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A delightfully hair-raising horror novel.. perfect for fans of scary stories everywhere.

Hello and Welcome!

I’m really excited to be sharing this review with you today.
I know I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I love scary stories.
If it has me jumping at shadows and , it did it’s job and, guys, this book earned it’s paycheck.

It was so good.
Good enough that I’m kicking myself for not reading it sooner..
And good enough that I hope this review convinces you to check it out.

Please keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times.
Enjoy!

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The Return by Rachel Harrison

Publication date: March 24, 2020
Pages: 303
Genre: Supernatural fiction, Horror, Suspense
Standalone

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First line: “What do you mean she’s missing?”

Two years ago Julie disappeared.
Only her best friend, Elise, believes she’s still alive
Then Julie returns.. changed and with no memory.

Her small group of friends missed her. They mourned her. They tried to move on.
Now she’s back and while her friends are relieved.. they’re also concerned she’s not entirely herself.

It’s decided that a weekend getaway is just what they all need to reconnect and get to the bottom of what really happened to Julie.
But do they really want to know?

Four and a Half Stars!

Storyline: Simple. Tense. Disturbing.
Pace: Steady. Character driven.
Writing: Straightforward. Absorbing.
Cover: Doesn’t suit the story. 3/5

POV’s
Two: Elise and Julie
(but we only really see a little of Julie’s POV near the end)

The beginning of this book reminded me of Mirrorland by Krystal Sutherland.
A stubborn, hard-headed protagonist who dismisses any possibility that her loved one is gone forever.
But then Julie reappears and the story takes on a life of it’s own.

I was the only one who believed she was still alive. I was the only one who believed her disappearance was a sham. I was convinced Julie was somewhere reveling in solitude and not willing to give it up just yet. She’d come back for us, though.
I’d committed myself to this belief. It was the only way I could function.

What do you say about a book like this?

“Holy crap, everyone, you were totally right!”
“This book is so messed up..”
“Wtf did I just read?”

The answer? All of the above.

While the beginning starts off a little slow, almost the minute these four friends come together.. weird crap begins to happen.
Creepy, disturbing things.

The hall is empty. No one was following me. The only footsteps were my own, and the echo of them allowed by this quiet space.
It’s behind you now.
I turn back.
Nothing.
When you look away, it skitters behind you. You’ll never see it.
I quicken my pace. My hands tremble holding the stupid, heavy key.

Upon arriving at the group’s weekend destination, we’re presented with this Inn straight from a Tim Burton film. A bit of a flamboyant nightmare, curtailed only by their sense of humor towards it all.. but it was absolutely perfect for this dark, strange story.

None of the women know what to think about what’s become of Julie. Mae would rather not talk about it and just let her open up when she’s ready but Molly and Elise are more concerned about finding out why she’s acting so.. off.
She’s not herself in a way that makes them all deeply, instinctively uncomfortable.

I thought relief would fill the vacancy of anticipation. The wonderings and what-ifs that had occupied my mind for so long.
But there was no relief, not really. Only more questions.

All of them have these distinctly different personalities that, together, shouldn’t work.. but somehow did.
I really enjoyed the interactions between them.

I’m being a bitch today. Judgmental. The four of us bring it out in one another. They aren’t here yet, but they’re close enough. When we’re all together, we can be downright evil.

Sometimes I did feel like information was missing or out of order. Unorganized and messy. It was like I walked in on a conversation that I missed the first half of. But I would get so swept up in the story, the twisted mystery of it all, that the messiness just became part of the atmosphere.
They didn’t know what was going on.. Why should I?

The undertone, the setting, the freaky stuff that kept going on? All of it had me completely enthralled.
It didn’t even matter that my husband laughed quietly in the background as I turned on every light between me and wherever I was going, still reading, and entirely unable to put it down.

This dark mass, dark figure, is humanoid but not human. It moves, in this sliver of a moment, like an insect. It vanishes under my bed before I can ask myself if it’s real.
Well.
It’s not real.
I know it’s not real.
I know what I just saw is not real.

Elise handles all the WTF really well.. I mean, I know she keeps writing it off as one thing or another but still.. I’d be gone.
My freaked out little butt would be Gone.

I sat there, on the edge of seat, devouring each page in horror as my imagination gave this nightmare life.. and I loved it.

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Phew! Okay.. that’s all I’ve got for today.

Thank you so much for taking the time to check out my post!
I hope you enjoyed it and that’s it’s piqued your interest enough to give it a chance.

What did you think?
Does this sound like something you would read?

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