Review: The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer

The Caretaker

by Marcus Kliewer

Release Date: April 21, 2026

2026 Atria/Emily Bestler Books/12:01 Books

Ebook ARC; 320 Pages

ISBN: 978-1982198817

ASIN:  ‎ B0FCFZ233G

Audiobook: B0FCZM594D

Genre: Fiction / Horror

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3.25/5 Stars

 

Summary

Caretaker urgently needed. Three days of work. Competitive pay. Serious applicants ONLY.

Macy Mullins can’t say why the job posting grabbed her attention—it had the pull of a fisherman’s lure, barbed hook and all—vaguely ominous. But after an endless string of failed job interviews, she's not exactly in the position to be picky. She has rent to pay, groceries to buy, and a younger sister to provide for.

Besides, it’s only three days’ work…

Three days, cooped up in a stranger’s house, surrounded by Oregon Coast wilderness.

What starts as a peculiar side gig soon becomes a waking nightmare. An incomprehensible evil may dwell on this property—and Macy Mullins might just be the only thing standing between it, and the rest of humanity.

 

My Thoughts

The Caretaker is one of those books I really wanted to read because I love an isolated setting and I definitely love houses that have secrets. So, what happened? Honestly, it was the main character who drove this book down for me as I got really annoyed with the constant repetitiveness of being in her head and her constant whining about the problems in her life. I could have lived with the psychological issues, but when those same issues were used as excuses for the silly mistakes she constantly made with regards to the rules she was given for the house, and it started to interfere with my enjoyment of the plot, it became a problem.

 

Let's talk about the plot first as I was truly interested in this book for the first half as I found it interesting and somewhat unique. And I've read a lot of haunted house novels over the years.  The atmosphere was quite eerie and the writing style did pull me in quite a bit as I found what was happening to be quite fascinating as well as spooky.  I also didn't have a clue as to what or why things were happening, but I am patient and can wait for things to be explained.  So I waited, and waited, and waited, and waited.  So, where was the explanation? Well, that is now a problem as there wasn't one.  Just follow the rules you are given and there will be no problems. At some point, I thought, the reason for the rules would be explained.  Or so I thought. Not a fan of the mysterious stuff if there is never, at least even a minimum, of explanation for why things are the way they are.  Sorry, I am not one to just accept things at face value. 

 

So, now we come to the point where the story actually derailed for me, Macy. While at first her thoughts were interesting because they were fresh, by the time you heard the same thing for the fifteenth time, they got old, fast. I don't mind an inner monologue, or two, but don't repeat the same thing over and over again in a different way thinking the reader won't spot it.  And Macy whined about everything. About when she broke the rules when it was her fault.  When she forgot to lock the door.  I can deal with the self-loathing and she definitely had a hard time after what happened to her father, so I didn't mind those flashbacks nor did I mind reading about how difficult life has been for her and her sister, but when those reasons are used for why she made silly decisions in the house, it doesn't ring true. She simply made silly mistakes because she doesn't think.  And because this was a horror novel, I was expecting more to happen in terms of plot and tension, but it became more and more of a pity party and the tension just doesn't seem to go anywhere. It builds, but then...nothing.

 

Verdict

The Caretaker had a lot of potential as it was set in an environment that had a spooky and eerie atmosphere, and the plot was quite interesting.  However, a lack of development in the main character, Macy, created problems in the flow of the story as her inner monologue continuously interrupted the tension and the atmosphere. I also wasn't a fan of the ending as there were too many questions left unanswered, ones that it seemed the author sidestepped in order to focus on Macy's psychological issues. As a result, none of the horror issues are explained, none. It's hard to get invested in a story when you have no idea why things are happening. While this book didn't quite land the way I hoped, the author does have a way with words and descriptions, so I will definitely keep reading his works.