We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough @sarahpinborough @orionbooks ‪@sarahpinborough.bsky.social‬‪ @orionbooks.bsky.social‬ #BookReview

 

If their new new home doesn't break them, their secrets will...

When Emily wakes from a coma following an accident that nearly kills her, she finds herself agreeing to move from London to the wild moors of Devon with her husband Freddie. A fresh start is exactly what their marriage needs.

As their car pulls up to Larkin Lodge, their dream country home, Emily's heart sinks. Outside, everything is covered in an icy gray mist. Inside, the air is filled with dust and abandonment.

And then she finds the empty suite on the second floor. A room so bleak, so cold, so void of anything good. Something bad happened in here. Someone dies in here. Why can't Freddie feel the darkness that stirs within its walls?

There's something wrong with the house, this strange house, where the floorboards creak at night, the doors rattle, the windows slam shut, the taps turn on and off - and on and off.

But if the house is hiding something, so are Emily and Freddie...

We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough is published on 5 June 2025 by Orion. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review. 

There seems to have been quite a few crime novels recently that have incorporated a hint of horror in them. And I like it!  Last year, Stuart McBride served up a giant dollop of horror and I believe there is more to come from him this year. Sarah Pinborough's novels have always had that edge to them. Remember the #WTFThatEnding hashtag that was everywhere on social media when Behind Her Eyes was published?  Well, guess what? We could have EXACTLY THE SAME HASHTAG for this one. 

That ending! That final few pages. I absolutely screamed with laughter aswell as cringed with horror. She's a genius. Where do these ideas come from ..... she scares me. 

So married couple Emily and Freddie have had a traumatic time lately. Emily has been in a coma in hospital, she then got sepsis. She's weak. Freddie has got himself into something of a pickle, although neither Emily, or the reader know what he's done for a while. It's time to move away from London. They buy an old house in the countryside. Larkin Lodge in Devon sounds perfect for them. Little do they know. 

This is a haunted house story with plenty more added on. Not only do we hear Emily and Freddie's narrative, there is also another voice. A voice that is chilling, but is also poignant. I suspect that most readers will have more empathy for that voice than for our main characters. 

It is not for me to go into detail about the plot, but needless to say, there are unexpected noises, smells, windows opening, nails appearing in floorboards. Emily is driven almost crazy, Freddie just disappears inside himself. Selfishly allowing Emily to convince herself that the end is near. 

This is a novel that starts slowly. The pace quickens as the story continues until we get an almost frantic ending that left me breathless. Larkin Lodge is as much a character as any of the humans, it is a huge part of the story and the sense of doom and gothic terror is on every page. 

It is twisty, it is shocking, it is so brilliant. I loved every strange page of it. Highly recommended. 

Sarah Pinborough is an award-winning and New York Times, Sunday Times, and internationally bestselling author and screenwriter who is published in over 30 territories worldwide. 

Having published more than 25 novels across various genres, her recent books include Behind Her Eyes, now a smash-hit Netflix limited series; Dead to Her, in development with Amazon Studios; The Death House, which she is adapting herself for Compelling Pictures; and her most recent book Insomnia, which she has adapted for Left Bank Pictures, coming to Paramount+ in 2024, starring Vicky McClure. 

Sarah was the 2009 winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best Short Story, the 2010 and 2014 winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best Novella, and she has four times been shortlisted for Best Novel. She was also shortlisted for the British Book Award for Best Thriller. 

Sarah lives in the historic town of Stony Stratford, the home of the Cock and Bull story, with her dog, Ted. 

You can follow her on social media @sarahpinborough.