My first experience with a Rachel Harrison book was this past fall when I read “Black Sheep” when it was a selection in my Aardvark Book Club box. I loved it and immediately added her back catalog to my TBR, and then decided to add “The Return” (her debut) to my 24 in 2024 reading challenge list. I loved it! Just like with “Black Sheep,” I found this to be haunting and eerie, peppered with just enough comedy to break the tension when it got intense.

The story is told from the first person point of view of Elise, a young 20-something who lives a ho-hum life as an office manager in Buffalo while her best friends Molly, Mae, and Julie all seem to have their acts together and live the types of lives Elise has always dreamed of. The four were close in college, but there was always a super tight bond between Elise and Julie. The friends are devastated when Julie goes out for a hike one day and never returns. Months pass, and eventually, a memorial service is held (even though Julie’s body was never found). Despite this, Elise refuses to believe her best friend is gone. She feels that Julie is still out there somewhere.

Two years later, Julie’s husband comes home to find her sitting on their front porch. She seems like the same old Julie and all her memories are intact except for the time between when she went missing and when she showed up on her front porch. The friends are ecstatic, and Mae arranges for a nice little girls’ trip so that the four friends can spend a few days together at a quirky hotel in the Catskills. Everything seems great, but when Julie arrives, her friends notice something off about her. She is super skinny, her hair is thinning, and she smells bad. She also keeps losing teeth. At first, Elise refuses to acknowledge that anything is wrong – she has her friend back, and she is likely still healing – but as the days pass and Julie’s behavior continues to grow increasingly strange and weird things begin to happen around the hotel, Elise must face the fact that maybe there’s something wrong with Julie – or perhaps this isn’t Julie at all.

This book was one that I picked up and then had a difficult time putting down. The plot is tight and well-crafted, and I was glued to the pages. Harrison masterfully weaves elements of horror and mystery into the narrative, creating a sense of unease that is hard to shake. As the truth about Julie’s disappearance is slowly revealed, the story takes on a darker and more sinister tone. Still, in her signature style, Harrison manages to throw in the occasional zinger (typically thanks to the character of Molly) that is just enough to break the tension before it ramps up again.

The strong characters and their distinct personalities and flaws help make the book what it is. Elise, Julie, Molly, and Mae are complex and multi-dimensional, each with their own secrets and motivations. As the weekend unfolds, tensions rise among the friends, and the true nature of Julie’s return comes to light. The dynamic between the characters is both captivating and chilling.

The bond between the four friends is tested as they confront the truth about Julie’s return amidst dealing with old wounds that begin to reopen. As the weekend progresses and Julie becomes more haggard and more of a stranger, the lines between reality and illusion blur, leaving both the characters and the reader questioning what is real and what is not. Is this really Julie? Is this all in Elise’s head? Will any of them escape unscathed?

Bold, creative, and haunting, this novel is one I won’t soon forget. It was a lot of fun, and had I not started it right before bed, I likely would have finished it in a single sitting. Harrison’s ability to blend psychological horror with a compelling narrative and a touch of comedy makes her an auto-buy author for me. I can’t wait to check out the rest of her work.