Like many of us, Mara is drifting through life, trying to figure out what she actually wants to “do”. Sick of sarcastic comments from her family members, she accepts a job from her cousin, working on his TV show, Haunt Sweet Home, where HGTV meets Ghost Hunters.
Mara gets stuck with the night shift, creating fake ghostly moments for the unwitting participants of the TV show. She finds herself making strange noises in an orchard, throwing books in a library, the usual stuff. However, unexpected incidents happen, mostly centering around Mara’s dayshift counterpart, Jo. Are the hauntings as artificial as they really seem?
I love Sarah Pinsker’s short stories, and I am obsessed with novels involving ghost hunting TV shows, so this was a hugely anticipated read for me. Although Pinsker creates some genuinely unsettling moments, I wouldn’t say this was a flat-out horror novel. For me, it was more about Mara’s journey into finding fulfillment, albeit in an unconventional way.
I love multi-narrator audiobooks, and there were great performances all round from Jennifer Blom, Jess Nahikia, Matt Godfrey, and Robb Moreira. However, Jennifer Blom does most of the heavy lifting, with her engaging performance as Mara. Blom delivers the more humorous lines with a spectacular dry wit.
Not the scare I was hoping for, but entertaining and enjoyable all the same.
California Reading 