Genre: Horror/Science Fiction
Release Date: October 10th, 2023
Pages: 320 (11Hr 30Min)
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press (Macmillan Audio)
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Publisher’s Synopsis:
“The city of San Siroco is sinking. The basement of Dr. Tamsin Rivers, the arrogant, selfish head of the research team assigned to find the source of the subsidence, is sinking faster. As Tamsin grows obsessed with the distorting dimensions of the room at the bottom of the stairs, she finds a door that didn’t exist before – and one night, it opens to reveal an exact physical copy of her. This doppelgänger is sweet and biddable where Tamsin is calculating and cruel. It appears fully, terribly human, passing every test Tamsin can devise. But the longer the double exists, the more Tamsin begins to forget pieces of her life, to lose track of time, to grow terrified of the outside world. As her employer grows increasingly suspicious, Tamsin must try to hold herself together long enough to figure out what her double wants from her, and just where the mysterious door leads…”
My Review:
This was a strange and creepy read! I loved the blend of science fiction and horror. It builds the suspense well and has a claustrophobic feel. It has psychological and supernatural elements to it. While I liked the main character well enough, I never fully felt a deeper connection, which left me feeling a little withdrawn from the story. I also wish the pacing were a little more consistent because it does drag at times. Things just get crazier and crazier throughout the story and I thought the way that the structure evolves as the character does was really well done. It gave me House of Leaves vibes with the house being something “other” and unexplainable. I didn’t feel quite fully satisfied with the ending and the level of explanations we got. I’m still not sure I’ve even fully processed it all. Weird is the perfect descriptor for this one. If that’s what you like, I’d definitely recommend giving this one a read. I’m sorry to say that I didn’t like the style/voice of the narration in the audiobook, something about it was irritating. I’m not saying that to be mean but it’s just my honest experience with it. Overall, I thought it was a good read, a solid three-star for me, and I’d read from this author again.
Disclaimers:
Huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me an early copy of this amazing story! I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Have you read this book? Planning to add it to your TBR?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
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