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The Stranger Upstairs
A social media influencer with a secret past buys a murder house to renovate, but finds more than she bargained for behind the peeling wallpaper in this gothic psychological debut.
Sarah Slade is starting over. As the new owner of the infamous Black Wood House—the scene of a grisly murder-suicide—she’s determined that the fixer-upper will help reach a new audience on her successful lifestyle blog, and distract her from her failing marriage.
But as Sarah paints over the house’s horrifying past, she knows better than anyone that a new façade can’t conceal every secret. Then the builders start acting erratically and experiencing bizarre accidents—and Sarah knows there’s only so long she can continue to sleep in the bedroom with the bloodstained floor and suffer the mysterious footsteps she hears from the attic.
When menacing notes start appearing everywhere, Sarah becomes convinced that someone or something is out to kill her—her husband, her neighbors, maybe even the house itself. The more she remodels Black Wood House, the angrier it seems to become.
With every passing moment, Sarah’s life spirals further out of control—and with it, her sense of reality. Though she desperately clings to the lies she’s crafted to conceal her own secrets, Sarah Slade must wonder . . . was it all worth it? Or will this house be her final unraveling?
Sarah Slade is starting over. As the new owner of the infamous Black Wood House—the scene of a grisly murder-suicide—she’s determined that the fixer-upper will help reach a new audience on her successful lifestyle blog, and distract her from her failing marriage.
But as Sarah paints over the house’s horrifying past, she knows better than anyone that a new façade can’t conceal every secret. Then the builders start acting erratically and experiencing bizarre accidents—and Sarah knows there’s only so long she can continue to sleep in the bedroom with the bloodstained floor and suffer the mysterious footsteps she hears from the attic.
When menacing notes start appearing everywhere, Sarah becomes convinced that someone or something is out to kill her—her husband, her neighbors, maybe even the house itself. The more she remodels Black Wood House, the angrier it seems to become.
With every passing moment, Sarah’s life spirals further out of control—and with it, her sense of reality. Though she desperately clings to the lies she’s crafted to conceal her own secrets, Sarah Slade must wonder . . . was it all worth it? Or will this house be her final unraveling?
288 pages, Hardcover
First published September 26, 2023
About the author
Lisa M. Matlin
3 books413 followersLisa M. Matlin was a guitarist in a rock band before switching from songwriting to story writing. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband, pug, and golden retriever. She’s probably rewatching The Walking Dead right now and trying not to laugh at her own jokes. Matlin is a passionate mental health advocate and your dog’s number one fan.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,837 reviews
February 23, 2024
3 stars I think? I literally don’t know what to rate this, sometimes I was really enjoying it and other times I was annoyed but I think that’s was the point lol
April 22, 2023
《 5 ✰ 》
Publication: 🗓️ 𝓢𝓮𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓶𝓫𝓮𝓻 ❷❺
What happens when a murder house and a social media star have a meet cute?
The Stranger Upstairs is an atmospheric and chilling fast-paced read with moments full of tension, anxiety, and fear. Leave all the lights on and put a bell on every household member. Lisa Matlin is deft in constructing suspense and twists that subvert the readers' expectations until the last page.
Plot
Black Wood house, built in 1889, sits on 400-acres of land. One dreadful day, husband and father, Bill Campbell brutally murders his wife and ultimately himself. The house is left untouched for forty years. Bestselling author Sarah and her bartender husband decide to purchase and flip the murder house. Imagine the potential profit and all the social media fame! At least, that's what Sarah hopes for. Instead, she is met with secretive neighbors, strange incidents, suspicious noises, a less than perfect marriage, and secrets resurfacing from her past. Is it paranoia or something else that makes her feel like she’s being watched at night? Who is leaving notes for her?
My Thoughts
As a mystery, this book is immensely satisfying. I stayed up all night to finish, because there was no putting this down. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that my heart was racing, my hair was standing on end, and my senses were on high alert. One of my first theories was correct, but Matlin expertly tricked me and made me abandon that theory while taking me on a wild ride. I loved it.
The house is the main character. With its leaky faucet, terrifying wallpaper, decaying smell, and overall dumpy appearance. Not to mention, it is backed up to the woods complete with a backyard graveyard. Creepy!
Sarah is a fascinating character. Complex with much to unravel. The girl has skeletons in her closet. You might be shocked. You might even feel uneasy. But, you will likely find it difficult to forget her story.
Joe and Sarah’s marriage might need a renovation more than the house. But, that’s a tomorrow problem.
The neighbors! Forget about borrowing sugar or a ladder. This community would never be accused of being welcoming or friendly.
I highly recommend this thrilling debut. However, I do not recommend purchasing a murder house.
*NOTE: Please read the author's note.
Thank you, Lisa Matlin, for sharing your mental health journey. I admire your bravery and know you will touch countless readers. Your personal story is both triumphant and inspirational. By the way, Resolution looks good on you. Keep up the good fight because you are winning, lovie!
Many thanks to NetGalley, Bantam, and Lisa Matlin for the gifted ARC.
⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆
Special shoutout to the lovely and sweet Cara for holding my hand while we screamed and plotted our plan of attack. I will burn any house down for you — I’m always one match away, my BBB. Thank you for a great buddy read!
Publication: 🗓️ 𝓢𝓮𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓶𝓫𝓮𝓻 ❷❺
What happens when a murder house and a social media star have a meet cute?
❝
Here’s the killer truth: A brutal murder can slash the price by as much as 50%. But would YOU do it?
The Stranger Upstairs is an atmospheric and chilling fast-paced read with moments full of tension, anxiety, and fear. Leave all the lights on and put a bell on every household member. Lisa Matlin is deft in constructing suspense and twists that subvert the readers' expectations until the last page.
Plot
Black Wood house, built in 1889, sits on 400-acres of land. One dreadful day, husband and father, Bill Campbell brutally murders his wife and ultimately himself. The house is left untouched for forty years. Bestselling author Sarah and her bartender husband decide to purchase and flip the murder house. Imagine the potential profit and all the social media fame! At least, that's what Sarah hopes for. Instead, she is met with secretive neighbors, strange incidents, suspicious noises, a less than perfect marriage, and secrets resurfacing from her past. Is it paranoia or something else that makes her feel like she’s being watched at night? Who is leaving notes for her?
My Thoughts
As a mystery, this book is immensely satisfying. I stayed up all night to finish, because there was no putting this down. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that my heart was racing, my hair was standing on end, and my senses were on high alert. One of my first theories was correct, but Matlin expertly tricked me and made me abandon that theory while taking me on a wild ride. I loved it.
The house is the main character. With its leaky faucet, terrifying wallpaper, decaying smell, and overall dumpy appearance. Not to mention, it is backed up to the woods complete with a backyard graveyard. Creepy!
❝
Its flaking paint reminds me of peeling skin, and the steeply pitched spire looks like a towering black sword.
I pad down the staircase, a spiraling black masterpiece that made me gasp the first time I saw it. … It’s wrought iron, cool to the touch, and every time I descend, I feel like a Disney villain. I adore it.
Black Wood is full of secrets. I can’t shake the feeling that it knows something and it’s dying to tell me.
Sarah is a fascinating character. Complex with much to unravel. The girl has skeletons in her closet. You might be shocked. You might even feel uneasy. But, you will likely find it difficult to forget her story.
❝
I have a shopping problem. ... Doesn’t take a therapist to realize I’m filling up the voids in my life with a whole lot of shit.
You’re damn right it takes a certain kind of person to buy a murder house. You have to be familiar with the very ugly side of human nature.
Most people sweep monsters under the bed. I pull the covers back and let them crawl in.
Instagram is my other Band-Aid. It’s toxic, I know. But the more likes I get, the less I bleed.
Joe and Sarah’s marriage might need a renovation more than the house. But, that’s a tomorrow problem.
❝
“We’ll need to replace these floorboards.” He steps back, grimacing. “For now, just buy a rug to cover it with.”
I nearly snort my laughter. That’s him. Let’s throw a rug over the issue. If you can’t see it, then maybe all that ugliness isn’t even there.
The middle of a marriage is quiet. The middle is dangerous.
It’s amazing how much you want to say during these tense, silent marriage moments. Where have you been? Do you hate me? Are we okay?
The neighbors! Forget about borrowing sugar or a ladder. This community would never be accused of being welcoming or friendly.
❝
Why the hell is everyone so secretive about everything in this town?
I highly recommend this thrilling debut. However, I do not recommend purchasing a murder house.
❝
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that we have no clue what horror is coming for us.
*NOTE: Please read the author's note.
Thank you, Lisa Matlin, for sharing your mental health journey. I admire your bravery and know you will touch countless readers. Your personal story is both triumphant and inspirational. By the way, Resolution looks good on you. Keep up the good fight because you are winning, lovie!
Many thanks to NetGalley, Bantam, and Lisa Matlin for the gifted ARC.
⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆
Special shoutout to the lovely and sweet Cara for holding my hand while we screamed and plotted our plan of attack. I will burn any house down for you — I’m always one match away, my BBB. Thank you for a great buddy read!
October 31, 2023
This one got me!! I was terrified of what was going on with the attic in this atmospheric thriller. I must be honest when it started out...I thought what is wrong with the main character? I never did like her, but I kept reading it and found out this house is the main character. Another turn-off was the language leaving me thinking Why is she cussing so much? It did get better or I was too scared to notice it. The book is creepy and my anxiety was as high as my fear.
Black Wood House has set empty for 40 years for a reason. Its former inhabitants Bill Campbell and his wife Susan were quite the topic in a grisly murder-suicide. Their young daughter escaped her father's attack with a hammer and hasn't been seen since.
The new owner is Sarah Slade and her husband Joe. She works as a social media influencer and bought the murder house with her successful self-help book money to blog her remodeling experience. She didn't expect the neighbors to hate her or the unusual incidents the builders experience. When her husband takes a hiatus from her life, she wakes every night to see her cat, Reaper, staring at the attic as she hears footsteps above. Threatening notes appear throughout the house, information of a previous owner Amanda missing and strange encounters with the neighbors have her rethinking her stay.
As Sarah spirals out of control, she makes a fool of herself as her well-crafted lies begin to peel back like the wallpaper with eyes she is scared of. I'm screaming to get out of that house, while she nonchalantly sleeps in the bedroom with the blood stained floor!!!! This was a dark thriller that reminds me of a Stephen King book with its bizarre and Gothic technique.
I loved the inspirational message from the author about her struggle with mental illness and how writing with encouragement became a healing journey. Kudos, Lisa M. Matlin, for you are a magnificent writer!
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for this exceptional ARC in exchange for my honest review. I will not forget this one.
Black Wood House has set empty for 40 years for a reason. Its former inhabitants Bill Campbell and his wife Susan were quite the topic in a grisly murder-suicide. Their young daughter escaped her father's attack with a hammer and hasn't been seen since.
