Clio Louise Barnes leads a picture-perfect life as a stylist and influencer, but beneath the glossy veneer she harbors a not-so glamorous secret: she grew up in a haunted house. Well, not haunted. Possessed. After Clio’s parents’ messy divorce, her mother, Alex, moved Clio and her sisters into a house occupied by a demon. Or so Alex claimed. That’s not what Clio’s sisters remember or what the courts determined when they stripped her of custody after she went off the deep end. But Alex was insistent; she even wrote a book about her experience in the house.

After Alex’s sudden death, the supposedly possessed house passes to Clio and her sisters. Where her sisters see childhood trauma, Clio sees an opportunity for house flipping content. Only, as the home makeover process begins, Clio discovers there might be some truth to her mother’s claims. As memories resurface and Clio finally reads her mother’s book, a sinister presence in the house manifests, revealing ugly truths that threaten to shake Clio’s beautiful life to its very foundation.

Play Nice by Rachel Harrison is clever and impactful, a brilliant take on the haunted house with a narrative that tackles truths, beliefs and secrets as well as how we confront the demons of our childhood, in this case literal ones. What I loved the most is how Clio ends up confronting not only the demon in the house but also the traumas of her childhood, learning that her memories of her mother are distorted by secrets and lies. 

I also found it intriguing how the story incorporates elements of gaslighting and how women tend to try to play the game instead of walking away. This is a story about how to embrace your power as a woman and turn away from the games of society. It is incredibly engaging and there are some profound insights into behaviour and trauma.

If you like horror with psychological truth, demons and haunted houses, this one might be up your alley. I love how clever and impactful it is, how it reveals truths about how women are taught to behave a certain way and what society allows women to do and ultimately how to embrace your power as a woman. This was as fascinating a story as any of Rachel Harrison’s other books, she only gets better and better. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 vodka drinks

Penguin RandomHouse

Rachel Harrison website