This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The exploration of grief is a fairly common topic in Horror. It’s also something I really enjoy sinking my teeth into.
I knew that was going to be an aspect of Gus Moreno’s This Thing Between Us, but it still hit me like a gut punch. I’ve rarely, very rarely, experienced it done so well.
At the start of this story we find our main character, Thiago, working himself through the early stages of grief after the sudden, tragic loss of his beloved wife, Vera.
The narrative is second person and Thiago is expressing his thoughts and feelings to Vera, even though she’s gone. I loved this choice by Moreno. It made it feel so intimate and frankly, real.
I did listen to the audio version and the narration by Robb Moreira was so well done. He was Thiago to me.
Thiago takes us through their relationship with his musings. There was a lot of love there and many good times. There was also a smart device that started to go a little wonky. That’s where the creepiness really begins to set in.
Thiago, unable to rest comfortably in the home he and Vera once shared, decides that getting out of Chicago would be the best thing for him. Thus, he packs his bags and heads to a remote cabin in Colorado.
From here, I cannot go further into a synopsis. You’ll have to discover that for yourself. Just know, it gets crazy, weird, disturbing and I’m not quite sure I know what actually happened in the end.
I have my own conclusions I have drawn and choose to live with. Regardless, I was impressed with this. Overall, Moreno has me intrigued.
This story was weird in such a good way. It definitely made my mind work overtime, I’m not going to lie. If you pick this one up, which I recommend you do, prepare to be scratching your head at the end.
I would love to go back and annotate a physical copy someday. Maybe I could glean just a tiny bit more out of it if I did that. It would be worth it.
