The Return Review

I feel super productive with all of the reviews I’ve been doing lately. My spooky season reading has been good to me so far. Let’s get into my review for The Return.

Synopsis

Julie is missing, and no one believes she will ever return–except Elise. Elise knows Julie better than anyone, and feels it in her bones that her best friend is out there and that one day Julie will 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?

My Thoughts on The Return

The Return is Rachel Harrison’s debut novel and what an awesome debut it was. However, it’s just a little different from her more recent writing style. So, note that before you dive in. It doesn’t have as much of her signature “cozy horror” feel that she is known for. This one leans toward a more traditional horror story with glimpses of her personality thrown in.

That being said, I still really enjoyed The Return. The atmosphere was unsettling from the very beginning, and it might be a minute before I want to stay in a hotel again. I also loved the execution of the missing person coming back as someone else trope. It created so much tension and unbalance and that made it hard to put down. I wanted to know what happened to Julie. And finally, when the big reveal did happen it took me by surprise. I’m still not 100% sure what we were dealing with, but it was unique, nonetheless.

The only reason I’m not giving it a full five stars is because I couldn’t completely connect with the characters. They were developed relatively well but there was just something that felt a little lacking to me. But overall, this was a great read.

My Rating: 4/5