A thriller, IT WILL JUST BE US written by Jo Kaplan is one horror novel that will leave you with chills at night. Kaplan’s descriptions of the old mansion in the story make you wonder why anyone would still live there. However, as you read you see why they do. There were a couple of times I wanted the main character, Sam to take more control over some things but if she did what we wanted the story would not have the intense feeling it does. The mysteries she tries to unravel kept me engrossed in the storyline. This story has a twist at the end that will take you by surprise that left me feeling a little melancholy, but you will have to read it to see why.

Sam lives in the old mansion with her mom who will not leave it. It is an ancestral home with a history that is as much alive today as it was back then as one can see the echoes of the ghost from the past. With the walls decaying given it a much ghostly feel, many people talk about the women who live there. Then Sam’s pregnant sister, Elizabeth moves in after having a fight with her husband. And with this move comes a new ghost never seen before. A faceless boy who is as mean as can be killing animals and hurting other children. What is his connection to the house? Other than a locked room that has been forgotten, Sam must unravel the mystery that this boy brings before her sister’s baby is delivered. However, that is only half of her problems, as the plot carries more obstacles.

IT WILL JUST BE US really is a haunted house full of mystery, death, and pain. Jo Kaplan did a wonderful job capturing your attention in this one and holding you there until the last chapter. I really didn’t expect the ending and found myself wondering what would happen if certain things did not unfold the way they did. But then I had to remember, this is just a novel that is so well written that I lost myself inside its pages.