We Used to Live Here: A Novel

By Marcus Kliewer

From an author “destined to become a titan of the macabre and unsettling” (Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author), a haunting debut—soon to be a Netflix original movie—about two homeowners whose lives are turned upside down when the house’s previous residents unexpectedly visit. As a young, queer couple who flip 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? This unputdownable and spine-tingling novel “is like quicksand: the further you delve into its pages, the more immobilized you become by a spiral of terror. We Used to Live Here will haunt you even after you have finished it” (Agustina Bazterrica, author of Tender Is the Flesh).

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Published Jun 18, 2024

320 pages

Average rating: 6.82

1,605 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *We Used to Live Here* is an eerie, atmospheric psychological horror that keeps you on the edge of your seat with its tense, slow-burn moo...

Mellific
8/10 stars
This book was genuinely scary, and for that reason alone, I had to give it 4 stars. However, there were still so many questions at the end of it all. I enjoyed solving the morse code throughout, but I didn't understand why it was there. That was never explained. There were lots of questions at the end of the book. It felt like several chapters were taken out towards the end that needed to be there to help the reader really understand it all. Otherwise, the eerie and unique idea earned this book its rating.
thesmokymountainsreader
10/10 stars
Wow. I listened to the audio on this one and couldn't help but sink into this story. Its teeth sunk into me and grabbed on, and then would not let go until the conclusion. I will be thinking about this book for a very long time. It is so original, fresh, and terrifying. I can't say much without giving away the storyline, but it's the stuff of nightmares. There you go.
Bea Melanie
6/10 stars
ok read It was a little confusing to me. They had random news report type articles in between some chapters, some of these seemed pointless and I’m not sure why they were added. Some helped explain the story. But the story itself was ok. It was a page turner, you are anxious to read what happens next. I did not like the ending myself but others may appreciate it.
literarily_occupied
10/10 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thriller Crush
10/10 stars
Wow where do I start? 🤯📚 Besides mentioning how much I loved this strange and cryptic story, I want to say that this isn't a linear story. There is a lot going on, you get a story within a story and count on it to grow exponentially. It's not the right one if you're looking to binge a quick one. It's one to enjoy, interpret and decipher. This journey begins with vague nostalgia and a revisit into the past. We all (characters and readers) get to question the things that have always been in front of us. ****SPOILER NEXT...**** Once you've read the novel it's up to you to decide if it was a: Ghost story □ Haunted house □ An insanity defense case □ A story on different realities □ A parallel universe □ Another dimension □ A family bloodbath □ An evil spirit □ Twisted reality □ A story on a patient locked in the Greenwood Asylum □ Or Satan hitting the 'reset' button in the middle of someone else's life □ For me, it was all of the above and as it continues to linger on inside my head, it spirals into more and more, transcending into its own living thing. Enjoy, I'm sad the book came to an end.

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