Books to read at the beach are the subject of discussion on most morning shows lately. Everyone has ideas about the qualities that create a good beach book, but most of these lists seem to rely heavily on blockbusters and chick lit. My idea of a good beach read tends more toward the dark side. I like a good scary book; horror stories are my favorite. There is nothing like a chill down your spine to keep you cool at the beach. Some of my suggestions are quite new, but others are older books. All of them are really fast reads; the kind where you are tempted to skip ahead because you can't wait to see what happens next.

One of my favorite horror story authors is Robert McCammon. He has written several really good books; two of them are favorites of mine. The first one is a vampire story. This is not a cute story where the vampires live like people who just forgot that they are dead. They thirst is a classic vampire story where an ancient vampire comes back to prey on a new generation. The story is set in California and everyone from the biggest stars and movie producers to the cleaning ladies and the homeless all suffer the same fate. My second favorite from Robert McCammon is Stinger. This is sort of a science fiction horror story set in an isolated desert community. Aliens, motocrycle gangs and one poor little girl create the suspense.

Another author who has produced some good beach reads is Stephen King. He also has some really bad beach reads, but we won't discuss those. Again, I picked two that are really my favorites. One of the two is an older book, Christine. That was a very scary book. Too bad it was such a so so movie. After reading the book, I was afraid to walk by my car in the driveway at night. I'm still kind of nervous about it now; I know my car loves me, but still... The other Stephen King book that I really liked is a newer one. Cell shows what could happen if technology were used against human beings. A simple cell phone suddenly becomes an instrument of death and destruction. But is it any better to be one of the people who never had a cell phone?

My third favorite is Dean Koontz. He really has too many good stories to discuss here. He also has those unfortunate books which involved killer monkeys, but everyone makes mistakes. Two of his best are older books. Winter moon is a story involving a former policeman, some frightening violence and an alien in a lonely, dark, winter countryside. Shadowfires is a page-turner about a woman, her dead husband who is stalking her, and the mysterious shadowfires which pursue him. Another of his good reads is The taking which begins with some strange and frightening weather and deals with an alien entity threatening the human race for a specific reason.

Two other new books deserve special mention. One of these books is Ruins by Scott Smith, guaranteed to discourage for good any interest in exploring ancient ruins in Mexico. The other book is a ghost story about a haunted suit and the surprise which comes with it. The heart-shaped box has another surprise. The author, Joe Hill, is actually Joe King, son of Stephen King.

Enjoy the beach this summer. Remember, chills down your spine will keep you cool.