Frank Phillips's Reviews > We Used to Live Here

What did I just read?! This is probably my favorite book of 2024, DEFINITELY my favorite horror novel, although it had a very heavy psychological thriller aspect to it as well, which added an overwhelming sense of dread throughout, and had me chewing on my poor nails up until the last sentence! Can't give this one any less than an amazing 5-STARS, it's a no-brainer!

Eve and Charlie are partners and have recently moved into an older house in a secluded area with few neighbors close by, with plans to flip and re-sell it. Eve is home alone one night during a snowstorm when a family of strangers appears at her front door, asking to come in and look at what was once the father’s childhood home one last time before moving across country. Despite her sense of unease, Eve decides to allow them in for a quick visit. It’s after the family is inside that everything quickly falls apart: the youngest child goes missing, followed not long after by her partner Charlie, yet the family seems to have no concerns, or plan of leaving anytime soon. As if this is not enough to juggle, peculiar and seemingly unexplainable events begin occurring that only Eve seems to notice, leading her to eventually begin questioning her sanity (the reader will as well). Is she losing her grasp on reality, or is something, perhaps supernatural, really happening? Does the family have anything to do with it?!

Will she and Charlie survive this never-ending nightmare alive?
This novel is told solely through Eve’s perspective, with alternating chapters including a variety of snippets from online forums discussing strange but real-life diagnosis, leading the reader to speculate that this entire event could all be happening in Eve’s head. These little red herring chapters were not only incredibly intriguing, but really helped break the simmering tension, keeping me on my toes and unsure what exactly was happening throughout – needless to say, I LOVED it!! Upon finishing, I was reeling, and it took some time to really digest this fantastic read. If I had to give even the slightest critique about this one it would simply be that there were several questions that were left unanswered, making me want even more of this intense story!!

We Used To Live Here was the fastest-paced, suspenseful and terrifying book I’ve read all year, and this is Kliewer’s debut! I’ve recently discovered that this will be adapted into a Netflix film, which I couldn’t be more excited about. If readers are craving an incredibly clever novel they truly cannot put down, and stay up reading late into the night, with an escalating sense of unease, this is THE novel for them!