This is probably the stupidest thing I've ever read. I was hoping for something a little different not this house being a monster and it was just an odd horror for me.

While extremely well-written, this engaging horror novel will not be for everyone. However, I am happy to report that it was decidedly right up my alley. The ending was a bit ambiguous and required a suspension of belief, but it is horror, after all. I enjoyed the dark family drama at the center of the plot and found every character to be well fleshed out. I was left with some unanswered questions at the end but that’s not something I mind. I finished this days ago and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since.

In Just Like Home, Vera Crowder returns to her childhood home to help her ailing and estranged mother. Vera has not been home since she was a child, at which time her father was murdering people in the basement. I became a Sarah Gailey convert after reading The Echo Wife last year, which I adored. I am also a huge fan of haunted houses, so I was very excited for this book. The story went somewhere I did not expect and was all the more compelling because of that. I was maybe less fascinated with what would happen as it unfolded than I was while reading The Echo Wife, but I also found myself extremely compelled to keep reading.

The novel feels quite bleak, so while it was spooky, it was not spooky in a way that that was “fun.” There is a lot of rage and anger and pain that are central here, but also sadness. Just Like Home plays on the ideas of what it means to be a haunted house and what it means to be a monster. It also, as you may have guessed from the title, asks the reader to think about how “home” is constructed, and invites a variety of possibilities as to what that means.

Sarah Gailey builds a great case for sympathizing with Vera, all while making you completely sure you're missing something. Sarah is the absolute best at the creepy buildup.

What starts out as an exploration of the worst childhood and a terrible visit home to be with her dying mother turns into the creepiest, terrifying haunted house story I've read in a long time.

A little bit Mexican Gothic, a little bit Misery, a little bit Coraline, all amazing.

Thanks so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving me access to this book. Creepy book! Well written, great premise and interesting characters. This book is gothic horror - if you like this genre - this book will probably be a good good for you. I will be recommending this book. Thanks again for letting have a chance to read it.

I'm already a huge fan of Sarah Gailey's writing and to see them go full horror after Echo Wife fills me with glee (terror-filled glee, but glee all the same). Their writing is dark and sparse in that way that builds suspense on every page, that kind of creeping dread horror-lovers eat up. I would recommend this to fans of serial killer stories, Shirley Jackson, and anyone who loves seeing the haunted house trope spun on its head.

I had such high hopes for this book. A horror, thriller book about the family of a serial killer?!? Count me in. Unfortunately, this was just not for me. I didn't connect with the main character and the ending was not what I expected, and not in a good way. Very weird.

First, I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book. I am leaving this honest review of my own will.

This book was so slooooooooow. I know it was supposed to be from the gothic genre, but this was just too much.

Just Like Home takes the best parts of some of the most popular genres - gothic fiction, general horror, crime, and thrillers, and turns it into something wholly unique and, easily, one of the best 'haunted house' stories I've read. Although, Just Like Home is so much more than a haunted house. It's about a haunted life (or, really, lives).

Just as you think you've learned the rules of the home, it changes and twists into a new and even more strange (and grueling) tale. If you want to be kept on your toes, you have to pick up this book.

I tried, I really did, but I just could not get into this book, the story and character development were so slow that I lost interest and had to put it down. I think this may be a case of it's me and not this book, others have given it rave reviews and mention that it takes a while to get going, I just lost patience with the pace and with too many other books to read, this one had to be a pass. Which is unfortunate because I have read two previous books by this author and enjoyed them. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Tor Books for the ARC.

This is a slow burn horror with wonderful descriptions that fully immerse you in the story. Lots of tension and a fair amount of creepiness. Four star read!!

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey

Many horrors, nightmares, torture and murder are included in this thriller. Who is behind these incidents: evil, ghosts?

Well-written with fantastic characters. Many twists & turns. I recommend this book. But, remember, it is very scary!

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for review.

Every house has a personality--but the Crowder house literally does. After a strained relationship with her mother, Daphne, Vera is called home as Daphne is dying. Just Like Home tells the story of how Vera grows from an eleven-year-old girl who is afraid of the noises she hears at night in the basement, to a confident twelve-year-old who steals her father's key, unlocks the basement door, and discovers and accepts the awful reality of her father's hidden life. For readers who enjoy novels where bad men are punished. Sarah Gailey writes a good, scary book that will have readers checking under their dust ruffles in the middle of the night.

