Welcome to Litsy!

It‘s easiest to love a monster when that love springs from familiarity. So many of us spend our lives learning and re-learning how love is supposed to look and feel, and our teachers are often, themselves, monsters. — Author

Gailey is hit or miss for me- I loved Outlaw Librarian and was lukewarm on Echo Wife.

This was a hit! Just enough of foreshadowing to keep me listening until the truth of it all was revealed. And by then I was just as home as Vera.

Loved the premise, but I found the execution a little dry and the ending didn‘t work for me. Still plenty to love here, but I was underwhelmed.

Well, how could Sarah Gailey not be a pick? Even though I didn't quite like the narrator of the audio book, the story itself was as captivating as expected. I love the way Gailey writes her characters. Even more when those characters are suffering, she just knows how to do this. This book is an unusual take on the family topic. First I thought it would go the usual way - but not with Sarah Gailey. Nope, nope.

For some reason a trope I have noticed in my readings recently is the MC being the child of a serial killer & how the notoriety shapes their lives. & usually I‘m like, why would that turn you against them, they were just kids etc.

but Vera gave me the creeps.

Everything is creepy. Multiple plots that would be a horror story on their own. It all works though.

If anyone tells you they saw the end coming, they‘re lying. Lol. Vera gets a call from her dying mother asking her to come home. Home to the house where her father killed all those people in the basement. The house that has a shed where an “artist” is trying to commune with the feel of the house for art‘s sake. The home that might be haunted. This was good. Gailey really does some creepy stuff coupled with intense familial relationships. Pick!

My favorite book for January is of course a mark up book! @magyklyXdelish @Bookish_AF @babyruth2510

Vera goes home because her mom, Daphne, is dying. She is asked to clean out the home but Vera‘s dad was a famous serial killer and there may be secrets left behind. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Upon a Book Club #OUABC Limited Edition - Trick & Treat 2022 Box

#StoryGraph: fiction horror thriller dark mysterious tense medium-paced horror psychological-thriller supernatural
344 pages • first pub 2022

Sarah Gailey is one of my favorite horror/thriller authors. It‘s really hard to put her in just one category, but I can say that I have rated all of her books very highly. This one was exceptional....ly creepy!

This book was incredible. The slow reveal of Vera‘s past and the actions of her father and mother was a great structure choice and opposition to Vera‘s current day chapters. The narrator was great, even listening on 1.4x or 1.2x speed. Her voice for Daphne and James were perfect. This is exactly the haunted house, childhood trauma, horror, contemporary book I needed. Listening to the beginning again right after finishing just to hear more.

This was a wild ride! It had some turns I genuinely didn‘t see coming, and was super tense in several places. Vera is a woman who‘s father was a serial killer. When Vera‘s dying mother calls her to go home, she has to go and confront her past. Definitely not was I expected, but two enthusiastic thumbs up!

Halfway done and this is a beautifully written book. Both thriller and horror vibes are here, but it hasn‘t leaned into one genre over the other too far yet. Nice mix. 🩸🩸

1-13-23: My 5th finished book of 2023! Wow, this book was deeply disturbing. Vera Crowder has been called back to her childhood home, the house her father built, by her dying mother. She is tasked with getting the house in order before her mother dies. In flashback, we learn that a young Vera saw things she shouldn‘t have, things her father did to others. We also learn that Vera‘s mother, Daphne, never loved her. Very creepy and uncomfortable.

This was a slow burn…it was good but not great, and the ending was not what I wanted. I don‘t read horror often and this book reminds me why.
⭐️: 3/5

For those who are fans of The Haunting of Hill House, then this book is for you!

This gripping story of Vera and her mother is so haunting and promises to give you the chills and the thrills. Digging up old wounds, full of family drama, while you follow the trail back and forth from past to present, it's full of twists and turns all throughout.

#thriller #gothic #horror #hauntedhouse

A book about monsters and how they can come in all shapes and sizes. I had a lot of fun with this one for #LMPBC - some things I kinda saw coming but I can say for sure I was not expecting that end.

I finished this so fast. Literally couldn‘t put it down. The prose is beautiful and the content is disturbing! Just how I like it!

Just recently read this with my boyfriend and sadly it wasn‘t that great. I really want some kind of haunted house story that‘s creepy and I keep getting disappointed. Any suggestions?

Think my expectations were just way too high with this after reading all the reviews.
I so expected the ending and I wasn‘t creeped out at all 😞 so slightly disappointed, but probably my fault!

I didn't really like this one. I didn't like the writing style and it was sooo slow paced. Also I had a very hard time imagining a lot of what the book was trying to say. I was also left with sooo many unanswered questions. 1/5

Reading buddy this morning is Fat Butt 🐾🐈‍⬛😻

Currently reading. I feel like I haven‘t been enjoying what I‘m reading lately but this one is finally breaking the bad streak. So good.

Going in!!

Truly TERRIFYING!!! You've been warned. ☠️

4/5

This is such an atmospheric, creepy haunted house book. There were some things I saw coming, but many surprises to. I did the audiobook, and wouldn't necessarily recommend that for anyone who finds slasher type horror particularly creepy, but other than two chapters that I listened to in 30 second increments, I enjoyed the book.

#scarathlon2022 #teammonstermash @staycurious

Ooh! What a deliciously creepy book this is! It resists definition at every turn. Just when I thought I'd figured out what it was about, something---usually bizarre---would happen, and I'd have to regroup. It's filled with the thing I find scariest and love most about scary books: that moment I sit on the edge of my bed and put my foot on the floor and feel the cold anticipation that something is about to grasp my ankle from under the bed.

Saturday afternoon beer and baths!! Very intriguing book so far!

Creepy creepy book for #scarathlon2022 #teamslaughter #teamtheme @Clwojick #stabbybingo #redoncover #autumnatoz G, for the author‘s last name. @Texreader

This was part of my #scarthlon #TeamMonsterMash read. I loved the dual timelines but I‘m somewhat conflicted about the ending. This is a perfect October/spooky read @StayCurious

Starting the second #ouabc Halloween box today! Should be perfect for #scarathlon2022 @Clwojick

A woman returns to pack up her childhood home while her estranged (and awful) dying mother is wasting away in the living room. Yeah, that's not creepy.
With flashbacks to her childhood, we learn why her Mom & Dad didn't win Parents of the Year.
And if the cover of the book wasn't any indication, there is something creepy AF going on in the house.
Loved the parallel timelines, but unsure how I feel about the twist at the end.
A good Halloween read

I could not have asked for a better book to kick off spooky season with! 🏠👻

#vacationreads #horror #hauntedhouse #fall #librarybook

I often don‘t find horror scary, but parts of this had me wondering if I‘d be able to sleep. And then the ending took me completely by surprise. I‘m sure Gailey moves from genre to genre to keep things fresh and man, they‘re the real deal, seemingly able to write just about anything. I‘m a fan!

October pick for #TheBookTroop

Vera returns home to care for her dying mother. When Vera was a child, her father was imprisoned for killing a number of men. Her mother preserved the home as an attraction to true-crime fans. This is a slow haunted house story. Gailey is masterful at describing cold middle-of-the-night terror and complex relationship terror. She also explores the complex relationships between Vera and her parents. Slow, spooky, and gruesome, but well done.

Spooky Halloween book mail!!

I‘m the very first person to take this out of my library. It‘s so beautiful and brand new. I knew there were perks to being the librarian 📚

I really enjoyed the concept of the story, but it seemed to start very slowly. I like that Gailey used a nonlinear timeline, giving the reader little glimpses of Crowder House and Francis, as well as Vera‘s childhood. I wasn‘t a fan of the audiobook. The narrator is so monotone during her delivery. There was little inflection or change in pace, even during the more intense moments. I do not think that the audiobook did the novel justice.

Whoa! I wasn‘t sure if I‘d finish this one, because it‘s quite creepy 😬😱. But I made it through.

I really like Sarah Gailey. They‘ve got a wide range of genres they‘ve tried, and I definitely think they nailed horror!

So many elements here, but the creepiest for me was the possible haunting unknown noises in the night vibe. Gave me goosebumps!

If you‘re looking for seasonal fall/ spooky reading, this is a good one to check out.

This was soooo creepy and bizarre in the best possible way! The family dynamics in this are beyond twisted and until the truly strange ending I couldn‘t quite figure out whether the house was haunted, or our main character was crazy, or something in between. I don‘t know how I could have ever guessed the ending and I love that! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is a horror book that is so creepy, I wish I had saved it for October. A woman returns to her childhood home that has very dark secrets. Though it meanders occasionally, I really enjoyed this book. All the scary vibes here! 4⭐️
#20in4 #4!

Creepy, fantastic Gothic horror with haunting, gloomy, disturbing atmosphere. Eerie, nail-biting setting. The character relations are super messed up & give off an immediate disjointed vibe. Though I really enjoyed the setup, this is definitely a slow burn. But hang on to your hats, because the last chunk is a crazy whirlwind. Worth the time to work through the initial slow pace. Not perfection, but a dang good time.

Another bail. The particular horror in this book is not my thing. Listened to half then skipped and listened to the last chapter. Glad I bailed. Not a bad book, but not for me.

This one seemed fitting since im back home from vacation!

Lots of creepiness and atmosphere in this haunted house novel. It starts out slow and then picks up the pace and tension. 4.5 stars

Idk how to talk about this one without spoilers so I'll just say... wtf did I just read ?! 😅 If u like weird and creepy and dark, buckle up, this one is for u!

Today's #audiowalk and it already looks like autumn 🍂 😍
Listening to the tagged book. Very dark.

My first read for #TrappedOnAnIsland was a major success! A creepy gothic haunted house story that gripped me from the very first page. 4.5 ⭐️

Chosen by @Laughterhp