Book Review - We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

Title: We Used to Live Here
Author: Marcus Kliewer
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Published: 2024
 
Description: As a young, queer couple who flips houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in.  
 
As soon as the strangers enter their home, inexplicable things start happening, including the family’s youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can’t seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. Something is terribly wrong with the house and with the visiting family – or is Eve just imagining things?
 
Review: “We Used to Live Here” was all over Booktube in 2024. This debut novel by Marcus Kliewer ended up on many readers’ favorite lists. I already had it on my TBR and it was time for me to finally read it as well. And it really met my expectations.
 
We meet Eve, who lives together with her girlfriend Charlie. They just bought a new house. One day, when Eve is home alone, a family stands before her door. The father tells Eve he used to live in the house and he wonders if he could show his family around. After much hesitation, Eve lets them in. But strange things start to happen and for some reason the family doesn’t leave.
 
By reading the premise, you can already have many theories of what will happen. But you can throw them all inthe bin, because you will never guess where this story is headed. This book constantly keeps you guessing. It’s mysterious, creepy, scary, unpredictable and very original.
 
In the end, you still don’t really know what happened. It’s ambiguous. It leaves you guessing. And I do love an open ending where there is much room for your own interpretation. But there were some questions I did want answers to.
 
The story is told from the perspective of Eve. And in between you get these chapters that share certain information. At first, they seem like random pieces of information, no idea why they are shared. But eventually these pieces fall into place. And at the end of these chapters, there is a word in morse code. If you decipher these words, you get a sentence that will give you a very important hint.
 
I can’t believe this is a debut novel. Marcus Kliewer wrote a very well-crafter horror story, that is very original and clever, and it really haunted and scared me. This book gives you a lot of food for thought, because a lot has not been explained. Perfect book for a book club discussion. I really loved “We Used to Live Here” and I hope Kliewer will write more books in the future. Because he’s a talented author to look out for.
 
Rating: 4,5/ 5