Many thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and John Marrs for an ARC of this book! Now available as of 10.18!
Remember that frantic, last-minute dash to complete an assignment you’d completely forgotten about? The clock is ticking, the deadline looms, and you’re just trying to cobble together something – anything – that resembles coherence, hoping to avoid a complete academic disaster. Sadly, reading this latest thriller from the usually reliable John Marrs felt strikingly similar to that experience; a rushed, undercooked effort that, despite flashes of potential, ultimately falls flat. It’s a disappointing departure from an author known for delivering gripping psychological suspense.
Mia and Finn are ecstatic to have finally secured their new home. Overcoming the stressful hurdle of being gazumped (a minor highlight in an otherwise underwhelming reading experience), they envision a bright future within its walls, especially with a baby on the way. Their joy, however, is quickly overshadowed when Mia discovers a chilling message scrawled on the attic skirting board: “I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC.” This unsettling discovery plunges Mia and Finn, along with Finn’s parents, Dave and Debbie, into a desperate search for answers. They soon uncover a series of disturbing past tragedies linked to the house, leading them to confront a terrifying question: Have Finn and Mia unknowingly welcomed something sinister into their lives, jeopardizing their precious unborn child? This premise, ripe with potential for suspense and exploring the dark side of keeping secrets in the family, unfortunately, unravels quickly.
It’s genuinely disheartening to say, but this book simply doesn’t feel like the work of the John Marrs readers have come to expect. Initially, the narrative ambles along, focusing on the tedious house-buying process and strained family dynamics between Mia and Finn’s parents. While some setup is necessary, the pacing feels sluggish, lacking the immediate hook Marrs usually delivers.
The real derailment begins when the narrative delves into Mia’s pregnancy, or rather, a perplexing and inaccurate portrayal of pregnancy. It’s understandable that authors might not possess encyclopedic knowledge of every subject, but Marrs’s typical commitment to research seems to have been abandoned here. In one particularly jarring scene, an intruder looms over a sleeping Mia, and we’re subjected to this bizarre internal monologue: “Now I am standing over her, my face, directly above hers, my mouth next to her nose. I gently exhale so that she breathes me in and I become the oxygen that fills up her lungs and feeds her baby.” This passage is not only medically questionable but veers into unintentional absurdity.
Adding to the inconsistencies, just pages before this unsettling encounter, Mia is described as fourteen weeks pregnant and not yet showing, necessitating a formal pregnancy announcement. Yet, during the intruder scene, there’s a reference to her “swollen belly.” These inconsistencies, and others I won’t belabor, accumulate and chip away at the reader’s immersion. Furthermore, Mia is alluded to as experiencing postnatal depression, yet instead of receiving support or treatment, she faces dismissal and judgment from those around her. This leads to another significant flaw: the characters themselves.
With the exception, perhaps, of the barely-present baby, every character in this book is profoundly unlikable. If you require even a shred of empathy for characters in your thrillers, steer clear. Compounding this issue is the inclusion of disturbing and graphic content involving harm to children. While some readers can stomach such themes, their inclusion here feels gratuitous and adds to the overall sense of unpleasantness. Personally, the sheer lack of engagement with the writing allowed for an emotional detachment from the gruesome details, but this detachment speaks volumes about the book’s overall quality. The narrative’s shortcomings made it a struggle to reach the final page.
Marrs attempts to inject intrigue with interspersed fake news articles, presumably intended to provide clues and deepen the mystery. However, the overarching plot is so far-fetched and unbelievable that these elements fail to generate any real suspense. Unlike the gripping, page-turning tension of What Lies Between Us, this thriller sputters and dies early on, leaving the reader impatiently waiting for the end.
After a couple of less successful forays into tech/sci-fi adjacent thrillers, a return to the psychological thriller subgenre seemed like a promising course correction. However, after two thrillers that heavily feature attics (one successful, one decidedly not), perhaps John Marrs needs to step away from the upper floors and seek fresh inspiration on solid ground. This book, sadly, suggests that some family secrets are best left buried, and some stories are better left untold.
2.5 stars