The new owner is Sarah Slade and her husband Joe. She works as a social media influencer and bought the murder house with her successful self-help book money to blog her remodeling experience. She didn't expect the neighbors to hate her or the unusual incidents the builders experience. When her husband takes a hiatus from her life, she wakes every night to see her cat, Reaper, staring at the attic as she hears footsteps above. Threatening notes appear throughout the house, information of a previous owner Amanda missing and strange encounters with the neighbors have her rethinking her stay.
As Sarah spirals out of control, she makes a fool of herself as her well-crafted lies begin to peel back like the wallpaper with eyes she is scared of. I'm screaming to get out of that house, while she nonchalantly sleeps in the bedroom with the blood stained floor!!!! This was a dark thriller that reminds me of a Stephen King book with its bizarre and Gothic technique.
I loved the inspirational message from the author about her struggle with mental illness and how writing with encouragement became a healing journey. Kudos, Lisa M. Matlin, for you are a magnificent writer!
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for this exceptional ARC in exchange for my honest review. I will not forget this one.
August 4, 2024
Things to know about me: I am a huge sucker for an unreliable narrator, particularly if alcohol is involved, and I like unlikable MCs. Check and check for this book.
Unsurprisingly, the first thing that attracted me to The Stranger Upstairs was the cover. I'm shallow. Seriously, can we just take a moment to drink in these colors?
Next was the synopsis, which sold me on the idea of a social media influencer buying a murder house to renovate for content. And with gothic vibes!?
We love that. Additionally, it's from a debut author and is set in Australia. We love that even more!!
Unfortunately, due to over-extending myself, and I didn't get to it as quickly as I wanted to. Then the reviews started rolling in and some of them weren't the greatest.
I started to get nervous. I started to prioritize other books over this one. It was a whole thing. Having now completed this, I wish I would have read it sooner. I thought it was so much fun; a gripping page-turner!
In this story we follow Sarah Slade, a therapist, who is also gaining some traction as a lifestyle influencer.
Black Wood House was once the scene of a grisly murder-suicide, and now it's Sarah's latest pet project. She and her husband need a place to start over, and due to its murder house status, they're able to procure Black Wood at a ridiculously low price in a highly-desirable neighborhood.
Sarah's idea is to renovate it and she can use the renovation as constant content to attract new followers, helping her to reach the next level in social media status.
Her husband, not a fan of purchasing the house in the first place, can hardly stand to be there. He doesn't understand Sarah's determination with this project.
Once the builders, hired on to help with the reno, begin acting strangely and having unexplained accidents, it appears maybe Sarah's husband is on to something about the malevolent nature of the house.
Nothing is shaking Sarah though, not even the threatening notes that begin showing up for her. Someone doesn't want her there. Is it the house, or someone else and is Sarah really willing to risk everything just for content?
There are so many layers to this story, but you'll have to read it to discover all the little avenues Matlin takes us down. Admittedly, the writing style took me a minute to get used to, as it didn't flow quite the way I expected.
However, after reading the entire story, I sort of feel like the way it was written matches Sarah's personality perfectly. It's like viewing the world through her eyes and I not only came to enjoy it, but I became extremely invested in it.
If I had to compare it, I would say the style reminds me of Mona Awad's style, particularly in All's Well.
I was extremely intrigued by the house and Sarah's motivations for being there. I did feel like the house had a lot of Amityville vibes, but it wasn't a turn off for me. I actually quite liked that.
Sarah, as a character isn't particularly likable, and you might even classify her as unreliable, but I don't need to like characters to enjoy a story. Additionally, as mentioned above, I love an unreliable narrator, so I think this story was just set-up to work for me.
I also really enjoyed the mystery behind what was happening with the house. It had a great, is it supernatural, is it not-intrigue to it that I always enjoy.
As Sarah is coming more unhinged the longer she stays in the house, she's also simultaneously trying to figure out what is going on. I thought Matlin did a great job keeping the intensity up throughout and making Sarah's investigations into her circumstances believable.
I think as far as debuts go, this one is very strong. I think if this is the kind of story that usually works for you, you should absolutely give this one a go. It's tense and gripping throughout, with a very interesting conclusion.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Bantam, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am really looking forward to reading more from Lisa M. Matlin!
Unsurprisingly, the first thing that attracted me to The Stranger Upstairs was the cover. I'm shallow. Seriously, can we just take a moment to drink in these colors?
Next was the synopsis, which sold me on the idea of a social media influencer buying a murder house to renovate for content. And with gothic vibes!?
We love that. Additionally, it's from a debut author and is set in Australia. We love that even more!!
Unfortunately, due to over-extending myself, and I didn't get to it as quickly as I wanted to. Then the reviews started rolling in and some of them weren't the greatest.
I started to get nervous. I started to prioritize other books over this one. It was a whole thing. Having now completed this, I wish I would have read it sooner. I thought it was so much fun; a gripping page-turner!
In this story we follow Sarah Slade, a therapist, who is also gaining some traction as a lifestyle influencer.
Black Wood House was once the scene of a grisly murder-suicide, and now it's Sarah's latest pet project. She and her husband need a place to start over, and due to its murder house status, they're able to procure Black Wood at a ridiculously low price in a highly-desirable neighborhood.
Sarah's idea is to renovate it and she can use the renovation as constant content to attract new followers, helping her to reach the next level in social media status.
Her husband, not a fan of purchasing the house in the first place, can hardly stand to be there. He doesn't understand Sarah's determination with this project.
Once the builders, hired on to help with the reno, begin acting strangely and having unexplained accidents, it appears maybe Sarah's husband is on to something about the malevolent nature of the house.
Nothing is shaking Sarah though, not even the threatening notes that begin showing up for her. Someone doesn't want her there. Is it the house, or someone else and is Sarah really willing to risk everything just for content?
There are so many layers to this story, but you'll have to read it to discover all the little avenues Matlin takes us down. Admittedly, the writing style took me a minute to get used to, as it didn't flow quite the way I expected.
However, after reading the entire story, I sort of feel like the way it was written matches Sarah's personality perfectly. It's like viewing the world through her eyes and I not only came to enjoy it, but I became extremely invested in it.
If I had to compare it, I would say the style reminds me of Mona Awad's style, particularly in All's Well.
I was extremely intrigued by the house and Sarah's motivations for being there. I did feel like the house had a lot of Amityville vibes, but it wasn't a turn off for me. I actually quite liked that.
Sarah, as a character isn't particularly likable, and you might even classify her as unreliable, but I don't need to like characters to enjoy a story. Additionally, as mentioned above, I love an unreliable narrator, so I think this story was just set-up to work for me.
I also really enjoyed the mystery behind what was happening with the house. It had a great, is it supernatural, is it not-intrigue to it that I always enjoy.
As Sarah is coming more unhinged the longer she stays in the house, she's also simultaneously trying to figure out what is going on. I thought Matlin did a great job keeping the intensity up throughout and making Sarah's investigations into her circumstances believable.
I think as far as debuts go, this one is very strong. I think if this is the kind of story that usually works for you, you should absolutely give this one a go. It's tense and gripping throughout, with a very interesting conclusion.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Bantam, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am really looking forward to reading more from Lisa M. Matlin!
July 7, 2023
Would you buy a known murder house? A house where a vicious murder-suicide took place? A house that has sat vacant for 40 years because nothing but darkness and death vibes surround it? Well, our main character Sarah Slade bought this house. Sarah is not superstitious, and the price was right! Sarah knows she can renovate the house and make a nice profit, all while promoting the renovations/updates on her highly popular social media page.
Sarah Slade and her husband Joe Cosgrove buy the murder house. Sarah is secretly hoping that while they start making repairs on the house, this time together will hopefully repair their marriage. Joe has become very distant, and he prefers to sleep on the couch rather than with her. How come Joe doesn’t appreciate everything that she’s done for him? While Sarah works during the day as a qualified therapist, Joe bartends at night and he often doesn’t even come home. While Sarah is alone at night, strange things start to occur. Noises in the attic, she starts to become ill, and strange occurrences keep happening.
Sarah has never felt more alone in this murder house, and the town of Beacon for which it sits. All the neighbors and townsfolk are close knit and stick together. The people from Beacon can hardly believe that anyone would even buy that house (which is called Black Wood), let alone live in it. Sarah eventually becomes close with her coworker, Emily. Sarah has never had a real friendship, and she’s hoping that she can trust Emily.
Don’t let the pretty cover of this book fool you, because this book is dark and twisted! There were many twists and turns in this book. And you wonder is Sarah just as ugly as the 40 year old murder house?
I definitely recommend this book, as it was a fast read that kept me turning the pages fast enough. There are some loose ends that I would like answers to, therefore 3.5 stars rounded up.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, and the author for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. Publication date September 26, 2023.
Genre- Mystery & Thrillers, General Fiction
Sarah Slade and her husband Joe Cosgrove buy the murder house. Sarah is secretly hoping that while they start making repairs on the house, this time together will hopefully repair their marriage. Joe has become very distant, and he prefers to sleep on the couch rather than with her. How come Joe doesn’t appreciate everything that she’s done for him? While Sarah works during the day as a qualified therapist, Joe bartends at night and he often doesn’t even come home. While Sarah is alone at night, strange things start to occur. Noises in the attic, she starts to become ill, and strange occurrences keep happening.
Sarah has never felt more alone in this murder house, and the town of Beacon for which it sits. All the neighbors and townsfolk are close knit and stick together. The people from Beacon can hardly believe that anyone would even buy that house (which is called Black Wood), let alone live in it. Sarah eventually becomes close with her coworker, Emily. Sarah has never had a real friendship, and she’s hoping that she can trust Emily.
Don’t let the pretty cover of this book fool you, because this book is dark and twisted! There were many twists and turns in this book. And you wonder is Sarah just as ugly as the 40 year old murder house?
I definitely recommend this book, as it was a fast read that kept me turning the pages fast enough. There are some loose ends that I would like answers to, therefore 3.5 stars rounded up.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, and the author for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. Publication date September 26, 2023.
Genre- Mystery & Thrillers, General Fiction
October 7, 2023
**Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House - Ballantine, and Lisa M. Matlin for an ARC of this book! Now available as of 9.12!!**
"Want a great deal on a house?
BUY ONE WHERE SOMEONE WAS MURDERED!"
(and if those two opening lines don't catch your attention, you probably haven't been personally victimized by the soul-crushing housing market as of late. Or you just MIGHT be asleep! 😴)
Sarah Slade is looking for the Next Big Hit on her lifestyle blog, the one article that will draw in her legions of loyal followers like never before. When she learns of Black Wood House, the place where a terrifying murder-suicide happened years ago and sees the Bargain Basement price, she swoops up the property, hoping to renovate the insides and document the process. After all, Sarah has a lot on her mind: it's been a while since her last hit book, and her once passionate marriage to husband Joe has fizzled into something she hardly recognizes, and her career as a therapist has her hitting the sauce a little TOO often. (On top of taking her medication, of course).
