Review | The Unwelcome by Jacob Steven Mohr

After a rough breakup with her boyfriend Lutz, Kait is in need of a getaway. She joins her childhood friend, Alice, on a trip to a secluded cabin up on the mountains. Accompanying them is Alice’s boyfriend, Ben, and their mutual friend Riley.

But Lutz isn’t giving up. Because inside him is an entity that wants to destroy Kait and everyone she cares for. Can Kait and her friends work together to fight him and survive to live another day?

She could almost picture him already: here, there, somewhere, always on the periphery. Sway-backed and limp-shouldered and grinning ear-to-ear, with his thumbs thrust into the front pocket of his jeans. He was waiting for Kait. Waiting for her to look up, to see him and smile.

The Unwelcome caught my eye with its fantastically surreal cover and the body-snatching premise. A character-driven tale, this book relies largely on its characters and their relationships with each other. Kait has broken up with her boyfriend, Lutz, and needs her best friend, Alice’s companionship more than ever. This does not sit well with Alice’s boyfriend, Ben. On top of that, their friend Riley feels she is being used as a peace-maker instead of being appreciated as a friend. These dynamics made for difficult conversations, which added to the general unease of their impromptu vacation. Isolated and distrustful, the characters end up behaving in shocking ways. But is it them or is there someone else pulling the strings?

While there’s a lot of confusing mind games between the characters, the story is deliberate and precise. The writing is polished and the dialogue is strong. The pacing is even throughout with some brutal action sequences. There are also flashbacks and internal monologues which further illuminates the characters’ history. Every suspicious behaviour makes you wonder whether they are who they say they are. I liked the body-snatching aspect of the story which leads to incredibly tense scenes.

This is the kind of book that requires your concentration and unfortunately, I did feel my attention lagging at times. I didn’t really warm up to the four main characters – in fact, I was more interested in a supporting character, Jill, whose fate I found affecting. I think this might be a case of a mismatch between a reader and a book. I have no doubt this book would thrill horror readers; it was just not a favourite for me. But I will be sure to keep an eye out on the author’s future books.

The Unwelcome is an intense, emotional horror about friendship, trust, and identity. Give this a try if you want something dark with no promises of a happy ending!

CW: physical violence, domestic abuse

Thank you to the author for a review copy.

About the author: Jacob Steven Mohr

Photo by JR Korpa