I borrowed this audiobook from the library.
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Published: March 24, 2020
Summary:
A group of friends reunite after one of them has returned from a mysterious two-year disappearance in this edgy and haunting debut.
Julie is missing, and no one believes she will ever return – except Elise. Elise knows Julie better than anyone, and feels it in her bones that her best friend is out there and that one day Julie will 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.
Along with Molly and Mae, their two close friends from college, the women decide to reunite at a remote inn. But the second Elise sees Julie, she knows something is wrong – she’s emaciated, with sallow skin and odd appetites. And as the weekend unfurls, it becomes impossible to deny that the Julie who vanished two years ago is not the same Julie who came back. But then who – or what – is she?
My thoughts:
Rachel Harrison is a new-to-me author, though one I’ve been intrigued by for a while. I picked this book up, her debut novel, because it was one of the #ThrillerbythebookclubLongIsland summer picks and I’m so glad I gave it a chance. While it was definitely a bit out of my comfort zone and not something I probably would have picked up on my own, I ended up liking it enough to want to read more by her!
I will say, this book is definitely not for everyone. It’s over-the-top, campy, a bit creepy at times, and there are scenes that will make you look at meat in a whole new way. That being said, I found that once I started it, I couldn’t put it down. There was something about the writing and the story itself that kept me wanting to know how it was going to play out. But it wasn’t in that train wreck, can’t look away feeling – I was genuinely invested in what was happening. I was fascinated by the groups’ dynamics and the remote inn and all that was happening there.
I’m usually not one for paranormal elements in my reads but the way it was woven into this story, it really worked. Was this a realistic story in any way? No. But was it a fun, entertaining read? Absolutely! And I would totally recommend it! And I cannot wait to give this author another try!
Audio thoughts:
This was a fun one to listen to and I thought the narrator, Sarah Scott, who is also new-to-me, did a pretty good job bringing the story to life.
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