This was a book I kept seeing while browsing NetGalley. I would open it, read the description, put it away and then somehow find myself opening it again. Apparently there was a reason for that because once I actually started reading, I could not put it down.

And I mean that fairly literally. I lost most of a Sunday to this book. And I regret NOTHING!

This book is weird, unsettling, increasingly horrifying and extremely good at giving you just enough information to form a theory without giving you enough to know whether that theory is remotely sane. I spent a substantial portion of it mentally connecting clues, discarding theories, resurrecting other theories and occasionally coming up with something that sounded completely ridiculous only to discover that I was right.

At some point I realized the book was essentially holding my day hostage, in the best possible way. I could have forced myself to put it down, but there was absolutely no chance I was going to accomplish anything else until I knew what happened. Even when I wasn’t actively reading, I was still in that house trying to fit the pieces together. Eventually I accepted that this was apparently just what I was doing with my Sunday.

I really liked that the supernatural elements weren’t the only source of horror. Some of the most disturbing moments came from the characters themselves and what people are willing to do when they believe there won’t be consequences. There were plenty of moments when I was horrified by what was happening but couldn’t look away.

The THEN and NOW structure worked really well for me because information in one timeline constantly changed how I interpreted something in the other. Details that seemed insignificant or simply strange when they first appeared could suddenly become important later. By the final stretch, I was reading almost compulsively because I needed to know which of my theories were right, which were complete nonsense and what was actually happening.

Even without the final two pages that were still marked “to come” in my advance copy, I found the ending satisfying, strange and wonderfully unnerving. I got answers without everything being explained so completely that the mystery lost what made it interesting in the first place.

I very much recommend this to anyone who would like to spend time creating an increasingly unhinged conspiracy board (mentally or physically) and has at least a full day to do so.

A beautifully written and deeply engaging read. The story has an intriguing emotional depth that stayed with me, while the writing makes the experience feel vivid and immersive. Thought-provoking, atmospheric, and well worth reading.