Play Nice by Rachel Harrison is 50% haunted house horror, 50% psychological family drama, and 100% a fantastic read. It wonderfully balances eerie chills and emotional depth, delivering a horror story that’s both spine-tingling and deeply engaging.
Clio Louise Barnes leads a picture-perfect life as a stylist and influencer, but beneath the glossy veneer she harbors a not-so glamorous secret: she grew up in a haunted house. Well, not haunted. Possessed. After Clio’s parents’ messy divorce, her mother, Alex, moved Clio and her sisters into a house occupied by a demon. Or so Alex claimed. That’s not what Clio’s sisters remember or what the courts determined when they stripped her of custody after she went off the deep end. But Alex was insistent; she even wrote a book about her experience in the house.
After Alex’s sudden death, the supposedly possessed house passes to Clio and her sisters. Where her sisters see childhood trauma, Clio sees an opportunity for house flipping content. Only, as the home makeover process begins, Clio discovers there might be some truth to her mother’s claims. As memories resurface and Clio finally reads her mother’s book, a sinister presence in the house manifests, revealing ugly truths that threaten to shake Clio’s beautiful life to its very foundation.
Rachel Harrison delivers a clever story where the true horrors aren’t just the ones in the walls, but run deep within the family tree with Play Nice. It blends a terrifying haunted house tale with dysfunctional family drama, offering up a dark, atmospheric, and truly emotionally charged story that proves sometimes the most frightening ghosts might be the ones in your family.
Play Nice took me on a wild, twist-filled, and emotional ride that was nearly impossible to put down. Harrison strikes a nice balance between eerie suspense and something a bit more personal. While it’s not far from a traditional, full-blown horror, it will keep you hooked to every page with a more nuanced, lighter horror aspects and twists that are slightly scary. This makes for an easier read, especially with the emotional rollercoaster Harrison has us riding.
The entire book is one hell of a story, but the climactic ending was a beautiful payoff. The psychological tension ratchets up alongside bursts of pure horror that make for a stellar conclusion. The family dynamics felt raw and real, leaving a lasting impression. Rachel Harrison really knows how to hook you and Play Nice is no different.
Play Nice hits bookstores everywhere on September 9, 2025 from Berkley. The audiobook, narrated by Alex Finke & Natasha Soudek, is available for preorder at Libro.fm!
