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A review by syinhui
This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
You were you and I was me and there was this thing between us.
This book was so good—not only in its realistic portrayal of grief, which was so raw and personal, but also for the moments that were genuinely terrifying. The possessed Alexa-like speaker immediately hooked me in, but it was such a small part of the horror that, after its reveal, I had no idea where the rest of the story was headed.
The first half of the book was solid—interesting and relentlessly creepy. The parts about loss and grief were delivered beautifully; some of them deeply resonated with me. I’ve highlighted several lines that I know will stay with me for a long while.
Then Thiago went off to live in a cabin in the snowy mountains of Colorado, away from everyone except, surprise, the thing that’s haunting him. That’s where the story started to go downhill. The other half became a sustained descent into unreality. The events as Thiago writes it became opaque and disorienting. The last quarter of the book nearly lost me. I was confused and uncertain, as if I’d missed something. But I hadn’t.
The entry into cosmic horror is a mixed bag for others, but I personally loved it. As someone who has a certain threshold for supernatural horror, this book gave me the heebie-jeebies without leaving me feeling cursed after reading it. The ending was just tragic and heartbreaking.
I thought the switch to third-person at the end was a nice, chilling touch. I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a book with similar vibes to A24 horror movies.
Absolutely devastating. One of my best reads so far this year. Also a plus for the hypnotic and mesmerizing cover art.