Review | The Grip of It by Jac Jemc

Married couple Julie and James decide to move to a small town away from the city before James’s gambling becomes a full-blown addiction. They view the move as a chance to start fresh, with a new house and new jobs. But the house is nothing as promised by their realtor – a man who seems to have disappeared into thin air. There are secret passages, mold and stains on the walls, and the water is tainted. Strange bruises start appearing on Julie’s body, and James has a problems remembering his actions. Soon they realise that they must hold on to their sanity or risk losing everything.

Maybe we should share something genuine for once. Stories from the deep, honest pits of us. But what if those buried, fetid stories are the ones that have bubbled to the surface? What if they’re right there, balanced on the edge of our teeth, ready to trip into the world without even our permission?

The Grip of It has some of the most unsettling scenes I’ve read about a haunted house. From the strange scribbles on the walls to a phantom figure appearing in random moments, this book gave me the creeps! I love the idea that nothing is what it seems, and how the characters’ mental state keep worsening as time goes on. There is something chilling about waking up and not being sure exactly what you have done. On top of that, the characters’ marriage is on shaky grounds. Their situation adds to that sense of uneasiness and distrust. The more the house piles on them, the more they grow apart. It is painful to read, you just want to shake them and get them back to their senses!

While I enjoyed the scary moments, I thought the characters, James and Julie, could have been more multi-dimensional. We get both of their point of views and they sound exactly alike so that it’s hard to differentiate. Towards the end of the book we find out that they are actually an interracial couple during a moment when it becomes a point of contention. I would have loved for that aspect of their relationship to be explored deeper but it was dropped as quickly as it was brought up.

I like short chapters, but here they feel choppy. We move quickly between the characters’ point of views and their changing moods which takes me out of the story at times. I also don’t mind vague endings or books that leaves questions than answers if there is something to balance the story. But here it ends with a solution rather than an explanation which I found unsatisfying. While I appreciate the literary language employed in the book, sometimes the writing is too verbose. It takes away the impact of certain moments, giving the scenes a detached feeling instead.

Overall, The Grip of It is an intense, disorienting addition to horror fiction which might be polarising for some readers but provides plenty of points for discussions.

I received a review copy from the publisher.

About the author: Jac Jemc

Photo by Paul Ijsendoorn