The Caretaker

 

Marcus Kliewer just cemented himself as one of the most unsettling voices in horror. I mean that as the highest possible compliment.

Marcus Kliewer’s 2024 debut We Used to Live Here was great. The Caretaker is something else entirely.

This book creeped me out in the best possible way, and I am here for every second of it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Macy Mullins is broke, responsible for her younger sister, and not in a position to be picky. So when a strange job posting appears for a caretaker needed, three days, competitive pay — she takes it. How bad could three days in a house on the Oregon Coast be? Bad. Very, very bad.

What starts as a weird but manageable gig turns into something she couldn’t have prepared for. There’s an evil on that property that defies explanation, and Macy may be the only thing standing between it and everyone else. No pressure.

Kliewer keeps you off-balance the entire time, and the ending? It pulls the rug out from under you and melts your brain. I sat with it for a while after.

This isn’t splatter horror. There’s some bloodshed, but what Kliewer is really doing is messing with your head. He builds dread slowly and layers in the tension. He makes the atmosphere feel almost suffocating. The pacing is tight. The main character is compelling. And the creepiness never lets up.

The audio production deserves its own mention. Narrator Corey Brill gives a raw, emotionally charged performance that made this already-unsettling story hit even harder. Jeremy Carlisle Parker has a smaller role but strikes exactly the right note. I couldn’t tell if his character was frightening or just a frightened old man. That ambiguity is everything in a book like this. No notes. Truly.

If you love horror that gets under your skin and stays there, this one’s for you. It also works beautifully if you’re drawn to atmospheric family dramas with a dark edge.

The Caretaker is out April 21. Thank you Simon Audio for the gifted early listen!

QOTD: Have you ever finished a book and just had to sit with the ending for a while? What was it?

#horrorbooks #audiobookreview #psychologicalhorror #horrorbookstagram #bookstagram

About the Author

Marcus Kliewer is a writer and stop-motion animator. His debut novel We Used to Live Here began life as a serialized short story on Reddit. Film rights were snapped up by Netflix, and it was acquired by Simon & Schuster in the US for publication even before it had been extended into a full-length novel. He lives in Vancouver, Canada.