"The Return": A Creepy Horror Debut Echoing "The Shining"

As a longtime horror fan, I haven’t found too many authors who’ve made me want to read all their books. I read Rachel Harrison’s latest novel, Such Sharp Teeth, and she’s fast becoming my go-to author for fun and comedic horror. I decided to backtrack and read her 2020 debut novel, The Return. I was hesitant at first given the lower ratings on Goodreads, but I was glad I gave it a chance.

Summary

While hiking through the woods, Julie goes missing. Two years later people believe she’s dead, except for her best friend Elise. Elise believes Julie will return. Then on the second anniversary of her appearance, Julie reappears with no memory of what happened to her.

With the hopes of reuniting, Elise and her longtime friends from college, Molly and Mae, plan a trip to the remote Red Honey Inn. But when they see Julie, they know something is wrong. She looks emaciated, carries a stench, and has strange cravings. As their vacation unfolds, it’s clear Julie isn’t the same person who disappeared two years ago.

“You can’t erase your past when there are pieces of it scattered inside other people.” — Rachel Harrison, The Return

My Thoughts

The Return is an enjoyable read. However, the only negative was the first chapter which covered Julie’s disappearance, friends mourning, and her return. I felt confused given the blurred timeline, free-floating dialogue, and lack of immediacy. I worried I was wasting my time. But once Harrison brings us to the Red Honey Inn in chapter two, the book hooked me until the last page.

Harrison always writes vivid characters with plenty of personality and is great at showcasing their nuances in dialogue. Each of the four friends are distinct and create fun dynamic with one another. All of them have their own strengths and insecurities. Elise is headstrong, but dissatisfied with her life. Molly is intuitive and self-assured, but struggles with intimacy. Mae is the nurturing planner, yet fears disappointing others. And Julie is loyal, though enigmatic even before her disappearance. Despite their different upbringings, they’ve bonded over a shared sense of feeling like outsiders.

”Sometimes when we’re all together, I get confused about who is who. Where one of us stops and the others start. We overlap, bleed together.” — Rachel Harrison, The Return

Harrison is great at building dread, dropping hints that something’s awry and holding back the horror until the last possible moment. She balances gruesome sensory descriptions while leaving enough space for the reader to imagine the rest. As for what happened to Julie, I kept questioning if Elise was losing her mind, if the hotel was haunted or if Julie was possessed. And I liked how the twist subverted my expectations.

The Red Honey Inn is a perfect gothic horror setting which feels like its own character. You can see the obvious inspiration to Stephen King’s Overlook Hotel in The Shining. But Harrison’s version is a bit campy and offbeat with its mishmash of architectural styles and themed rooms (think Rainforest Cafe and Edgar Allan Poe) based off the Madonna Inn in California. Harrison’s unsettling descriptions of the inn also echo the disorientation and claustrophobia in Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House

I love character-driven books about friendship. Thematically, The Return addresses friendship and the grief of losing friends. Over time as we grow, friendships change and dissolve for a variety of reasons whether it’s moving away or no longer sharing the same worldviews or interests.

Eventually, we might realize we’re not as close to people as we thought, especially ones we’ve known at a younger age. It’s a loss we have to grieve. Elise has to work through her feelings about Julie, while reassessing her relationships with Molly and Mae. Not to say, it’s a lost cause. In horror fiction, shared trauma has the potential to bring people closer together.

”We don’t share our feelings, at least not in-depth. Only when we’re hammered or desperate. We’re all repressed, and that’s how we like it. That’s part of why we are close. We have a mutual understanding.” — Rachel Harrison, The Return

As a whole, The Return exceeded my expectations. Although darker and than her other books, her debut novel showcases Rachel Harrison’s talent for building dread while maintaining a sense of humor. If you’re looking for a fun, creepy, and atmospheric horror novel, check out The Return.

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Originally published on Medium