From an author “destined to become a titan of the macabre and unsettling” (Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author), a haunting debut—soon to be a Netflix original movie—about two homeowners whose lives are turned upside down when the house’s previous residents unexpectedly visit.
As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in.
As soon as the strangers enter their home, inexplicable things start happening, including the family’s youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can’t seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. Something is terribly wrong with the house and with the visiting family—or is Eve just imagining things?
This unputdownable and spine-tingling novel “is like quicksand: the further you delve into its pages, the more immobilized you become by a spiral of terror. We Used to Live Here will haunt you even after you have finished it” (Agustina Bazterrica, author of Tender Is the Flesh).
What prompted me to pick up Marcus Kliewer's We Used to Live Here was when I saw Erin A. Craig mentioning it sometime last year and I looked into it and it sounded like a spooky read that promised to be entertaining! It was most definitely a spooky and trippy read! There's no amount of focus I could devote to this book where all the twists and turns wouldn't shock me! This book was insane...which that in itself felt very fitting after finishing it!
Eve and Charlie just bought an old secluded mansion for a steal and have the hopes of fixing it up and selling it for profit, but the project is turning into something much bigger than anticipated. Then one night, while Eve is by herself, a family knocks on the door and the husband claims that he used to live here as a child and would love to be able to show his family where he grew up. Eve isn't quite the most assertive person and eventually gives in to the man's request.
But just when the family should be walking out the door, their little girl vanishes. The father claims she likes to play hide-and-seek when she has to do things she doesn't want to do and leaving for the night apparently was one of them, so the family sets off to find her in this rather sizeable house with many nooks and crannies, perfect for any child looking to hide from her parents. And this is when things slowly descend into weirdness!
Of course, Eve finds herself exploring the creepy basement which seems overly massive. There are bizarre things that are left down there from previous owners and it's just weird. This whole book was weird, which is the entire point I believe.
This book will make you challenge yourself about what you're seeing and reading, much like Eve who thinks she sees things and they suddenly vanish when someone else comes along to look. It's nuts! But honestly, I always love that kind of thing...in books! In movies, yeah, I'm totally chicken and start freaking out because I'm waiting for the jump scare after the "thing" vanishes.
Spread throughout the book, in between chapters, are documents; pieces of evidence of some kind that begin to paint an even more confusing picture. At first, it's hard to see how these excerpts fir into the story but eventually you begin to get an idea.
The ending of this book was so chilling and maybe a bit confusing! It's massively trippy and horrifying because what really just happened? This story is nuts but is the perfect kind of read if you enjoy a creepy novel. The jump scares in books tend to be more bearable for me and I enjoyed them massively in this one because seriously, what just happened?!
Unfortunately, there's sort of an open-ended kind of ending here. We don't get clear answers, but those bizarre endings can be massively entertaining and make you puzzle out so many different theories and that's pretty much where I am at now! It's said that Netflix is going to make this into a movie. It was announced like 5 or 6 years ago and is apparently still in production I think. I definitely plan on checking it out, but it is most assuredly going to be in the middle of the day in broad daylight, preferably with family at home! Lol.
If you you're looking for that creepy and bizarre read that will have you questioning your judgement along with the main character, then you are in for a chilling treat with We Used to Live Here!
Overall Rating 4/5 stars
