Gus Moreno

A widower battles his grief, rage, and the mysterious evil inhabiting his home smart speaker, in this mesmerizing horror thriller from Gus Moreno. It was Vera’s idea to buy the Itza. The “world’s most advanced smart speaker!” didn’t interest Thiago, but Vera thought it would be a bit of fun for them amidst all the strange occurrences happening in the condo. It made things worse. The cold spots and scratching in the walls were weird enough, but peculiar packages started showing up at the house—who ordered industrial lye? Then there was the eerie music at odd hours, Thiago waking up to Itza projecting light shows in an empty room. It was funny and strange right up until Vera was killed, and Thiago’s world became unbearable. Pundits and politicians all looking to turn his wife’s death into a symbol for their own agendas. A barrage of texts from her well-meaning friends about letting go and moving on. Waking to the sound of Itza talking softly to someone in the living room . . . The only thing left to do was get far away from Chicago. Away from everything and everyone. A secluded cabin in Colorado seemed like the perfect place to hole up with his crushing grief. But soon Thiago realizes there is no escape—not from his guilt, not from his simmering rage, and not from the evil hunting him, feeding on his grief, determined to make its way into this world. A bold, original horror novel about grief, loneliness and the oppressive intimacy of technology, This Thing Between Us marks the arrival of a spectacular new talent.

A Novel

This Thing Between Us

“As original as it is affecting . . . left me genuinely creeped out, unsettled, and shaken. An existentially frightening book.” —Paul Tremblay, author of Survivor Song “Hold on, this isn’t a ride, it’s a slide, and it doesn’t care whether you’re ready or not.” —Stephen Graham Jones, author of The Only Good Indians A widower battles his grief, rage, and the mysterious evil inhabiting his home smart speaker, in this mesmerizing horror thriller from Gus Moreno. It was Vera’s idea to buy the Itza. The “world’s most advanced smart speaker!” didn’t interest Thiago, but Vera thought it would be a bit of fun for them amidst all the strange occurrences happening in the condo. It made things worse. The cold spots and scratching in the walls were weird enough, but peculiar packages started showing up at the house—who ordered industrial lye? Then there was the eerie music at odd hours, Thiago waking up to Itza projecting light shows in an empty room. It was funny and strange right up until Vera was killed, and Thiago’s world became unbearable. Pundits and politicians all looking to turn his wife’s death into a symbol for their own agendas. A barrage of texts from her well-meaning friends about letting go and moving on. Waking to the sound of Itza talking softly to someone in the living room . . . The only thing left to do was get far away from Chicago. Away from everything and everyone. A secluded cabin in Colorado seemed like the perfect place to hole up with his crushing grief. But soon Thiago realizes there is no escape—not from his guilt, not from his simmering rage, and not from the evil hunting him, feeding on his grief, determined to make its way into this world. A bold, original horror novel about grief, loneliness and the oppressive intimacy of technology, This Thing Between Us marks the arrival of a spectacular new talent.

Elizabeth

People cannot bear to admit there are channels of the human experience that are closed off to them. That they’ll never know. 

Alli

I don't want it to be that what I believe is what matters most. I want the truth, without a brain to skew it, without eyes to filter it.

Im afraid that when we die, we end up wherever we always thought we‘d end up. … That in the afterlife we all tapped into a mechanism, some larger system bent on fulfilling our personal ideas of death. 

At night the rooms felt sharp, lifeless, and if they were flled with anything it was that invisible hostility a person felt in their room after waking up from a bad dream.

…and out of the dead night something scrambled, like an animal, into the red. It was crawling on all fours, except its legs were spread out on either side of its body like a spider. A spider the size of a person. 

Rebecca Lum

I’m afraid that when we die, we end up wherever we always thought we'd end up. If we want to go to heaven, we go to heaven. If we believe in reincarnation, we come back as a baby or an animal or a tree. If we think we're going to hell, we'll burn forever, and we'll never realize that we were the ones to put ourselves there. That in the after-life we all tapped into a mechanism, some larger system bent on fulfilling our personal ideas of death. You believed that once a person died the party was over, so you’d just be sitting in an empty space, in a self-imposed slumber. But then I’d die expecting to find you, spending all my time traversing an afterlife landscape that I make up as I go along, searching, when all I’d want would be to sit in that darkness with you, blind and mute and floating in the ink like a womb. I’m afraid I’ll die wrong. The sperm that swims down the wrong fallopian tube. I don’t want it to be that what I believe is what matters most. I want the truth, without a brain to skew it, without eyes to filer it.

