This book was perfectly creepy and strange, and very well written. I'm not even sure how to review this book because it was so .... different. The Visitors is mostly a look at the life of our main character Marion and her dysfunctional family, and a look at the dark secrets that linger in their home. Not much happens, but you are pulled in immediately and leaves you feeling a little unsettled. If you're looking for something new, different, and creepy, try this one on for size.

What a fun traveling sister read with a huge group of ladies. I have to say that I definitely enjoyed reading alongside everyone!

The Visitors by Catherine Burns is a dark and disturbing thriller. I will be honest, I did not like this book at all. I was confused as to where the author was trying to go with this one and I really tried to understand the plot/characters. I felt that this novel was too much of a slow burn for my taste and I put the novel down multiple times because I was frequently bored.

Catherine Burns delivers a dark character study of two siblings Marion and John which is told from Marion's perspective. I am a huge fan of character driven novels but I was not a fan of Marion or John. I felt that Marion was pretty pathetic... I mean who fantasizes about things/people 24/7? Eh... and she was so naive/blind eye to what actually was going on in the cellar. This just really annoyed me and I kept rolling my eyes constantly with Marion.

I was confused as to where the author was trying to take the plot? I felt that the story focused too much on minor details and not enough of the "BIG" plot. All I felt reading this was about John and Marion's childhood drama. I was hoping and praying for some sort of twist or surprise but nothing. I did not feel scared or creeped out by this novel at all and was honestly bored and annoyed.

What I did enjoy about this novel was how easy it was to picture myself living with John and Marion. I felt the details were gory and pretty disturbing overall... getting into the mind fame of both John and Marion. I also enjoyed how the author left the ending up to her readers... she didn't really give much away but enough for her readers to finish "the story" for themselves.

Overall, I would give this a 2 stars. I was not impressed and this novel was just not for me.
Thank you to Netgalley, Catherine Burns, and Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books in exchange for an honest review.

This book is super dark and twisted. You really think one thing for a good long while, and then...things start to feel out of place. And VERY unsettling. I mean, honestly, the entire book is unsettling, from the dusty old house where it's set, to the creepy brother/sister characters. Even the dead parents are disturbing. It was very difficult to put down!

I found the book description intriguing, and while I normally enjoy character studies I found the first 60% of the book slow and repetitive with a lot of flashbacks and mundane details of daily life. I did find my opinion of one of the character's changed as more was revealed but I was still bored. The last 40% dealt with a subject so distasteful and the details so repulsive, it left me slightly sick and feeling like I needed a shower.

When the twist came at the end it was too little, too late for me. Overall, this was not one I would recommend.

*many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book for review.

I went with 4 stars on The Visitors, but be warned, it's definitely dark and twisted. Your first clue should be the synopsis....if you've read that and are intrigued, the novel keeps the promise of the premise well. I was impressed by the pacing of the story, even as the tension ratcheted up, the pacing still remained even. I appreciated the complexity of the characters, the scarcity of the setting and the genuineness of the dialogue.
The Visitors is not for the faint of heart - You've been warned!
I will definitely read more from Catherine Burns.

This book was creepy and chilling which scores points with me. As I try to review this book I am realizing I cant say enough good things about it. This book was a book that made me lose sleep and trust me I like my sleep. Highly recommend.

The Visitors by Catherine Burns is a recommended debut novel featuring a psychological character study.

Marion Zetland is in her mid-fifties and lives with her domineering older brother, John, in a decaying Georgian townhouse they inherited along with sizeable trust funds. While John is a cantankerous abusive bully, Marion remains living with him, probably because she has the emotional and mental acumen of a young girl. Marion, who is the narrator of the novel, has been bullied her whole life so life with John is normal. She has her stuffed animal friends to comfort her, along with her imaginary friend.

What she'd really like to ignore, and does a questionably admirable job doing just that, is the visitors in the cellar. She knows John has women down there. He says he's teaching them English and mathematics. She sometimes hears cries, screams and calls for help, which she chooses to not think about.

The narrative alternates between Marion's experiences in the present and flashbacks to her past. she does a lot of ruminating/thinking about her life and the mistreatment she has experienced at the hands of others. John is, naturally, a part of her inner dialogue and he was just as disagreeable as a child as he is as an adult. Marion relates key details about her life that will come into play much later in the novel. Interspersed between Marion's inner dialogue are email exchanges with someone that will be understood at the end of the novel.

