Reviews with content warning for Murder - There's Someone Inside Your House

Makani is a student who has travelled from Hawaii to a new school after an incident she has. She lives with Grandma Young, and has two friends to rely on. A few summers ago she had a friends-with-benefits situation with a guy called Ollie, and she finds herself still drawn to him, even after a summer with no contact. They finally rekindle their relationship, slowly, after she finds out that he still likes her also.

A girl from their school is brutally murdered. She’s found sliced up, and everybody is saddened, and shocked. A few other people also get killed, by the same person, and people start to feel very scared. They want to find a pattern, and they start to think it’s because of people who stand out, are the best in their field. People who’ve had awards, or moved here - like Makani.

A lot of people assume it’s Ollie, and Makani seems to be the only one on his side - she doesn’t like people assuming someone’s guilty due to how they look. And anyway, when her Grandma goes away, Ollie stays over, and she finds someone else in the house. He tries to stab her, and Ollie stops him. Luckily, her Grandma comes back in time, although she does get stabbed. But they find out who the murderer is, and Ollie chases him (butt-naked, I may add) but he gets away.

Her Grandma is okay, but she has to go to hospital, and they’re all so scared. A couple of truck drivers see him, unknowing of the fact that he is a serial killer, and helps him to get around town. He attacks all four of them - Makani, Ollie and her two other friends - and all of the other 3 get stabbed. One of them dies, but the rest make it through. She thinks Ollie is dead for a long time, but he actually survives, and they’re officially together.

I don’t know why it took me so long to read. Honestly, there were some moments that were genuinely thrilling, and I got chills. Perkins managed to do a fantastic job of creating really chilly scenes, and that was really good. However, I think the excitement went downhill as soon as we were told - halfway through the book, I might add - who the killer is. I was hoping there would be a plot twist - I had my money set on Chris, Ollie’s police officer brother - but I was left bitterly disappointed. I spent most of the book waiting for excitement that never came to be. Apart from the slight chills when the killer was watching them, there wasn’t much to work with. And the ending was rushed, and if there’s one thing I hate, it’s rushed endings. You mean that Alex died and we didn’t get to see how their lives were impacted? Ollie was ‘killed’ and now he’s magically alive? And Chris acts less like a police officer than I do.

The characters are a little annoying, to be honest. Most of them are very distasteful, and I just can’t seem to like them. Some of them just seem really rude for no reason. Middle school bullies is the vibe I was getting from most of them.

A lot of the plot doesn’t seem to go together either. Like the whole blaming Ollie thing, did it really affect the plot that much? And Makani’s backstory, it seems a little much, knowing she had to leave because she cut off someone’s ponytail, after being practically TW assaulted? It doesn’t really make any sense. It was an okay read, but nothing special.

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epeolatrist's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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kansas13's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense

4.25

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lizmarie612's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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v_neptune's review against another edition

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Nothing wrong with it but it just didn't grab me I guess

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vinniec's review

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.75

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yerawizardlaura's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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vixenreader's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A classic teen horror novel, familiar troupes are elevated by themes of regret, gossip, presumptions, collective loss, and self-acceptance in spite of regret. Not to mention that it focuses on the interior lives of the victims instead of the villain.

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