This Thing Between Us

Starred review from June 7, 2021
A man struggles to maintain his sanity following the death of his wife in Moreno’s raw, haunting debut. Random cold spots and scratching noises in the walls are just a few of the strange incidents that Thiago Alvarez and his wife, Vera, notice upon moving into their Chicago condo. The incidents only worsen with the arrival of Vera’s new smart speaker, the Itza: weird packages, including industrial-strength lye and a book on contacting the dead, begin arriving at their home; music plays at odd hours; and the Itza is heard having conversations in otherwise empty rooms. When Vera dies in an accident, Thiago is left reeling. Unable to cope with his overwhelming grief, he leaves Chicago for a cabin in Colorado. But despite his newfound isolation, Thiago can’t run from his feelings of loss and rage. Plagued by dreams that tear at the seams of reality, Thiago’s paranoia nears its breaking point as an unrelenting evil force follows him, feeding off of his distress. In graceful prose peppered with terrifyingly vivid descriptions, Moreno gives a nod to 2001: A Space Odyssey to explore the perils of technology while probing the all-too-human complexities of grief. The devastating result marks Moreno as a horror writer to watch. Agent: Annie Bomke, Annie Bomke Literary.

June 18, 2021

DEBUT On the surface, Moreno's debut novel is about the grief and anger experienced by a widower named Thiago. Thiago also has to contend with the Itza, an invasive technology that's like Siri and Alexa mixed with Hal from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. But this story is much more. This powerful Own Voices narrative begins with Thiago at his wife's funeral, reading between the lines of what the mourners tell him; in his social media-driven world, people say one thing and mean something entirely different, and sometimes hollowness masks itself as genuine affection. The timeline jumps around as Thiago recounts his relationship with his wife, in a style that sounds like he's retelling her the story of their life together. As time goes on, the Itza becomes more confrontational, dangerous, and invasive. Moreno's novel accelerates to a frenetic pace, making the reader wonder who is telling the truth and what has actually happened. VERDICT Creepy and engaging, this work will make an impactful addition to horror sections and displays.--Anita Siraki, Toronto

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2021
Debut author Moreno emphatically plants his flag as an original new voice in cosmic horror, an old subgenre that is trending once again. In cosmic horror there is a pervasive, evil force whose power overwhelms humanity. Here, the nefarious force takes up residence in an Alexa-type device set up inside the Chicago apartment of Mexican American newlyweds Thiago and Vera. Thiago narrates the entire story as if he is telling it to Vera--who is dead at the start of the novel--in a desperate, confessional tone, begging for both her forgiveness and help as his world and sanity spiral out of control. Readers will eagerly follow Thiago and the increasingly weird twists and turns that escalate from unsettlingly haunting to uncomfortably creepy, and ultimately arrive at mind-altering terror. Moving from anti-immigration activists to zombie dogs and openings into another portal, Moreno has melded a thought-provoking novel about mourning with unapologetic horror, much like the very best of twenty-first-century cosmic horror such as The Fisherman by John Langan (2016) or The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher (2020).

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Starred review from August 15, 2021
A couple's foray into homeownership takes a turn for the terrifying. In Moreno's bone-chilling debut, Vera and Thiago Alvarez assume there are rational explanations for the phenomena plaguing their recently purchased Chicago condominium. That said, the exterminator can't find any vermin to account for the scratching in the walls, and the HVAC technician absolves their air conditioner of blame for the cold spots and nocturnal clangs. When the pair's new Itza smart speaker starts answering unasked questions and placing unsolicited orders for items such as industrial-strength lye and a book on communicating with the dead, they deem it defective; however, a replacement device proves no less willful. The Alvarezes attempt to track down their unit's former occupant in hopes that she can shed some light, but before they can connect with the woman, Vera has a freak accident and dies, sparking a media storm. Unable to cope with his emotions, the attention, or the condo's escalating weirdness, Thiago crushes the Itza with his truck and uses Vera's life insurance to buy a fully furnished cabin near Estes Park, Colorado. His grief chases him west, though, along with a manipulative, malevolent entity determined to gain entrance to this world. Thiago's intimate first-person narration reads like a letter written in hindsight, addressed to a now-dead Vera, and suffused with pain and regret. Moreno makes clever use of structure to maximize dread, opening with Vera's funeral and then doubling back, while references to famous horror novels and films trick readers into thinking they're following a familiar path before the tragic plot veers wildly off-map. Harrowing existential horror that lingers like a nightmare.

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