While I did appreciate some elements of this character driven novel and the unreliable narrator we find in Marion, I also need to admit that this one was slow going for me and was not a particularly compelling thriller. It's more a psychological character study than a thriller. I forced myself to get through Marion's endless stories. In the end, her stories do have a point to them, but reaching the end is a bit of a slog-through them. I also need to note that John is not hospitalized until the last third of the novel. Based on the synopsis you expect this to happen much sooner than it does and, well, most readers aren't going to be so horrified at Marion's discovery of his secret because of all the foreshadowing.

The quality of the writing is good, but the slow pacing removes much of the suspense. I wasn't surprised at any twists or revelations unveiled at the end. Adding to this lack of suspense is the lack of sympathy that I could muster for any of the characters, including Marion. This was just an okay novel for me.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Gallery/Scout Press.
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While well written, the pacing was very odd. I think it wasn't quite what I usually look for in the genre.

I don’t know why it says about me, but The Visitors by Catherine Burns is my kind of book. Creepy, disturbing, and upsetting.

The main characters in the book are older siblings Marion and John Zetland. They live together in a run down, hoarder-ish home. While John and what he is doing are the driving force of the novel, it is Marion who tells the story. Marion is in her mid 50’s. She rarely leaves her home and is dominated completely by her sick, evil brother John.

Marion lives her life, trying to ignore whatever it is that John is doing in the cellar. She still sleeps with teddy bears and is a mixture of innocence and lethargy.

Life goes on this way until one day when John has a heart attack. Now Marion must confront the secrets in the cellar. We learn that John might not be the only evil one in the family.

I love these kind of novels that delve into the mind of a character. I alternated between feeling sorry for Marion and being disgusted by her.

Very creepy and disturbing!

My obsession for reading all things dark and twisted continues, and this 'experience' was one of the twisted , unnverving and creepiest I've ever had the pleasure (!) to embark on!! If you're looking for a book full of fluffy, heart melting moments then this is NOT the book for you! But if you're looking for a book to give you chills, repulse you and be completely disturbing then BUY THIS BOOK!!

The story focuses on Marion who is one of those characters you don't know whether to feel outright sympathy for, or just lose patience with! Her life has been a hard one living amongst a completely dysfunctional family who treated her like dirt, and there was no escape from her lousy upbringing at school, where she was teased by pupils and teachers alike. But Marion seemed to accept her fate, and found her refuge in her attic bedroom amongst her cuddly toys who were her friends and always there for her.

Since the death of her mother, she has lived in the 6 bedroom home with her domineering, freak of a brother who she is in complete fear of due to his strange and violent behaviour - and is under strict control never to go in the cellar where John keeps 'the visitors'. This is the start of the chilling side of the story as Marion often hears cries from the cellar but ignores them!! As you do!! I'm so glad I don't have a cellar

As the story develops, Marion starts to slowly come out of her shell, even with just walking around the town she lives, revisiting an Aunts' house that she finds up for sale which brings back worrying memories and constructing fantasy lives for herself based on people she meets. But things begin to change more when John has a heart attack and she has to confront her fears in the cellar - it is fascinating how she reacts when she has been so put upon her whole life and now she has an insight into her brothers' hidden life..

I find it a little disturbing that I enjoyed this book so much!! The characters were strange creatures, and as you looked into their past you could begin to understand how they turned out the way they did!! The Visitors don't really feature in the book until well past halfway, so that means you get more time delving into Marion and Johns' upbringing and their outlook on life and people. There are also some fascinating email messages in between certain chapters, which don't begin to make any sense until towards the end!

A fabulously dark and twisted debut from an author who I will definitely be following for future releases!!

This Halloween are you looking for a macabre tale where the monsters aren't goblins and ghouls but regular humans? Then you must pick up The Visitors by Catherine Burns.

I don't read horror, but I love hard-pounding thrillers that push the line of horrific. I was reading the opening chapters of The Visitors through my fingers. I was on tenterhooks knowing that something bad was going to happen, but I wasn't able to stop reading. The book really pulls you in and doesn't let up until the last page is turned.