I am not a big horror/thriller reader, but this had me captivated from the beginning. I came in cold, and I think that was a great way to read this book, not knowing what had happened in the past (I accidentally found out when I came on Goodreads to add the book and read the description) and trying to piece it together. I don't want to spoil anything, but I was very creeped out by a number of elements of this story (in the best way!) and the ending was not at all what I thought it would be (again, in a good way).

This was one of those books that creep you out so much you wonder why you keep reading, but you keep reading because you can't put it down because you want to know what it's all about. Vera has long been estranged from her mother. After her serial killer father was arrested and put in jail, her mother threw her out of the house when she was 17 years old. When Vera gets the call from her mother after so many years to "come home," Vera can't help but come rushing home. What awaits her is a trip down memory lane that is not all that enjoyable. Past memories won't let her be as well as other things that go bump in the night. This book brought every childhood fear rushing back within the first few chapters and never let up its grip until the end. But the strangest thing was I could not stop reading for some morbid reason. Must mean it was that good of a book. 4.5 stars just because I hate being scared. Thank you, NetGalley, for the eARC.

Just to start i think the author is very talented. The writing is wonderful and very descriptive to really paint a picture. She excited a slow burn in such a great way. Building tension and story. This book was disturbing at times and i liked that part. But it was a bit too slow for me.

It was so chilling the past POV. There were so many questions until the end. And i have such a hard time deciding how i feel about this one. Sci fi generally isn’t my preferred and i wasn’t expecting that aspect in this story

"Home is where the heart bleeds" - Sarah Gailey

Just Like Home, is where nightmares originate from...

Sarah Gailey, has been on my radar since I concluded reading The Echo Wife (if you have not read this one yet, you must!) . Now, after reading Just Like Home, I know without a doubt in my mind that Sarah Gailey has just become an auto-buy author.

Just Like Home, is a creepy and gruesome tale jam packed with horror. Once I started, there was no way I was going to be putting this one down. Little did I know, there was no way I would be sleeping either.

The way Sarah Gailey narrates a story is like no other, just picture a horrifying tale of child abuse wrapped up in suspense. I wont tell you that there isn't a happy ending but you are going to have to pick this book up for yourself to find out.

I am going to leave this right here for you....

"This house, the house her father built, the house where her mother would die - this place was safe. This place knew her. This place was where she belonged. "

I really liked this one. The twist was good and the reading was smooth. I really enjoyed the writing and I will be looking at other books from this author.

Vera is coming home. After twelve years of being estranged from her mother, Daphne, is dying and has asked her to sort out Crowder House before her demise. But Crowder House isn’t any old house, it used to be the home of a serial killer and the father Vera loved. It’s filled with secrets, but it could also hold the answers Vera has been looking for ever since she left as a child.

Full review: https://westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2022/08/30/just-like-home-sarah-gailey/

This review is long overdue but I will say I genuinely enjoyed this one!
Just the right amount of creepiness with the disgust of gore and rot described in vivid detail.
This novel follows the story of Vera who, after years of hiding from the trauma of her family home, is forced to return by guilt for her estranged and dying mother to settle ownership and be rid of the home once and for all.
There is a darkness in the house that is evident from the start and the backstory of what happened in the basement of the house is quite horrific. I recall thinking this story had a slow burn but eventually when it picked up and the plot unraveled it started to make sense and I found overall it was a great (creepy) time!
Parts of the story were annoying (ie: the guest who lives in the guest house behind the residence - one of the many serial killer fanatics choosing to live inside the home to get /closer/ to mindset of a killer... insane!) and there were more than 15 instances within the entire book where the house was described as 'the house my father built'... that's 14 instances too many and it got annoying very fast.
Overall a pretty good read! A lot of the horror/ paranormal books I've read don't creep me out easily but the description of the rot and gore in this made me uncomfortable so that was a plus hahaha

Thank you Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for providing me with this advanced reader's e-copy in exchange for an honest review.