I was very kindly gifted this ARC by Faber books.
'If everything in Amanda's life is so perfect, then why the mood swings, the obscene thoughts, the urge to harm the people she loves? What are those tapping sounds in the walls? And who's that woman following her?'
Come Closer by Sara Gran is a thrilling, horrifyingly brilliant story about a slow progression demon possession.
Told in the first person perspective, most of the horror within this book takes place within the mind of protagonist. This blends together elements of traditional horror with psychological suspense as we experience first-hand, what Amanda is going through.
As it is such a small novel (less than 200 pages) I was expecting it to be fast paced and to pack a punch.
However, it was more of a slow burn, with the steady progression of the demon taking over Amanda's life. This was in no way a negative however; it created more intrigue and an incredibly tense atmosphere.
I really felt for Amanda; even before the Demon had started altering her life in a big way, her husband Ed, seemed to be quite selfish in my opinion, so he was never going to realise that something was seriously wrong with her.
The small things that Amanda started doing, such as the shoplifting, was something I hadn't really seen with Demon possession before; with Amanda not realising what she was doing until afterwards, or the blacking out; it was really interesting to read.
The way Gran described some of the appearances of other demons that Amanda met along the way were ridiculously creepy; I could picture them quite vividly and it was not a pretty vision.
Without spoiling anything further, I would seriously recommend this novel. I will be sharing with my family and friends and encouraging them all to read! A brilliant, absolutely chilling horror novel.
Watch out for Come Closer, being published on 1st July 2021.
4/5 stars