chris b reviewed Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker
Haunt Sweet Home
4 stars
very cute and quick novella!
Hardcover, 176 pages
English language
Published Sept. 3, 2024 by Tor.com.
Haunt Sweet Home
4 stars
(2 reviews)
On the set of a kitschy reality TV show, staged scares transform into unnerving reality in this spooky ghost story from multiple Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Sarah Pinsker.
“Don’t talk to day about what we do at night.”
When aimless twenty-something Mara lands a job as the night-shift production assistant on her cousin’s ghost hunting/home makeover reality TV show Haunt Sweet Home, she quickly determines her new role will require a healthy attitude toward duplicity. But as she hides fog machines in the woods and improvises scares to spook new homeowners, a series of unnerving incidents on set and a creepy new coworker force Mara to confront whether the person she's truly been deceiving and hiding from all along―is herself.
Eerie and empathetic, Haunt Sweet Home is a multifaceted, supernatural exploration of finding your own way into adulthood, and into yourself.
Amber Herbert reviewed Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker
Review of 'Haunt Sweet Home' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Haunt Sweet Home has a fun premise but ultimately falls short of both satire and thought-provoking commentary. Instead, it lands somewhere in the middle, regularly poking fun at TV hauntings while attempting to offer the main character an arc that's closer to a cliche than it is unique or interesting. While I didn't love this story, the prose was solid and I wanted to know how it ended.
This novella might appeal to readers who enjoy the TV haunting genre or like stories about "finding yourself" in your early thirties.
Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for the ARC.