sarah gailey's latest, sinisterly pink book is easily my favorite of theirs, alongside MAGIC FOR LIARS. all of their work is born of fascinating concepts and gorgeous prose, but JUST LIKE HOME is their darkest and most visceral work yet, reading like the lovechild of shirley jackson and edgar allan poe.

vera crowder, daughter of the infamous serial killer francis crowder, is called home by her mother, daphne, to help her in what will certainly be her last days alive—but it's not just daphne's declining health that vera comes home to. she comes home to her complicated mother, to the strange artist taking up residence in the backyard shed, to the people of her childhood who regard her with a still-burning hatred, and she comes home to the crowder house itself, which is all too glad to have her once again sleeping in its walls. JUST LIKE HOME is a harrowing, emotional journey into what it's like to be the child of a serial killer, to love him, to lose him, and then to confront all that was left behind.

if you're a fan of true crime, haunted houses, and/or suspenseful thrillers, run to pre-order this one. snap four times for safety and go into the house of it. you don't want to miss this one, i promise you.

Okay! Challenge accepted! It’s so hard to write a review about ultra haunting and extremely dark, thrilling book that make you scream “what the actual heck!” at least hundred times during your read without giving much away! If I accidentally write a wrong word, I may ruin your reading experience!

I can honestly say this is more BIZARRE, BLEAK, INTENSE, CLAUSTROPHOBIC and EERIE than I expected!
Quick recap of plot:

Vera reluctantly returns back to her haunted childhood house after her terrible mother( she’s terribly ill and she’s also terrible person) who is dying, calls her to say goodbyes. She swore not to put a foot into it, when she left.

Now her mother is unrecognizable, rooting alive and there’s a disturbing tenant: parasitic artist living in their guest house: probably playing mind games with Vera by leaving notes in her room. The notes seem like written by her dead father or their tenant has a talent to imitate his handwriting!

They’re so unexplainable things keep happening at this place as the monster under her bed keeps threatening Vera!

Did I attract your attention? Wait for till you read the last third: that big twist will truly rock your world!

I have to say this book truly disturbed me! It was smart, awkward, haunting! The ominous call of the story kept me attention intact. I couldn’t put it down!

It reminds me you of my favorite Stephen King quote: “ monsters are real and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.”

Who is going to win in this story? You get to read for finding out!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/ Forge for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.