And the town of Beacon isn't exactly thrilled about this new development either. Its inhabitants feel that her mere presence on the property is disrespectful to its original owners and the tragedy that took place...and if Sarah isn't mistaken, the house isn't too thrilled to have her either. As if having graves in the yard, a giant blood stain on the carpet, and creepy bird wallpaper on the walls isn't enough, Sarah starts to hear noises. Bumps in the night. And she even swears she can hear the last words of the previous murder victims echoing in her ears: "Don't kill me. Don't kill me. Don't kill me."
As the strange and unsettling occurrences multiply, Sarah begins to lose time and memory, coming to her therapist coworker Emma for help and struggling to keep a grasp on reality at any cost. But Sarah has more than just the house to contend with...secrets from her past are coming back to haunt her too. A certain person she lost many years ago has a bone to pick too...and hasn't ever left Sarah completely. As the noises inside reach a deadly crescendo, and two BODIES are found nearby, did the house find its newest victim in Sarah? Or did it simply unleash a hidden evil lying dormant within someone's mind?
I'm always a sucker for a good murder house tale. There's a reason my favorite season of American Horror Story was its very first season, the aptly named "Murder House". A creepy house personified can be one of the most terrifying characters you'll ever read, and in many ways, Black Wood House helped to create that atmosphere immediately and ticked all of the boxes. Though I certainly questioned Sarah's motives (website and Instagram or not) for LIVING in this house before anyone would consider it habitable, I went with it.
This narrative flows quickly and easily, and makes you feel as though you've always known Sarah: there are bits of snarky commentary about social media, her clients, and observations about the world at large. In some ways, Sarah reminded me of a watered-down Joe Goldberg...if he decided to then become an author/social media darling/therapist. (And let's face it, he would probably not participate in at LEAST two of those professions on principle alone!)
The plot speeds along, with the house terrifying Sarah and the author keeping things pretty close to the vest UNTIL we are tossed a news article, seemingly out of nowhere, revealing that two bodies had been found near the property, unidentified. I'm okay with this as a device and it was certainly shocking, but for some reason it felt a bit jarring as a reader...and I think the author could have held this information back a BIT longer. It almost felt like "Well, we've hit x point in the narrative...time to drop a bomb" rather than a natural, shocking progression. I'm all for a curve ball and love a good twist, but it felt more like a micro info dump than a natural sequence of events.
Once the next set of reveals happens though, this book TRULY turns from a 'things that go bump in the night murder house thriller', into PURE psychological thriller territory. And there are certainly clues that the book will go this way; Sarah's aforementioned fondness for pills and booze and emotional instability shine from the first page. But as she becomes more and more unhinged...well, let's just say the book's title EASILY could have a double meaning (and perhaps Matlin even designed it this way!) 😉
However, I have to admit, against my better judgment, this was a fairly unputdownable read, mainly because I COULD NOT stop thinking about it. Why against my better judgment, you ask? For one thing...there are some fairly large plot holes (AND a few red herrings thrown in, seemingly just to muddy the waters) and an ending that could be considered convenient at best. I'm certainly okay with suspending my disbelief to an extent, but the explanation provided seemed a bit lackluster after the dramatic events preceding it. The ending also went a bit OTT for the sole purpose of providing ANOTHER twist, and I don't think this last bit of flair was needed or believable. I'm not one for gratuitous twists, and the very last 'icing on the cake' moment was more like eating one more slice of cake when you're already full...and INSTANTLY regretting it.
Though this book didn't necessarily tread over any new territory, it was the sort of debut that catches you off guard JUST enough to crawl under your skin and keep humming in the back of your mind. And if there's anything I've learned since finishing this one, despite my better judgment and desire to stay snuggled under the covers...sometimes you just need to get out of the house and breathe in a BIT of fresh air.
😉
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4
"Want a great deal on a house?
BUY ONE WHERE SOMEONE WAS MURDERED!"
(and if those two opening lines don't catch your attention, you probably haven't been personally victimized by the soul-crushing housing market as of late. Or you just MIGHT be asleep! 😴)
Sarah Slade is looking for the Next Big Hit on her lifestyle blog, the one article that will draw in her legions of loyal followers like never before. When she learns of Black Wood House, the place where a terrifying murder-suicide happened years ago and sees the Bargain Basement price, she swoops up the property, hoping to renovate the insides and document the process. After all, Sarah has a lot on her mind: it's been a while since her last hit book, and her once passionate marriage to husband Joe has fizzled into something she hardly recognizes, and her career as a therapist has her hitting the sauce a little TOO often. (On top of taking her medication, of course).
And the town of Beacon isn't exactly thrilled about this new development either. Its inhabitants feel that her mere presence on the property is disrespectful to its original owners and the tragedy that took place...and if Sarah isn't mistaken, the house isn't too thrilled to have her either. As if having graves in the yard, a giant blood stain on the carpet, and creepy bird wallpaper on the walls isn't enough, Sarah starts to hear noises. Bumps in the night. And she even swears she can hear the last words of the previous murder victims echoing in her ears: "Don't kill me. Don't kill me. Don't kill me."
As the strange and unsettling occurrences multiply, Sarah begins to lose time and memory, coming to her therapist coworker Emma for help and struggling to keep a grasp on reality at any cost. But Sarah has more than just the house to contend with...secrets from her past are coming back to haunt her too. A certain person she lost many years ago has a bone to pick too...and hasn't ever left Sarah completely. As the noises inside reach a deadly crescendo, and two BODIES are found nearby, did the house find its newest victim in Sarah? Or did it simply unleash a hidden evil lying dormant within someone's mind?
I'm always a sucker for a good murder house tale. There's a reason my favorite season of American Horror Story was its very first season, the aptly named "Murder House". A creepy house personified can be one of the most terrifying characters you'll ever read, and in many ways, Black Wood House helped to create that atmosphere immediately and ticked all of the boxes. Though I certainly questioned Sarah's motives (website and Instagram or not) for LIVING in this house before anyone would consider it habitable, I went with it.
This narrative flows quickly and easily, and makes you feel as though you've always known Sarah: there are bits of snarky commentary about social media, her clients, and observations about the world at large. In some ways, Sarah reminded me of a watered-down Joe Goldberg...if he decided to then become an author/social media darling/therapist. (And let's face it, he would probably not participate in at LEAST two of those professions on principle alone!)
The plot speeds along, with the house terrifying Sarah and the author keeping things pretty close to the vest UNTIL we are tossed a news article, seemingly out of nowhere, revealing that two bodies had been found near the property, unidentified. I'm okay with this as a device and it was certainly shocking, but for some reason it felt a bit jarring as a reader...and I think the author could have held this information back a BIT longer. It almost felt like "Well, we've hit x point in the narrative...time to drop a bomb" rather than a natural, shocking progression. I'm all for a curve ball and love a good twist, but it felt more like a micro info dump than a natural sequence of events.
Once the next set of reveals happens though, this book TRULY turns from a 'things that go bump in the night murder house thriller', into PURE psychological thriller territory. And there are certainly clues that the book will go this way; Sarah's aforementioned fondness for pills and booze and emotional instability shine from the first page. But as she becomes more and more unhinged...well, let's just say the book's title EASILY could have a double meaning (and perhaps Matlin even designed it this way!) 😉
However, I have to admit, against my better judgment, this was a fairly unputdownable read, mainly because I COULD NOT stop thinking about it. Why against my better judgment, you ask? For one thing...there are some fairly large plot holes (AND a few red herrings thrown in, seemingly just to muddy the waters) and an ending that could be considered convenient at best. I'm certainly okay with suspending my disbelief to an extent, but the explanation provided seemed a bit lackluster after the dramatic events preceding it. The ending also went a bit OTT for the sole purpose of providing ANOTHER twist, and I don't think this last bit of flair was needed or believable. I'm not one for gratuitous twists, and the very last 'icing on the cake' moment was more like eating one more slice of cake when you're already full...and INSTANTLY regretting it.
Though this book didn't necessarily tread over any new territory, it was the sort of debut that catches you off guard JUST enough to crawl under your skin and keep humming in the back of your mind. And if there's anything I've learned since finishing this one, despite my better judgment and desire to stay snuggled under the covers...sometimes you just need to get out of the house and breathe in a BIT of fresh air.
😉
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4
September 12, 2023
Don’t Kill Me Don’t Kill Me Don’t Kill Me
Those were the words heard from Janet Campbell as she ran from Black Wood House, after her father bludgeoned her mother to death with a hammer, before taking his own life. She hasn’t been seen since.
Now, social media Influencer, Sarah Slade has just purchased the “Murder House” which has sat empty for 40 years, hoping to renovate it and sell it for a tidy profit. But the house doesn’t seem to want to be renovated. And, the local contractors don’t seem to want to work on the property. Despite posting the progress on her blog, SarahSlays.com, she isn’t getting the sponsors she had hoped for.
She has selected the “murder room” with its blood stained floorboards as her bedroom but her husband Joe, won’t join her. He didn’t want the house, and he hasn’t wanted her in months, so he will take the couch. That is -when he is actually at home.
But her cat, Reaper will keep her company. He’s the rescue she brought home five years ago after reading his tagline which said, “This cat doesn’t like kids, dogs, loud noises, being picked up, and he’s been known to fight with other cats. He is also very possessive of his blanket and food. “ It was love at first sight! (Good thing cats have 9 lives, he will need them-but he does survive!)
Sarah is a therapist who looks like she has her act together but she has her issues too- besides marital problems, she shops too much, and drinks too much-among other things.
And, she is hiding plenty of her own secrets. Secrets the neighbors will use against her to get what they want. And, what they want is for the house to be bulldozed and for Sarah to go away.
This book started out well enough although it had more of a HORROR vibe than I was expecting.
But PART TWO got a little too WEIRD for me. Definitely aiming to surprise and shock, it veered right into 🍿territory.
Although I didn’t end up enjoying it as much as other reviewers (again, sigh!) at least it wasn’t another retread storyline and for that I was thankful.
AVAILABLE NOW
A buddy read with DeAnn and Mary Beth. Be sure to watch for their reviews for additional (opposite?) opinions????
Thank You to Bantam for the gifted copy provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!
Those were the words heard from Janet Campbell as she ran from Black Wood House, after her father bludgeoned her mother to death with a hammer, before taking his own life. She hasn’t been seen since.
Now, social media Influencer, Sarah Slade has just purchased the “Murder House” which has sat empty for 40 years, hoping to renovate it and sell it for a tidy profit. But the house doesn’t seem to want to be renovated. And, the local contractors don’t seem to want to work on the property. Despite posting the progress on her blog, SarahSlays.com, she isn’t getting the sponsors she had hoped for.
She has selected the “murder room” with its blood stained floorboards as her bedroom but her husband Joe, won’t join her. He didn’t want the house, and he hasn’t wanted her in months, so he will take the couch. That is -when he is actually at home.
But her cat, Reaper will keep her company. He’s the rescue she brought home five years ago after reading his tagline which said, “This cat doesn’t like kids, dogs, loud noises, being picked up, and he’s been known to fight with other cats. He is also very possessive of his blanket and food. “ It was love at first sight! (Good thing cats have 9 lives, he will need them-but he does survive!)
Sarah is a therapist who looks like she has her act together but she has her issues too- besides marital problems, she shops too much, and drinks too much-among other things.
And, she is hiding plenty of her own secrets. Secrets the neighbors will use against her to get what they want. And, what they want is for the house to be bulldozed and for Sarah to go away.
This book started out well enough although it had more of a HORROR vibe than I was expecting.
But PART TWO got a little too WEIRD for me. Definitely aiming to surprise and shock, it veered right into 🍿territory.
Although I didn’t end up enjoying it as much as other reviewers (again, sigh!) at least it wasn’t another retread storyline and for that I was thankful.
AVAILABLE NOW
A buddy read with DeAnn and Mary Beth. Be sure to watch for their reviews for additional (opposite?) opinions????
Thank You to Bantam for the gifted copy provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!
September 23, 2023
Whoever designed this gorgeous cover should get a cut from book sales. I was going to skip it but couldn't resist!🌸
Sarah Slade is an influencer, author, and therapist! She bought a gorgeous Victorian house in Melbourne. The Black Wood House was a real bargain since it had been vacant for 40 years because of a murder that took place. Sarah wants to blog her journey on the renovation and make a handsome profit reselling it.
The premise was intriguing, but sadly it's a no for me.
I wanted to DNF many times but decided to skip to the last hour after listening halfway through. I couldn't take anymore DON'T KILL ME or CREAKKKK. The creaks made me laugh out loud every time (audiobook) ... what a mood killer 🙉. Let's be honest, I was supposed to be scared! But it pretty much came down to the fact that the MC didn't do anything for me so it was hard to get into the story. I'm glad I didn't miss out on the author's heartfelt note in the end. 💗
I'm an outlier here. There are many 4-5 star reviews and I hope The Stranger Upstairs works out better for you!
Sarah Slade is an influencer, author, and therapist! She bought a gorgeous Victorian house in Melbourne. The Black Wood House was a real bargain since it had been vacant for 40 years because of a murder that took place. Sarah wants to blog her journey on the renovation and make a handsome profit reselling it.
The premise was intriguing, but sadly it's a no for me.
I wanted to DNF many times but decided to skip to the last hour after listening halfway through. I couldn't take anymore DON'T KILL ME or CREAKKKK. The creaks made me laugh out loud every time (audiobook) ... what a mood killer 🙉. Let's be honest, I was supposed to be scared! But it pretty much came down to the fact that the MC didn't do anything for me so it was hard to get into the story. I'm glad I didn't miss out on the author's heartfelt note in the end. 💗
I'm an outlier here. There are many 4-5 star reviews and I hope The Stranger Upstairs works out better for you!
October 24, 2023
In a book that’s sure to make one rethink every future home-buying decision, debut author Lisa Matlin has written a super creepy story that examines what happens when a homebuyer’s intentions don’t line up with what the house itself wants!
Successful lifestyle influencer and author Sarah Slade and husband Joe have purchased Black Wood House, where forty years ago Bill Campbell murdered his wife Susan with a hammer and attempted to kill his daughter before ending his own life. Sarah’s ambition is to renovate this murder house and rely on a future buyer’s morbid curiosity to make a tidy profit.
In reality, Sarah is trying to escape events from her past and keep her disintegrating marriage from unraveling further. The more she tries to control her husband and her new home, the harder they both seem to rebel against her. It’s as if the house resents her as much as Joe does. Maybe even more.
As menacing notes appear around her home and her new neighbors eye her with suspicion or outright contempt, Sarah’s paranoia steadily increases. Floorboards in the attic creak at night, her cat Reaper begins acting strangely, a builder she’s hired has a bizarre accident, and to make it all worse, she learns of another mysterious disappearance related to her new home that no one in town will talk about or even acknowledge.
What starts off as a simple house-flipping scenario turns into an increasingly bizarre fever dream from which there may be no escape for her. Can she outrun the ghosts of her past and present before she loses her mind … or her life?
I listened to this on audio while reading along on my Kindle. The story is told almost entirely from the single POV of Sarah, admirably narrated by Fiona Hardingham. I would’ve appreciated some variation in her male character voices - they all sounded identical - but apart from that I thought she did a good job.
There were interspersed news sections that detail a new crime that was committed at Black Wood House … the reader isn’t told who the victims are until much later, adding a nice suspenseful mystery to the story. The book definitely leads you to think in a certain direction, but kudos to Matlin for taking the story in a direction I NEVER suspected! The ending reveal was such a clever switch up from what I’ve come to expect from stories like this. I grew a little bit tired of hearing only from Sarah for so much of the book, but the ending made up for it!
This was a solid debut effort from Lisa Matlin, and I’ll definitely watch for what she writes next. One last thing: the author’s note is really thoughtful and worth a moment to read!
★★★ ½ (rounded to 4)
Thanks to Bantam, NetGalley, and author Lisa M. Matlin for this digital ARC to honestly review and to my local library and Libby for the audiobook. It’s out now.
Successful lifestyle influencer and author Sarah Slade and husband Joe have purchased Black Wood House, where forty years ago Bill Campbell murdered his wife Susan with a hammer and attempted to kill his daughter before ending his own life. Sarah’s ambition is to renovate this murder house and rely on a future buyer’s morbid curiosity to make a tidy profit.
In reality, Sarah is trying to escape events from her past and keep her disintegrating marriage from unraveling further. The more she tries to control her husband and her new home, the harder they both seem to rebel against her. It’s as if the house resents her as much as Joe does. Maybe even more.
As menacing notes appear around her home and her new neighbors eye her with suspicion or outright contempt, Sarah’s paranoia steadily increases. Floorboards in the attic creak at night, her cat Reaper begins acting strangely, a builder she’s hired has a bizarre accident, and to make it all worse, she learns of another mysterious disappearance related to her new home that no one in town will talk about or even acknowledge.
What starts off as a simple house-flipping scenario turns into an increasingly bizarre fever dream from which there may be no escape for her. Can she outrun the ghosts of her past and present before she loses her mind … or her life?
I listened to this on audio while reading along on my Kindle. The story is told almost entirely from the single POV of Sarah, admirably narrated by Fiona Hardingham. I would’ve appreciated some variation in her male character voices - they all sounded identical - but apart from that I thought she did a good job.
There were interspersed news sections that detail a new crime that was committed at Black Wood House … the reader isn’t told who the victims are until much later, adding a nice suspenseful mystery to the story. The book definitely leads you to think in a certain direction, but kudos to Matlin for taking the story in a direction I NEVER suspected! The ending reveal was such a clever switch up from what I’ve come to expect from stories like this. I grew a little bit tired of hearing only from Sarah for so much of the book, but the ending made up for it!
This was a solid debut effort from Lisa Matlin, and I’ll definitely watch for what she writes next. One last thing: the author’s note is really thoughtful and worth a moment to read!
★★★ ½ (rounded to 4)
Thanks to Bantam, NetGalley, and author Lisa M. Matlin for this digital ARC to honestly review and to my local library and Libby for the audiobook. It’s out now.
June 13, 2023
One murder house, one social media influencer, one rocky marriage and a neighborhood of people that hate you. WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?!
Well......... A lot it seems.
Sara is a bestselling author and therapist and also a social media influencer who promotes wellness, when she decides to buy a murder house and renovate it to sell for a profit with her husband, she thinks she has everything in hand. Little does she know that her whole life is about to be turned upside down. Strange noises, intrusive thoughts, menacing neighbors and a marriage that is on the verge of imploding. Sara is keeping too many secrets and she may have finally run out of luck.
I was really excited to read this book, but I will admit I was left disappointed. I really liked the premise and it's why I wanted to read the book but unfortunately, I found myself not being able to invest in the story. There really isn't one character I could find myself rooting for and the one sympathetic character that was in the book wasn't fleshed out enough for me to form an emotional connection with. The writing style was enjoyable but there was too much exposition for my liking and not enough actual pivotal action scenes that propelled the plot forward and the ending left me feeling kind of unsatisfied.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing-Bantam for the gifted arc
Well......... A lot it seems.
Sara is a bestselling author and therapist and also a social media influencer who promotes wellness, when she decides to buy a murder house and renovate it to sell for a profit with her husband, she thinks she has everything in hand. Little does she know that her whole life is about to be turned upside down. Strange noises, intrusive thoughts, menacing neighbors and a marriage that is on the verge of imploding. Sara is keeping too many secrets and she may have finally run out of luck.
I was really excited to read this book, but I will admit I was left disappointed. I really liked the premise and it's why I wanted to read the book but unfortunately, I found myself not being able to invest in the story. There really isn't one character I could find myself rooting for and the one sympathetic character that was in the book wasn't fleshed out enough for me to form an emotional connection with. The writing style was enjoyable but there was too much exposition for my liking and not enough actual pivotal action scenes that propelled the plot forward and the ending left me feeling kind of unsatisfied.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing-Bantam for the gifted arc
April 12, 2023
"One need not be a chamber to be haunted; One need not be a house; The brain has corridors surpassing Material place." (Emily Dickinson)
Lisa Matlin recognizes the powerful impact of the human psyche when it comes to the deep pinches in the mind that hold those terrible hauntings. The Boogey Man is all too familiar. He sits in the dark recesses of our closets or folds himself expertly under our beds at night. We still look high and low for him. Strangely, he resides coiled tightly in our own minds.
Sarah Slade thinks that she has tapped into a gold mine. She and her husband, Joe, have purchased the infamous Black Wood House in an upscale Australian area. Their plan is to renovate it with the least cost and resell it for an amazing profit. They got it cheap. Way cheap. Why, you ask? Oh, it's one of those. A murder house.
To most people that would be off-putting. To Sarah, it's an opportunity to re-establish themselves and start over with a few coins in their pockets. Sarah is a popular social media influencer who happens to be a therapist as well. She's written a bestseller self-help book. Joe is a bartender. Both have new jobs not too far from the Black Wood House. Their marriage is feeling the pressure of some bad decisions in the past. Oh, Baby, but this present decision will be a killer of a decision.
