Sarah O'Connor

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

“The Rites simply emerged in his thoughts, self-evident, as if he’d only forgotten them until now. The Rites he must follow to protect humankind from unspeakable suffering,” (Kliewer).

Macy Mullins doesn’t know why the caretaking job ad caught her eye, but jobless and struggling to provide for her teenaged sister Jemma after the death of their dad, she know she can’t say no when a job opportunity comes her way, even if it is strange. Still, Macy figures she can handle  work as a caretaker, even if the job has it’s quirks. It’s only for three days, what’s the worse that can happen?

The Caretaker was one of the books I was most excited to read this year so it’s hard to start this off by saying this was a huge disappointment. I adored Kliewer’s debut We Used To Live Here, but The Caretaker had none of the charm or intrigue that his previous book did.

Kliewer informs readers of what this book is about early on in an Author Note/Content Warning, and I do appreciate what he was trying to do in his book. Kliewer let’s readers know that The Caretaker is about OCD, suicidal ideation, and suicide, and that shows itself clearly in Macy and the Rites she is supposed to follow. Macy of course also has her own OCD tendencies, and I think Kliewer did a pretty good job of writing Macy getting stuck in a compulsion. As someone with OCD tendencies of the “if I don’t do X then something very bad is going to happen,” I thought that was shown interestingly through the Rites. While many of them are nonsensical and confusing, they have to be followed, and that is what an OCD mind is like. I understand how the Rites themselves and trying to understand them will be frustrating for some readers, but that’s the point. The need to follow through on a compulsion rarely makes sense, it just has to be done.

That being said, the novel itself was too vague. While this worked in Kliewer’s debut, it doesn’t work here. Kliewer is not on Reddit’s /r/nosleep anymore, he’s writing books that are being published for audiences outside a computer screen and he needs to adapt his writing style to that. There is a way to be vague while planting enough seeds for your readers for a revelation to either happen or be pieced together, but none of that happened here. Who is David? Why was he chosen to be a Caretaker? What happened to his first wife? How did he meet his second wife? None of that matters, apparently.

And I’m sorry to say, but Macy is an awful protagonist to follow. I know this isn’t fair to say as she is a character who is suffering with OCD, joblessness, and grief while being the primary caregiver for her teenaged sister, but she was so frustrating to follow and a spectacular failure in every meaning of the word. I really hate to say it but Macy, self-loathing aside, you were awful Caretaker. It’s a hard pill to swallow that sometimes the thoughts in your head are right, but you really were pretty useless at this job and the absolutely worst candidate to be considered. Jemma was no better to meet, thinly developed and just uninteresting. She also sounded closer to Macy’s age instead of the teenager she was supposed to be.

And then there’s the ending.

I will say that Kliewer is very good at creating setting and atmosphere. There were some great creepy vibes, I just wish the overall story had been stronger.

The Caretaker was a truly disappointing book and I hate that I didn’t like it more. I might have to take a break with whatever Kliewer writes next. It’s nice to have a strong debut, but hopefully some stronger edits will be done in his future works.

Publication: April 21 2026
Publisher: Atria
Pages: 320 pages (NetGalley)
Source: NetGalley
Genre: Fiction, Horror
My Rating: ⛤⛤
Summary:

Macy Mullins can’t say why the job posting grabbed her attention—it had the pull of a fisherman’s lure, barbed hook and all—vaguely ominous. But after an endless string of failed job interviews, she’s not exactly in the position to be picky. She has rent to pay, groceries to buy, and a younger sister to provide for.
Besides, it’s only three days’ work…
Three days, cooped up in a stranger’s house, surrounded by Oregon Coast wilderness.
What starts as a peculiar side gig soon becomes a waking nightmare. An incomprehensible evil may dwell on this property—and Macy Mullins might just be the only thing standing between it, and the rest of humanity.
Follow the Rites…
Follow the Rites…
Follow the Rites…
..— / ….. / —..