If I accept a suspiciously well-paying Craigslist job in the middle of nowhere and the dead homeowner leaves behind a VHS tape telling me I need to perform a bunch of bizarre rituals to prevent the end of humanity, I am following EVERY FUCKING RULE. The Caretaker takes that classic “there are rules and you absolutely cannot break them” horror setup and turns it into an increasingly stressful nightmare. I had a really good time with this one.

Macy is broke, grieving, struggling to find work, and trying to support her younger sister when she finds a Craigslist ad offering suspiciously good money for only three days of caretaking.

Red flag? Absolutely.

But rent exists, so off she goes.

Once Macy arrives at the isolated house, she learns that “caretaking” involves much more than watching the property. The previous owner has left behind instructions for a series of Rites that need to be performed exactly as described. There are strange phone calls, specific tasks, things that absolutely cannot be allowed inside, and a very clear warning that failing to follow the Rites could have consequences far beyond the house itself.

This book stressed me the fuck out.

The isolated Oregon setting already gives everything this uncomfortable feeling that Macy is completely on her own, but adding a set of increasingly bizarre rules made it so much worse. Every little mistake feels enormous because neither Macy nor the reader actually knows what will happen if she fails.

And I LOVE that kind of horror.

There’s something so effective about giving a character instructions that sound completely ridiculous and then slowly providing enough evidence that maybe, actually, they should be taking every single one of them very seriously.

I also liked how uncertain the book kept me about what was actually happening. Is there genuinely something supernatural being contained by these rituals? Is Macy misunderstanding everything? Is someone manipulating her? Are these rules protecting her, or are they making her participate in something much worse?

That uncertainty made the house feel increasingly claustrophobic even though Macy is surrounded by miles of wilderness.

My main issue was that I wanted a few more answers. I don't need horror to explain every supernatural detail to me, and sometimes knowing less makes something significantly scarier. But there were a few pieces of this where the ambiguity crossed from unsettling into me genuinely wanting more information.

Still, I flew through this. Once Macy is alone in that house and the Rites begin, there is this constant sense that something is about to go horribly wrong.

And considering how good Macy is at following instructions...

something is always about to go horribly wrong.