The Return – Rachel Harrison

★★★★★

It was dread. It moved under my skin like a sickness.

Julie, Elise, Molly and Mae – best friends since college – did everything together. But, then they graduated, and spread across the country.

And they began drifting. That is, until Julie disappeared and a rift formed between the remaining three.

Their lives were so different and with Julie gone…nothing was the same.

You can’t erase your past when there are pieces of it scattered inside other people.

Of the three, Elise was the only one who didn’t think Julie was truly gone…and it turns out, she was right.

Two years to the day she went missing, Tristian found her sitting on the porch swing.

Julie is back – and other than a little malnutrition and memory loss – that’s a cause for celebration.

The three girls are now four again, and they decide reunite in a luxurious hotel but right away – Molly, Mae and especially Elise notice that things seem off.

Julie is still Julie…except when she’s not.

A symptom of being captive for two years? Or is there something else happening?

The hotel is beyond gorgeous but there’s just something about it that makes Elise uneasy.

No matter how hard she tries to quell it.

There is nothing in the walls.
There is nothing in the bathroom.
There is nothing under my bed.

But what if…this isn’t just something in her head? What if…it’s been real all along?

Holy. F*ck.

It was good.

I couldn’t sleep because I NEEDED to know what happened next…and then I couldn’t sleep because I KNEW what happened….

I couldn’t handle it.

In short, I don’t think I will ever sleep again. On the plus side, that WILL give me lots of time to read Rachel Harrison’s next book (which if it is even HALF as good as this one, will surely knock my socks off).

I absolutely loved how Harrison layered all those spooky elements – and how I couldn’t tell fact from fiction.

Is there really something wrong with the hotel? With Julie? Or is Elise just freaking herself out?

I also loved the characters – they were so diverse and well-fleshed out. I really feel like I could have a conversation with any of them.

And (I know I keep circling back to this) – the plot was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I cannot remember the last time I felt my heart actually race as I read a book.

Ahhh. What am I going to do with my life now that this one is over!!

Requested an ARC of this one thanks to Tucker the Reader’s review!

With thanks to Berkley Publishing and the author for sending a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

All quotes are from an uncorrected proof and are subject to change upon publication.

Interested in this one from Rachel Harrison? Buy it here:  Amazon