The Grownup

Written by Gillian Flynn

Narrated by Julia Whelan

A young woman is making a living faking it as a cut-price psychic (with some illegal soft-core sex work on the side). She makes a decent wage mostly by telling people what they want to hear. But then she meets Susan Burke.

Susan moved to the city one year ago with her husband and 15-year-old stepson Miles. They live in a Victorian house called Carterhook Manor. Susan has become convinced that some malevolent spirit is inhabiting their home. The young woman doesn't believe in exorcism or the supernatural. However when she enters the house for the first time, she begins to feel it too, as if the very house is watching her, waiting, biding its time . . .

The Grownup, which originally appeared as 'What Do You Do?' in George R. R. Martin's Rogues anthology, proves once again that Gillian Flynn is one of the world's most original and skilled voices in fiction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hachette UK Audio
• Release date: Nov 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781409165293

Reviews for The Grownup

[muffinbutt1027 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In typical Flynn fashion, you are convinced the story is going one way, than another, and then another. Is it a ghost story, or a psychological thriller, or both? There are no protagonists, no good people for you to root for, just a bunch of selfish people trying to get things to work in their favor.

[xaverie_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Pure, undiluted Gillian Flynn, and all that entails. Dispassionate nymphomaniacs, sociopathic teenagers, and lies, lies, lies.

Also, I learned that Gillian Flynn's first name is pronounced with a hard 'G' and my brain immediately rejected it.

[auntieg0412 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I don't care for short stories because, well, they're short. Just about the time I get truly interested, it's over. Come on, Ms. Flynn, turn this one into a creepy, mind-twisting book, okay? It's got a lot of potential and I want to know which person is the psycho.

[Tasha · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It is a great short novel with so many twists and turns that keep you guessing till the end

[amcheri-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well, that took some turns. Very enjoyable short with Julia Whelan doing a fantastic job with the narration, as always.

[evilcreature-592127 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

In my opinion, for me at least this book was a waste of my time & money.This book is about a young woman that is a street hustler begging for money while also providing sleazy hand jobs to needy men for a price of course.The main character doesn't want to do forever, she wants to move up in the world, instead of begging for money at least six times a day. Her new "job" is as an acclaimed psychic, which is yet another way to scam people of their hard earned money. So far I don't care about the main character, or the shady things she does just to earn money, because it always scamming people, when she could get a legitimate job! The "fake psychic" job pisses me off the most about this character/book, because people pretend to be psychic in real life to scam grieving families into believing that they could contact their dead relatives. I believe in spiritualism, but at the same time it is very easy to fake, or scam people into believing that it is real. I don't really like this book so far, hopefully the rest of her work is more enjoyable to read, because this book is depressing!The book started getting interesting once Susan visits the "fake psychic" to tell her about the problems in her life. The house is owns/lives in is a Victorian 100 year old house, that would probably look like it is haunted, even if it wasn't. Miles is the most interesting character, even though he is a "teen sociopath" he abuses animals, he has a darkness about him that creeps out his step mother, so she avoids him as much as possible. I wasn't expecting the tist in the story, it didn't end the way I thought it would so I thought it was wasted potential for Miles to not amount to much in the story. I was a little bit disappointed with how the plot turned out in the story, or the interaction between the characters but it did make sense how all of it was connected. I haven't read the previous work this author has written, so I hope Gone Girl, Dark Places and Sharp Objects are worth reading, I like the writing style of this author but I hope her other work will have a satisfying conclusion, that connects all the clues together. This is a very short book, that anyone could read in one day, so if you are looking for a short book to read, then this is the book for you, if you have read the author's previous work, then you might like this, I personally think the plot was misleading after the characters mentioning weird occurances at Susan's house that at the time had no explanation, so it made me think that something different from the plot of the book, would turn out a lot different, since Miles has the potential to be a murderer or serial killer due to his weird possibly criminal behaviour. I feel like I wasted my money a little bit, but I did like some of the book, just not all of it.

[lyndainoregon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This brief, stand-alone short story by Gillian Flynn, may not reach the levels of classic horror, but it provides a twisty and entertaining diversion for a few hours.Like Flynn's longer works, it depends largely on characters (narrators and otherwise) whose lie, subvert, and twise reality like taffy, until no one -- certainly including the narrator -- is quite sure where the truth -- and therefore the peril -- may lie.There is one major "oops, I gotcha" moment that the observant reader will see, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the character who tells it is the only one twisting the truth here, or that Flynn thought the reader would actually buy into it until she chose to reveal that particular falsehood.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn is a twisted tale featuring a haunted house, a beleaguered family and a grifter who dabbles as both a psychic and a sex worker. The grifter, seeing easy pickings, agrees to help “clean’” the house spiritually but soon realizes that this job requires much more than she can provide. The terrified mother believes a malevolent presence has taken control of her stepson and that they are all in danger.The author builds the suspense to a nice level and then totally turns the story around leaving us not knowing who or what to fear. Is the stepson with his disturbing manner possessed? Or could this be a hoax set up by the stepmom? In guessing where the evil truly comes from, has the grifter met her match and will she escape?Infused with the author’s witty black humor, The Grownup is a fun and dark short story that is intense and squirm inducing.

[mutantpudding · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Im not sure if I liked this story or not...I appreciate its nods to classic horror but there were a couple of annoying plot holes (who wouldnt google their house if they thought it was haunted?) and Im a bit meh on it overall.

[jaleesa_rbtbc · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This short story never get's old for me. I enjoyed it now just as much as I did the first time around.

[tobinelliott · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well, wasn't this fun.

What a subversive, nasty-ass little piece of work. I'm not going to say anything about it, because I wouldn't want to blow anything, but hot damn, I enjoyed the hell out of this.

