Title: A Guest in the House

Author: Emily Carroll

Publisher: First Second 2023

Genre: Graphic Novel Horror

Pages: 256

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love

After many lonely years, Abby’s just gotten married. She met her new husband―a recently widowed dentist―when he arrived in town with his young daughter, seeking a new start. Although it’s strange living in the shadow of her predecessor, Abby does her best to be a good wife and mother. But the more she learns about her new husband’s first wife, the more things don’t add up. And Abby starts to wonder . . . was Sheila’s death really by natural causes? As Abby sinks deeper into confusion, Sheila’s memory seems to become a force all its own, ensnaring Abby in a mystery that leaves her obsessed, fascinated, and desperately in love for the first time in her life.

Emily's masterful balance of black and white, surreal colors, rich textures, and dramatic lettering is assured to bring this story to life and give readers a chill up their spine as they read.

Now this book was much more up my alley. We get a horror comic examining a life of complacency and self-doubt. I loved how Abby’s story spirals with Crystal and Sheila’s stories. The interplay between black and white images and bursts of color drove home the push and pull between reality and dreams and nightmares. Throughout the pages, I was rooting for Abby in every encounter. After reading this volume, I definitely need to get more from Carroll.

Next up on the TBR pile: