We Are Here

by Michael Marshall

An intelligent, page-turning thriller from the international bestselling author of THE STRAW MEN.

It should have been the greatest day of David's life. A trip to New York, wife by his side, to visit his new publisher. Finally, after years of lonely struggle it looks as though the gods of fate are on his side. But on the way back to Penn station, a chance encounter changes all of that. David bumps into a man who covertly follows him and, just before he boards the train, passes by him close enough to whisper: 'Remember me.'

When the stranger turns up in his home town, David begins to understand that this man wants something from him...something very personal that he may have no choice but to surrender.

Meanwhile, back in New York, ex-lawyer John Henderson does his girlfriend Kristina a favour and agrees to talk to Catherine Warren, an acquaintance of hers who believes she's being stalked by an ex-lover. But soon John realises that Catherine's problem is far more complex and terrifying than he could ever have imagined...

There are people out there in the shadows, watching, waiting. They are the forgotten. And they're about to turn.

Genres: Thriller, Fantasy, Mystery, Horror, Fiction, Supernatural, Crime

400 pages, Hardcover

First published June 7, 2012

About the author

A pseudonym used by Michael Marshall Smith

Michael Marshall Smith (who dropped the "Smith" to write The Straw Men) lives in north London with his wife Paula, and is currently working on screenplays and his next book, while providing two cats with somewhere warm and comfortable to sit.




Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

(1) Michael Marshall - Religion/Spirituality
(2) Michael Marshall - Acting
(3) Michael Marshall - Fishing/Geography
(4) Michael Marshall - German Children's Books
(5) Michael Marshall - Indonesian Fiction

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to be honest and say I haven't read Michael Marshall before. ‘We Are Here’ wouldn’t normally my kind of book, falling as it does into the fantasy genre. That said, I was really surprised at just how much I enjoyed this kinda weird story about two couples whose lives run parallel when they are drawn into a world of strange goings on. There are stalkers, strange messages and so much more. It would be easy to give too much away, so I won't. Just give it a try, I don't think you'll be disappointed, you might even surprise yourself, I did!

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sort of sequel to Bad Things. John and Kristina have left the Northwest and moved to New York. A friend of Kristina's feels like she is being stalked so John and Kristina decide to help. They come across a group of street people who aren't all they seem. As John and Kristina get sucked into their world, will they make it back out alive?

As with all Michael Marshall books, this is a slow burn. Marshall does a fantastic job of depicting a person's thoughts and feelings when they are truly alone. The more I think about that ending that wasn't really an ending, the more perturbed I get.

[Jody · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. When I first started this book I wasn't sure what I was getting into. The description on the back cover doesn't really explain what this book is about real well and it in no way does the book justice. The prologue left me feeling a little confused but hungry to find out what it was all about. A few chapters in and the hook was set and there was no way I was not going to finish this book. About halfway through the book I had a revelation. All this time I had been classifying books as thrillers because they had action and a little suspense to them but "We Are Here" smacked me in the face and told me that this is what a thriller is supposed to be. Maybe this is what is meant by a psychological thriller because it gets in your head and will not leave you alone. We've all had those moments when we hear a door shut and no one is around, maybe someone called our name or maybe we imagined it and we've found ourselves wondering if we had knocked those papers off of the desk in our hurry to leave...well, this book explains all of that and once you know what causes those things to happen you cannot un-know it so be ready to lose sleep at night.

I'll still classify books as thrillers but maybe from now on I'll start a new shelf called psycho-thriller and this book will be at the top of the list. If ever a book should be made into a movie, this is it and it will be epic.

[Jon Recluse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an ARC from NetGalley.

They say "seeing is believing", but what if that were not the case? Michael Marshall's latest mindbending thriller will leave you questioning reality itself. What you see may not always be what you get. A thought provoking and chilling read.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a hard book to review because it'd be so easy to spoil it and I don't want to do that. I also don't want to hide most of my review behind spoiler tags so...

The book mostly centres around two couples. David and Dawn are a writer and his teacher wife who go into New York for the lunch that seals his first book deal. It's a big day for them but on the way home David accidentally bumps into someone in the street. Someone who then follows him to the station and asks him to "Remember me".

The other couple are John and Kristina. A waiter and bar-maid at an Italian restaurant who've been together about 6 months and are at the stage where they are about to either get more committed or possibly split up. Kristina's new friend from her book club has seemingly acquired a stalker and asks John and Kris for help.

Both these stories concern people who live in a kind of parallel world. They are there in the background of our lives but often go unseen or unnoticed. But something is changing. They are coming out of the shadows...

I could talk more - vaguely and circuitously so as not to spoil - about the plot but I won't. Let me talk instead about tone and themes. This is a book about regret, about loss of friendship and the way we forget people. It's also about what it means to really live in a place and be part of someone's life. In that sense it deals with some universal and weighty themes and does so well I think.

However it's not a ponderous literary novel. It's a thriller. It reminded me of Stephen King in places, which is a compliment. I enjoyed several of the characters. The author writes a middle-aged lady with nine cats who lives in a trailer - and he manages to make me really like her :)

It's not perfect. I think it could have been shorter. Particularly in the middle section where dramatic irony is stretched to the breaking point. Also, I was going to complain that there was an un-fired Chekov's Gun in the form of very significant events from one character's past which are mentioned more or less in passing but never really dealt with. However it turns out that this character, and these events, are from a previous book. Also they are mentioned because they affect who this person sees and interprets events in this story, so the gun is fired - it just has a quieter bang than you might think.

Anyway it all comes together in the final part of the book and we get a dramatic action-y ending. It left me feeling I'd enjoyed the ride.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many others this is a hard book to rate. I enjoyed Marshalls writing style and approach to this new concept but I had a few issuses;

- The characters 'Kristina' and "Catherine' should have more distinct names in my opinion as to avoid confusion.
- The amount of detail of some parts of the novel was a little too descriptive for my taste, although done beautifully.
- Felt like it was 100 pages to long at least and some parts could have been cut completely.

All in a all an enjoyable read, would make a great movie or mini-series.

I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

6/10

[Gatorman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally disappointing effort from Marshall redeemed somewhat by a last third pickup in the story. Would probably give it 2.5 stars if able but the writing and last third bumped it up a half star. I don't want to give away the plot since it's supposed to be figured out as the slow tale unfolds, but it involves parallel stories with beings that may be ghosts, may be imagined, or may be something else entirely. The stories converge at the end of the book which, despite the lackluster first two-thirds, does pick up and finishes strong. Well-written but often needlessly confusing and unfocused. My least-liked book from Marshall who is usually spot-on.

[MacWithBooksonMountains Marcus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not finish this. Beginning is inscrutable and remains so for too long.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to reading this book especially after Stephen King gave it his thumbs up, however, I have to say I was really disappointed in it. It had a lot of suspense which was good but as it has been classified as a crime/thriller book I was kind of expecting it to be just that....a crime of some sort. It wasn't until about 3/4 through the book that I finally figured out that a lot of the characters were angels or ghosts. Basically for most of the book it was people who kept seeing people who would disappear and then reappear. I really didn't see the point of the story or where it was going. There was a little bit of excitement right at the end but otherwise I wasn't kept on the edge of my seat to find out what happened. I only kept reading it as I wanted to figure out where it was going which was basicalliy nowhere. I think this book should be classified as paranormal, not crime. Perhaps I missed the plot with this story but I was really disappointed with it.

[Lili · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author recounts the daily lives of two couples; David an up and coming author and his wife Dawn, John an ex –lawyer and his partner Kristina are plunged into the anonymous shadow world of bewildering encounters, baffling stalkers, mysterious messages, furtive people, and incomprehensible happenings.
When a stranger bumps into David nothing in his life makes sense and fear becomes the watchword; an extraordinary book that leads them and the reader into a complex and surprising journey into the unknown.
ARC
Goodreads Firstread

[Jesse · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Marshall (Smith)'s work, but this sequel to Bad Things, one of his previous novels, was a pretty underwhelming read to be honest. It features all the things that make Marshall's books such compelling page turners, but the story lacks the excitement and tension from his previous work. The problem is that, this time, there just isn't much at stake for the main characters and only in the very end the story starts picking up the pace, which is a bit too late. If you're new to Marshall's work a better introduction would be The Straw Men (trilogy), Killer Move or Bad Things.

[Sandrine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Je suis allée jusqu'au bout, même si j'ai lu les 40 dernières pages en diagonale.
Ce roman est découpé en trois parties. J'ai trouvé la première partie très compliquée et je dois avouer que je n'ai pas compris grand chose dans plusieurs chapitres. Mais je me suis dit que ça ferait sans doute sens plus tard. La seconde partie est un peu plus intéressante. Elle nous permet de rentrer un peu plus dans l'intimité des personnages. Pour ce qui est de la troisième partie, je me suis ennuyée.
En fait, ce que j'aime le plus de ce bouquin, c'est sa couverture et sa 4eme. Le reste me laisse un goût de roman mal construit, d'idées mélangées et mal creusées. J'ai l'impression que l'auteur n'a pas voulu prendre partie. Faire dans le fantastique ? Le thriller ? Mélanger un peu de tout ça, secouer et hop... Un roman. Ben non.
Pour moi, ça n'a pas marché.

[Emma Valieu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Qu'en est-il de ces gens qui faisaient partie de nous et à qui on ne pense plus ?
Voilà une histoire super originale (dont il est difficile de parler sans spoiler) mais qui aurait mérité d'être moins confuse ! En effet, c'est un peu le bordel pour les lecteurs qui ne peuvent pas toujours compter sur les personnages puisque eux aussi, pédalent dans la semoule.

Le rythme est lent mais je l'ai apprécié car il m'a permis de tisser un lien avec les personnages principaux et sans cela, je serais passée à côté de ce roman comme beaucoup de lecteurs... car l'astuce est là, en fait : il faut être en mesure de comprendre ce qu'ils vivent et ressentent pour tout simplement piger ce roman. Et cela, seuls les (grands) enfants imaginatifs et solitaires seront en mesure de le faire.

[Michelle]

The publisher’s synopsis of We Are Here overly simplifies the story. There is so much that occurs within its pages as well as a very large cast of characters to follow and keep separate. David and his wife are just two of the characters to interact with the stranger, and there are more than one stranger. To alleviate some of the confusion, Mr. Marshall devotes each chapter to one character and his or her point-of-view. This is helpful in filling in some rather large knowledge gaps so that by the time all of the stories converge into one, readers have a full understanding of just what is at stake for all of them. Unfortunately, the cast of characters is so large that it does not eliminate all of the issues in trying to remember everyone and everything that occurs.

The main question behind the entire novel revolves around the stranger and his fellow shadowy creatures, who or what they are, and what they want. Although there is a particular set of answers to those questions towards which Mr. Marshall tries to lead a reader, interestingly enough there is room for doubt and speculation. In the end, just who or what they are is completely at the mercy of a reader’s whim. To have the potential for various interpretations is a fascinating prospect and one of the more creative elements to We Are Here.

The story itself tends to jump around a lot, as one would expect with multiple narrators. Remembering who, what, where, why, and when for each chapter does become a bit of a chore, but Mr. Marshall balances that with an ever-tightening net around everyone and everything. Eventually, the stories begin to converge quite nicely, making it unnecessary for a reader to pause and think at the beginning of each chapter. The main plot is intriguing for its creativity and depth as well as the speed at which everything unfolds. It is not a story for multi-tasking readers, as one needs to pay close attention or else risks missing key scenes or essential reveals. In keeping with its esoteric plot and characters, the descriptions are minimalistic but effective. It’s an adequate novel with an unusual premise that will either turn off readers or compel them to continue reading.

I read this book when I was sick with some virus thing that kept me in a fog for about a week. I did not know I was in a fog at the time. I thought I was perfectly fine until I woke up one day and realized I did not remember much of the previous five days. While I remember the book, for the most part, it probably was not the best choice to read when not all mentally there. The stranger, and the others that appear to various characters throughout the novel, requires a bit more mental capacity to understand and accept than I was capable of using – something I now see only after I fully recovered. I still enjoyed the novel but my ongoing confusion at various elements of the story continues to cloud my long-term feelings for it. As it is not a book I particularly want to read again, We Are Here will forever be that book I read when I was sick and cannot decipher whether the WTF moments were all in my head or part of the story.

[Paul Penney · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was surprised that this was so bad. I have enjoyed previous novels by this author, as I find them to be quite thrilling as well as unique, in a dark & mysterious way. This novel was nothing like previous works. The description on the back sets up a story about schoolteacher who has signed with a publisher to begin a career in writing novels and is approached by a mysterious stranger in the city with a cryptic and spooky "Remember me". However, this is one of three separate storylines that are developed in the early chapters. One of the others, a story about a lady who thinks she is being followed, dominates the early chapters, leaving the reader to think "What happened to that schoolteacher guy?", while a third storyline is so cryptic in talking about 'fingermen' and 'cornermen' that it is as confusing as it is seemingly irrelevant to the other two storylines. I assume the author ties these three together at some point, but after 100 pages of forcing myself to keep reading despite excruciating boredom and wading through irrelevant details, I could endure no more. It made my mind wander back to the book I had finished before this one, which focused on how difficult it is to endure waterboarding and other tortures, and I started to think "Could waterboarding be as bad as trying to read another 100 pages of this??" Needless to say, I am not going to spoil the ending, because I could endure no more after 100 painstakingly boring pages of text. If you can withstand torture better than I, let me know how it ends...

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Michael Marshall's "Straw men" trilogy and since those I have read all his novels. He has an eye to the weird but written in an extremely entertaining way. His books will almost always mess with your head (in a very "what the hecks happening here" good way) and as usual I found myself immersed in the story and desperate to know what was what. David, an author who is about to get his first book published, bumps into a stranger who seems to know him - from then on strange things start happening and David finds himself in all sorts of trouble. Meanwhile, John agrees to help out his girlfriends bookclub pal who believes she is being stalked. However it is not as simple as that. As their two stories intertwine, we begin to discover another world - one that, whilst it is obviously fantasy, is actually quite believable. I have to say that when I wasnt reading this, I found myself often looking over my shoulder half expecting someone to be there! I very much enjoyed this - and whilst the Straw Men trilogy will probably always be my favourite from this author, he has never let me down when it comes to a darn good yarn. Excellent!

[Andy Wasley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Marshall’s creepy New York thriller forces us to examine the reality of the world around us. A series of unsettling events and stalker incidents indicates that people’s lives are being manipulated by unseen individuals. As those individuals slip in and out of view the reality of their identity and purpose grows steadily more apparent, leading Marshall’s characters towards a strange new awareness of the world around them. Marshall’s prose is clear and evocative, and plays with narrative modes to make it unclear which frame of reference we should trust – the personal narrative, or impersonal descriptions. Though some readers might find this slightly voguish it harks back to classic Gothic fiction like Dracula, and emphasises the confusion and personalised nature of the mystery at the story’s heart. Unfortunately a rather obvious premise means the plot doesn't quite live up to Marshall’s story-telling potential, but overall the tale remains weirdly compelling.

[Anji · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure to be honest...will have to think about it more,I certainly don't think it's one of his best. Mr Marshall's writing style is wonderful and his philosophies and observations about life are intelligent wonderfully insightful and I did find myself identifying with and recognisng a lot of these,but for me,although the idea of this story was indeed interesting,I did feel however,that explaining their existence as ghosts, as opposed to mere figments of our imaginations would have worked a lot better.The revelation at the end was indeed poignant and explained a lot,but for me,there was something missing and I can't quite put my finger on it.

[Lesley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book at all. Actually, that's not strictly true, there was a concept thrown about a little that I found fascinating and wish had been explored properly. It was kind of like reading a whodunnit and then being told in the epilogue "oh, by the way, the dog did it" with no kind of explanation. I don't understand how the concept here worked, but the idea of it was intriguing. Sadly the story, characters and the writing fell short for me. A few interesting paragraphs out of four hundred miserable pages wasn't enough for me and I just couldn't enjoy this book.

[Travis Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are not very many......

Maybe memories of his past novels allowed for the fourth star, but I enjoyed not knowing where the story was going until at least half the book was read. Also, the subject matter of Marshall's books always seem to walk that fine line of believable or unbelievably outrageous.

[Katherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Книга эта как жвачка: тянется и тянется, вкуса давно уже нет, скулы болят, а выбросить жалко
Я выбирала из нескольких новинок, что же все-таки прочитать. Остановилась на «Мы здесь». И зря. Первые страниц сорок я читала неделю. Потом все же собралась с духом – ну в самом же деле, что ж тут такого-то? Давай, вперед!
И что я могу сказать. Сленг у автора нелегкий. Диалоги полны похабного сленга, босотской атмосферы. Тут же автор переходит на обычный, даже где-то философский стиль. Это смотрится дико. Ко всему этому автор дико любит сложноподчиненные предложения (или возможно мне попался такой переводчик).
Вот например:

«Хотя временами – а именно, когда здесь шумными оравами кочевали студенты из Нью-Йоркского университета и Института Купера плюс молодая туристская поросль, навязчиво демонстрирующая свою крутизну и клевость (вы, мол, не подумайте: мы не из какой-нибудь там банановой республики и не торговцы какими-нибудь отстойными компами – а кто же вы еще, позвольте спросить?), впечатление складывалось такое, будто тусуешься во дворе студенческой общаги.»

- орфография и пунктуация сохранена.
Или вот:

«Он должен был определенное время топтаться – появляться в назначенных местах (этот парк как раз был одним из них) и через это обозначать свою доступность и готовность выполнить заказы, которые до него загодя доводили местные Угловые или друзья, что присутствовали здесь на местах.»

И вот:

«Уверенная, со светским лоском женщина, что я повстречал за столиком кафе на Гринвич-авеню, вовсе не имела вид человека на грани срыва, но это могло означать и то, что проблема укрыта несколько глубже обычного либо что имеет место нечто – то самое два плюс, которое в сумме дает двадцать два.»

Серьезно?!
И вот так всю книгу.
Складывается впечатление, будто книгу писал студент для курсовой. Да, даже не для диплома. Он так хотел показаться крутым «литератором»? Или возможно, книга рассчитана на определенный возрастной контингент, в который я уже не вхожу.
Мое впечатление про то, как автор идею думал для этой книги (простите Бога ради за упоминание идеи и книги в одном предложении): есть у авто��а блокнотик с карандашиком, который он носит везде. Вот сидит автор в машине, пришла на ум мысля, он ее раз – и записал. Кофе пьет – мысля – записал. Посуду моет, футбол смотрит, по магазинам ходит – и все записывает. И казалось бы и есть у него «ИДЕЯ», но вот словить он ее не может. Поэтому получилась замечательная каша из тыквы, огурца, картошки, авокадо, манго, шоколада, малины, телятины, устриц, молока, печенюшек и помидор. И все это хорошо перемешано. И нифига не поймешь.
Что касается сюжета, он был бы отличным, если бы его описывал другой автор. У этого не получилось раскрыть полный смак. Недосказанности… недосказанности… Я что-то должна была понять? Додумать? А может сам автор у себя не смог до конца сформировать эту идею?
Я взялась читать книгу, понадеявш��сь на аннотацию. Но из-за стилистики самого автора книга шла очень долго и тяжело. Дать бы сюжет другому автору – уверена, она была бы замечательной!
В одних и тех же монологах персонажи противоречат сами себе. Никто не знает, кто он такой. Никто не знает, кто такие другие. И никто не знает, что с этим делать. Никто не знает, почему появлялись те или иные персонажи, никто не знает, почему они так тупо и наиграно себя ведут. Никто не знает чем закончилась эта книга. Ну вот я – точно не поняла. А еще больше не поняла – зачем же я ее читала.
Черт бы их подрал, эти новинки! Пошла читать Брэдбери и Кинга...
p.s. Взгляд из будущего - 2020 год, я уверено читаю книги в оригинале. И хочу отметить, что все мои претензии по этой книге и этому автору могут быть лишь притензиями к переводчику. В оригинале я пока Маршала не читала, однако, не упускаю вероятности просто неудачного перевода.

[Maura Heaphy Dutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another immersive, well-written and entertaining supernatural thriller from a guy who (imho) deserves to be as well-known as Stephen King.

Well, hello, everyone! Are we having fun yet? (insert Ironic Face ...)

What we need in this Time of Pestilence is some light reading. Something that keeps the pages turning, and yet doesn't involve pandemics, meteor strikes, zombies, genetically engineered killer pot plants, or other post-apocalyptic scenarios. As entertaining as those usually are, they are cutting a little close to the bone at the moment.

So I offer, for your consideration, We Are Here by Michael Marshall. aka Michael Marshall Smith. aka Michael Rutger. This is the fourth novel I have read by Michael (excuse over-familiarity, but what's a reader to do? ...) in any of his manifestations, and it is the third that I have felt is a cracking read, well worth a few of my idle hours. (One was a bust, for me, but others loved it, so I will not judge. Well, I will, but ...)

For the life of me, I can't understand why Michael Marshall/Marshall Smith/Rutger isn't every bit as well-known and loved as Stephen King. His novels share some of the elements that make even the least King novels more readable than 90% of other things being published: the knack of identifying something -- a "what-if" or a "how about that" -- that makes for an intriguing and relatable plot. Characters who feel real, spouting dialogue that sounds like the things people really say. A dry wit. A willingness to go for the slow burn -- not to hurry things, and sometimes digress in ways whose relation to the business at hand may not be immediately obvious, but are always fun and interesting.

(The final point may get both authors in trouble with impatient readers, and even devotees, because there are times when you want to scream, oh, for the love of god, just get ON with it!! But I would argue that they are relatively few, and far between.)

I won't try to describe the plot, because I think saying too much will spoil the experience: I have noticed that, for once, the publishers have worked hard to avoid excessive spoilers in the blurbs and publicity material. Good for them. I will only say that it's creepy, and (by the standards of supernatural thrillers) almost plausible. It definitely works as a metaphor to explain things that I'm sure all of us have experienced: the sense that you are not alone in an empty room. Your cat staring at something that isn't there. The keys that you know you left here, inexplicably turning up over there. I'll just say that, while you're reading it, those "footsteps" you hear in the empty room overhead will take on a whole new resonance ...

If I have a quibble, it's that (as is the case, I think, with many supernatural thrillers) the ending falls a little flat. There is so much build up, so many expectations, it's hard to see sometimes, how it could be otherwise. This, however, feels a lot better and more satisfying than many I have read.

Oh, and as a native New Yorker, I loved the setting, and thought it was handled really well. However, I wondered if Mr. Marshall didn't slightly underestimate the distance from Union Square to Bryant Park -- that's ... 30 blocks, give or take, and the characters are running back and forth from one chapter to another. Whew. Still, any novel that gives a shout out to the Strand Bookstore is ok with me.

My criteria for 4-stars is something that isn't Shakespeare (or Dickens, or Austen, whatever) but is much better than it "needs" to be. This is a 4-star supernatural thriller, with bells on. I am looking forward to my next novel by the author -- whatever he chooses to call himself.

[Jude Samson]

The narrator is good in that he performs the story but his gasping is so distracting and needless. The software out there today gets rid of as much of the breathing noise as possible but his breath control is off so he takes big gasping breaths during the reading instead of right before hitting record.

So much of this was just unnecessary. It would have been better as a novella. Also, he wasn’t “meticulous” trashing the home and making a mess. He was “methodical.” Interesting concept - IF HE EVER GETS TO IT! You can easily be hot or miss with MMS stuff and this was a bit of both. The concept is interesting but the characters are jumbled and excess junk really weighs it down. Once again he proves to have an on-going issue of writing characters spending exhaustive amount of time going back and forth in big useless circles before eventually getting on track with the main point of the story. As a writer we should always be trying to get out characters moving forward. Having a breaking point where our characters fall back on themselves to regroup is fine but with MMS this is their primary state!

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

nearly 4 weeks to labor thru and you know where that's leading.
Michael Marshall (Smith) is one of my favorite writers, although I'd already read most everything he's penned under various psuedonyms over the years. Missed this one the first time and went back to catch up.
This had great potential. Unfortunately the majority of it went unclaimed.
I can't really say much about the main characters without giving away the plot (in the unlikely event anyone is going to read this now), but they're different. And you learn about them as you go.

It was still difficult to get into the book, and the pacing was laborious for a very long time (90% of book) before finally moving at the end.

5 stars for the story potential which was still very interesting and largely (completely) unexplored in literature today. 1 star for fulfilling that promise. 3 stars average total.

[dalex · Rating 3 out of 5]

We Are Here focuses on four characters - John, a former lawyer who now works in a restaurant, his girlfriend Kristina, David, a teacher and aspiring author, and Catherine, an affluent woman who belongs to a book club with Kristina. All of their lives are impacted by a strange underworld of shadow people who disappear as suddenly as they appear.

It’s a well written book with strong characterizations and a clever plot. It got off to a rocky start for me though; I found the beginning confusing and slow-paced. As the story develops, however, the mystery became ever more compelling and by the time things finally start to come together I was rather amazed at the author’s ingenuity. For me, We Are Here was a solidly good book that I thought had the potential to be a much better one.

[Fran Wolfman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really my sort of book but I thought I’d try a different genre. After the first few chapters, It didn’t seem to have any direction and lost itself. It’s based on the premise of Angels - no, wait - ghosts, nope sorry - imaginary friends with substantive form but only for certain people. Anyway, they appear on street corners, watching, whilst others “do stuff” and some others seem to oversee it all. It only involves two groups of main characters who then start to interact with the Angel/ghost/imaginary friends. And of course there are baddie imaginary friends. It just all got a bit tedious and the end was pfft- as in fizzled out. I’m sorry, not for me.

[Tanvir Muntasim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Marshall is a vastly underrated writer, who marries genre thrills with high quality literary writing perfectly. Even in his genre writing he can walk a fine line between supernatural and real life horror effortlessly. All his signature style is visible in this book as well, where multiple story lines merge in providing some thoughtful thrills to ask questions about the power of our imagination and the very nature of reality. The only complaint is about uneven pace in the beginning, but overall, a satisfying read for fans of existentialist thrillers.

[Marni · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's very difficult to describe this book without giving it away. One of the reviews says "chilling...intelligent and profoundly unsettling". I'm not sure I agree with 'profoundly', but but it was chilling and unsettling and the author's way of expressing ideas fascinating - .."living a life is like building a house on an emotional fault line. Places persist, but every living thing is going to die."

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am surprised by some of the reviews for this book, I honestly thought it was brilliant. The prose was delightful and the comments on life and the human condition touching and sometimes profound. A lovely, if, often dark, book. I am not usually moved to review the books I read but this book is definitely recommended.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall an interesting. Micheal Marshall’s detailed writing does what I believe he intended to do to pull you into a story that keeps you questing. Keeps you in the moment and rooting for the hero. This would be a book I would read again just to say......aaahhhh right.....I missed that! I would recommend this book and I will likely look for more books written by this author.