All I'll say is, I got to the last line, smiled, then laughed at how much I loved where it ended up.

[marse_4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A longish short story by Gillian Flynn. It is a sort of ghost story, but not particularly scary. The protagonist is a grifter, now giving hand jobs in the backroom of a palm reader's salon, when she is hired to "read" a house -- but finds it's not just the house that is creepy. Without giving too much away, the question is who is being scammed? And by whom? Overall, not a horrible read, but I wouldn't pay money for it in book form.

[ldvoorberg · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Too short for more stars than 3 because just as I was getting into it, it was over. Definitely creepy/psychotic and in line with the classic superstitious books it mentions. The whole hand-job career is a great beginning because it is so unusual, you are hooked and want to know more without being offended or disgusted. A great novella.

[carriewuj · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a stand-alone story that I happened upon while browsing at the library -- it originally came out of an anthology called Rogues, but has since been published solo. It is classic Flynn. She sets the scene so well, introducing us to a nameless bu savvy narrator who is a con artist. She grew up begging with her Mom so learned all the angles to hit a mark. Now she does sexual favors and reads auras. When rich suburban mom Susan Burke comes to her for psychic advice the narrator obliges, seeing her future take off with more "respectable" work -- cleansing houses of bad mojo. Susan lives in an old restored Victorian with her darling biological son, Jack and her broody creepy stepson, Miles. Her husband is absent -- presumably traveling for work to fund the lavish lifestyle. The narrator believes she is conning Susan, wiping down various rooms in the house with rosemary and sage, but the house starts to weigh on her. Moreover Miles shows up intermittently though he should be in school and speaks in cryptic threatening messages. Things reach a boiling point and in typical Flynn fashion all at once we are questioning who is conning whom. The ending is completely unexpected if a little sardonic and tongue-in-cheek, but a great quick ghost story you won't regret.

[marquis784-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this short story. It kept my interest from beginning to end. It was creepy, suspenseful, amusing, candid, mysterious....a quick read and well-worth the time. For those who enjoyed Gillian Flynn's other novels, this is a great "appetizer."

FYI: I discovered this from another reviewer.

"While The Grownup had a publication date of yesterday – the story actually came out back in 2014 under the title What Do You Do? (Sidenote: New title is mucho better) which was contained in the short story collection Rogues."

[gac53 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good short story. Some parts made me laugh out loud.

[bookishtexpat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wow, what a creepy story. In Flynn fashion, this short story is snarky, psychological, and throws you for a loop more than once. I wish this was a full novel - I was so into the story and then it was over! My biggest complaint is the main character is just so overdone. I couldn't find anything remotely accessible or relatable about her, which really bothered me. Maybe in a longer story she'd have time to grow on me, but who knows. Overall, I enjoyed the story and it is a great reminder of the dark and disturbing Flynn does so well.

[hexenlibrarian · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not really that impressed. I get that plot twists are Flynn's thing, but 3? In a 64 page short story? Too many, friend. I can at least say, I liked it marginally better than Gone Girl.

[charrlygirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars!

"I quit because when you give 23,546 hand jobs over a three-year period , carpal tunnel syndrome is a very real thing.'

With an opening line like that how could you go wrong? This was a tight little novella that tried just a little too hard to give the reader that twisty turn; I felt like it was a couple of twists too much. I still found this story to be fun though, so I do recommend it for fans of Gillian Flynn's work.

[vickimarie2002 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I didn't really find this thrilling or spooky but it was a good little story to read.

[theelliemo · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I don't know what it is about Gillian Flynn, but I just don't enjoy her writing style. While everyone else raves about Gone Girl, I found it nothing special. Likewise this novella. Left me cold. She's just not my kind of thing

[yvonnekins · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Listened to this on audio. It kept me entertained and interested, but the ending left me feeling... not much of anything. I did like the atmospheric creepiness of a haunted house, and as always with Gillian Flynn's protagonists, I really enjoyed her, though I couldn't even tell you her name (Did she have a name? I genuinely can't remember.) It was entertaining and enjoyable and definitely good for people who already know they enjoy Gillian Flynn. That said there was nothing particularly spectacular about this one, so I can't really justify to myself giving it more than 3 stars.

[jonez-6 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5

All the Gillian twists and turns, but it was sort of reaching a bit. A fun little read and all, but it felt a little to M. Night.

[readingover50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a really good short story. It had a lot of elements in it. Sex workers, psychics, ghosts, psychopaths, con artists. The characters were really interesting and fun to read. The actual "ghost" story started out pretty cliche, but by the end it turned out much different that I expected. I recommend this book.

[midnightbex_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A nice little story with a signature Gillian Flynn twist. Nothing super original, but a decent quick read.

[asxz-2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I got this for free from the Book of the Month Club or I would never have bothered because I bloody hated Gone Girl. And it suffers from the exact same problems as that bloody book. The writing is smart enough but the ending is bloody annoying - everyone is bonkers... ta dah! Ugh.

[rmarcin-630843 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Quick, quirky, dark short story by Gillian Flynn. The narrator is a "psychic", and she is asked to help Susan who is terrified by her stepson. As in all Gillian Flynn stories, everything is not as it my first seem. This psychological thriller keeps you wondering what is real and what is in your head. What is the truth?

[julesgdside · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was intense, strange and unexpected. It left me with more questions than answers.

[lmjenkins · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was a treat to read something new (to me) by Gillian Flynn. This was a novella and as dark as you’d expect from this author. It grabs in the first sentence and surprises you by the end with a twist.....and then another.....and another.

[bingereader87 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4.5/5

Original, Creepy, & Twisted. Just what you'd expect from Gillian Flynn.

I loved it from beginning to end. The characters were well developed for a short story and I loved how you don't quite know who to trust by the end of it all. Awesome story.