This book is a different take on the haunted house story where it's also the person that's haunted. Namely, they are haunted by their childhood and its very rapid unraveling.

I like Sarah Gailey, despite being a bit of a scared-y cat. I really enjoyed their book When We Were Magic. I requested this book because I'm a big fan of the Reading Glasses podcast and it was promoted. I found this book to be waaaaaay too dark for me. I feel like the reveal of the father being a serial killer came way too early in the book. Listening to this book made me feel ill because I was so anxious and unhappy. I would recommend this to fans of real horror, like give-you-nightmares horror. However, I am frightened even reviewing it. Also, XE Sands is a GODDESS of an audiobook narrator. Well done with that.

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.

Xe Sands is an excellent reader who aids the creepy tone of the book. I love the way that Sands can make a scene seem spookier by how relaxed it is vocally. Sands also voices a variety of characters in a way that really aids the book, and I’m glad I listened to it since it felt like the extra layer of mediation brought something special to the book I would have missed without it.

A bizarre, dark, queer horror story that I wouldn't hesitate to give to any reader looking for a great fall/Halloween (or just any season) read.

I dragged my feet on this audiobook because it was tagged LGBT, and I wasn't quite sure of how that was going to play out. Finally getting around to it, I found it was HORROR first, then mystery and thriller with a side dish of LGBT. So I would say to ignore that tag because it plays out as a very common or normal part of the story. I dislike the tags i've seen because it doesn't have anything to do with the main storyline.
That disclosure said, I really enjoyed this audiobook! It had me feeling the old 80's haunted house scare with a touch of comedy and gross exorcist all mixed into one.
Our MC, Vera returns home when she learns her mom is dying. Slowly we learn about the history of the house and her family relationships. Which in my opinion is your typical dysfunctional family these days. I like the narrator and felt she did a great job moving the story along and adding to the suspense of the book. It is not a book to listen to while home alone with both ear buds in! Every movement had me jumpiing!
Needless to say , if your a fan of Horror , check this book or audiobook out. It was a winner for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an audiobook version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley & MacMillan for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I saw this book described as "claustrophobic," and that just about says it. The descriptions of the physical aspects of the Crowder House are extremely sensory and tactile. This is the making of the story, really, since it's one of those "the place is really like a character" kind of books.

Vera Crowder comes back home to her childhood house after getting a call from her dying mother. She has barely spoken to her mother in 17 years, since her father was hauled off to jail for serial murder, but her life is at a loose end, so she comes.

Put aside annoying details like the fact that Vera has never changed her name and so people are always finding out about her past, and her mother stayed in their town after her husband was prosecuted and jailed for being a serial killer.

Vera finds herself rediscovering the Crowder House (that her father built with his two strong hands, we are frequently reminded), and finding that it still fits her physicality. She knows all of its corners with her muscle memory. The only thing throwing things off is the "visiting artist," one in a series of similar people her mother has allowed to live in the shed out back, picking the bones of the Crowder House for their art. Vera finds herself reacting viscerally to him, and we are (or, I was) maybe led to believe that her reaction is a type of physical hunger. And it is, just ...not that way.

So she is cleaning out the house at her mother's behest, and finding all sorts of shit. Stuff that brings up memories of her father; his work gloves that somehow didn't make it into evidence. A very old thermos of his, brought along fishing, that still smells of the coffee it once contained. We go back in time to Vera and her dad, and he's ... nice. Really rather sweet with Vera, defending her from her mother, with whom she's always had a somewhat strained relationship. We continue in this vein, switching from present day to Vera's past with her father, suffering through Vera's current-day snubs in her hometown, her past days of confusion around her best friend, Brandon's weird behaviors towards her. Her feelings about the bed in her old room.

All this leads up to one humdinger of an ending. Love it or hate it (I fell somewhere in between, still processing), it is definitely a choice. Things move very quickly at the denouement. I was thinking ... the house is somehow inhabited by the spirit of her dead incarcerated father? But I was WAY wrong. We speed very quickly into Stephen King territory (I was reminded of the SK short story about the alien cat sucking dry the corpse of its owner, showing that it's not actually a cat at all). Perhaps most distressing is Vera's eventual reaction to this turn of events in the story, not becoming the person she eventually realizes herself to be (with a hat tip to her father Francis), because that was always going to be the result of her childhood, giving in to that hunger she has for the crappy artist living in the shed - but her reaction to and acceptance of the true family she has in the Crowder House. Trying not to spoil it!

And allow me to add that Xe Sands' narration is interesting. Some consider it droning, but it was a perfect accompaniment to this story, IMO. It's subtle, and it's invasive, and it adds to the feelings of dread that swirls throughout the book.

I had high hopes for this one based on the creep factor of the cover alone. Sadly, while it kept my interest, it was just too weird for me. Maybe if I read it instead of audiobook, I would have felt differently. I was not a fan of the narrator. I did enjoy the back and forth chapters giving us insight into Vera's past, but it seemed to drag on a bit more than necessary. This was my first book by Sarah Gailey, but I'm willing to give her another try. Thank you--NetGalley, MacMillan Audio, and Sarah Gailey for the chance to read this one in exchange for an honest review.

