Play Nice
Hardcover | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Rachel Harrison
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: September 9, 2025

A social media influencer plans to turn the fixer-upper she inherited from her late mother into a moneymaking opportunity, but thanks to her repressed childhood memories, she doesn’t realize that the demon haunting the home is still there and is awaiting her return.

In Play Nice, Rachel Harrison‘s latest supernatural tale, 25-year-old Clio is a stylist living in New York City, enjoying the nightlife and the perks of her side gig as a social media influencer. She’s the youngest of three daughters, who were raised by their father and stepmother after their mother, Alexandra, had a breakdown and lost custody of them, leading to a lengthy estrangement.

After Alexandra’s death, the three sisters inherit their childhood home, so Clio hatches a plan to document the renovation process on social media, then turn a big profit on the sale. But once the project is underway, Clio discovers a book her mother left for her, one that her family is adamant she not read. Is Alexandra’s book the horrifying truth of the house’s haunted happenings or are they the ramblings of a delusional failed parent’s desperate for redemption?

The longer Clio stays in the house, the more strange occurrences she experiences, prompting her repressed childhood memories to slowly resurface. Now, Clio questions everything she’s ever known about her life and her family.

Like Harrison’s previous works, the supernatural element draws you in, but the real story comes from the characters’ emotional struggles. While a demon-possessed house makes for an engrossing story, it’s really Clio’s personal demons that resonate. Introduced as a Manhattan party girl who thrives on booze, hook-ups, and influencer swag, Clio comes off superficial at first. She milks her status as the baby of the family, often relying on her father’s generosity and pampering. She knows she can get away with anything with her family and doesn’t hesitate to push the limits with them. What Clio doesn’t know is that her buried memories are where her family’s underlying concern for her truly comes from.

Once Clio gets a peek at her mother’s perspective in the forbidden book, she starts to realize why her family treats her the way they do and instead of relishing in it, she becomes resentful. This drives the story deeper into themes of grief, guilt, and long-buried family secrets.

Though these are heavy themes to tackle, Clio’s carefree personality and spirited, danger-seeking traits add some levity as she confronts the house demon by coaxing it to “play nice” with her. But this demon is not the only one she has to face. Rather, it’s Clio’s inner demons that are front and center. Clio’s unexpected loss of her mother prompts feelings within her she couldn’t have prepared for, especially since there was an estrangement where she never learned her mother’s viewpoint of events. Was Alexandra actually a bad parent or merely a victim herself? Was Clio lied to her whole life by her family? Is the house really harboring a mischievous presence, or is Clio unraveling because of grief and suppressed trauma?

Play Nice uses a haunted house setting to explore themes of grief, trauma, and buried secrets, delivering an engrossing character-driven horror tale with heart that leaves just enough mystery to keep readers guessing.