“I think it’s time I start paying back this country for some of the good things it’s given me.”

52. Lock Every Door – Riley Sager

There is a lot of 2008 economic crash after effect in this story. The main character is in a position that started to be a frequent happening once people got laid off or found out there were no jobs available, as in, a shitty one where they have to basically take whatever they can and if it was one of several types of jobs I’ve had, you’re also supposed to never make any noise about how the pay is unlivable and no human being can do three people’s work, because if you make noise, you’re just ungrateful. So when there’s a job that is really just living in an apartment, you’re going to take it. It is, as they say, too good to be true for someone like Jules, so, just like what’s about to happen with the U.S. economy now – any and all red flags will be ignored until it’s too late, you have to rationalize that you have a job now and lots of people don’t and other people will tell you you’re just whining if you’d like to be able to live off of what you make and not completely destabilize yourself repeatedly and “just move,” as people who don’t know how expensive and risky moving can be say… On a personal note, I would never tell anyone to move somewhere new because they can’t find a job because A. I’ve moved for jobs and it is a giant setback most of the time because very few places to work are upfront about wages vs. cost of living where the job is and B. That’s how horror movies start (see A or Arachnophobia).

Jules just has to follow a few simple rules for her apartment sitting job, like never spending a night away and leaving people alone (and they didn’t even have a pandemic to use as a reason to isolate) because they could be rich and famous people as this is an important New York building. She also can never use bright light or eat after midnight. Kidding. There are echoes of some other familiar horror stories in here though. One has a baby and a New York building. The other one that came to mind for me is the sad and maudlin but very well written riff on The Clonus Horror by Kazuo Ishiguro.

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Ozymandias, seen here luxuriating in his warm colors blanket, knows it’s best to follow his nose when it comes to housing. That’s why when he first sniffed my hand, he immediately popcorned.