Audiobook Review: We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
We Used to Live Here
Author: Marcus Kliewer
Narrators:
Corey Brill
Jeremy Carlisle Parker
Published: June 18, 2024
Audiobook: 9 hours 52 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: October 27- November 2, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in.
As soon as the strangers enter their home, uncanny and inexplicable things start happening, including the family’s youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can’t seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. Something is terribly wrong with the house and with the visiting family—or is Eve just imagining things?
Jessica’s Review:
I started We Used to Live Here the week of Halloween and was hoping to get it finished before November, but didn’t quite make it as I finished it November 2nd. I wanted it to be my ‘scary week’ read and it was!
I listened to the audiobook on this one and feel I actually missed out some on listening to it versus reading it. At the end of some chapters there is Morse Code which the audiobook played, but I feel I missed out as I can’t get it translated. You can look it up online though! And it seemed like there are other things in the physical book that you can’t get with narration. Of course I found this out after I finished listening to the audio!
I really enjoyed this one! You didn’t really know what direction it was going or who to trust. I pictured Eve as Blake Lively since I am guessing that is the character she is going to play in the Netflix movie that has been announced. This is Kliewer’s debut novel that actually began its life as a serialized short story on Reddit and it just grew from there.
Both narrators did a great job, with Jeremy Carlisle Parker narrating the documents that were throughout the novel. Corey Brill really brought Eve to life. I could feel the emotions that Brill was giving off as Eve.
The character of Eve annoyed me: I mean who just lets strangers in their house because they said they lived there at some point! I mean if Eve had never let them in then all of this would not have happened! But then we wouldn’t have a book…. Also, she needs to be more assertive! Dang, the poor girl was so pathetic at times! We do have an unreliable narrator here with Eve, but I knew this going in. Unreliable narrators are ‘hit or miss’ for me. They are mainly misses…. But not in We Used to Live Here’s case! I am definitely interested in getting a physical copy at some point and plan on watching the Netflix film once it is available. I also look forward to reading what Kliewer writes next!
The audiobook is good, but I’d say go for a physical or even a kindle copy for this novel!