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Book Recommendations
Recommended books can be ordered on Bookshop.
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
An illness kept me from attending my book club, so I decided to catch up on my to-be-read list. I heard Kliewer’s book was being adapted for a movie, so I checked it out at the local library. It took months for my turn to check out the book arrived. Actually, I had forgotten about it. I did not wait in vain. The two central characters are Eve and Charlie. They buy and rehab old homes. This business decision will jeopardize their finances and their lives. Though they usually flipped homes on the East Coast, the couple made the life-changing decision to purchase an old, abandoned home in the Pacific Northwest. Eve is a skittish woman paralyzed by anxiety. Charlie helped to quiet many of those fears, but several persisted. In fact, Eve has an inner voice named Mo, a Hillbilly Chimp. Consider a stuffed monkey playing cymbals. Creepy. Mo always believes the worse. Unfortunately, the onetime Eve should have taken the chimp’s advice, she doesn’t. On a cold, blistery evening, a mysterious family stops by the house for a visit. Thomas, the father, lived there as a child and wants to show his family around. Against her inner voice, Eve lets them in. She is also a people pleaser. “Once they’re in, they never leave.” The weather deteriorates and Eve allows the family to stay overnight. Bad move. This is a perfect example of how one poor decision leads to others. The next morning, Charlie disappears. Then reappears. Frantic, Eve insists they leave the house. Charlie agrees. But is this person the real Charlie? Despite all the warning signs, Eve returns to the house for answers. Why didn’t Eve heed the warnings from the spooky man in the decrepit cabin? Why did she consult the neighbor across the street? Stupid. Traumatized. Remember, if there’s a dog in the story that starts acting bizarrely, take the hint. Trouble is brewing. I cringed as Eve returned to the creepy house with a ‘clouded title.’ Kliewer excelled at creating suspense and tension. Even when the reader recognizes the protagonist’s bad decisions, we cannot look away. I found the ending satisfying and frustrating. While I applaud the author’s courage in not providing answers to all our questions, the ending left too many unanswered questions. This is a perfect book for a rainy day curled up beside the fireplace.
An illness kept me from attending my book club, so I decided to catch up on my to-be-read list. I heard Kliewer’s book was being adapted for a movie, so I checked it out at the local library. It took months for my turn to check out the book arrived. Actually, I had forgotten about it. I did not wait in vain. The two central characters are Eve and Charlie. They buy and rehab old homes. This business decision will jeopardize their finances and their lives. Though they usually flipped homes on the East Coast, the couple made the life-changing decision to purchase an old, abandoned home in the Pacific Northwest. Eve is a skittish woman paralyzed by anxiety. Charlie helped to quiet many of those fears, but several persisted. In fact, Eve has an inner voice named Mo, a Hillbilly Chimp. Consider a stuffed monkey playing cymbals. Creepy. Mo always believes the worse. Unfortunately, the onetime Eve should have taken the chimp’s advice, she doesn’t. On a cold, blistery evening, a mysterious family stops by the house for a visit. Thomas, the father, lived there as a child and wants to show his family around. Against her inner voice, Eve lets them in. She is also a people pleaser. “Once they’re in, they never leave.” The weather deteriorates and Eve allows the family to stay overnight. Bad move. This is a perfect example of how one poor decision leads to others. The next morning, Charlie disappears. Then reappears. Frantic, Eve insists they leave the house. Charlie agrees. But is this person the real Charlie? Despite all the warning signs, Eve returns to the house for answers. Why didn’t Eve heed the warnings from the spooky man in the decrepit cabin? Why did she consult the neighbor across the street? Stupid. Traumatized. Remember, if there’s a dog in the story that starts acting bizarrely, take the hint. Trouble is brewing. I cringed as Eve returned to the creepy house with a ‘clouded title.’ Kliewer excelled at creating suspense and tension. Even when the reader recognizes the protagonist’s bad decisions, we cannot look away. I found the ending satisfying and frustrating. While I applaud the author’s courage in not providing answers to all our questions, the ending left too many unanswered questions. This is a perfect book for a rainy day curled up beside the fireplace.
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