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A review by joyceheinen
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“We Used to Live Here” was all over Booktube in 2024. This debut novel by Marcus Kliewer ended up on many readers’ favorite lists. I already had it on my TBR and it was time for me to finally read it as well. And it really met my expectations.
We meet Eve, who lives together with her girlfriend Charlie. They just bought a new house. One day, when Eve is home alone, a family stands before her door. The father tells Eve he used to live in the house and he wonders if he could show his family around. After much hesitation, Eve lets them in. But strange things start to happen and for some reason the family doesn’t leave.
By reading the premise, you can already have many theories of what will happen. But you can throw them all inthe bin, because you will never guess where this story is headed. This book constantly keeps you guessing. It’s mysterious, creepy, scary, unpredictable and very original.
In the end, you still don’t really know what happened. It’s ambiguous. It leaves you guessing. And I do love an open ending where there is much room for your own interpretation. But there were some questions I did want answers to.
The story is told from the perspective of Eve. And in between you get these chapters that share certain information. At first, they seem like random pieces of information, no idea why they are shared. But eventually these pieces fall into place. And at the end of these chapters, there is a word in morse code. If you decipher these words, you get a sentence that will give you a very important hint.
I can’t believe this is a debut novel. Marcus Kliewer wrote a very well-crafter horror story, that is very original and clever, and it really haunted and scared me. This book gives you a lot of food for thought, because a lot has not been explained. Perfect book for a book club discussion. I really loved “We Used to Live Here” and I hope Kliewer will write more books in the future. Because he’s a talented author to look out for.
We meet Eve, who lives together with her girlfriend Charlie. They just bought a new house. One day, when Eve is home alone, a family stands before her door. The father tells Eve he used to live in the house and he wonders if he could show his family around. After much hesitation, Eve lets them in. But strange things start to happen and for some reason the family doesn’t leave.
By reading the premise, you can already have many theories of what will happen. But you can throw them all inthe bin, because you will never guess where this story is headed. This book constantly keeps you guessing. It’s mysterious, creepy, scary, unpredictable and very original.
In the end, you still don’t really know what happened. It’s ambiguous. It leaves you guessing. And I do love an open ending where there is much room for your own interpretation. But there were some questions I did want answers to.
The story is told from the perspective of Eve. And in between you get these chapters that share certain information. At first, they seem like random pieces of information, no idea why they are shared. But eventually these pieces fall into place. And at the end of these chapters, there is a word in morse code. If you decipher these words, you get a sentence that will give you a very important hint.
I can’t believe this is a debut novel. Marcus Kliewer wrote a very well-crafter horror story, that is very original and clever, and it really haunted and scared me. This book gives you a lot of food for thought, because a lot has not been explained. Perfect book for a book club discussion. I really loved “We Used to Live Here” and I hope Kliewer will write more books in the future. Because he’s a talented author to look out for.