Genuinely quite spooky. There’s a lot of truths about grief here and ideas that are really interesting. I think it actually needed more length to build out the world a little more and develop the non-grief themes. I’m curious about what this book could have been with more time to bake, but there’s a lot of promising bits and bones that build and build throughout the book. 

After a couple days of deliberation, my conclusion on the plot: 

Thiago has a lot of generational trauma and struggles with self esteem that he doesn’t really deal with. This leaves him susceptible to the spookiness. 

The old lady neighbor creates a gateway for something to enter.

The demon sees Thiago is the key to leaving whatever dimension it is in. This gets explained/reffed in the diner scene, where the cook says something to the effect of - maybe it’s not bad luck that’s making everything go bad, but a godly force. and it wants to leave where it is, so it needs to trick you to get “a body freely given.” 

The demon proceeds to torment Thiago brutally with the events of the story - literally pushing things into place. The cook mentions that the all powerful force can mess with the laws of math and reality through altered consciousness and dreams. (This is where I get shaky, because it seems like reality and other people affirm Thiago’s experience's.) Thiago envisions a beach because it’s what Vera wanted. But the demon couldn’t get Vera herself, so it uses everything but her. 

The scratching at the walls, the Itza, the visions Thiago and others experience, the diner, the wall. - demon projects. 

Thiago wants to banish the demon first, and die second. His suicide completes before he can banish it. He loses. 

Genuinely quite spooky. There’s a lot of truths about grief here and ideas that are really interesting. I think it actually needed more length to build out the world a little more and develop the non-grief themes. I’m curious about what this book could have been with more time to bake, but there’s a lot of promising bits and bones that build and build throughout the book. 

After a couple days of deliberation, my conclusion on the plot: 

Thiago has a lot of generational trauma and struggles with self esteem that he doesn’t really deal with. This leaves him susceptible to the spookiness. 

The old lady neighbor creates a gateway for something to enter.

The demon sees Thiago is the key to leaving whatever dimension it is in. This gets explained/reffed in the diner scene, where the cook says something to the effect of - maybe it’s not bad luck that’s making everything go bad, but a godly force. and it wants to leave where it is, so it needs to trick you to get “a body freely given.” 

The demon proceeds to torment Thiago brutally with the events of the story - literally pushing things into place. The cook mentions that the all powerful force can mess with the laws of math and reality through altered consciousness and dreams. (This is where I get shaky, because it seems like reality and other people affirm Thiago’s experience's.) Thiago envisions a beach because it’s what Vera wanted. But the demon couldn’t get Vera herself, so it uses everything but her. 

The scratching at the walls, the Itza, the visions Thiago and others experience, the diner, the wall. - demon projects. 

Thiago wants to banish the demon first, and die second. His suicide completes before he can banish it. He loses. 

Giulia Milani

Uhhh this was scary! I couldn’t read this before sleeping because I did it once and I had a nightmare! I looooved this book, it’s the perfection thriller! You really dive in the spooky vibe and it really gives you jump scares! I loved everything about this book!

this was a study on grief before it was a horror novel, which is par for the course with all its genre siblings, but the result this time around is a surprisingly deft story grounded in tangible but not overwrought portrayals of sociopolitical dynamics, genuinely disquieting cosmic horror, new reasons why you shouldn’t rely on a smart home assistant, and enough little nods to cultural superstitions and legends to make even my grandmother feel known.

the first half was stronger by far than a less sure-footed second, but such is probably the common pitfall of stories that feature a narrator vulnerable to forces beyond the human (and terran, in this case) realm. maybe among the many factors as to why grief and horror elements go so often and so well together is that both are more potent when they are allowed to be less defined. 

this was a study on grief before it was a horror novel, which is par for the course with all its genre siblings, but the result this time around is a surprisingly deft story grounded in tangible but not overwrought portrayals of sociopolitical dynamics, genuinely disquieting cosmic horror, new reasons why you shouldn’t rely on a smart home assistant, and enough little nods to cultural superstitions and legends to make even my grandmother feel known.

the first half was stronger by far than a less sure-footed second, but such is probably the common pitfall of stories that feature a narrator vulnerable to forces beyond the human (and terran, in this case) realm. maybe among the many factors as to why grief and horror elements go so often and so well together is that both are more potent when they are allowed to be less defined. 

