Y’all, this one was fun.

Our main character, Samantha, is an archeo-entomologist and she is on hiatus from her job at a dig site because they found human remains. Since she can’t work until the remains are identified and dealt with according to the wishes of living family or the they’re repatriated to the tribal nation to whom they belong and since she’s sublet her apartment in Arizona for six months, Sam decides to stay in North Carolina with her mother.

When she returns to her mother’s house, she finds it off. Where the things had previously been bright and cheerful, they’re now cold and sterile. And her mother seems to be more anxious than she’s ever seen her before. But, she and her mother settle into a little routine of boxed wine and British detective shows. But things get weird. And then they get weirder. And then they get weirder still. Sam ends up having to play detective on her own so she can figure out if she’s going crazy, if there is something wrong with her mother (maybe both!), or if there’s something very, very wrong with the house.

I didn’t mean to pick two books more or less in a row where an unsettling living situation was part of the plot, but I’m glad I did. This is more Southern Gothic vibes than Gothic horror, but it was still good. The chilling parts of the plot were chilly and the weird parts of the plot were indeed unexpected and weird. I really like T. Kingfisher’s novels. Something that is true about both this and Hollow Places is that they have a protagonist who is an accomplished woman who, for varying reasons, has to return home. And I liked that Sam was a Ph.D. and that her speciality was part of the plot. Insects aren’t really my jam, but its fun to see people, even fictional people, get excited about what makes them excited.

So, if you like creepy stories about family and home situations that are not quite right, I recommend this. I do have a little warning, though, if swarms of bugs are a big nope for you, there is some swarming.

It was a fun read! This was another book that I got from my local library!