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.…
"This time, it’s a vast old house that a couple is doing up. They get a knock on the door from a family, a group of strangers, who say, “We used to live here. We grew up here. Can we come in and have a look around?”. It’s a really great premise, starting with that reasonableness – “I used to live here, it holds warm fuzzy memories, can I just…?” – and they come in, but then they stay. One of the kids in the group goes and hides in the basement. It’s so weird and so well paced and so well done. I don’t actually know how to try to describe what happens in this novel. Even without the issue of spoilers, it’s a complete head melt. I had no clue where it was going, and I just had to keep reading, because it was absolutely insane in the best way. I’ve heard that a Netflix film is being made… I need to read it again, actually, because it’s so messed up. I think it’s wrapped up in intrigue. The element of fear is a heightened sensation, so close to intrigue and to curiosity. It can be very hard to distinguish. Why do we go on rides that are ten storeys high with a drop – it’s a sensation, isn’t it? It’s in some way pleasurable."