Even Sarah's cat, Reaper, feels the cold vibes of their new abode. Reaper meanders around the house and keeps staring up at the attic door in the middle of the night. Sarah hears it, too. Joe seems to spend more and more time away from the house these days.
And the neighbors? Far from welcoming. Sarah has found threatening notes and a dead rat in her mailbox. The previous owner, Amanda, went missing. Nobody wants to talk about it. Nobody.
Lisa Matlin has an uncanny ability of creating a highly toxic atmosphere within these walls. Even the contractors hang up when they hear the address. Matlin lets the tides overflow and permeate into these individuals themselves. It takes a certain talent to inject a high level of tension and an even more crucial talent to keep it there throughout the novel. Sarah's past pulls up a chair in this one and feels quite at home in the depth and breadth of this house. Warning: Nightlight will not be optional while cracking this one open. It's a necessity.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Random House and to Lisa Matlin for the opportunity.
Lisa Matlin recognizes the powerful impact of the human psyche when it comes to the deep pinches in the mind that hold those terrible hauntings. The Boogey Man is all too familiar. He sits in the dark recesses of our closets or folds himself expertly under our beds at night. We still look high and low for him. Strangely, he resides coiled tightly in our own minds.
Sarah Slade thinks that she has tapped into a gold mine. She and her husband, Joe, have purchased the infamous Black Wood House in an upscale Australian area. Their plan is to renovate it with the least cost and resell it for an amazing profit. They got it cheap. Way cheap. Why, you ask? Oh, it's one of those. A murder house.
To most people that would be off-putting. To Sarah, it's an opportunity to re-establish themselves and start over with a few coins in their pockets. Sarah is a popular social media influencer who happens to be a therapist as well. She's written a bestseller self-help book. Joe is a bartender. Both have new jobs not too far from the Black Wood House. Their marriage is feeling the pressure of some bad decisions in the past. Oh, Baby, but this present decision will be a killer of a decision.
Even Sarah's cat, Reaper, feels the cold vibes of their new abode. Reaper meanders around the house and keeps staring up at the attic door in the middle of the night. Sarah hears it, too. Joe seems to spend more and more time away from the house these days.
And the neighbors? Far from welcoming. Sarah has found threatening notes and a dead rat in her mailbox. The previous owner, Amanda, went missing. Nobody wants to talk about it. Nobody.
Lisa Matlin has an uncanny ability of creating a highly toxic atmosphere within these walls. Even the contractors hang up when they hear the address. Matlin lets the tides overflow and permeate into these individuals themselves. It takes a certain talent to inject a high level of tension and an even more crucial talent to keep it there throughout the novel. Sarah's past pulls up a chair in this one and feels quite at home in the depth and breadth of this house. Warning: Nightlight will not be optional while cracking this one open. It's a necessity.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Random House and to Lisa Matlin for the opportunity.
September 13, 2023
3.5 stars
Sarah Slade, a social media influencer who buys the infamous Black Wood House, hoping to boost her following and save her marriage. Both she and her husband, Joe, have secrets from their past, and Sarah is hoping that a new town paired with a new home will be just what they need. They knew going in that the house was the site of a horrific murder. What she didn't know was how unwelcoming her neighbors would be. She also wasn't aware that she might hear things in the night and her hired contractors might experience strange things during the day.
I began to wonder if this book was going to be like The Amityville Horror, but it stands on its own ground. I initially gave this book 3 stars but found myself thinking about it after I turned the last page.
Sarah and Joe are not very likeable characters. In fact, Sarah is a mess and unreliable. She hears footsteps coming from the attic, strange things are happening with her cat, she begins receiving strange messages, and her behavior is erratic. She makes references to her past and slowly readers get a better picture as to who she is and why she and Joe moved. This book beings to take on a creepy feel as Sarah appears to spiral.
Initially I wasn't too sure about this book but as more things were revealed, it began to grow on me. I enjoyed the creepy vibe of this book, the tension that mounted, and impending sense of doom as the book progressed.
I enjoyed that this book was horrific but not bloody or gory although there is talk of blood. It is more of a creepy, haunted, and sinister feeling book. This is a great book to read around Halloween.
The author has a personal author's note at the end of the book. Be sure to read that as well.
#TheStrangerUpstairs #NetGalley
Atmospheric, creepy, and sinister.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
Sarah Slade, a social media influencer who buys the infamous Black Wood House, hoping to boost her following and save her marriage. Both she and her husband, Joe, have secrets from their past, and Sarah is hoping that a new town paired with a new home will be just what they need. They knew going in that the house was the site of a horrific murder. What she didn't know was how unwelcoming her neighbors would be. She also wasn't aware that she might hear things in the night and her hired contractors might experience strange things during the day.
I began to wonder if this book was going to be like The Amityville Horror, but it stands on its own ground. I initially gave this book 3 stars but found myself thinking about it after I turned the last page.
Sarah and Joe are not very likeable characters. In fact, Sarah is a mess and unreliable. She hears footsteps coming from the attic, strange things are happening with her cat, she begins receiving strange messages, and her behavior is erratic. She makes references to her past and slowly readers get a better picture as to who she is and why she and Joe moved. This book beings to take on a creepy feel as Sarah appears to spiral.
Initially I wasn't too sure about this book but as more things were revealed, it began to grow on me. I enjoyed the creepy vibe of this book, the tension that mounted, and impending sense of doom as the book progressed.
I enjoyed that this book was horrific but not bloody or gory although there is talk of blood. It is more of a creepy, haunted, and sinister feeling book. This is a great book to read around Halloween.
The author has a personal author's note at the end of the book. Be sure to read that as well.
#TheStrangerUpstairs #NetGalley
Atmospheric, creepy, and sinister.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
August 25, 2023
I think this one is going to be a big hit for many readers, and if I hadn’t read SO many similar stories over the years, I would see myself raving about this one as well. It’s best if you go into this one blind and don’t read any plot points if at all possible, just to have the full experience, but suffice it to say there are twists and turns galore, and if they manage to surprise you, you’ll be reeling for sure. Recommended for those looking for a fast read, both in page count and pacing, with modern tones in tune to current social media culture.
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
September 8, 2023
OMG guys!! This book!! 🔥 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Five sizzling hot stars!!! Hands down!! I loved it!! Thank you @penguinrandomhouse @randomhouse for this gorgeous gifted copy!! 🥰 Pub date is 9/26! 🥳🥳 This is the PERFECT book to add to your spooky 👻 season TBR!!! 😉Okay why did I love this book SO much??
Do you ever know that a book is going to be a 5 ⭐️ right from the start?? This was that book! I was immediately obsessed!! Give me a creepy AF book about a house that may be haunted!! SOLD everytime. This murder house came at a steal…😳.. umm go figure.😂 It has set empty for 40 years… since the owner beat his wife to death ☠️ with a hammer 🔨… but our little influencer Sarah Slade thinks this renovation will make her!! 😂… Oh Sarah… you are playing with fire! 🔥
I mean this story was so creepy, crazy and atmospheric!! Just like I LOVE it!! One of my favorite books so far this year!! An AMAZING debut!! 👏👏 Also it’s a @bookofthemonth pick!! 😍
On a side note… I LOVE this author note!! She thanks her current and sweet dogs 🐕 that have passed in their memory. ❤️ OH my heart. ❤️ Plus she is a fellow #goldenretriever mama!! 🙌🙌
Do you ever know that a book is going to be a 5 ⭐️ right from the start?? This was that book! I was immediately obsessed!! Give me a creepy AF book about a house that may be haunted!! SOLD everytime. This murder house came at a steal…😳.. umm go figure.😂 It has set empty for 40 years… since the owner beat his wife to death ☠️ with a hammer 🔨… but our little influencer Sarah Slade thinks this renovation will make her!! 😂… Oh Sarah… you are playing with fire! 🔥
I mean this story was so creepy, crazy and atmospheric!! Just like I LOVE it!! One of my favorite books so far this year!! An AMAZING debut!! 👏👏 Also it’s a @bookofthemonth pick!! 😍
On a side note… I LOVE this author note!! She thanks her current and sweet dogs 🐕 that have passed in their memory. ❤️ OH my heart. ❤️ Plus she is a fellow #goldenretriever mama!! 🙌🙌
September 7, 2023
I could go on a rant about everything I did not enjoy about this book, but I think I'm biased because I thought it was going to be a haunted house book and it's just a domestic thriller.
So fair warning for anyone else looking for horror: this is not it.
Edit: ok, I'm still stewing on how much I disliked this book, so I came back to write my more complete thoughts.
First of all: I understand that marketing is not up to the author, and it's likely the publisher that chose to push this as a horror/haunted house book.
I could honestly forgive the lack of supernatural elements if it was at least a really well written psychological thriller. But the whole thing struck me as very amateur/juvenile. It's painfully clear that this is a debut.
I'll start with the characters. Everyone is unlikeable except Reaper (the cat) and Emily (a pretty minor side character). But I can work with unlikeable characters if they're deliciously wicked or compelling in some way. Sarah is just pathetic and boring. Sure she has a ~mysterious dark past~ but in the present she's just a miserable person who made her own bed and is now somehow shocked that she has to lie in it. Ex - she stole her now-husband away from someone else and basically pushes him into marriage, and is somehow shocked that their relationship is miserable and he (a proven cheater) is cheating on her. Shocking. She buys a murder house without doing BASIC RESEARCH ON ITS RESALE POTENTIAL (she learns later in the story that a neighbor recently listed his much nicer house but was unable to sell because of the neighborhood's reputation. SHE DIDN'T EVEN THINK TO LOOK UP RECENT SALE COMPS????)
You see what I mean? At every step Sarah is in her own way, and all she does is complain about how nothing ever works out for her because she was the shy awkward kid. It's both annoying and infuriating. I was actually rooting for her life to fall even further apart.
On to Joe: he's so white bread plain that I actually have nothing to say about him. He has anxiety and is a people pleaser? That's really all we ever learn about Joe.
On to the plot: it feels like it tries way too hard to throw in twists and elements to turn a pretty basic plot into something interesting. The core of the plot is a couple trying to flip a house with a bad reputation. But that wasn't enough, so she adds not ONLY hints that the house may be haunted, but ALSO a former owner who has gone mysteriously missing, AND Sarah's mysterious dark past, AND a possible sabotage plot by the neighbors who want the house demolished, AND the fact that Sarah struggles with mental illness and none of this may even be true because she's an unreliable narrator. You see what I mean? It's a real turducken of a plot, but not in a good way that slowly peels back the layers. It's throwing too many plot twists at the wall all to try and obscure and stretch things out. (And any pretense of a haunting is dropped by 1/3 of the way in and never mentioned again).
She also uses the flash-forward technique by sprinkling some news articles about dead bodies found at the house throughout the story. I think this technique *can* be used to great effect. But here it felt like a clumsy attempt at misdirection. You're obviously *supposed* to assume it's Sarah and Joe found dead. She wants you to think this so the actual ending will feel surprising.
