I Should Read That

Book review

Going home is always hard.

For Vera, going home means returning to the notorious Crowder House where her serial killer father murdered his victims and buried their bodies beneath.

Then notes start to appear in Vera’s father’s handwriting – but they can’t be from him. He has been dead for years.

Vera thought that the house had given up all its secrets but now she must uncover how deep the rot goes.

I’ve had a few of Sarah Gailey’s books on my shelves for years. During the Trans Rights Readathon this past March, I decided to finally pick them up, and I’m so glad I did. The first was Just Like Home, a slow burning thriller that digs into the psyche of its main character.

The premise is simple – a woman returns to her childhood home to care for her dying mother. However, the secrets that lie in her past, and in the foundations of the house itself, come back to the surface. I loved the way that Gailey spins a fairly simple narrative, one that we can likely relate to, into a suspenseful story that makes you hold your breath. I was so invested in what was happening to Vera – possibly due to the fantastic audiobook narration – and I loved seeing her come apart and open up. I’m a sucker for a story that seems normal on the surface, but has hidden horrors below – Just Like Home fits the bill perfectly.

It’s hard to review a thriller without giving too much away. I’ll leave off with this: if you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller, this isn’t it. Instead, it’s an in-depth character study of a woman confronting her past and the horrors it holds. The quiet, slow burning tension makes Just Like Home a fantastic read for horror and thriller lovers alike.