This cover is beyond gorgeous!!! I am so happy to have got this Arc that is a debut book by Lisa M. Matlin!!! I love debut books. Her debut feels like she gave it 1000% and after reading her acknowledgments and more I was in tears. I commend this author. She's a survivor. Let's get into this debut! From the start we hear from Sarah Slade. I love that name. It sounds so good! Lol little did I know .. I feel like I can't say much because it's a spoiler.

While reading the book I was thinking..
"Hold on now, what!?"
"What'd she say!?" And
"Why would she be saying this?"
I was lost in the sauce and positively intrigued. Then I was scared of this woman. Lol she is deranged. But then it got worse. And then it got worse. Then it got sketchy and very conspiring. I love how Lisa gave many different insights on what Sarah is thinking. We see so many sides. It's sad. It's bewildering because you think you know, but you don't. There are a handful of twists and many ah-ha moments. Many characters play into this and everything is not what it seems. This house. Very strange indeed. I love the title. It rings so true. Upstairs is where the murder room is. Weirdddddddd. So crazy. Then for it all to end like that.. the ennnnnding really had me hyperventilating a teeny because I I have some common traits and always picture myself In someone else's shoes.

This debut experience was like watching a movie in your own home, and you're yelling "girl do not take your *** up there!!!" "HIT HER!" "She better not have.." lol. It was a wild ride. It's over, but I feel like it ain't over. This feels like a seeya later, because that house has some explaining to do. So much more. The ending honestly feels like a new beginning. I love it. This book (when it's live) can sit on my shelf right next to my B.A. Paris paperbacks! I wish this author all the success! I feel like everybody should read this book!!

Absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. Will recommend it to everyone I know!

this was a great mystery novel, it had what I was looking for in this type of book. Lisa M. Matlin has a great writing style and I thought it worked well overall as a mystery novel. The story was what I was looking for and glad it was so well done, it had a great concept and I'm glad it was so well done. The characters had great personality and worked with the novel, I really felt for them.

"I lunge for the hammer on the kitchen counter and smash it against the pantry door. I strike it over and over until I’m sweating and breathless and near tears. Joe. I don’t even know where the hell he goes when he flees from me. Part of me envies him. I’ve never had a safe place to run to. Smash. Smash. Smash. I bring the hammer down with all my strength, hitting the wall so hard I feel it in my elbow."

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam for the copy of The Stranger Upstairs, by Lisa M. Matlin. When the publisher offered me this book, I had never heard of it or the author. I’m so glad I took a chance on it! What a great and compelling debut. Good thing this is a short book because I couldn’t stop reading until I finished it! If you ever have the urge to buy a ‘murder house’ you won’t after reading this book. I loved the haunted house aspect and how subtle it was. This isn’t a horror story but it was creepy and spooky so don’t read it at night especially if you’re home alone.
The only character we really get to know is Sarah and everyone else is a minor, supporting character. I wasn’t a fan of how much Sarah drank (especially with her meds) and could have done without all of her hangovers. If you’re looking for a fast and captivating read, this is it!

What if you craft a perfect life on Instagram when in reality you’re suffering? Or better yet take on a ‘skin’ of someone else? That’s the story of Sarah Slade as she and her husband purchase the old Black Wood House aka Murder House. A chance for a new beginning and profit after an IG worthy complete home renovation project until the ‘house’ intervenes…

Full of suspense with many twists and turns Matlin’s debut novel (hard to believe) was so well written. The reader is completely immersed in the mind of Sarah Slade. In my opinion ‘The Stranger Upstairs’ ended with an opportunity (I hope) to write on.

*A very special thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for allowing me to provide my honest feedback of ‘The Stranger Upstairs.’*

#goodreads #thestrangerupstairs #penguinrandomhouse

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Publishing Group for Lisa Matlin’s, The Stranger Upstairs.

Sarah Slade and her husband are starting over. They purchase this lovely Victorian home with a dark past. The home, better known as Black Wood, was the grisly scene of a double murder- suicide years before. Sarah and her husband purchase the home with the intent to remodel and sell, but that proves more difficult than they expected.

Neighbors and others in the town say the house is cursed and refuse to set foot inside.

Soon after moving in, Sarah starts to hears footsteps coming from the attic. She also starts receiving ominous letters that mention things from her past only she could know. Nobody believes her when she starts talking about these strange happenings, but rather, they think she’s lost her mind. Is she actually losing her mind, or is someone out to get her?

Lisa Matlin’s debut novel will hit the shelves on September 26, 2023. Until then, make sure you add this one to your TBR.

This is a great and twisty thriller that kept me guessing until the bitter end! Social influencer/therapist Sarah and husband Joe buy the famed Murder House where years before a husband killed his wife as their young daughter ran for her life! Sarah is hoping to make a healthy profit in the future but creepy things begin happening as soon as they move in! And even the cat, Reaper is spooked! Go in blind and just ride it like a roller coaster as it's a fun thrill ride that will mess with your head (in a good way) and have you staying away from the woods!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Woahhhh this book! So good! This was a new to me author and I can't wait to read more! Thank you for the ARC

This was such an enjoyable story that I read it in one sitting! I really couldn't put it down, it's so fast-paced and will draw you in and keep you there up until the end. At first, I thought the internal dialogue of Sarah was too cutesy but it calms down and her character isn't as you first think. She and her husband, Joe, have bought an infamous Murder House where the homeowner killed his wife and himself forty years ago. He also tried to kill his teenage daughter, but she luckily got away. No one has lived in it since, and it soon appears that someone or something wants to keep it that way.

Black Wood House is in dire need of repairs, and their plan is to fix it up and turn a huge profit. But almost immediately after moving in, Sarah wonders if she's in over her head. She's a therapist who wrote a surprise best-seller and is being pressured for her next book. She hopes to buy some time by blogging about the renovations and earning sponsors to help with their finances. She also is aiming to fix her relationship with Joe, as they haven't been sleeping in the same room and her current choice of the bedroom where the murder occurred certainly doesn't coax Joe back into her bed! But she's desperate to realize her goals and approaches the situation with determined optimism.

Of course, no one is surprised when creepy noises and shadowy movements become the norm. But it's not the usual haunted house atmosphere because Sarah begins receiving actual notes with threatening and revealing information no one else could know. Her job as a therapist begins to suffer as she drinks more and sleeps less and Joe not only stays away from her but from the house completely. She starts questioning her sanity and can't help but fear that their house is truly evil and she is the next victim.

One of the things I loved about the story is when little twists are thrown in like they're nothing. And you're like, did I just read that? But that changes everything! It just compels you to keep reading. There are a few bits that I wish had been explained more rather than just left hanging, but it doesn't take away from enjoying the book. I really can't wait to see what follows from this author because this is a fabulous debut. And just like in the story, I know her fans will instantly be hungry for more!

Thank you so much netgalley for the chance to read this book! This book was creepy and intriguing and still leaves me with some questions. I devoured this book and couldn’t put it down. Is Sarah really Sarah!? Is someone after her and her cat!? Is someone in the house or is it all in her mind!? I will recommend this one for sure it was a great read!

I loved this book - a murder house + therapist and everything not being what it seems?! Kept me guessing and I could not put it down!

Sarah Slade & her husband Joe seem to be the perfect couple! She’s a self-help best selling author + therapist & he’s the doting, supportive husband (or so the world thinks). Sarah & Joe are not who they seem, they’ve got SECRETS. They buy an infamous murder house to fix up & blog the deets along the way hoping to make some cash on the remodel along with social media following. They very soon realize that Black Wood House does not want them there, nor does the town, and their secrets will never stay buried.

Thanks Netgalley & Penguin Random House for the ARC.

Sarah is starting over. She and her husband are fleeing secrets and have purchased a supposedly haunted house in a wealthy area for half the price. Sarah is doing her best to keep her social media followers engaged, complete her second book, keep her husband happy and rehab a very, very run down house but unexplained things begin to happen. The neighbors and community seem to hate her, Sarah is losing time, her husband is always missing, notes are appearing and there are these noises...Is Sarah losing her mind or is the house truly haunted?

I loved this unique haunted house story. There are so many possibilities in this well paced story that will keep you guessing until the very end. And the ending! Just perfect. If. you like an unlikely heroine, a grifting style story or are hoping for a unique haunted house tale, The Stranger Upstairs is for you! #RandomHouse #LisaMMatlin #TheStrangerUpstairs

Sarah Slade and husband Joe are starting over, buying and fixing an infamous murder home, where the neighbors don’t want anyone to live. From the beginning there are troubles and secrets. Sarah and Joe are not getting along, her cat is always ill, weird things are happening in and out of the house and Sarah is starting to blur reality.
A great build up to a perfect conclusion makes this debut author someone to watch.