And while the story is entirely from Sarah's POV for 90% of the book, we very suddenly get a pov shift to Emily (the minor side character) at the end to help with the big reveal. Introducing a new pov at this stage felt confusing and clumsy. It felt like the author just couldn't figure out how else to make the reveal since Sarah is past rational at this point and wouldn't come to the realization on her own.
And on the topic of clunky writing... I had some major issues with some of the...stylistic choices. It felt like it was trying way too hard to be clever and it was painfully awkward. The "Maybe it's Maybelline. Maybe it's murder" line made me physically cringe, and that's within the first few pages (not to mention the fact that it doesn't even make SENSE because blood does not stay shiny red once it leaves the body??? A day old blood puddle is brownish at best). This is the kind of writing that made it feel very amateur to me.
Ok, and FINALLY (I'm running out of steam I swear): the big reveal. Sure, that "twist" can work (it's been done before), but it feels very unbelievable to me. I'm not sure if they were trying to imply that the leak went all the way back to/had caused the original murders, or if he had some other motivation. But it seems implied that it had been going on at least since Amanda lived there. Would no one have noticed? Do they not have CO2 detectors in Australia? Did they not have a house inspection that would have caught the chimney damage??? Would the vet have not seen the cat and thought hmmm these symptoms seem pretty textbook?Would NONE of the workers who were in the house for days have shown any symptoms? Or Joe??? I just can't suspend my disbelief enough to buy that NO ONE would have caught that over a span of two months.
Overall yes, I was initially disappointed when it became clear that this was not going to be a haunted house story. I was wary from the first few pages but tried to give it the benefit of the doubt. But it ended up being one of the most unenjoyable reading experiences I've had this year. Not even fun in a hate-read way. I would not have made it through had it been any longer.
So fair warning for anyone else looking for horror: this is not it.
Edit: ok, I'm still stewing on how much I disliked this book, so I came back to write my more complete thoughts.
First of all: I understand that marketing is not up to the author, and it's likely the publisher that chose to push this as a horror/haunted house book.
I could honestly forgive the lack of supernatural elements if it was at least a really well written psychological thriller. But the whole thing struck me as very amateur/juvenile. It's painfully clear that this is a debut.
I'll start with the characters. Everyone is unlikeable except Reaper (the cat) and Emily (a pretty minor side character). But I can work with unlikeable characters if they're deliciously wicked or compelling in some way. Sarah is just pathetic and boring. Sure she has a ~mysterious dark past~ but in the present she's just a miserable person who made her own bed and is now somehow shocked that she has to lie in it. Ex - she stole her now-husband away from someone else and basically pushes him into marriage, and is somehow shocked that their relationship is miserable and he (a proven cheater) is cheating on her. Shocking. She buys a murder house without doing BASIC RESEARCH ON ITS RESALE POTENTIAL (she learns later in the story that a neighbor recently listed his much nicer house but was unable to sell because of the neighborhood's reputation. SHE DIDN'T EVEN THINK TO LOOK UP RECENT SALE COMPS????)
You see what I mean? At every step Sarah is in her own way, and all she does is complain about how nothing ever works out for her because she was the shy awkward kid. It's both annoying and infuriating. I was actually rooting for her life to fall even further apart.
On to Joe: he's so white bread plain that I actually have nothing to say about him. He has anxiety and is a people pleaser? That's really all we ever learn about Joe.
On to the plot: it feels like it tries way too hard to throw in twists and elements to turn a pretty basic plot into something interesting. The core of the plot is a couple trying to flip a house with a bad reputation. But that wasn't enough, so she adds not ONLY hints that the house may be haunted, but ALSO a former owner who has gone mysteriously missing, AND Sarah's mysterious dark past, AND a possible sabotage plot by the neighbors who want the house demolished, AND the fact that Sarah struggles with mental illness and none of this may even be true because she's an unreliable narrator. You see what I mean? It's a real turducken of a plot, but not in a good way that slowly peels back the layers. It's throwing too many plot twists at the wall all to try and obscure and stretch things out. (And any pretense of a haunting is dropped by 1/3 of the way in and never mentioned again).
She also uses the flash-forward technique by sprinkling some news articles about dead bodies found at the house throughout the story. I think this technique *can* be used to great effect. But here it felt like a clumsy attempt at misdirection. You're obviously *supposed* to assume it's Sarah and Joe found dead. She wants you to think this so the actual ending will feel surprising.
And while the story is entirely from Sarah's POV for 90% of the book, we very suddenly get a pov shift to Emily (the minor side character) at the end to help with the big reveal. Introducing a new pov at this stage felt confusing and clumsy. It felt like the author just couldn't figure out how else to make the reveal since Sarah is past rational at this point and wouldn't come to the realization on her own.
And on the topic of clunky writing... I had some major issues with some of the...stylistic choices. It felt like it was trying way too hard to be clever and it was painfully awkward. The "Maybe it's Maybelline. Maybe it's murder" line made me physically cringe, and that's within the first few pages (not to mention the fact that it doesn't even make SENSE because blood does not stay shiny red once it leaves the body??? A day old blood puddle is brownish at best). This is the kind of writing that made it feel very amateur to me.
Ok, and FINALLY (I'm running out of steam I swear): the big reveal. Sure, that "twist" can work (it's been done before), but it feels very unbelievable to me. I'm not sure if they were trying to imply that the leak went all the way back to/had caused the original murders, or if he had some other motivation. But it seems implied that it had been going on at least since Amanda lived there. Would no one have noticed? Do they not have CO2 detectors in Australia? Did they not have a house inspection that would have caught the chimney damage??? Would the vet have not seen the cat and thought hmmm these symptoms seem pretty textbook?Would NONE of the workers who were in the house for days have shown any symptoms? Or Joe??? I just can't suspend my disbelief enough to buy that NO ONE would have caught that over a span of two months.
Overall yes, I was initially disappointed when it became clear that this was not going to be a haunted house story. I was wary from the first few pages but tried to give it the benefit of the doubt. But it ended up being one of the most unenjoyable reading experiences I've had this year. Not even fun in a hate-read way. I would not have made it through had it been any longer.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 7, 2023
“Don’t kill me!”
Sarah Slade is a blogger and couples therapist, who buys an infamous murder house in the hopes to renovate and flip it for a large profit. However, her own marriage is failing and the house does not want to be fixed. Sarah’s life begins to spiral out of control when she realizes that both her neighbors and her husband hate her. Then, she receives threatening notes and hears footsteps in the attic. Is something wrong with the house? As her mental state declines, she loses her grip on reality. What secrets is the house hiding?
I listened to the audiobook, which is expertly narrated by Fiona Hardingham. I highly recommend this format. She fully captures the creepy nature of the house and the madness that ensues.
This gripping gothic thriller is a terrific debut from Lisa Matlin. Sarah Slade is a perfect unreliable narrator who keeps the reader guessing about her sordid past and witness to her descent into madness. However, I do have some issues with some of the the twists in the plot and how it eventually ends. Fortunately, the author’s note provides some clarity about the writing of this book through her personal message to the reader about mental illness. This section helped me understand her motivation in writing this plot as is, and ultimately swayed me into rounding up my rating.
I will definitely check out more books by this newbie author!
3.5/5 stars rounded up
Trigger warning: Animal cruelty
Sarah Slade is a blogger and couples therapist, who buys an infamous murder house in the hopes to renovate and flip it for a large profit. However, her own marriage is failing and the house does not want to be fixed. Sarah’s life begins to spiral out of control when she realizes that both her neighbors and her husband hate her. Then, she receives threatening notes and hears footsteps in the attic. Is something wrong with the house? As her mental state declines, she loses her grip on reality. What secrets is the house hiding?
I listened to the audiobook, which is expertly narrated by Fiona Hardingham. I highly recommend this format. She fully captures the creepy nature of the house and the madness that ensues.
This gripping gothic thriller is a terrific debut from Lisa Matlin. Sarah Slade is a perfect unreliable narrator who keeps the reader guessing about her sordid past and witness to her descent into madness. However, I do have some issues with some of the the twists in the plot and how it eventually ends. Fortunately, the author’s note provides some clarity about the writing of this book through her personal message to the reader about mental illness. This section helped me understand her motivation in writing this plot as is, and ultimately swayed me into rounding up my rating.
I will definitely check out more books by this newbie author!
3.5/5 stars rounded up
Trigger warning: Animal cruelty
October 14, 2023
My thanks to Random House/Bantam, Lisa M. Matlin and Netgalley.
This freaking story! I mean, seriously! This was all sorts of messed the eff up!
My first thought upon reading this was "whatthehell?influencersaremessedup!
Yep! Truly. That just about explained my thoughts. After that? Well, it was mostly a lot of "who is stupid enough and so insecure of themselves to follow such needy people?
So yes, I hated the beginning of this book.
But, shit fuzzy! No lies, once I saw how this tale was going? This old woman was ALL in!
I ended up loving this very strange story, and yes..even the influencer! Still have no interest in people like this, but what a compelling story.
This author is now on my book radar.
As usual, no hints from me. Just read this! Seriously, I loved it!
This freaking story! I mean, seriously! This was all sorts of messed the eff up!
My first thought upon reading this was "whatthehell?influencersaremessedup!
Yep! Truly. That just about explained my thoughts. After that? Well, it was mostly a lot of "who is stupid enough and so insecure of themselves to follow such needy people?
So yes, I hated the beginning of this book.
But, shit fuzzy! No lies, once I saw how this tale was going? This old woman was ALL in!
I ended up loving this very strange story, and yes..even the influencer! Still have no interest in people like this, but what a compelling story.
This author is now on my book radar.
As usual, no hints from me. Just read this! Seriously, I loved it!
November 6, 2023
Social media Influencer, Sarah Slade purchases an infamous property, The Black Wood house. It is a fixer-upper with a disturbing past.
For some reason, she chooses to sleep in one of the bedrooms that still contains blood stains. 🤷♀️ Seems like a good choice, NOT!
I was intrigued enough by the beginning to continue and see how things panned out, but at some point, the repetitive phrases and muddled plot had me losing interest.
I'm an outlier and many gave this one a thumbs up, I just wasn't a fan! I will say that I think the author has potential and would be open to giving her another chance.
Library loan / 2023
For some reason, she chooses to sleep in one of the bedrooms that still contains blood stains. 🤷♀️ Seems like a good choice, NOT!
I was intrigued enough by the beginning to continue and see how things panned out, but at some point, the repetitive phrases and muddled plot had me losing interest.
I'm an outlier and many gave this one a thumbs up, I just wasn't a fan! I will say that I think the author has potential and would be open to giving her another chance.
