that you have these spooky books, make sure to add them to your fall activities. And you must plan to go on a hike! Maybe read these books after your hike … but definitely grab one of these spine-chilling mysteries and immerse yourself in fall’s spookiness!
Check out some spooky fall romance books here.
Find these books and more mystery books on Bookshop.org.
