Rachel Harrison has once again proven herself as one of the most inventive voices in modern horror with Play Nice. This novel is equal parts haunted house story, family drama, and sharp social commentary, making it both entertaining and thought-provoking.
The story follows Clio Louise Barnes, a stylish influencer living a glossy, picture-perfect life. Beneath her curated online presence, however, lies a complicated past. After her mother’s sudden death, Clio and her sisters inherit their childhood home, a place their mother always insisted was possessed by a demon. Where her sisters see only painful memories and trauma, Clio sees an opportunity: a renovation project that she can turn into profitable content. But as she begins her home makeover, strange events stir up old fears and lead her to question whether her mother’s warnings were more than delusions.
What makes Play Nice stand out is Clio herself. She is stubborn, reckless, and chaotic, often frustrating to watch yet undeniably compelling. Readers will find themselves torn between rooting for her and wanting to shake some sense into her. This tension is part of what makes the book so gripping. Harrison writes Clio with a raw authenticity that captures how messy and contradictory people can be.
The family dynamics are another highlight. Clio’s relationships with her sisters are layered with resentment, loyalty, and unresolved pain. Their interactions feel painfully real, and the novel balances supernatural horror with the emotional horrors that come from fractured families. The demon in the house might lurk in shadows and scribble unsettling smiley faces, but the deeper terror lies in the scars left by a troubled upbringing.
Readers have responded in different ways. Some find Clio insufferable, her choices maddening, and the demon less frightening than expected. Others praise Harrison for writing such a unique protagonist and weaving subtle, chilling moments that linger long after the book is closed. For those who love haunted house tales with a twist of dysfunctional family drama, Play Nice delivers exactly what the title suggests: chaos dressed up as charm.
The final act of the book is unforgettable. Tension builds into a crescendo of psychological dread and eerie supernatural activity. By the end, Harrison not only entertains but also raises profound questions about trauma, truth, and the demons we inherit from those we love.
Play Nice is horror with a human core: darkly funny, unsettling, and emotionally resonant. It may not be the scariest haunted house story ever written, but it is one of the most memorable, and it cements Rachel Harrison as an author worth obsessing over.