Library loan / 2023
July 25, 2024
"I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straight forward pathway had been lost." - Dante's Inferno
Sarah Slade is a therapist and a famous Instagram influencer. Her and her husband, Joe, have decided to purchase and renovate The Blackwood House. Joe does it reluctantly but Sarah is thrilled with the opportunity. Back in the 80's a husband and father killed his wife with a hammer to the head and then went after his 17 year old daughter who thankfully escaped. He later killed himself in the home before authorities arrived. Blackwood House has been sitting vacant ever since. Or has it? You'll have to read this to find out!
Holy Bananas! The main character, Sarah, is one of those pill popping, wine guzzling, snarky as can be, unreliable narrators and Matlin nailed it. I was completely fascinated with watching this woman unravel. At one point when the first twist was revealed my smug self thought I had this one figured out but I was nothing but a clueless idiot. Matlin continued to surprise me time and time again. This is a psychological thriller with nods to horror and that's a cocktail I'm always fond of. 🍹 I also commend the author for sharing her own mental health journey in the authors note.
From the gorgeous cover to the very last page I was completely riveted and I can't wait to see what she treats us to next! 5 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for my complimentary copy.
For the straight forward pathway had been lost." - Dante's Inferno
Sarah Slade is a therapist and a famous Instagram influencer. Her and her husband, Joe, have decided to purchase and renovate The Blackwood House. Joe does it reluctantly but Sarah is thrilled with the opportunity. Back in the 80's a husband and father killed his wife with a hammer to the head and then went after his 17 year old daughter who thankfully escaped. He later killed himself in the home before authorities arrived. Blackwood House has been sitting vacant ever since. Or has it? You'll have to read this to find out!
Holy Bananas! The main character, Sarah, is one of those pill popping, wine guzzling, snarky as can be, unreliable narrators and Matlin nailed it. I was completely fascinated with watching this woman unravel. At one point when the first twist was revealed my smug self thought I had this one figured out but I was nothing but a clueless idiot. Matlin continued to surprise me time and time again. This is a psychological thriller with nods to horror and that's a cocktail I'm always fond of. 🍹 I also commend the author for sharing her own mental health journey in the authors note.
From the gorgeous cover to the very last page I was completely riveted and I can't wait to see what she treats us to next! 5 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for my complimentary copy.
November 11, 2023
Sarah Slade is a therapist as well as the bestselling author of the self-help book, Clear, Calm, and in Control: How I Went from Panic to Power. There seems to be nothing she can’t handle and, after finding a crumbling mansion in the exclusive enclave of Beacon named Black Wood House, she instantly knows it has to be hers. Forget the fact that it was the site of a deadly murder forty years ago, Sarah and her husband, Joe, can, at the very least, fix it up and sell it for a song.
On top of the financial incentive, though, Sarah hopes that renovating the long forgotten house can help bring her and Joe back together. After all, their five year marriage has hit the rocks, so she could use all the help she can get. But as the repairs get underway, it is far from the idyllic picture she had in her head. With Joe still sleeping on the couch and a neighborhood full of people who don’t want them there, the truth is quite far from what she’d envisioned going in.
With every passing day, however, it only seems to get worse. Their unwelcome arrival soon becomes something much darker as Sarah begins to experience strange happenings and receive threatening notes. Then the bizarre transitions to something much more sinister—noises, including footsteps, from the attic that she simply can’t explain.
As Sarah’s mind starts to turn to paranoia and her life begins to fray at the seams, one thing is becoming perfectly clear. Just as everyone has warned her, there’s something desperately wrong with Black Wood House. And as she slowly but surely uncovers the dark secrets that seem to inhabit the very walls themselves, Sarah comes face to face with the realization that its deadly legacy is far from over. Will she be just one more person to add blood to the soil? Or can she break free before the very worst comes calling for her?
Despite some mixed reviews for The Stranger Upstairs, I, for the most part, totally lapped it up. From the deliciously creepy setting to the horror-tinged edge running throughout, it had me inhaling the words page after page. And once I got to that adrenaline-pumping climax? Well, it had my hair standing on end right up until I reached the epilogue—a finale that I’ll address in just a bit.
First off, the good news. The characters were, for the most past, solid gold. A woman unraveling right before our eyes? Her sweet work colleague just hoping to help? Or the one that blew me away—the house at the very center of the plot. Trust me when I say, that crumbling abode just had to be included in the character list as it played such a prominent role. Don’t get me wrong, I could’ve done with a little less paranormal activity, but that’s just me, I guess.
Partly for that reason, I have to return to the topic of the epilogue. Before it entered the picture, I was hugely satisfied with the ultimate direction of the book. I never in a million years could’ve guessed the thoroughly epic twists and turns that led me to say, “Wait, WHAT?!” more than once. But how it was wrapped up? Sadly, it kind of let the rest of the book down, in my opinion.
Then there was Sarah. As much as I utterly loved the top-notch collapse of her psyche, I did kind of feel like it was perhaps too much of a good thing. There certainly could have been rather more action and, for that reason, I would definitely define this as a character-driven plot. Although, I do have to say that if that was, in fact, the case, then the book could have done with a few more central characters to push the storyline along.
Just the same, this psychological thriller that truly brought the gothic horror atmosphere front and center took me on quite the ride. Between the authentic unreliable narrator and the wholly original plot, even the descriptions had me from hello. I mean, wallpaper peeling like skin with dead birds staring down and a forest out back complete with carnivorous plants? Yes, please, to all of the above.
By the time I closed the cover on The Stranger Upstairs, the quick, easy read had introduced me to a new author who I’m sure to follow. A strong debut that has gathered quite the following, I can only compare this to one other book—that of Stephen King’s The Shining. A modern retelling that left me racing through the pages, you just have to be sure to check it out for yourself. Rating of 4 stars.
👉 Be sure to head to my Amazon Storefront to order. I get a small commission and would love your support!
Trigger warning: mental health issues, threatening notes, alcoholism, suicide, poisoning, mention of: infidelity
On top of the financial incentive, though, Sarah hopes that renovating the long forgotten house can help bring her and Joe back together. After all, their five year marriage has hit the rocks, so she could use all the help she can get. But as the repairs get underway, it is far from the idyllic picture she had in her head. With Joe still sleeping on the couch and a neighborhood full of people who don’t want them there, the truth is quite far from what she’d envisioned going in.
With every passing day, however, it only seems to get worse. Their unwelcome arrival soon becomes something much darker as Sarah begins to experience strange happenings and receive threatening notes. Then the bizarre transitions to something much more sinister—noises, including footsteps, from the attic that she simply can’t explain.
As Sarah’s mind starts to turn to paranoia and her life begins to fray at the seams, one thing is becoming perfectly clear. Just as everyone has warned her, there’s something desperately wrong with Black Wood House. And as she slowly but surely uncovers the dark secrets that seem to inhabit the very walls themselves, Sarah comes face to face with the realization that its deadly legacy is far from over. Will she be just one more person to add blood to the soil? Or can she break free before the very worst comes calling for her?
Despite some mixed reviews for The Stranger Upstairs, I, for the most part, totally lapped it up. From the deliciously creepy setting to the horror-tinged edge running throughout, it had me inhaling the words page after page. And once I got to that adrenaline-pumping climax? Well, it had my hair standing on end right up until I reached the epilogue—a finale that I’ll address in just a bit.
First off, the good news. The characters were, for the most past, solid gold. A woman unraveling right before our eyes? Her sweet work colleague just hoping to help? Or the one that blew me away—the house at the very center of the plot. Trust me when I say, that crumbling abode just had to be included in the character list as it played such a prominent role. Don’t get me wrong, I could’ve done with a little less paranormal activity, but that’s just me, I guess.
Partly for that reason, I have to return to the topic of the epilogue. Before it entered the picture, I was hugely satisfied with the ultimate direction of the book. I never in a million years could’ve guessed the thoroughly epic twists and turns that led me to say, “Wait, WHAT?!” more than once. But how it was wrapped up? Sadly, it kind of let the rest of the book down, in my opinion.
Then there was Sarah. As much as I utterly loved the top-notch collapse of her psyche, I did kind of feel like it was perhaps too much of a good thing. There certainly could have been rather more action and, for that reason, I would definitely define this as a character-driven plot. Although, I do have to say that if that was, in fact, the case, then the book could have done with a few more central characters to push the storyline along.
Just the same, this psychological thriller that truly brought the gothic horror atmosphere front and center took me on quite the ride. Between the authentic unreliable narrator and the wholly original plot, even the descriptions had me from hello. I mean, wallpaper peeling like skin with dead birds staring down and a forest out back complete with carnivorous plants? Yes, please, to all of the above.
By the time I closed the cover on The Stranger Upstairs, the quick, easy read had introduced me to a new author who I’m sure to follow. A strong debut that has gathered quite the following, I can only compare this to one other book—that of Stephen King’s The Shining. A modern retelling that left me racing through the pages, you just have to be sure to check it out for yourself. Rating of 4 stars.
👉 Be sure to head to my Amazon Storefront to order. I get a small commission and would love your support!
Trigger warning: mental health issues, threatening notes, alcoholism, suicide, poisoning, mention of: infidelity
April 5, 2023
What happens when a haunted house meets a pathological mess? That's the question in THE STRANGER UPSTAIRS, where an externally glossy Instagram influencer with a failing marriage and an ugly past buys a house where a notorious double-murder took place. Intending to revive her husband's flagging interest and their flagging bank account by renovating the house and flipping it for a profit, Sarah becomes increasingly convinced something--the unfriendly neighbors, the stalker leaving her ominous notes, maybe the house itself--wants her dead. A fast, fun, gasp-inducing read.
October 21, 2023
Sarah and her husband move to Black Wood House for a fresh start. 40 years ago a tragedy occurred there. Sarah starts to hear and see things that drive her crazier.
This was an excellent creepy read that I couldn’t hardly put down.
Thanks NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine for this ARC that will be released September 26, 2023!
This was an excellent creepy read that I couldn’t hardly put down.
Thanks NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine for this ARC that will be released September 26, 2023!
November 21, 2023
3.5⭐
Genre ~ psychological thriller
Setting ~ Melbourne, Australia
Publication date ~ September 12, 2023
Est page Count ~ 278 (39 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 9 hours 6 minutes
Narrator ~ Fiona Hardingham
POV ~mostly single 1st, with an extra POV towards the end
Featuring ~ debut, 2 part story, unreliable narrator, secrets, diary entries, animal cruelty
Neighbors are not too thrilled when Sarah buys the Black Wood House, aka The Murder House, at a fraction of the cost in order to fix it up. I love a good deal, so I could see myself doing something like this.
All characters are pretty unlikable, including Sarah's absentee cheating husband, Joe. But you can't really blame him due to the reason they are married. That's an extra secret from the past that's slowly revealed.
