The Return

By: Rachel Harrison

Narrated by: Sarah Scott

Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

A group of friends reunite after one of them has returned from a mysterious two-year disappearance in this edgy and haunting debut.

Julie is missing, and no one believes she will ever return - except Elise. Elise knows Julie better than anyone, and feels it in her bones that her best friend is out there and that one day Julie will come back. She’s right. Two years to the day that Julie went missing, she reappears with no memory of where she’s been or what happened to her.

Along with Molly and Mae, their two close friends from college, the women decide to reunite at a remote inn. But the second Elise sees Julie, she knows something is wrong - she’s emaciated, with sallow skin and odd appetites. And as the weekend unfurls, it becomes impossible to deny that the Julie who vanished two years ago is not the same Julie who came back. But then who - or what - is she?

©2020 Rachel Harrison (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Hair-raising horror and pure entertainment.... The tension and nuance of Harrison's complicated female friendships add depth to an already delicious, chilling debut." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

"The Return is supernatural horror at its very best! Sharp dialogue, complex relationships and mind-bending action will have readers locking their doors and checking under their beds. Rachel Harrison has reinvented this genre and will surely be hailed as a pioneer among her peers." (Wendy Walker, national best-selling author of The Night Before)

"Combining suspense and horror with razor-sharp insights into the nature of female friendships, Rachel Harrison’s The Return is a creepy, nerve-wracking, page-turning addition to the emerging field of horror thrillers." (Alma Katsu, author of The Deep and The Hunger)

Disturbing

Not my usual, but I thought it was by the description. Kind of slow, but by the time I was invested, I wanted to know what happened. It was definitely something I hadn't heard of before.

creepy

I thought the characters were great, I loved the detailed descriptions of everything, and thought some parts were genuinely unsettling.

terrible narration

the story was okay, but the narrator added tones that didnt match the dialogue

Really enjoyed this

I was really into this book. I think that she did a phenomenal job of setting the tone and showing the superficial "close" friendships that these women shared. The horror aspect was a really interesting add to the story. I can't wait to read more from her.

No name

Good but not great, still an enjoyable book. I was screaming for different reasons during the middle and end.

Weird

This just wasn’t what I expected. I don’t do horror and made a mistake by choosing it.

Loved it!

Great story line that made me think of my own friendships. But also a super scary horror story lol! Totally recommend!

Loved it

Different and original, I enjoyed all the nuances of their relationships which took up a big part of the story. Creepy and gross and wonderful!

A creepy, suspenseful story with great characters

I expected to have a difficult time with this one after the first few minutes because I thought I would hate these characters. They're vain, petty, and acerbic. They're written with a complex empathy that really drew me in, though. Even a particularly disturbing revelation about the main character about halfway through didn't turn her unsympathetic.

This is a great character study about how flawed people react to a stressful situation. It's also a great horror story, and a metaphor for the necessity of grief and moving on, as well.

What did I just listen to?

Friendship saga turned zombie story turned life lesson? The story was just...not...good. Poorly developed situations, trying to be scary and creepy but nothing had closure- nothing fit together. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone but the narrator was great. :)