The Return by Rachel Harrison

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Horror
Content: Strong language; typical horror elements of blood, scary scenes, and slightly gory descriptions; flash back of past drug use.
 
 

Julie is missing, and the missing don’t often return. But Elise knows Julie better than anyone, and she feels in her bones that her best friend is out there, and that one day she’ll come back. She’s right. Two years to the day that Julie went missing, she reappears with no memory of where she’s been or what happened to her.

Along with Molly and Mae, their two close friends from college, the women decide to reunite at a remote inn. But the second Elise sees Julie, she knows something is wrong—she’s emaciated, with sallow skin and odd appetites. And as the weekend unfurls, it becomes impossible to deny that the Julie who vanished two years ago is not the same Julie who came back. But then who—or what—is she? 

 

I knew from the description that this book would be creepy, but for some reason, I wasn't expecting it to be straight up horror. That being said, it really isn't what put me off this book. The unlikable characters did that. The main character, Elise was so needy and insecure. I just couldn't stand her. The rest of the characters were not great either. The whole dynamic between the friends was unlikable to me. It was almost as if they never grew out of the college phase. The only one I sort of liked was Molly, and she was supposedly the mean abrasive one. To top off my dislike of the main character, she also has done something in her past that she doesn't even seem to get was really, really wrong.

What I liked the most about this book were the creepy moments, and the mystery of what was really going on. The hotel setting was creepy, but not in the same predictable way as most horror settings. It was weird and quirky in a way that was unsettling. This part of the book delivered well. The thing that I dislike about horror, is that once the mystery behind everything is revealed, I'm usually disappointed in the explanation. It's no longer scary, and that was the case with this book as well. I felt like once the book got to the big climax, I was kind of zoning out. Even though I should have been on the edge of my seat in fear for Elise, all I could do was think of all the dumb things she was doing. And I can't say I really cared what happened to her because I didn't like her.

If your looking for creepy, this would probably work for you, but having not read a lot of horror, I can't really say how well horror aficionados will like it. Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.