The Grownup
The Grownup is a short narrative authored by Gillian Flynn, initially appearing under the title What Do You Do? within the 2014 collection Rogues, curated by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. The story earned the 2015 Edgar Award for Best Short Story. That same year, it was published independently by Crown in the United States and Weidenfeld & Nicolson in the United Kingdom.
Plot
The tale is narrated by a former sex worker who has transitioned into a career as a con artist. She moves from performing handjobs at a fortune-telling establishment named 'Spiritual Palms' to impersonating psychics, offering counterfeit aura readings.
She meets Susan Burke, an affluent housewife convinced that her recently acquired Victorian residence, Carterhook Manor, is occupied by a sinister spirit. Susan’s connection with her troubled 15-year-old stepson, Miles, is tense, while her husband frequently travels for business. Throughout orchestrated cleansing rituals, the narrator senses danger from Miles. As odd occurrences intensify and Miles becomes increasingly hostile, she starts to entertain the possibility that the house might genuinely be haunted. Ultimately, she admits to Susan that she lacks genuine psychic abilities and advises seeking expert help.
Miles then discloses that Susan's husband is a former client of Spiritual Palms whom the narrator serviced. Allegedly, Susan has concocted false stories to entice the narrator into murdering both her and Miles, intending to implicate the narrator. Miles requests assistance to flee using her car.
Subsequently, Miles confesses his deception: Susan was unaware of her husband's infidelity. Instead, Miles has framed the narrator as a thief and kidnapper, threatening police involvement unless she cooperates. He requires her to act as his adult guardian on a cross-country trip to attend a supernatural fan convention. Feeling trapped and suspecting Miles of being a violent sociopath, the narrator agrees to accompany him.
Reception
Natasha Tripney of The Guardian offered some criticism: "Flynn’s manipulation of ghost story tropes feels somewhat heavy-handed. Despite its brevity, the narrative contains several missteps and comes across as mechanical. The depiction of the protagonist’s grimy existence proves more compelling than the haunted house aspects."
Other reviewers responded more favorably. Doug Johnstone writing for The Independent observed: "Flynn skillfully constructs suspense and horror buildup. Although there are a couple of significant twists, they might be predictable given the story’s short length limits background detail and subtle clues. Nevertheless, these twists provide dark entertainment."
Katie Law from the Evening Standard commended the work: "For admirers of Flynn, this serves as another concise Gone Girl experience, featuring unreliable narrators and themes centered on female revenge driven by sexual jealousy. The con artist protagonist is unpleasant but not the worst character portrayed. The main drawback is its brief format—just under 80 pages—resulting in a swift conclusion."
In 2016, Universal Pictures secured film adaptation rights, with Flynn and Michael De Luca attached as producers and Natalie Krinsky assigned to write the screenplay.