Nobody But Us

At the start of Van Rensburg’s exceptional debut, a highly entertaining psychological thriller, Ellie Masterson and Steve Harding are looking forward to celebrating their six months as a couple with a romantic getaway weekend. An unease immediately settles over them on their drive from Manhattan to Chesapeake Bay, where the remote house they’ve rented—all “glass and steel”—butts up against dark woods that lead to the ocean. Arriving at night, they can barely see out the windows, but Ellie is sure she has seen someone among the trees. Each creak in the house unnerves her. They both want their relationship to work despite different backgrounds—Ellie is an NYU grad student 17 years younger than wealthy Steven, who’s a Barnard College professor about to move to Columbia. But each is suspicious of the other, especially Steven, who’s keen to know what Ellie carries in her heavy handbag. When a snowstorm strands them, their wariness about the other intensifies. This deliciously creepy haunted house tale skillfully explores the psyches of two people who carry their own ghosts with them. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency. (Apr.)