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A review by lauriereadslohf
The Return by Rachel Harrison
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Return reads like a friendship drama with dark undertones and it kept me hooked with its secrets and creepiness even when the chit-chat began to grate a bit on my last nerve. But I have zero patience lately so don’t take that as harshly as it probably sounds.
This story is about four college friends. One of them goes missing and returns two years later but she’s a wee bit different now and has no memory of those lost years. In order to reconnect they decide to spend some time away at a weirdly decorated Inn with a ridiculously unfriendly staff. Julie, the friend who went missing, shows up but she looks bad, not at all like the Julie they were expecting.
“She looks better today. Her skin more like skin and less like whatever it looked like yesterday. Pudding with a film on top.” 😳
This is a hard one to rate so I’ll likely end up going with a three. It kept me engaged and needing to know all of its secrets and the atmosphere was done very well but these women had a strange aversion to asking Julie the questions that mattered, the burning ones that they’re all thinking about, they were so polite and it drove me a little nutty. What kind of friends are these?! Why aren’t these women nosier?! That’s what I kept wondering but perhaps I’m simply too nosey by nature.
Anyhow, the book is chilling when it wants to be and there’s some nicely described body horror here but I thought it wasted too much time with some of the dramas featuring these ladies, some of which weren’t really the glue that held the plot together, if you get what I’m saying. I loved that these characters were imperfect and petty and had some jealousy issues going on within their circle but some of the past deeds went on for too long for my liking. I wanted more of the current day strangeness. There were also some things set up here that didn’t seem to quite gel together in the end for me. So, a three it is! That means I liked it and I think it’s worth a read if you like a slow burning creepfest.
This story is about four college friends. One of them goes missing and returns two years later but she’s a wee bit different now and has no memory of those lost years. In order to reconnect they decide to spend some time away at a weirdly decorated Inn with a ridiculously unfriendly staff. Julie, the friend who went missing, shows up but she looks bad, not at all like the Julie they were expecting.
“She looks better today. Her skin more like skin and less like whatever it looked like yesterday. Pudding with a film on top.” 😳
This is a hard one to rate so I’ll likely end up going with a three. It kept me engaged and needing to know all of its secrets and the atmosphere was done very well but these women had a strange aversion to asking Julie the questions that mattered, the burning ones that they’re all thinking about, they were so polite and it drove me a little nutty. What kind of friends are these?! Why aren’t these women nosier?! That’s what I kept wondering but perhaps I’m simply too nosey by nature.
Anyhow, the book is chilling when it wants to be and there’s some nicely described body horror here but I thought it wasted too much time with some of the dramas featuring these ladies, some of which weren’t really the glue that held the plot together, if you get what I’m saying. I loved that these characters were imperfect and petty and had some jealousy issues going on within their circle but some of the past deeds went on for too long for my liking. I wanted more of the current day strangeness. There were also some things set up here that didn’t seem to quite gel together in the end for me. So, a three it is! That means I liked it and I think it’s worth a read if you like a slow burning creepfest.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder