Book Review

Title: Come Closer by Sara Gran

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Horror

Rating: 4 Stars

I didn’t know anything about Come Closer before I got into it because I was told to go into it blind which I did and I have to say I really enjoyed it. We are following Amanda who believes she is possessed by a demon or slowly going mad and it’s up to us to figure out which one it is. Amanda is happily married to Ed when we first meet her although strange noises in their home are the first clue that something strange is going on but they seem to forget about it until Amanda dreams about a mysterious women called Naamah who reminds her of the imaginary friend, Pansy she had as a child and she finds comfort in Naamah.

From there things get stranger but slowly, at first it is stupid arguments between Amanda and Ed, small changes in Amanda’s behaviour such as her messing around with stray animals and her beginning to smoke again after she quit many years ago. Here, Amanda realises there is something wrong with her and begins consulting a book about demon possession and tries many things to get rid of Naamah but nothing seems to work, in fact, Naamah is getting stronger with every day that passes and this is reflected in Amanda’s behaviour. She begins missing work, drinking and sleeping with strange men but she is also experiencing small blackouts and losses of time. Amanda tries to seek professional help but the demon intervenes every time she tries to say something about it.

As time passes Amanda is becoming more and more afraid of the demon but she is powerless to fight against Naamah this eventually leads to Ed catching Amanda in bed with another man and the breakdown of their marriage and this is exactly the opening Naamah wanted as she has no power over Ed. Naamah also has a darker side as she has killed several people while in control of Amanda’s body and even attempts to drown a child. The final straw is when Naamah kills Ed resulting in her full control over Amanda and even in prison Naamah has so much control over Amanda she can do nothing except watch as Naamah uses her body for whatever she wants. My favourite parts of the novel were the parts where we get to learn more about Naamah and actually get brief snippets from Naamah’s perspective rather than Amanda’s. The only downside for was there wasn’t much explanation given about why Naamah targeted Amanda and no one really noticed things happening to Amanda until it was too late which would have added more suspense and drama to the novel. The horror elements are also downplayed as we don’t get to see any of the murders really we are just told about them probably because Amanda is witnessing them second hand but overall a quick and spooky read.

Buy it here:

Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk             amazon.com

Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk                amazon.com