We Live Here Now: A Novel by Sarah Pinborough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**4.5-stars**
After a cliffwalk accident puts her in a coma and almost kills her, Emily, is ready for the new start her husband, Freddie, suggests. The couple move from London to a beautiful Dartmoor country house called Larkin Lodge.
Set in a remote area, by the stark natural presence of the Moors, this property is steeped in gothic vibes. Emily, still recovering both mentally and physically from her accident, is intrigued, and a little frightened by the imposing home.
As they settle in, Freddie is away from home for the majority of the week, still working in London. He’s put in for a transfer, but it hasn’t happened yet, so it’s back-and-forth for him until that becomes official.
This leaves Emily alone, with a lot of time on her hands, and she begins to notice things: creaking floorboards, books falling from the shelves, and what she can only determine is a mysterious presence in the 3rd-floor bedroom.
Unfortunately, these disturbing occurrences only seem to happen when Emily is alone. When she tells her husband about her fears, he blames them all on her accident. Claiming she is just experiencing post-sepsis hallucinations.
Emily doesn’t know what to think. She knows that’s a potential symptom for people recovering from sepsis, but the feelings never leave her. It feels so real and scary in the moment. She begins to resent Freddie for not listening to her and brushing off her concerns.
Meanwhile, Emily is more determined than ever to get to the truth behind Larkin Lodge. She can feel that something terrible has happened there, that something is off, but what?
I had so much fun with this book. I know it won’t necessarily be for everyone, but for me, it was excellent entertainment. I was in this with Emily and everything that was happening to her at Larkin Lodge. I also liked to get ticked at Freddie right along with her. It was like we were friends.
This story is mainly told through Emily and Freddie’s perspectives, but there are also a few other narrative inclusions which I really enjoyed.
Incidentally, the audiobook does feature dual narration and I highly recommend that format. The narrators absolutely hooked me into the story. They were so believable as Emily and Freddie. It was almost like I could feel the tension growing between them.
I loved the atmosphere and that we were really dealing with a pretty morally grey cast of characters; my fave. I also loved the dynamics explored within Emily and Freddie’s marriage, as well as within their friend group.
There were scenes, as Emily is first experiencing odd things at the house, that gave me chills. I loved the clues she ended up following in order to figure out what was going on.
I also feel like it was a really cool concept going on and I loved the conclusion. It left me with that evil grin on my face that I love to have at the end of a story like this. I feel this was well-executed by Pinborough.
Was it perfect? No, but it didn’t need to be. It was so fun and engaging. I was sucked completely in and finished it in a 24-hour period; during the work week! That’s no small feat.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m so glad I picked this up and look forward to more from Pinborough!