Play Nice
in a nutshell: 3 sisters were moved into a house their newly single mother proudly purchased after a nasty divorce from their beloved father, only to endure increasingly erratic behavior from their borderline alcoholic mother who gradually insisted their house was fucking haunted, and only the baby sister (who'd made a mysterious 'friend' in her closet) could corroborate that, but, she was like 5. The father successfully sues for full custody, their mother writes a popular book about their experiences with the haunted house, and the sisters cut off all contact with her to grow up nominally normal. Years later, they have few memories of the house-- save for the older two remembering their mother's harmful antics-- when they receive word that their mom has passed. Only the youngest daughter, carrying less mom-related trauma than the other two, attends her funeral. There, she learns their mother never sold the old house (for fear of the demon residing within) and the sisters all stand to inherit it.
the vibes: A Netflix limited series about familial trauma within the narrative hook of a possibly haunted house. Decidedly a feminine experience as illustrated by the title: a gentle threat all little girls are familiar with.
main themes: Familial trauma, birth order roles, mental illness, addiction & its ripple effects, hauntings, sanctified parent losing their halo, forgiveness after the fact, mommy issues, sisterly bonds, the nuances of brand partnership contracts, home renovations, demon-hunter stepdads.
the writing: Again, I read this on my tiny-ass phone screen (going against all of my Old Man instincts) while stuck in the specific hell that is an airport at night during an ever-increasingly long flight delay. Despite this, I remember enjoying these characters a lot! The plot was perhaps not the most novel, but overall it was structured in a fun way with the mom's book-within-a-book, and the writing occasionally got a real chuckle out of me. It passed the time and I was genuinely entertained. Thank you, Play Nice! You were my only friend through that nightmareish experience.
"Remembering is not always a light shone into darkness. Sometimes it's a claw reaching out and dragging you back."
The main character truly carries the story here: Clio is a mid-tier It Girl of New York's influencer scene; not quite employed but coasting on brand sponsorships and modeling gigs. An atypical heroine for any tale, let alone a horror book, but damned if Harrison didn't write her charming as fuck. You can't help but love her, as her older sisters begrudgingly admit. The sisterhood aspect of the story was a huge part of the heart of this book. I even made a note on my phone while reading: 'this lady knows female familial relations! am as eager to learn why each sis turned out the way they did and how their relationships formed as I am to experience demonic house.'
So Clio is the only sister who wants anything to do with their inherited haunted house. She has plans to remodel it while documenting the journey via her social media, of course. All's going well enough until she finds half a copy of her mom's book (which the eldest sister made them all swear to never read) replete with handwritten notes and commentary for Clio. This throws her into a tailspin of doubt, as she reads her mom's recollection of events Clio either barely remembers or was told different versions of by her family. She starts to wonder if her mom was truly suffering with mental illness, just schwasted, or if, potentially worse, she was telling the truth?
Enter: demon.
You can probably already guess the various story beats that follow, if you've consumed your fair share of haunted house stories, but it's a fun enough journey anyway! Kudos to Harrison for getting me to genuinely root for an influencer!