The women in Cold Harbor all have something to prove, and they’ll have to do it in a world full of monsters.

Something’s not right in Cold Harbor—more so than usual. While this sleepy small town has seen its fair share of monsters in cheating husbands and leering bosses, none are as hungry as Mrs. Smith. The mysterious resident has finally emerged from her crumbling mansion on the hill, mesmerizing the townspeople with her beauty. Her secret? Nine human sacrifices to feed her immortality.

Natalie Scott is more worried about Mrs. Smith blocking her first real estate sale—the one that will take her from stay-at-home mom to working woman extraordinaire. She’s eager to prove herself in a world where the social mores of 1980s suburbia reign, where she’s expected to keep a magazine-perfect home and raise beautiful children, all while sticking to her husband’s budget. Natalie’s two best friends are facing their own demons, and Mrs. Smith and her deep, dark woods are an easy scapegoat for everyone’s problems.

But Natalie’s twelve-year-old daughter, Jill, and her Icelandic housekeeper, Una, can sense something deeper at play. Armed with library books and a whole lot of grit, Jill and Una team up to save the town once and for all. But as the rest of Cold Harbor sinks into anger, fear, and jealousy, they’ll have to confront the What does it really mean to be a monster?

This was exactly the fun, weird, suburban cozy horror book I needed. It’s smart and funny, and it’s set in the 1980s, which makes it even better. I read it at the right time of year, too, because it’s creepy without being too intense, so it balanced out the weirder books I’ve been reading.

The story takes place in Cold Harbor, a sleepy little town filled with cheating husbands, unhappy wives, and predatory employers. We hear from a few of the women in town: Natalie Scott, a former stay-at-home mom who is trying to break into real estate; her daughter Jill, who is dealing with all the teenage angst; Una, their Icelandic housekeeper; and Mrs. Smith, the elusive “crazy old lady” who lives in a dilapidated old house that many think is haunted. Things take a turn for the weird when Mrs. Smith finally steps out of her house and isn’t the decrepit old woman everyone thought she was. She’s gorgeous and beguiling, and the whole town is smitten. What nobody knows is that she is immortal and needs to take nine lives to stay that way. When things take a turn for the weird, all signs point to Mrs. Smith, and it’s up to Natalie, Jill, and Una to dig into the local lore and figure out how to stop her.

The whole book has an 80s feel, and I could easily picture it as a blockbuster movie from that era. It reminded me of Fright Night, The Witches of Eastwick, and Popcorn, the kind of movies where a mysterious stranger shows up in town, gets everyone gossiping, and then wreaks havoc on anyone and everyone in reach. It’s smartly written, with a touch of humor and plenty of dread.

I really enjoyed the different perspectives. It showed not only how each character related to each other, the beliefs and behaviors (and limitations) of the decade as well as how each of them slowly started to hone in on Mrs. Smith. While I loved Natalie and Jill, Una was by far my favorite character. I absolutely loved her. I also loved that there are a lot of monsters in the story, some literal and some just people being awful, and plenty of them get exactly what’s coming to them.

Because the creepy parts stay on the lighter side, this is a book I’d happily hand to a friend who wants a spooky read but doesn’t want to deal with anything too heavy. It’s not trying to scare you out of your socks or shock you with gore. It’s just a good, creepy read that’ll keep you tense enough that you feel it, but not so scary it gives you nightmares.

If you want a creepy read for this time of year and you love old-school horror movies with a sense of humor, but you don’t want anything too intense or gore-filled, this one is for you.