I am really enjoying this trend coming out in 2023 of authors digging in and analyzing this influencer culture. There are so many layers to this book that connect to modern culture and love. What does it look like when personalities are centered around social media? This book is eerie, has you questioning if our narrator is reliable, and gives Hill House vibes for sure.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for the purpose of this review. It's a four star read for me. The concept is creepy and the content even scarier! Think haunted house that you move into! The action is there and Matlin has a good story here. Get ready for it!

This was weird and eerie and thrilling. I loved the storytelling and was immediately captivated. This was a great debut novel.

Mystery thriller or horror story? Lisa Matlin’s incredibly pulse-pounding terrific debut novel keeps us guessing.

As the true former owner of a supposedly haunted Victorian in old Salt Lake City (polygamist house,built in 1878, wife number 3 supposedly lost all her hair in a fire and appeared bedside to the guy we bought it from), my real life advice would be: don’t advertise any of that nonsense to buyers. Yet, we have a social influencer who hasn’t read the latest Grady Hendrix book, and is buying a murder house in Australia just *because* of the notoriety (apparently worth some clicks), purportedly at a great discount, and an opportunity to make a great profit after the flip. This is either going to be a semi-normal thriller or a supernatural horror story. And therein lies the suspense.

Sarah Slade, the purchaser of Black Wood House, is a self-help author (“Clear, Calm, and In Control'', but her website is ominously named SarahSlays.com). She’s well aware that 40+ years ago Bill Campbell successfully bludgeoned his wife and tried to do the same to the teenage daughter with a hammer. He then took the coward’s way out and overdosed on tranquilizers. Sarah’s husband Jack, very social media shy, does give a rare public comment that the place gives him “the creeps”. The couple is actually estranged, but that’s unknown to the Insta-audience. They stay together because, well… shared secrets. Contractors are no-shows and neighbors claim “there’s something in the attic” and their cat agrees. The quaint town of Beacon seems filled with people who hate the house and have unreasonably transferred their hatred to the new owners. Sarah and Joe are flawed characters, but they don’t deserve to suffer more at the hands of unexplained occurrences in an old creaky house or a nasty group of NextDoor app type crazies.

I loved the tension that the author built up. She even made kangaroos seem like menacing beasts of the night. This was one of those one-sitting reads (not sure if I could have slept after 60%). Congratulations to Ms. Matlin! 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Random House Publishing/ Ballantine Bantam and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES The sister has eyes the color of olives and the guy with the mullet and Southern Cross tattoo, Darren, also has green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO The house is called Black Wood House and seems to be surrounded by Australian blackwood trees (Acacia melanoxylon), which the cover artist didn’t realize they don’t have magenta blooms (they’re pale yellow), but that’s still a terrific cover. Otherwise, the author really knows her local trees.

Thank you, thank you to @penguinrandomhouse and @netgalley for this early copy of The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin. It will be out September 26, 2023.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was one I devoured in a day! My husband laughed at me, knowing I wouldn't sleep until I finished it.

This psychological thriller will keep you on your toes. I had to see how it ended.

Sarah Slade is a social media star with a successful blog. She is also a therapist. She decides to buy a house and fix it up, all while posting the improvements on social media. The house that she buys with her husband, Joe has been vacant for 40 years. No one has lived there since local husband Bill Campbell murdered his wife, tried to kill his daughter and killed himself, all in the house. Some say it's haunted, and neighbors want it bulldozed down.
Sarah sees this all as a challenge, she fixes things. It's what she does! When notes start appearing that are threatening in tone, her construction crew behaves strangely, her cat acts super upset and she sees footsteps in the dust of the attic, she is sure someone is trying to kill her. It seems the more that she tries to change things in the house, the crazier it gets.
I LOVED the ending and it had some doozy twists.
I highly recommend it. Grab it in September!
#crazybooknerd
#bookstagram
#netgalley
#penguinrandomhouse
#thestrangerupstairs

This was a captivating read! I was immediately pulled into the tense storyline and couldn't put the book down until I read it cover to cover.

The author does an excellent jobs of keeping you on the edge of your seat. I loved the dark, gritty, mysterious vibe that the Infamous Blackwood House gave off.

This was easily one of my top Psychological Thriller reads of 2023 so far. I can't wait to buy a physical copy when it's released!!

Thank you Lisa Matlin, Netgalley and RHPG Ballantine, Bantam for providing me with an ARC of this book!