Review: The Return

 

Title:  The Return        

Author:  Rachel Harrison

Synopsis: “An edgy and haunting debut novel about a group of friends who reunite after one of them has returned from a mysterious two-year disappearance.

     “Julie is missing, and the missing don’t often return.  But Elise knows Julie better than anyone, and she feels in her bones that her best friend is out there, and that one day she’ll come back.  She’s right.  Two years to the day that Julie went missing, she reappears with no memory of where she’s been or what happened to her.”

Review:  I made the mistake of starting The Return at bedtime one night.  I like to read before bed to help me relax and push aside any worries of the day.  So, at 10pm (Ok, it was probably 9:30; I love bedtime.) I moisturized, grabbed a cat and my book, and climbed under the covers.  Next thing I knew it was 2am and I had read the whole book.  I was so frightened after I finished that I had to sleep with the lights on.  

Reading The Return was like driving by an accident.  Even though you kind of know what happened, and you know it’s going to be bad, you can’t help looking.  I had sort of figured out basically what was going on, but the main characters had no idea, and I couldn’t help speeding through the pages to find out what they were going to do.   I highly recommend The Return to fans of horror and the supernatural.

Publisher:  Berkley

If you like this book you may want to read:

Wonderland by Zoje Stage

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

Harmony - Review

Title:  Harmony

Author:  Lilith Saintcrow

Synopsis:  “After an accident claims her unconventional mother, Val Smith has to live with her boring, reliable father.  Grief and change aren’t good for anyone, but Val and her dad are doing okay—until they visit a place like paradise.

     “Harmony Home is safe, secure, and secluded, a place where everyone belongs to everyone else.  For a commune it’s a pretty okay, at least at first.  There are strange things – the metal boxes in the clearing, the Red House where secrets are kept, and little Sarah, who pushes buttons inside people to “make them glow".  Val and her dad are honored, temporary guests, at least at first, and it’s exciting to be special, to be chosen.  By the time Val’s uneasy, it’s too late.

     Even heaven can be a trap, and Val’s going to need all her new talents to break free…”

Review:  Ever since I read The May Queen Murders in 2017 I’ve been looking for more books like that.  A quick google search revealed a genre that is relatively new referred to as “Folk Horror” defined as: “a sub-genre of horror fiction characterized by reference to European, pagan traditions.  Stories typically involve standing stone circles, earthworks, elaborate rituals, or nature deities” (www. Folkhorror.com).   I’ve been devouring everything that I can find that seems to fit that profile since then, although I haven’t found very many.  I found Harmony by chance, and I’m thrilled that I did as it’s one of the best folk horror novels I’ve read recently.

     I enjoyed Val as a character and felt that her struggle to relate to a father that has been absent for most of her life was very realistic.  I could definitely see the appeal of a place like Harmony Home, but I also figured out the dangers and found myself yelling at Val and her dad because I was angry that they couldn’t see what was happening.  Even though I figured a lot out before it happened, the book was still suitably creepy and I really enjoyed it.  I finished reading it the day before my book club meet-up and I suggested it to everyone at there, and to you.  If you are interested in the folk horror genre I recommend reading Harmony, it will not disappoint. 

Publisher:  Lilith Saintcrow

If you like this book you may want to read:

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Swansong by Kerry Andrew

Maplecroft by Cherie Priest (The Borden Dispatches #1)

The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude