NetGalley Buddy Readers discussion

Elyse and I will be buddy reading The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer. Everyone is welcome to join. Date: 22 February 2026 :)



Follow the Rites...

Nothing less than the survival of humanity is at stake.

From Marcus Kliewer, a new “titan of the macabre and unsettling” (Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author), comes a supernatural horror about a young woman who accepts a caretaking job from Craigslist, only to discover the position has consequences far greater—and more dangerous—than she ever could have imagined.

EXCITING OPPORTUNITY:
Caretaker urgently needed. Three days of work. Competitive pay. Serious applicants ONLY.

Macy Mullins can’t say why the job posting grabbed her attention—it had the pull of a fisherman’s lure, barbed hook and all—vaguely ominous. But after an endless string of failed job interviews, she's not exactly in the position to be picky. She has rent to pay, groceries to buy, and a younger sister to provide for.

Besides, it’s only three days’ work…

Three days, cooped up in a stranger’s house, surrounded by Oregon Coast wilderness.

What starts as a peculiar side gig soon becomes a waking nightmare. An incomprehensible evil may dwell on this property—and Macy Mullins might just be the only thing standing between it, and the rest of humanity.

Follow the Rites...

Follow the Rites...

Follow the Rites...

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This one looks good, so I have requested and if I'm approved (and in time) I'll join you

Just been approved for this so happy to join and can be flexible with the date so long as I have a day or so notice to finish whatever book I will be reading at the time

Yay! The soonest I can do a buddy read is Feb 22.

Around then is fine for me, I'm not in a rush and have a couple to read before this one anyway.

Yaay, 22 February it is then. Talk to you all soon!

Definitely excited to start this in a couple days!

Ooh forgot about this one, I'll be ready to start on 22nd. Looking forward to it

I just finished the intro “Follow the Rites” and I can already feel the unease creeping in. Looks like we’re in for quite a wild ride.
Happy reading, everyone!

I've just finished Follow The Rites too, Bee and felt the same. I think this is going to be good

Also just got through Follow the Rites and I'm already creeped out! 😅

Through chapter 9

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That video creeped me right out. There is no way I am going back to the house after watching that. I don't care about the money!

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Through chapter 9

(view spoiler)[You and me both, Kevin! The first red flag was the 9k offer for a weekend of house sitting xD

I read this and it made me think that the wife needed to find another caretaker and perhaps she's not coming back?: "as soon as you set foot on this property with intention to be its caretaker, you can't just quit. You must stick with it until somebody else formally takes up the baton, so to speak."

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Also through Ch. 9 (view spoiler)[This is reminding me of The Watchers by A. M. Shine and The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay. It started off with such a bang. Macy doesn't know what she's in for. And no, Bee, I don't think the wife is coming back! (hide spoiler)] I definitely need to find something light to read simultaneously lol.

@Elyse
(view spoiler)[I also got vibes of The Cabin at the End of the World!

Hearing that part and still taking the job is insane and she still believes it's only a weekend thing, oh Macy 🤦🏻‍♀️.

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Through Part 2, Chapter 4
Haven't had too much time to read over the past day or so, so I am only getting through this slowly

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The story is really starting now and I am looking forward to how it progresses now. Agree, Bee, that taking the job was insane but such a clever move giving the 3k up front. Macy's desperation for the money really came through and she clearly needs the remaining 6k.

Macy is now out for her walk and sees the red headed stranger, and I am gutted I need to get back to work

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I just got approved for this today, but I have another buddy read starting today, so I'll be a little behind all of you. Looking forward to your thoughts when I get a chance to read them!:

I'm hoping to start tonight, just have one to finish first!

Just finished Part 2 Ch 14 (53%) (view spoiler)[and things are starting to get real. Or are they? I'm sufficiently creeped out and it's only going to get worse, right? Buuuut I think back to We Used to Live Here and there was definitely ambiguity in the ending. I still think about that book and I'm planning to re-read (I listened to the audio last year). Lucy was definitely a bit weird and I'm wondering if she's going to come back into the picture... Macy already failed the first rite aiyayai! (hide spoiler)]

Elyse,

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Totally agree, Lucy was a bit weird and I definitely think she will be back at some point. And agreed, I can't believe she failed the first rite by 7 seconds. Come on Macy, get it together!

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Just finished part 2, chapter 19

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Now she's failed the rabbits Rite. This girl is not doing herself any favours

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Finished part 2, chapter 19

(view spoiler)[ She's failing every rite and on the first try, c'mon Macy!

Is Lucy also a visitor? She did this 3 taps with her foot and visitors also knock three times? Probably a tad far-fetched but I don't know.

This whole thing feels like a fever dream.

@Elyse: I think he might go down the same route with this one and have one of those ambiguous endings, which I personally love as they leave plenty of room for interpretation and debate.
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IDK HOW y'all managed to stop after Ch 19, even briefly! I kept going till end of 21 and then it was 10pm and I was scared lol. I get nightmares easily so I had to stop at that point! 😅

I was reading and noticed Kevin was on the same chapter as me, so of course I had to check his thoughts first 😂 Then I kept going until I literally couldn’t keep my eyes open. I was completely creeped out and absolutely loving every second of it.

