2.15k reviews for:

The Return

Rachel Harrison

3.47 AVERAGE

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I really liked this book, and I'm puzzled by its relatively low Goodreads rating. It strattles a line between psychological thriller and horror. I deducted a star because I felt a little like Harrison couldn't decide whether she wanted The Return to be a haunted hotel or a creature feature. But I loved the way the protagonist was written, fully realized and remote yet relatable with a strong voice. I enjoyed the convincing female friendship. The body horror was genuinely creepy and delightfully gruesome. The Return was a wild ride, and I wish I could find more books like it.
dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense

A compulsive horror story with moments of beautiful writing.

2.5/5, rounded up to 3.

This was highly page-turning (I finished it in one sitting), but that was partially from suspense, partially because there were some awkward portions I was actively skimming over, and partially because this treads some well-worn ground and it's easy to see where this is going.

This book does a lot of telling about the relationship between the core group of friends that are its characters, but was also frustratingly vague about the actual mechanics of why Julie has "returned" and what she's returned as. There's a lot of whimsical set decoration going on that seems to be sort of a "lol hipster hotel" sort of a vibe, but there's ~250 pages of "what's going on with Julie" between the other three friends before 50 pages of exposition/a race to the finish that's thrilling, but feels like too little too late given the lack of setup.

Molly, Mae, Julie, and Elise are best friends, but they all went their separate ways after college. The best friends are shocked when they hear that one of their own, Julie, is missing. Her newlywed husband, Tristan, contacts them, saying Julie went out for a hike and never returned. Elise is the closest to Julie, and she says that Julie is probably just taking a beak and will show up any day. Months turn into a year, and Tristan holds a memorial service for Julie. They believe she is dead, but it doesn’t settle well with Elise. She feels in her gut that she is still alive. Exactly two years later, Julie reappears, sitting on her porch wearing the same clothes she went missing. She has no memory of the last two years. She is thinner and almost a shell of herself, but everyone is thrilled she is back home.

Mae organizes a girls’ getaway to an estate in the Catskills. Each room has a different theme, and some are downright creepy. Elise’s room is too cold, and she can’t shake the feeling that someone else is in it, watching her. There’s a dark shadow, and something sounds like it’s moving in the wall. As the women gather, the conversation is a struggle, and the friendships they so cherished seem strained. Julie has changed. She seems to be Julie in every sense, but she is not the same. She’s very thin, her eyes are hollow, and her skin looks sickly. When the group meets for lunch, Julie orders a steak. Julie doesn’t eat meat; she’s a vegetarian. Julie is definitely not herself. During the trip, Julie starts losing her teeth, which look bad. She always prided herself on her appearance. She has this awful, persistent smell that lingers on her. Mae and Molly are afraid of Julie.

The hotel’s ominous presence, combined with the lack of guests, adds to the creepy feeling. At night, Elise feels like someone is watching her; scary shadows play at the edges of the room, reaching for her. Elise can barely stand to be in her room, and with everything going on with Julie, she feels like she might be losing her mind. The group’s reunion did not go as planned. There are so many things happening within the estate that you can’t help but feel this place must be haunted. The group can no longer ignore that something is wrong with Julie.

If you’re looking for a creepy read with an eerie location and four best friends, this book is for you. At times, I felt uneasy, and the author pushed me to the edge like great horror novels do. I can say I did not find it scary per se, but it was definitely spooky and maybe a little gross. I loved the flawed relationships between the four women. I love how the book’s sole focus mainly was just the women, with little to no focus on men. The author was very authentic in depicting the changes the friendships had gone through, and each woman had relatable flaws.
dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Pretty good but predictable
dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Eh, it won’t be memorable, but it was fun. I liked the friendship dynamics, but there was an insane amount of fluff in this book.
dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I actually really enjoyed this book. It kept me super engaged and I was instantly intrigued by the characters and the concept. Totally thought the author could have gone deeper into it, but overall, it was super creepy and fun .