Macy Mullins has taken a strange but well-paid three-day caretaking job she finds on Craigslist, hoping it will help her stay afloat while supporting her younger sister. Isolated in a remote house along the Oregon Coast, what begins as a simple gig quickly turns into something far more sinister as Macy discovers the property may be tied to an ancient, incomprehensible evil. As the ominous instructions to “Follow the Rites…” become more urgent, Macy may be the only thing standing between that evil and the survival of humanity itself.
I hate to say this, but The Caretaker just wasn’t as strong for me as Kliewer’s debut, We Used to Live Here, which was honestly one of my top ten reads the year it came out. I went into this one with really high expectations, and while it definitely has the eerie atmosphere and supernatural horror elements that Kliewer does so well, something about it just missed the mark for me.
The pacing was actually pretty solid for most of the book and I found it fairly page-turning, especially once things started to get strange on the property. The isolation of the Oregon Coast setting and the unsettling “Follow the Rites” premise created a strong sense of tension. But as the story progressed, I found myself increasingly confused about what was actually happening and how everything connected.
My biggest struggle, though, was the lack of closure. By the end I had so many lingering questions: what exactly was going on, why was it happening, and was the threat really as evil as it seemed? I also never quite felt the same creeping dread that made We Used to Live Here so memorable for me.
That said, I can absolutely see a lot of readers enjoying this, especially fans of ambiguous, cosmic-leaning horror that leaves room for interpretation. It just didn’t fully land for me the way I hoped it would. I’m still very much looking forward to whatever Marcus Kliewer writes next, though, because his concepts and atmosphere are undeniably compelling.
The Caretaker comes out April 21, 2026! Huge thank you to Atria for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof.books or on Tiktok @speakingof.books
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