FINISHED

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Of course it’s an open ending but seriously, what the hell? Was it all in her head? Did she imagine everything? Were they trauma-induced hallucinations from everything she never processed? I’m so confused.

I can appreciate an ambiguous ending, but this one felt a little too abrupt for my taste.

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Life is definitely getting in the way of this which I am not happy about. Now onto part 4 so nearly there and can't wait to read your thoughts

Life is getting in my way too. Starting to get FOMO with everyone posting positive notes lol. Going to try to start this evening.

I'm definitely going to finish today. Once naptime starts lol.

I just finished. 🤔 (view spoiler)[Marcus, sir, what are you doing? So she failed in the end because she didn't turn the light off because she thought she killed Jemma and was going to throw herself off the cliff. ROUGH. Like, maybe just flip the light before you do all that just in case......and you would've saved the world. Honestly, I would've liked a lot more explanation lol. Who are the people who call? Is it some sort of chain reaction thing? What did the symbols and "scriptures" mean? How did David die? Did he let Visitor Caleb kill him? I mean I believe David knew as little about the machinations as Macy did. Why did she never call or text Grace? I don't think it's fair that "they" even got her with Jemma's cell phone ringing in the basement room. Too far. I feel like I hated the book? lol (hide spoiler)]

More thoughts and re: Bee's thoughts: (view spoiler)[I thought the gotcha was going to be about grief and moving on. NOPE. No gotcha at all! I don't know what to believe and it's way worse than the ending of We Used to Live Here. And this definitely ended like The Cabin at the End of the World lol. (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[Same! I also thought it could be grief… or maybe she’s dead? In a coma? Purgatory? I kept waiting for at least a hint of an explanation, but it almost felt like the author didn’t know where to take the story and just stopped midway through, without offering a single clue about what was actually going on.

I don’t know, maybe that’s harsh, but it came across as a little lazy to me. I’m kind of disappointed 😅


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Thru Chapter 10 26% (view spoiler)[ It's just staring to get going. Definitely can see why Macy would take the job. Sure sounds like things are going to get scary. I don't think the wife is going to come back though. (hide spoiler)]

Finished

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Agree with the general thoughts here. Im all for an open ending but this 'ending' left us with very little. Agree with Bee that it's almost like he got to the end, didn't know where to take it and just gave up.

The premise of the book was decent but the execution wasn't great

Thanks for buddy reading, enjoyed sharing thoughts with you

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(view spoiler)[I honestly don’t even know how to rate this one. I really enjoyed the buildup but that buildup led to… absolutely nothing ✨


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End of Part 1

Ok so the wife (view spoiler)[ definitely isn't coming back right? 9k for 2 days of house-sitting is such a big fat red flag.

I understand they need the money but I would never go back after watching that video. Who knows if she'll get the 6k even if she survives?

Also who is giving instructions? One step on the video said thé phone will ring and someone will tell you what to do. So someone is monitoring the house?

Super creepy already!!!!

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End of Part 2

So she got there and promptly (view spoiler)[ 2/3 rites. Excellent work!

Burn the rabbit?! omg I could never.

Is Lucy actually a visitor? She met her in daytime so in theory she should be human?

We still don't know who Caleb is but I'm assuming that's his pen knife.

I can't believe she actually went back.

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Finished

Wait, what? (view spoiler)[ I have nothing to add to everything that's been said. Super abrupt ending. No explanation of literally one single thing. And seriously? She couldn't turn on the light before she headed to the cliff? C'mon.

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Thru Part II. (view spoiler)[ Well, so far she has done almost everything she wasn't suppose to do and has had to open two of the three envelopes. Thinking she is going to need to open the third one now. (hide spoiler)]

Finished (view spoiler)[ I agree with everyone else. The ending really felt abrupt. I get that she was frustrated because it seemed like no matter what she did she was going to fail but really, all she had to do was turn off the light. I really thought that maybe she had tried to commit suicide and was in a not dead/not alive kind of middle ground and was struggling with whether she should fight to live or just give up. NOPE. That wasn't it. (hide spoiler)]

@ Shruti
(view spoiler)[IKR, what was that?? There are open endings and then there’s… whatever this was. It honestly felt like he kept throwing in random ideas without knowing how to tie them together, and instead of figuring it out or at least giving us enough hints to piece it together ourselves, he just went, “eh, good enough”and published it anyway 😆 (hide spoiler)]

@Theresa
(view spoiler)[She genuinely believed her actions could trigger the end of the world. She cared enough to run out in the middle of the night, follow mysterious footsteps, and perform all sorts of bizarre rituals but flipping a light switch was where she drew the line? 😆

I also considered the whole half-dead/half-alive limbo theory, but the problem is we’re given zero real hints to support anything. There’s just not enough there to build a solid interpretation. I’m especially disappointed because I loved his debut and gave it 5 stars. This one? 1 star.
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