It was time for a bit of a ‘scary’ book that I’ve seen a lot on Tiktok lately. The book I’m talking about it called ‘The caretaker’ by Marcus Kliewer; another book by him that has been hyped on tiktok is ‘We used to live here’ which is also on my TBR but I haven’t got round to reading it yet.

There was a time when David was as normal as any other human being, until he had some kind of episode when he was grocery shopping. He had horrific hallucinations that showed him gruesome things and then, a voice that he didn’t hear before in his head telling him he needed to go home. There were phone calls with assignments he had to follow if he skipped one of the rites. David became someone that learned through all this. The last Rite? He failed. A visitor can’t leave your property, you have to calm them down and keep them calm. Lure them from the property line but don’t let them inside your house. You’ll recognize a visitor when looking at their eyes, they are such a light blue that they almost look white. Don’t get fooled by their appearance since they can take any form, they think that can persuade you. The last visitor for David? Looking exactly like his son, except for the eyes.

Macy Mullins hasn’t had much luck finding a job but she’s on her way to a job interview now. It’s 2 hours with the bus and another 30 minutes on foot. It’s a caregiver position for an elderly man; with her resume not really up to par she had to bend the truth a bit, make it a bit better than it truly was. Once she arrives, a tad too late; she meets Grace and Grace has to set the record straight a bit. Her husband passed away a couple of months prior so, she isn’t really looking for a caretaker position. It’s more of a house sitter position for the weekend, with specific assignments that have to be done as written down by her husband. Macy hesitates until she hears how much it pays. 3000 dollars up front and 3000 when the weekend ends and there is a 3000-dollar bonus if you did everything correctly. With eviction hanging over her head and her younger sister to take care of, she agrees.

After watching the VCR made by David about what awaits her and the things she has to do, she hesitates to go again, but without a job to pay for her bills she really needs to do this. After an Uber paid by Grace drops her off at the house; Grace tells her some of the house rules before she’s off for her weekend away; the last question she asks Macy is very important; if she accepts the role as caretaker for the property and Macy agrees. Thinking this whole façade is the biggest hogwash there is, but it soon becomes clear that it’s all true and she has taken a job that is very dangerous.

The witching hour between 3:00 and 4:00 AM is a dangerous and critical window for the caretaker. Macy has to stay awake and needs to enforce the following protocols; All the lights on the main and second floor need to remain completely off, if one turns on you have a three-minute window to find out which one and shut it off; not a second later. The first night seemed to be going well until a light in the storage room is on, which she hadn’t noticed. It’s shut off after the three-minute mark and with that there will be a mild setback in her personal life.

When a bunny is spotted and is within a 50-yard radius of the house, Macy has to lock all doors leading outside. When the bunny is spotted inside the house, Macy only has 10 minutes to catch it and burn it alive, which is something Macy can’t seem to do; Resulting in another form of punishment about to set in motion. Her first visitor is outside her door, she has to hide; the visitor can’t lay eyes on her. The visitor looks like a young woman she met, except for the eyes. The woman, Lucy, pleads for Macy to open her door; that she saw someone jump of a nearby cliff.

There will be more repercussions since Macy isn’t as good at this as she thought. With everything she saw, she’s slowly losing her mind and when that last visitor outside her door with the form and voice of her deceased father, she just can’t do this; How can she do this when the visitor looks and sounds like her father?

There has been a build-up to this part of the story where all unfolds in rapid succession. What will happen to Macy?

I’m giving this a ⭐⭐⭐⭐ star rating!