The Visitors had a gothic feel to it, although it is set in a seaside town in present-day UK. I'm sure it is the dank, decaying family home the brother and sister reside and the dark nature of the story that gave it a gothic vibe. But the hallmarks of the genre - mystery and terror - are definitely there.

Burns created a sympathetic character in the unreliable narrator of Marion. She is a 50-something woman with a low IQ. I had wondered if she had Downs Syndrome as there is mention of her mother having been in her 40s when Marion was born. If that is the case, nothing was done for her. When she couldn't pass the entrance test to a prestigious school, her parents funded the new swimming pool. It wasn't just her intellect that was ignored. you get the impression that she was all but neglected as a child. So was her brother, except when he joined their father in the cellar.

Unlike Marion, her brother has a higher than average IQ, attends Oxford and takes a teaching position at a girls boarding school (though he could have been a doctor or engineer), until he resigns under suspicion of inappropriate behavior with a student.

Watch out for red herrings! The interweaving memories of Marion's childhood with present-day actions create a fragmented story that leads the reader one way only to later turn them around and lead them in a different direction. While at the same time your biases for the characters war with what you read on the page, creating an incredulous internal conflict for the reader. Seriously, you are going to be emotionally entangled in this story.

There is some psychic stuff, which is probably the only disappointment I had with the story. I thought on psychic scene revealed too much, too early in the story. It also felt like an interruption to the flow of the story. But it really is minor.

For those who don't go in for the paranormal for Halloween, this really is the perfect read for the season.

Published at Girl Who Reads on October 5.

This novel about the kind of evil that can be born from sadness, neglect, and loneliness was twisting, turning, sometimes difficult, and ultimately satisfying.

The first, geez, maybe 4/5 of the book kept the details very close to the vest. Details of the present, and the past, are in the mental slow-cooker until things really, REALLY start to get wild. But the journey to that point, the in-depth, almost painfully intimate character study of a frumpy, timid middle-aged virgin trying to get through each day, was fascinating enough to bring you through.

Highly recommended for fans of thrillers that enjoy a slow, steady burn.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. It was extremely slow and did not hold my attention. The emails are odd and random and I just could not get into the story. I made it to page 130 before I decided this just wasn't for me. Thank you Netgalley and Gallery books for this arc in exchange for my opinion.

From the description I thought that there was a chance that I would enjoy The Visitors by Catherine Burns and, thankfully, I was right. This book is well written, thought-provoking and the storyline is different enough from similar books to feel fresh. Yes it will be marketed as a psychological thriller but there is also a development of the main character that feels narrative yet believable. 

The main character is old before her time, down-trodden and controlled by her domineering brother. He is up to no good in his cellar, which she turns a blind eye to until she is no longer able to, due to his accident. I expected that more of the story would take place after the accident, probably the first 70% of the book is build up to this event, which in itself is slightly anti-climactic. Which serves to make the plot more believable. 

Something that I am grateful for is that there is no gratuitous violence or sexual content, despite it being apparent and demonstrable in the text. Sometimes the more graphic the description the less impact it has - in this instance less is most certainly more. 

I would absolutely recommend this book - I can find psychological thrillers very samey, easy to predict and poorly written. This book has none of these issues. In fact the blurb quickly sets out the turning point for the story, so you know what is being worked towards. This means you can focus on the character development.

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly, I have to give The Visitors a 2-star review.

This book just wasn't for me. The narrative was slow to the point that I felt like it was dragging. It was only during the last 25% that I found myself enjoying it.

The Visitors narrates the story of Marion Zetland, a spinster woman in her fifties. She lives at her family house with her brother John. From the beginning, you can tell that Marion's situation is less than ideal. She grew up without love from her parents. She was told she wasn't beautiful and that she was fat. She also never got a good education despite attending different schools. She was teased, bullied and called names due to her physical appearance and her child-like brain. As an adult, she lives sequestered in her own home. She prefers to stay in and watch TV and eat whatever she wants. Cleaning, answering the door, talking to strangers causes her severe anxiety. But, nothing is worse than thinking about the "visitors" in her basement. Her brother John is abusive to her and she tries not to anger him. Over the years, he has had female "visitors" who never leave their home. From time to time, she can hear them but it's easier to deny herself the truth.

It was hard to like Marion as the main character. We are told by her voice, her past as a child, teenager, and adult. Most of the time, she's feeling miserable about herself and her life. She had almost no redeeming qualities which made it very hard for me to root for her. John's character was very disturbing but didn't cause me to fear for Marion. I would've like to know more about the actual Visitors instead, I got just a tiny glimpse of them.

If you prefer a slow narrative with very little suspense this book is for you. If you are looking for a thriller, I have to tell you to look somewhere else instead.

Cliffhanger: No

2/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Gallery via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say I much preferred the second half of this book to the first half. Naturally, it was important for the author to set up her scene and develop her characters before she could truly dive into their deep, dark truths. And I respect that, I do. I guess I would have just liked it if she’d turned the heat up a littler sooner. Burns sets up a creepy good tale with a few good twists, but it’s not a page turning thrill ride. If you’re looking for a “wham bam thank you mam” thriller this is probably not the book for you. If, however, you’re looking for a book that does tell a good story just at a slower more methodical pace, you might give this a go.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the review opportunity.

I'm reluctant to categorise this as a 'thriller' because it most certainly is not. This is more like a psychological character study. A character study of what I can only describe as a pathetic and stupid spinster, our protagonist Marion.

Basically, I'm disappointed with this book. The blurb made it sound suspenseful. It's not. In fact, it's all rather dull and predictable. The actual 'visitors', that the book is named after, barely feature. They're more like an afterthought or bad smell that lingers on far too long. This book is about Marion and her disturbing relationships, past and present.

The blurb also mentions John having a heart attack and Marion having to deal with the 'visitors'. This occurs about two-thirds of the way through the book, talk about spinning out a twist in the tale that will encourage character development.

The two main characters, Marion and John, are both deplorable. I felt no sympathy for the life they created for themselves. The ending has obviously been written so you feel ecstatic for the change of character personality, but quite frankly neither of these characters should be allowed to walk around freely in society. I'm disappointed neither got their comeuppance.

Overall, disappointing. Another case where the book description is better than the actual book itself. Also, personal gripe - use British spellings if your book is set in Britain! Really annoys me when Americanisms are included for no reason whatsoever.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC of The Visitors. I'm not quite sure what to say about this book. I found it disturbing and yet unable to put down. The story is about a brother and sister who live together oddly dependent upon each other. The brother John, has "visitors" whom he keeps locked in the basement, and from his sister Marion. Marion is convinced she is incapable of doing anything with her life, unable to escape her brother's influence, until he is hospitalized. This is one of the strangest books I have read, yet it held my attention to find out what would happen.

Based on the jacket copy, I thought this was going to be a “there’s something in the basement”-type horror story. But, The Visitors is not a ghost story. It isn't a thriller.  It’s a twisted descent into the madness of a sociopath. 

Mary is in her 50s, living with her older, sexually deviant brother John, in a filthy, ramshackle house full of garbage. They don’t have any financial worries, so Mary and John are free from responsibility and can pursue their hobbies. John's hobbies include pornography and model airplanes (among other things that I won't mention), and Mary's involve indulging in daydreams where she’s married to a male acquaintance she met 30 years ago, watching sentimental Lifetime movies while gobbling junk food, or petting her stuffed animal collection. It's depraved, but not exactly evil. Lurking just beneath the surface, however, there are more nefarious goings-on.

Mary is intellectually disadvantaged. She's uneducated, unskilled, and she is also overweight and unsightly. She’s never been loved or encouraged to do anything with her life, so she hasn’t. She's believed everyone who has ever told her she's worthless. She’s wasted away in her childhood home never doing anything at all. When she allows herself some time for self-reflection, she's aware of her lack of ambition and fulfillment, but soon reverts to daydreams about men who never actually even learned her name. This denial of reality has some evil consequences when Mary has to deal with her brother. 

This book is a glimpse into Mary’s head, into her psyche of aching for love and attention, and also her lurid desires for revenge on those who have slighted her or rejected her. There are flashes of epiphany when Mary understands she has done wrong, knows that her clothes are disgusting and her house is squalid. These insights are fleeting, but they allow some sympathy to flow in between the cracks of the abhorrence one feels for her. 

The Visitors reminded me of Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh. Repulsive, sinister, and yet, you can't look away. Recommended.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review. THis review is also posted on Goodreads and flyleafunfurled.com.