Just Like Home

By: Sarah Gailey

Narrated by: Xe Sands

"...it’s compulsively listenable. That’s thanks in part to Sands’ intense narration, whether she’s playing the inscrutable Vera or her wretched mother asking for yet another glass of lemonade." -Vulture

"The audiobook narrated by Xe Sands is a genuinely nail-biting listen." - Buzzfeed

"Gailey wisely unfurls this story at a delightfully excruciating pace. Accompanied by Sands’s versatile narration, this is a captivating listen."- Library Journal

Just Like Home is a darkly gothic thriller from nationally bestselling author Sarah Gailey, perfect for fans of Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House as well as HBO's true crime masterpiece I'll Be Gone in the Dark.

“Come home.” Vera’s mother called and Vera obeyed. In spite of their long estrangement, in spite of the memories — she's come back to the home of a serial killer. Back to face the love she had for her father and the bodies he buried there, beneath the house he'd built for his family.

Coming home is hard enough for Vera, and to make things worse, she and her mother aren’t alone. A parasitic artist has moved into the guest house out back and is slowly stripping Vera’s childhood for spare parts. He insists that he isn’t the one leaving notes around the house in her father’s handwriting… but who else could it possibly be?

There are secrets yet undiscovered in the foundations of the notorious Crowder House. Vera must face them and find out for herself just how deep the rot goes.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books

©2022 Sarah Gailey (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Loved the development!

Initially I struggled to get into this book due to the heavy use of metaphors but it took such a dark twist as it went that I’m glad I stuck with it! Tense relationships mixed with just the right amount of fantasy and real human depravity. Narrator was excellent!

Satisfied listener here

If you are looking for a really scary story, this is not it. But if you are looking for a good story that is a little creepy, I recommend this. They couldn’t have chosen a better narrator.

Gothic Lit, but the scariest part…

…is the authentic and very real narrative of being born to unhealthy people. This was just a really wonderful read and a strong performance. Highly recommend for fans of the gothic genre and the turn of the screw.

Fun listen

The book was sold to me as a book that read like an A24 movie. It was a fun listen if you love disturbing stories with a horror twist.

Not my favorite

I’ve read quite a few true crime and suspenseful novels and based on the description and cover I was so excited to read this book. But the plot twist dropped the ball for me and I became so disinterested by the end. I started out with a physical copy of the book and had to finish using audible simply to get through it but the end was so unfulfilling and like others have said, there was no resolution anywhere.

Interesting But Kept Waiting for the Story

The performance was stellar. Loved the actor's overall voice and the nuance she brought to the different characters. There were times when the mother's voice grated on me a bit, but the book kept stressing how rasping and croaky it was so I can't blame the performer for doing her job.

For me, the story was less than stellar. I really wanted to love it and I was so interested when it first started but I feel like I missed all the action! You wait SO LONG to find out the backstory with the father and the info you do get happens in flashbacks. But even in those flashbacks, you don't really see what's going on. So, okay, fine. Maybe that's not what the story is about.

SPOILERS

Maybe the story is about Vera, our main character and her latent psychopathy. Or maybe about her mother's irrational hatred and resentment for her, how that's resolved one way or another. Or maybe it's about James, who has come to exploit Vera's family. Or maybe it's about the creature that may or may not exist under her bed. The answer is - not really. To any of the above.

Other than Vera's confrontation with James at the end, there is no resolution anywhere. No resolution with her father or former best friend. No confrontation with her mother. Almost no emotional satisfaction anywhere in the story. And for all the flashbacks we get, they bring very little to the table. I feel like Vera spent the entire book asleep (figuratively and literally) and I was stuck with her the whole time. I never got to see any of the good stuff.

I spent most of the book frustrated and disappointed. Which in itself is a disappointment.

Not what I was expecting.

This book is a story of a homecoming. A prodigal child returning. It’s a story of love and one of hate. It’s a story of two old friends reuniting. It’s one of horror.

There’s a moment in the book where my jaw dropped and I mouthed wtf. Overall I liked the book. Xe Sands voice is soothing and easily likable. Sarah’s writing is fluid and the story is engaging. There’s a few twists. The WTF one I was not expecting. The other was like a warm blanket pulled right out of the dryer. It led to an interesting conclusion.

Fantastic

Loved the way she used different voices. Highly recommend this audiobook. Could not stop listening!!

Not where I thought it was going...

It's like someone put a bunch of ideas on a board and threw a dart to choose what this book was going to do. I thought this was going to be a murder and ghost story, but it took a hard left. I was not expecting the weird events that happened and the strange ending. I would recommend this book; it is well written and takes you down a strange path.

Loved loved loved

This ending won't be for everyone but this is some of the most creative writing I've ever seen. Tensions build to a payoff that I found very worth it. If you are tired of the same troupes in horror this is a fresh read.