Review by Booklist Review
In this engrossing and disturbing novel, Cassidy (Mary, 2022) finds palpable horror in NYC real estate, antisemitism, new parenthood, grief, and vampires. After years of trying, Ana and Reid welcomed daughter Charlie, but her birth forced Ana into a wheelchair. Their luck may be changing, though, as a housing lottery lands them an apartment in the luxurious, famous, and mysterious Deptford. However, it is immediately clear that Reid and Ana do not belong there. As their discomfort escalates, getting more terrifying with each passing day, Charlie appears to get more comfortable. Cassidy builds the intense atmosphere, characters, and fascinating vampire lore without sacrificing the pacing, working important details into the action and strategically shifting the point of view. As a result, readers will be snared in a web of intrigue as Ana and Reid fight for their family and, ultimately, their lives. A visceral story that will entertain readers from start to finish, coating them in dread even as it plays with their minds and pushes their limits.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Cassidy's tepid sophomore horror outing (after Mary) is more cagey than creepy. It kicks off when new parents Reid and Ana win an affordable housing lottery and move into a luxurious two-bedroom apartment overlooking Central Park in New York City's historic Deptford building. The hapless duo jumps at the opportunity, hoping it means their luck has turned after almost a year of hardship following their daughter's complicated birth, which left Ana paralyzed from the waist down and led to a tumultuous night the couple never talks about, the events of which are slowly teased out to readers. Moving in to the Deptford brings some familiar-feeling scares: a spooky concierge with an artificial smile, elevator operators that resemble gremlins, gargoyles that disappear, and wailing that drifts through the walls. Soon-to-be one-year-old Charlie is especially unsettled by the apartment, frequently waking her parents with screams of terror. The strangeness only intensifies the more Reid and Ana get to know their neighbors and gradually piece together what exactly is going on in their new building. Cassidy successfully sets up an ominous mystery around the Deptford's history, but the pace is slow and the horror elements never truly terrify. This won't have anyone sleeping with the lights on. (Oct.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Cassidy's (Mary) creature feature borrows heavily from the basic premise of Ira Levin's novel Rosemary's Baby and builds on it. One could argue that down-on-their-luck married couple Reid and Ana are cursed--Ana often does. The birth of their daughter, Charlie, leaves Ana paralyzed from the waist down, and postpartum depression sinks its claws deeply into her. Meanwhile, Reid is forced to stay at his soul-sucking job. Things seem to be looking up for the young couple when a housing lottery allows the family to move into an apartment in Manhattan's palatial Deptford building. Then Ana starts to notice strange things about the building and its inhabitants. Not only that, but she isn't sure about the weird bite marks on her baby. The story takes a while to get moving, but once it does, it unashamedly digs into the emotional pressure points of parental and marital anxieties. Narrator Cassandra Campbell delivers a riveting, multifaceted portrayal of Ana, which, combined with Cassidy's viscerally described body horror, makes the book's slow start well worth riding out. VERDICT A novel for fans of the monstrous and grotesque. Share this menacing listen with fans of Chase Novak's Breed or Ben H. Winters's Bedbugs.--James Gardner
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