Earlier this week, Freida McFadden released what might just be her best work yet. Set in Massachusetts with a dual timeline spanning the present day and the 1600s, The Witch belongs at the very top of your TBR list this October.

Julia’s grandmother is still living in her longtime family home, the Pemberton Estate. As her health and cognitive function decline, Julia moves in to help out as a full-time caregiver, despite her longstanding fears surrounding the property.

Ever since childhood, Julia has been convinced that the house is haunted, and even as an adult, she hasn’t exactly changed her mind. A plethora of strange occurrences, particularly at night, only reinforce her suspicions. Her grandmother, her uptight great-aunt Ethel, and the groundskeeper Mick all attribute these unsettling events to the ghost of Caroline Eldridge, the witch.

Caroline was the second wife of Julia’s ancestor, Archibald Eldridge, and was tried and found guilty of witchcraft in the 1600s. Rumor has it that after Caroline was burned at the stake, Archie buried her remains somewhere on the property before going on to marry Molly, the servant girl who had initially accused Caroline of witchcraft. Molly bore him children, something Caroline had never been able to do, and her bloodline eventually led all the way to Julia.

As Julia investigates her supposedly haunted family property, long-buried secrets begin to resurface. The deeper she digs into the estate’s unsettling history, the more disturbing her discoveries become. With each new revelation, the mystery grows darker, until Julia finds herself confronting a truth more horrifying than any ghost story.

This book feels very different from McFadden’s usual work, particularly in its pacing and atmosphere. Honestly, it reminded me quite a bit of some of the books I’ve read by Irina Shapiro. That certainly doesn’t mean I love McFadden’s other work any less, but there’s something about this particular story that makes it feel even more binge-worthy, especially during spooky season.

I’d seen so much hype online surrounding this book for what feels like forever, and I’ll be the first to tell you that the hype is absolutely worth it. The plot twists are shocking, the characters are well-rounded, and the mystery itself feels genuinely original.

If there’s one book I can recommend adding to your reading list this fall, it’s this one.