We Used to Live Here
Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Published June 18, 2024
"Eve, trust me, if you were losing it, I'd be the first to point it out." That was true. And it actually comforted Eve, if only a little. Her heart rate slowed; her breath deepened. Maybe she just needed a good night's sleep. She turned to face Charlie and—
She isn't her, a voice in Eve's head whispered."
If the measure of a book is how engaging it is, then this is one of the best reads of the year. I read 250 pages straight in a single sitting. I physically could not put it down. It had a paranormal hold on me—parallel to the plight of the books central protagonist—Eve Palmer.
A bit about the author: Marcus Kliewer is a Canadian stop-motion animator living in Vancouver, and this is his debut novel. And what a debut! He seems to have struck success with his first published work that most authors work the majority of their career for. Originally appearing as a serialized short story on the NoSleep subreddit, We Used To Live Here won the Scariest Story of 2021 before being picked up by Simon & Schuster for publication. Kliewer had yet to even turn the story into a full-length novel. Soon after, Netflix bought the rights for a film adaption.
Safe to say, Kliewer struck gold with this one.
There is no shortage of heebie-jeebies here. The reading experience is akin to watching a good horror movie. You’d think it wouldn’t be possible to be jump scared by a book—We Used To Live Here will put that to the test. When you read this book, you participate in an active struggle of willing the characters towards safety, only for the next horrible twist to take its place. My hands were sweating. It’s an uncomfortable feeling. I think I left some fingermarks on certain pages. The “Relic” chapter in particular was terrifying. I won’t spoil any details in this review—but trust me. I won’t be lending my copy out anytime soon.
Oftentimes, when you read Horror/Thriller novels, you’ll run into rather “campy” language. It comes with the genre. This book, on the other hand, surprised me. Kliewer has some great prose in here.
“Fortunately, over time, that childhood anxiety had faded away, like a brightly colored toy discarded in a sun-bleached desert. Yet, like all childhood monsters, it was only replaced by the mundane, and arguably worse, terrors of adulthood: credit card debt, car accidents, funerals. Things that sometimes made Eve think back to imaginary ghouls with rosy nostalgia.
And despite all the years gone by, her lingering aversion to basements remained—along with one specific remnant of childish fear: walking up basement stairs.”
p. 23
If you have a fear of basement stairs, or monsters following you up basement stairs in the dark, or dark creepy attics, abandoned houses in the woods, sounds in the night, creepy old neighbours, or things not appearing as what they seem—consider this a fair warning: you will be terrified.
This was such a fun read. If you’re into the horror genre at all—or even have a passing interest—this book is a must-read. It is not only a thrilling, engaging narrative that will keep you guessing, but it’s contemplative. The characters relationships are deeply wrought and meaningful. There are ample questions that are raised throughout, some answered, some not.
There are moments that will have you suspend your disbelief, and moments that are structured like your stereotypical thriller/horror movie, but overall it was a very engaging and fun read.
Once again, the Relic chapter.
Damn.
And that ending. I have many questions.
I’m going to ascribe to the popular rating scale of our times—the star review—and give this a 4/5.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Great read. Go read it!
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