Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for the digital advance reader copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

This was a great book to read over a bank holiday weekend as I was able to immerse myself in it rather than read a few chapters here and there. Elise is a shadow, a ‘something’ seen out of the corner of the eye, a figment of the imagination. She’s living in her family home. Unfortunately a different family from her own lives there too…

Eddie is an awkward boy who lives in his family home with his older brother and parents, who are determined to restore this old ‘fixer-upper’ to its former glory. His older brother is determined that Eddie should act his age rather than like a scared little kid.

But that’s easier said than done when things are moved in the house by something unseen, when he feels like someone is sharing their home with them. But that can’t be true. Can it?

The reader is drawn into Elise’s wraithlike existence from the outset, and I found myself holding my breath at times as she watched the family from her hiding places in the walls and cupboards. When Eddie’s brother realises that all is not as it seems, he seeks advice from outside sources and risks inviting in more than he bargained for.

As someone who lives in a solid brick house over 120 years old, I found the idea of someone living in the walls rather fantastical at first. But then I stumbled upon accounts where it has actually happened, such as the case of Daniel La Plante, a murderer who terrorised a family in Townsend, Massachusetts whilst living in their walls. It made me appreciate A J Gnuse’s tale all the more. I would have liked to have learned more about a gap in Elise’s life but equally it’s sometimes good to be left to fill the blanks in yourself.

A claustrophobic psychological thriller available from 4th March 2021, I’m giving this 4/5 stars. Oh and if you want to listen to a whispered version of the Daniel La Plante case, check out the video by Soft ASMR on Youtube!