Book: The Same House: A Psychological Thriller by Morris, Cody Wayne
Reviewed by Tessara
Rating: 4/5
Every summer for the last eight years, Andrew Walters and his son Thomas have packed up their belongings and moved to a new house in a new city, ever since the night someone stole into their house and almost stole Thomas away. After the tragic loss of his wife in childbirth, Andrew has spent the last ten years making sure he won’t lose his son as well—doing whatever he has to in order to keep him safe. At first, their latest home-for-a-year seems incredibly welcoming: their neighbor is a friendly older woman who cooks like a dream, the house is attractive and comfortable, and Thomas loves his new teacher immediately. But things start going wrong right away: missing homework, strange voices, thumping noises in the attic, and a basement door that won’t stay shut have Andrew entertaining irrational thoughts. Could their wonderful new home be haunted? And if it is, how will they get through the terrible storm bearing down on the community unscathed?
This was a quick, compelling read—I burned through it in a day, eager to discover what was at the end. There were lots of clues, strange occurences, suspicious character interactions, and clever misdirections, so I only figured out the coming twist shortly before it occurred. (Very much to the author’s credit, in my opinion!) The characterization was well-done—every character’s actions made sense within the scope of who they were and how they related to the plot, and even when I disagreed with their actions I could easily see why they had taken them. In particular, I thought Andrew’s insistence on moving every year was silly, but it made sense for his character, even if I would never make that same choice. My biggest issue was that, after a great buildup of tension and growing dread, the very end of the book felt like a let-down. The twists were very good and I loved the climax, but the following few chapters of wrap-up fell a little flat to me, dropping the star rating from 4.5 to 4. Overall, it was still a great read, and I do recommend it to readers who like psychological thrillers, multi-pov stories, unreliable narrators, and explosive twists. The book comes out September 29th and is available for pre-orders now!
Thanks to the author for providing an advance reader copy!