We Live Here Now

Pinborough’s wobbly latest standalone (after Insomnia) is an atmospheric if anticlimactic gothic thriller about a couple’s move to an eerie estate. Emily and Freddie Bennett have left London for the village of Dartmoor after a near-fatal fall induced a miscarriage in Emily. Following a lengthy hospitalization, she hopes for a fresh start, but her transition to their new home, Larkin Lodge, proves difficult. Apart from feeling unsettled by the surroundings (“Uneven ground and rough shrubs amid rocky outcrops”), Emily hears strange noises in the house, and an unseen presence seems to be tossing books around. Her fears that Larkin might be haunted are stoked by an interrupted session with a Ouija board, during which the planchette spells out the phrase “find it” multiple times. Both Emily and Freddie keep secrets from each other—including Emily’s affair with her boss, who might have been the father of her child—and Pinborough smartly externalizes their tensions with disquieting descriptions of the odd goings-on at Larkin. Less effective is the book’s final reveal, which undercuts the promising buildup. Here’s hoping Pinborough returns to form next time out. Agent: Grainne Fox, UTA. (May)