Enjoyed majority of the novel but a little confused at the ending. Was Cucuy apart of Thiago all along? Did Thiago let go of himself and “Cucuy” took control at the end? Or was Thiago just being driven mad with grief? Story had a good opening and gothic undertone but the ending just seemed to drag a little.

Turia L. M.

Grace M

A headfirst slide into the darkness of grief, and beyond. TTBU plays out in several acts, each one more dark and strange than the last. What started as a relatable meditation on loss, turned into tumbling down the rabbit hole, stumbling in the dark. The strangest thing was, I deeply enjoyed the fall.

This started out really strong with great voice, and then it sort of got scattered. It felt like a horror grab-bag from around the 60%-80% mark: cosmic, gothic, occult, you name it. But the ending surprised me and I actually really liked it even though the family curse turned out to be unbreakable. Somehow I like hopeless endings 🤷🏼‍♀️.

Good job, Gus Moreno. I'll be following you as closely as I do Stephen Graham Jones. 

Ashlyn

This started out really strong with great voice, and then it sort of got scattered. It felt like a horror grab-bag from around the 60%-80% mark: cosmic, gothic, occult, you name it. But the ending surprised me and I actually really liked it even though the family curse turned out to be unbreakable. Somehow I like hopeless endings 🤷🏼‍♀️.

Good job, Gus Moreno. I'll be following you as closely as I do Stephen Graham Jones. 

My first time dipping a toe into horror since Goodebumps and quite possibly the last. Not because this book is anything less than incredible, but because it’s too onerous to be restricted to reading in blinding daylight or in public (I’m not cut out for horror). This book is scary, gory, twisted ~ a thriller! More than anything, it’s about death, the cycles of grief and despair, and loss. Brilliant writing! This book contains one of my favourite quotes of all time. I highly recommend braving the horror genre for this one (and hugging the people you love like now)!

Deserves a reread of the physical book for sure. Very haunting and eerie and weird. 

Sabrina D. 

Loved the first 80% of this, absolutely hated the ending 

Sarah Timbs

tina

Christine Bruce

A man who recently lost his wife begins to realize his Alexa like home device isn’t just glitching… it may be possessed. And that’s just best case scenario. 

It quickly spirals out of control after that into something almost lovecraftian is it’s absurdity, while still being grounded enough to cause a real horror to grow. The way the evil begins to reach its tendrils into reality, across borders, into other peoples lives. It’s truly something to behold. 

The second act in particular is when the story really starts to find its footing and tell a story that was almost impossible to put down just out of sheer anticipation for what wild thing might happen next. The way it had me questioning earlier events, pages after they occurred is something that rarely happens. It’s had me doubting every single event in both its reality and representation of events: Is that character really there? Was that character EVER real at all? 

TW: animal death, spouse death, drug abuse, demonic entity but not in a Catholic way

💭 
8/10
Heavy mindf**kery
Cosmic horror
Kujo vibes, Annihilation vibes
Hurts so good

Ewan

I thought this was exceptional, half a horror novel, and half a book about grief. And the parts about grief really ripped through me.

Some seem to have found the ending confusing but it all felt like a natural conclusion to me

I really liked the book and how it deals with the topic of loss and grief, along with the many implications of the story (sanity, emotions over reality, etc etc) that come with the unreliability of the narrator. I think that the story itself on the surface level is interesting and is a great example of horror in literature, and the ambiguity of the antagonist is an entertaining aspect of the novel to interpret.

That being said, I really didn't like the pacing. The novel has a great hook, but after that it is painstakingly slow until around a hundred or so pages before the end - and although I really enjoyed the ending and the parts leading up to it, it really does feel like the ending was fairly rushed. I can't really tell if that's intentional or not, but from my point of view I really would have liked it if the more interesting ending was as descriptive as the incredible amount of exposition.

