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Review by Lauryn Angel
The book is in stores now from Berkley. Click on the link to buy a copy. https://amzn.to/3JXdEUf
Play Nice is Rachel Harrison’s sixth novel, and in many ways, her most subtle and terrifying since Cackle. There aren’t any vampires, werewolves, Satanists, or cannibalistic besties after our narrator. Play Nice is a haunted house story, but our protagonist, Clio, is haunted by more than the demon squatting in her mother’s house.
Clio is the youngest of three sisters whose parents divorced when she was very young – too young to remember much about their mother, Alex, who, according to family history, was neglectful and abusive. Mostly, her father and sisters tell her, she was crazy, convinced that a demon haunted their house.
When Alex dies, the three sisters inherit the house, and Clio, a stylist and influencer, sees this as the perfect opportunity to flip the house, turning it into a social media project. No sooner does she get started than things start to go awry, leading Clio to wonder whether there really is a demon – or if she’s inherited her mother’s mental instability.
As the plot thickens, Clio discovers more about her family than she ever wanted to know, unleashing more chaos as well. But Clio thrives on chaos, and she finds herself fighting literal and metaphorical demons before everything is said and done. But however “girly” she may look, Clio can stand toe-to-toe with any final girl, because she’s a realistic character, who has flaws and maybe isn’t so nice all the time (hence the title) – a real woman, not a stereotypical heroine.
Play Nice is a fantastic addition to Rachel Harrison’s oeuvre and the perfect read for spooky season, as the nights start to get longer and chillier.
