Clever Creatures of the Night
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15
Ratings1
Average rating3
In this gripping literary horror, Case’s best friend Drea goes missing, forcing her into a bizarre, cultlike—and possibly murderous world—perfect for fans of The Honeys and Mexican Gothic.
Something bad happened here.
When Case arrives at a run-down, ivy-covered house tucked deep in the West Texas woods, an ashy haze lingers in the air and the sky is tissue-paper pink. Her best friend Drea has been living here with a few classmates Case has never met, and Drea asked her to visit in a letter dated two weeks ago.
But now Drea is nowhere to be found.
Drea’s roommates can’t—or won’t—answer questions, leaving Case to search alone. She finds bits of Drea’s journal hidden in the tiles of the bathroom wall, in a beat-up cooler by the muddy river, wedged into the frame of her closet door. As Case pieces together Drea’s life in this strange house, the roommates’ behavior puts her increasingly on edge—and she’s not the only one. The animals nearby are lashing out, attacking each other, threatening the humans.
Something bad happened in this house. Something that must be connected to Drea’s disappearance. And if she gets too close to the truth, Case just might be next.
Reviews with the most likes.
I liked the way this book was laid out. The chapters are named by the time they take place. That helps to remind us that this is all taking place in 24 hours. We are not immediately told about why they are sequestered away in this house. We know the word explosion and that's it for a while. We aren't told because all of the characters know what happened and there is no reason to info dump right away. We eventually learn why in a natural way. I'm sure that will bother some people, but I liked that.
The roommates are all awful, but we don't know exactly why and how far they will go. So there is a creeping horror in the background. There is also a bit of gore towards the end, but it isn't very horrific. I think it is more of a thriller as we follow Case trying to figure out what happened to Drea. It is obvious that the roommates did something and are lying, but what are they lying about? Thats the main focus of the book. The ending was tense and enjoyable. There really aren't any explanations at the end, but in the same way that we don't get an info dump on the world, we don't get an info dump about why they do what they do. I appreciate the way the author reveals things while making it feel natural.
The negatives? It doesn't feel like much happens. It was a quick read and it only took place in one day, but not much happens.