TL;DR, great read if you're into horror but beware the grand amount of buildup.

Maya

I really liked the book and how it deals with the topic of loss and grief, along with the many implications of the story (sanity, emotions over reality, etc etc) that come with the unreliability of the narrator. I think that the story itself on the surface level is interesting and is a great example of horror in literature, and the ambiguity of the antagonist is an entertaining aspect of the novel to interpret.

That being said, I really didn't like the pacing. The novel has a great hook, but after that it is painstakingly slow until around a hundred or so pages before the end - and although I really enjoyed the ending and the parts leading up to it, it really does feel like the ending was fairly rushed. I can't really tell if that's intentional or not, but from my point of view I really would have liked it if the more interesting ending was as descriptive as the incredible amount of exposition.

TL;DR, great read if you're into horror but beware the grand amount of buildup.

Madhu Mandal

Bad Girl Bex

Well that escalated quickly.

I've just finished this book and I'm sort of flummoxed as to how to give it a decent review. Because it doesn't feel as though it was really one complete book, properly edited or given the chance the premise deserved, to really become as good as I think it could have been. I started off thinking that this was going to one sort of a book, but then just over halfway through it morphed into something else, before changing again just before the end.

And (I'm not giving any spoilers here - any references I make really won't spoil the book for anyone else wanting to read it) whilst I really hated the way it was written in the beginning (a sort of second-person retrospective POV?) that was pretty much explained away by the end. That doesn't change the fact that the first half of this book managed to be both incredibly jarring AND monotonously flat in its affect. Had the second half continued in that vein, I probably would be giving this book a one star rating, instead of the three I decided it was worth by the end.

I rarely say this about books, but I really think that this one could have done with being another 75-100 pages longer. Things really ratchet up after the first half (which is frustratingly meandering and slow) and it's hard to grasp onto the vague strands of context and meaning that the author is trying to use to foreshadow the denouement. Then, all of a sudden, after some possible considerations that don't seem to go anywhere, it all ends in a way that is sort of satisfying once you realise what the premise of the whole tale was, but also weirdly abrupt. Like we got there too soon.

As much as this book has a paranormal theme running through it, with a familiar trope of technology being either sentient or taken over by evil forces, what it really is, at its core, is a treatise on grief. And Moreno writes some incredibly insightful, deep truths about the reality of grief and the state of limbo we find ourselves living in after a loved on passes away. That insight obviously comes from a place of experience and a lot of it is really impactful. Those passages really connect with the reader and because of that I genuinely wish that this book had not been sent for publication when it was. Because I feel like so much more could have been done with it. 

Combining the two strands of storyline work just fine. But I feel like we needed a more gradual descent into the madness that emerges; something to take away the nebulousness of the underlying paranormal phenomena. I know these events are supposed to be vague and hard to pin down. And in the beginning it makes sense for them to be something that can be written off as nothing or perhaps interpreted as something more sinister. But it just didn't feel as though the story arc was strong enough. It was a bit TOO vague and nebulous at times, which made the final reveal a bit too much all at once.

I'm really glad that I persevered on with this book after the first half, because it really did get a lot better. I had anticipated the rest of it being as laborious and annoying as the beginning and was expecting to be writing it off as a one star fail once I'd finished it. But I was wrong and Moreno definitely got me back on side for the second half. However, I still think that this book isn't the way it should be in its entirety. If anything the second half proved to me that the author does have what it takes to take what is the bones of something good and make it into something much better. Fewer 'yes-men' in the publication world, or better editors would have helped to send Morales back into the writing seat to tighten up the weaker parts and expand a little on the build up to the finale.

Should you read it? Yes, I think so. It's not perfect but there's definitely something good at the heart of it which resonated with me. If you can get past the first half (and the annoying moments where the narrator switches from talking to his wife in the second person, before suddenly changing up to discussing her in the third person - very jarring) then you'll find that it gets a lot better and will fly through the rest of it in no time. Who would like it? I don't know. There are a few elements that feel like they wouldn't be out of place in a King or Koontz novel, but that's not how the whole book plays out. It's more than that and I think you just have to take a punt on it and be willing to see what you make of it yourself.

This Thing Between Us A Novel

Reviews

Highlights