It has a creepy atmosphere vibe. which made me eager to know what was going on upstairs. I didn't like what happened with Reaper the cat, but it was imperative to the story.
Is the whole plot believable in the whole scheme of things, no not really, but is was a pretty good debut. I didn't see the conclusion coming and for that reason I decided to round up my 3.5.
I appreciated the author's note which shared her personal story of her struggles with mental illness.
I was able to listen to a copy as well.
Narration notes:
I think she did a fantastic job with proper emotion when necessary. Her actually saying creak in a creaky voice was pretty funny.
*Thanks to the author, Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
Connect with me ➡ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter
Genre ~ psychological thriller
Setting ~ Melbourne, Australia
Publication date ~ September 12, 2023
Est page Count ~ 278 (39 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 9 hours 6 minutes
Narrator ~ Fiona Hardingham
POV ~mostly single 1st, with an extra POV towards the end
Featuring ~ debut, 2 part story, unreliable narrator, secrets, diary entries, animal cruelty
Neighbors are not too thrilled when Sarah buys the Black Wood House, aka The Murder House, at a fraction of the cost in order to fix it up. I love a good deal, so I could see myself doing something like this.
All characters are pretty unlikable, including Sarah's absentee cheating husband, Joe. But you can't really blame him due to the reason they are married. That's an extra secret from the past that's slowly revealed.
It has a creepy atmosphere vibe. which made me eager to know what was going on upstairs. I didn't like what happened with Reaper the cat, but it was imperative to the story.
Is the whole plot believable in the whole scheme of things, no not really, but is was a pretty good debut. I didn't see the conclusion coming and for that reason I decided to round up my 3.5.
I appreciated the author's note which shared her personal story of her struggles with mental illness.
I was able to listen to a copy as well.
Narration notes:
I think she did a fantastic job with proper emotion when necessary. Her actually saying creak in a creaky voice was pretty funny.
*Thanks to the author, Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
Connect with me ➡ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter
October 3, 2023
What is wrong with Susan Slade?
Susan and her husband have just invested all their money into the infamous monstrosity the Blackwood House. The house has been vacant since the 70's when an unexpected brutal tragedy occurred in the the peaceful upscale neighborhood and people have said the house has since been haunted.
Susan plans to make a ton of money renovating the old eye sore but she wasn't prepared for hatred from all the neighbors who just wanted the house burned to the ground with all the remembered painful memories. From the first night Susan hears strange and creepy noises that continually get worse until she can't sleep, eat and gets so distracted that she loses clients at her workplace. Sarah even finds notes left for her so she knows someone is out to get her and her emotions are getting so out of control that she's even losing her husband as well. Susan was in over her head from day one but now she's about to lose her mind and she still doesn't even have a clue to who, what and why is everyone out to get her or could there really be ghosts forever living in her Blackwood House.
Not Your Typical Haunted House Story!
This was an entertaining and creepy book with the most unlikable main character (ever). Susan Slade is someone I hope to never have the displeasure of meeting. She is such a narcissistic personality yet I still wanted to see how she would handle the situations she found herself in. I found pleasure in her getting tastes of her own medicine but sometimes I would find myself feeling sorry for her. Underneath her pretty exterior lies a very troubled woman with an ugly past which she never tried to seek any help to change. So, why feel sorry for her? Susan has met more than her match in the Blackwood House and I would feel very bad for anyone who had the misfortune of living there again!
I want to thank the publisher "Random House Publishing - Ballantine" for the book which was given to me as a gift request and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!
I have given a rating if 3 1/2 HAUNTING AND DARK 🌟🌟🌟🌠 STARS!
Susan and her husband have just invested all their money into the infamous monstrosity the Blackwood House. The house has been vacant since the 70's when an unexpected brutal tragedy occurred in the the peaceful upscale neighborhood and people have said the house has since been haunted.
Susan plans to make a ton of money renovating the old eye sore but she wasn't prepared for hatred from all the neighbors who just wanted the house burned to the ground with all the remembered painful memories. From the first night Susan hears strange and creepy noises that continually get worse until she can't sleep, eat and gets so distracted that she loses clients at her workplace. Sarah even finds notes left for her so she knows someone is out to get her and her emotions are getting so out of control that she's even losing her husband as well. Susan was in over her head from day one but now she's about to lose her mind and she still doesn't even have a clue to who, what and why is everyone out to get her or could there really be ghosts forever living in her Blackwood House.
Not Your Typical Haunted House Story!
This was an entertaining and creepy book with the most unlikable main character (ever). Susan Slade is someone I hope to never have the displeasure of meeting. She is such a narcissistic personality yet I still wanted to see how she would handle the situations she found herself in. I found pleasure in her getting tastes of her own medicine but sometimes I would find myself feeling sorry for her. Underneath her pretty exterior lies a very troubled woman with an ugly past which she never tried to seek any help to change. So, why feel sorry for her? Susan has met more than her match in the Blackwood House and I would feel very bad for anyone who had the misfortune of living there again!
I want to thank the publisher "Random House Publishing - Ballantine" for the book which was given to me as a gift request and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!
I have given a rating if 3 1/2 HAUNTING AND DARK 🌟🌟🌟🌠 STARS!
September 20, 2023
This would’ve been better (and shorter) if it was told from the POV of the cat.
October 5, 2023
*side eyes botm*
September 14, 2023
Finally starting this murder house adventure!!!
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Thank you so much Bantam via Netgalley for the ARC!
I cannot wait to read this(!)— The cover & blurb alone paint such a strong & promising portrait of an atmospheric, unique blend of creepy-modern-thriller meets classic-gothic-horror aesthetic, read. If that’s anything to go by, which I mean, obviously it is atp 😉 (besides the title, of course… which intrigued me as well—where will that fit into this warped vibrant meets gothic paradox?!), but you get the point!
So excited to see if this will be just as promising as it appears, & seems!
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Thank you so much Bantam via Netgalley for the ARC!
I cannot wait to read this(!)— The cover & blurb alone paint such a strong & promising portrait of an atmospheric, unique blend of creepy-modern-thriller meets classic-gothic-horror aesthetic, read. If that’s anything to go by, which I mean, obviously it is atp 😉 (besides the title, of course… which intrigued me as well—where will that fit into this warped vibrant meets gothic paradox?!), but you get the point!
So excited to see if this will be just as promising as it appears, & seems!
September 15, 2023
3.5 stars, rounded up. I really did like this debut, "The Stranger Upstairs", about Sarah, a pop therapist/blogger who buys a murder house, "Black Wood" to renovate with her slacker hubby & help boost her fading influencer status, but gets a bit more than she reckoned with. The MC was totally unlikeable, but I think that was the point, and the gothic creepy house setting was very, very well written! I did feel like I was in the MC’s head just a tad too much. But I totally loved Reaper the 🙀, the atmospheric nature & I really, really appreciate that it was a rather quick read and on the shorter side 👍🏼😎.
November 30, 2023
This is another case of “I sat down to start this and ended up finishing it in one sitting”. I’m usually not a big fan of haunted house books. They always seem so cliche… but this book is completely different. A huge compliment that I can give is that it reminds me of Stephen King’s “The Shining”, in that it’s truly the story of a new environment causing a rapid descent into madness.
Sarah Slade and her husband, Joe, have purchased a #murderhouse. The Black Wood House was the scene of a grisly murder/suicide, in which a child was almost killed as well. The house has sat vacant for forty years when Sarah finds it and feels the overwhelming urge to buy and renovate it for a profit. Sarah is a therapist with a bestselling self-help book, and she is struggling to make money online as a content creator. Those likes and comments mean a lot to her, and hopefully renovating a famed #murderhouse will boost her clout.
Sarah and Joe (fun fact you’ll just have to read about: those aren’t their real names) had been having problems before moving, but once they are in the new house, things become magnified. Sarah insists on living in the room where the murder took place (even though the floorboards are still stained with blood), and her husband sleeps on the couch, or just leaves for days at a time. Her cat is also acting strangely, staring at the attic and meowing in fear. Sarah still feels like moving there was the right decision…for awhile…
As the book goes on and on, more and more strange things happen. Sarah’s cat is sick, and so is she. Are they being poisoned? None of the neighbors want to talk to her, and her clients are dropping her because instead of listening to their problems, she’s thinking about the house. Soon, Sarah begins seeing and hearing strange things, and finding odd notes all over. I know what you’re thinking - that sounds totally like any other haunted house book. I promise you, this one is fresh, clever and full of suspense with future news articles that act as precursors.
I never thought at the beginning of this book that I’d give it five stars, but here we are. This was fantastically written, had an unreliable as hell but fascinating lead character, and an ending that left everything seeming entirely plausible - not easy to do! This is under the mystery/thriller category, but I’d also call it a horror story. Things don’t have to get gory for a book to be a horror book, and the psychological horror in this is real. On top of all of that, this is a debut!! Five happy stars for a “haunted house” story finally written in a way that I loved.
(Thank you to Random House - Ballantine, Lisa M. Matlin, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be published on September 26, 2023.)
Sarah Slade and her husband, Joe, have purchased a #murderhouse. The Black Wood House was the scene of a grisly murder/suicide, in which a child was almost killed as well. The house has sat vacant for forty years when Sarah finds it and feels the overwhelming urge to buy and renovate it for a profit. Sarah is a therapist with a bestselling self-help book, and she is struggling to make money online as a content creator. Those likes and comments mean a lot to her, and hopefully renovating a famed #murderhouse will boost her clout.
Sarah and Joe (fun fact you’ll just have to read about: those aren’t their real names) had been having problems before moving, but once they are in the new house, things become magnified. Sarah insists on living in the room where the murder took place (even though the floorboards are still stained with blood), and her husband sleeps on the couch, or just leaves for days at a time. Her cat is also acting strangely, staring at the attic and meowing in fear. Sarah still feels like moving there was the right decision…for awhile…
As the book goes on and on, more and more strange things happen. Sarah’s cat is sick, and so is she. Are they being poisoned? None of the neighbors want to talk to her, and her clients are dropping her because instead of listening to their problems, she’s thinking about the house. Soon, Sarah begins seeing and hearing strange things, and finding odd notes all over. I know what you’re thinking - that sounds totally like any other haunted house book. I promise you, this one is fresh, clever and full of suspense with future news articles that act as precursors.
I never thought at the beginning of this book that I’d give it five stars, but here we are. This was fantastically written, had an unreliable as hell but fascinating lead character, and an ending that left everything seeming entirely plausible - not easy to do! This is under the mystery/thriller category, but I’d also call it a horror story. Things don’t have to get gory for a book to be a horror book, and the psychological horror in this is real. On top of all of that, this is a debut!! Five happy stars for a “haunted house” story finally written in a way that I loved.
(Thank you to Random House - Ballantine, Lisa M. Matlin, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be published on September 26, 2023.)
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