I think I was just hoping this book was going to be something it wasn't. The first half started to have that creepy vibe, but just enough to make you want more. The psychological plot of diving into the life of a serial killer sounds so intriguing. I was hoping for something like The Haunting of Hill House / Bly Manor - but sadly, not. I did like the narrator though. Overall, I think this might be a title that someone else will love, as long as you do not go into it with preconceived expectations. And the cover is very cool.

I binge listened to this book in one day while I deep cleaned my house. It was very interesting, and I really enjoyed the strangeness of how everything played out.

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.

The narrator was great at the creepiness in the mother.

Just Like Home is the going home novel of everyone’s nightmares. Not only is your father a convicted serial killer, your estranged mom is dying, she’s been using your home as a creepy artist retreat for artists obsessed with your father, and you’re there to settle the estate and say goodbye. Now add a very creepy house and you’re set!

This novel is intense and dark, and great. Sarah Gailey writes across genres and Just Like Home is no exception. It’s a coming home novel, a novel on grief and relationships with parents, it’s about self discovery. All wrapped up in a very unsettling package. Read it with the lights on.

Wow. This is one of the best horror novels I've read in a long time. Many times as I was listening to this I sent the vomit emoji to my fellow horror loving friend because the author evoked such a visceral reaction from me.

The bad: the book took sooooooo long to become interesting. I started it and then stopped, almost didnt continue on because it just didn't hook me in. After about 50% of the way in, I couldn't stop. I would have given this a 5+ star rating had the beginning just been a little more interesting. I'm glad I stuck with it!

The narrator: I liked the narrator and she definitely added to the horror element when it came. It didn't work for me at the beginning but at the end I am glad this narrator got the job!

Thanks to Netgalley for the copy of this audiobook!

This was a wild book. I enjoyed the concept. It was sort of a haunted hours story, but more of a psychological thriller. I like the unreliable narrator and how we didn't trust anyone. The twist, in the end, was interesting; overall, I really liked this story.

I really liked Sarah's book The Echo Wife so I thought that I would like this one, even though it's more horror than I usually am into. However, I was wrong. I did not like the story but didn't dislike it enough to DNF the book. I think this might just be a one-off miss for me.

I was in the mood for a horror novel and this book definitely delivered here in spades. Inventive and creepy. The narrator in the audio version made the mother's voice sound so creepy that it took a while to get out of my head. Still, not sure I could quite go where the author wanted me to go but despite that I thought it was a good story and until the ending was all in. Truthfully, does one read a novel such as this for the realistic factor? One should hope not. If an ending such as this could actually happen we would all need some strong medication.

5⭐
This was such a trippy ride in the greatest way. I loved the way it seems like a Gothic horror novel, but takes a turn into the unknown. I really enjoyed the writing. This was my first book by Gailey, but I will be checking out more. You really developed sympathy and empathy for Vera. If you are looking for a haunting acid trip of a time
please do not sit on this one. Amazing!!!
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It felt like a slow pace book to be honest but then it started to pick up halfway to the story. The only thing that kept me from shifting my focus was the narrator’s voice. It was kinda indifferent and made it easy to lose track. Overall, the plot was good and it gave that creepy and dark vibes when reading the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC and audiobook.


Description from NetGalley:
“Come home.” Vera’s mother called and Vera obeyed. In spite of their long estrangement, in spite of the memories — she's come back to the home of a serial killer. Back to face the love she had for her father and the bodies he buried there, beneath the house he'd built for his family.

Coming home is hard enough for Vera, and to make things worse, she and her mother aren’t alone. A parasitic artist has moved into the guest house out back and is slowly stripping Vera’s childhood for spare parts. He insists that he isn’t the one leaving notes around the house in her father’s handwriting… but who else could it possibly be?

There are secrets yet undiscovered in the foundations of the notorious Crowder House. Vera must face them and find out for herself just how deep the rot goes.

One of the ways that this was described to me was like The Haunting of Hill House. Now I have not read Shirley Jackson’s book, but I have seen both of the movies that they made based on her work. And I would say that the comparison is probably a valid one. The family dynamic at play here is….tense. I was even sure what to make of Vera or her mother at first. Some of the set up doesn’t hide itself because it is waiting for the big reveal later on. It’s like a spooky thriller. Overall, I enjoyed it. The narrator of the audio was very good.

Overall: 4/5

Well, what a ride this book was! Creepy, twisty, surprising in parts, and gross feeling in parts. I had a hard time putting this book down as I was anxious to see what was waiting on the next pages.
Thank you NetGalley for the audio eARC.

This one fell a bit flat for me unfortunately I had good hopes for it too so I'm really bummed about it. I will not be buying a copy of my ownThis one fell a bit flat for me unfortunately I had good hopes for it too so I'm really bummed about it. I will not be buying a copy of my own