Hart House has a troubling history. The most recent tragedy was Alfie's wife, Pippa, who died in the cellar. Now his twin daughters have an imaginary friend. Sometimes he appears as a man, sometimes as a black snake, sometimes as a bird or fish. He takes them on adventures into the night and wants them to call him "daddy." Alfie turns to Pippa's twin sister, Julia a psychiatrist who grew up in Hart House and knows a lot more about what might be going on than she'll willing to admit. This is a chilling, atmospheric horror novel with lots of creepy layers, including a cultish religion and ties to children's literature.

This wasn't what I was expecting. It's definitely different and I'm not sure it fits a specific genre. The characters are complex. There are many different elements to the plot and at times I had trouble figuring out the point. In a way the ending was satisfying. Yet it still felt like the story wasn't finished. This one definitely will keep you thinking about it long after the end.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Let Him In by William Friend

My Thoughts:
This book is soooo creepy! Like "read with your hands over your eyes, peering between your fingers" creepy! You keep reading because you have to know what's going on, and around every corner, there are weirder situations. Shadowy, invisible friend and creepy twins...I couldn't let this be the last thing I read before going to sleep at night. If you're looking for a spooky October read, grab Let Him In for your next book!

About the Book:
When the words "Daddy, there's a man in our room..." are on the first page, I knew I'd found the perfect chilling tale. William Friend's Let Him In tells the story of Alfie and his twin daughters, Sylvie and Cassia. The family is grieving the recent passing of Pippa, the twins' mother. Alfie is hesitant but goes along with the twins' new imaginary friend. Things quickly turn sinister at Hart House, the family's home, and Alfie calls for reinforcement from Julia, Pippa's sister and a psychiatrist. But then it gets really interesting as Julia seems to have her own secrets. What is really going on at Hart House?!?

Read this if you like:
• Spine-tingling reads
• Creepy twins
• Supernatural thrillers

ARC provided by NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and William Friend in exchange for an honest review.

I always like to start my reviews with honesty, mainly regarding if I have ever heard of an author or if their books have been in my radar. This is one of those books and authors that I hadn’t heard of prior to getting an email stating that the first 500 people who request the book as an ARC would get it. That interested me initially, but reading the synopsis really pulled me in.

I wasn’t sure what to expect past the summary, so I went in with... well... little to no expectations.

The book starts off innocuous enough, we meet Alfie and his girls, Sylvie and Cassia, who are twins. Later we meet Julia, the sister of Alfie’s late wife Pippa. Alfie and his girls live in Hart House, the house that Pippa and Julia’s mother had passed down to Pippa and Alfie. Julia and Pippa grew up here and had their own experiences within the dwelling. Most of which has been kept between them, and then kept to Julia’s head after Pippa unfortunately passes. More on this and Julia’s secrecy later.

By the fifth chapter, I was thinking to myself “this is giving The Haunting of Hill House and I really, REALLY like that”. I love spooky things. Halloween is year round as far as I’m concerned. So to get a book that makes me feel uneasy and question everything (and not the writing choices) was super freaking refreshing.

I will admit that I found Julia a wee bit unlikeable in the beginning. And for that, I apologize to her. I think my main problem was with the fact that she knew a lot more than what she was willing to tell Alfie and I found myself yelling at my phone as I was reading. And that’s when I knew I loved the book. I was getting annoyed with not being able to relate to anyone as I was reading, and that’s a personal problem. But when I started getting annoyed at Julia for not saying anything to Alfie, that’s oddly when I started to get emotionally invested regardless of the relatability of the characters. Everything transformed and I was watching it as I was reading and the relatability became a nonissue compared to the picture being painted by Friend.

More on Julia and her relationship with the house and her reluctance to divulge much (if anything) to Alfie: This part irked me, but in a good way because I knew deep down there was a reason for Friend presenting this knowledge in such a way that tells the reader something but not enough to deduce anything right off the bat. As I’ve already stated, I was audibly grumbling and criticizing her choices as I was reading, because realistically... the things with Cassia and Sylvie could have been avoided had she said something to Alfie from the get go. But I understand that, as a writer, doing that would make the book all of 100 pages, maybe. But the way that Friend was able to dance around what Alfie and the reader both wanted to know and get to the bottom of, was some of the best writing I’ve had the pleasure of reading in my short 27 years.

Another thing that I really like now that I’m looking back, as I sit here writing up this review is the fact that the length of time between Pippa dying and Black Mamba becoming a *thing* was nine months. And that, my friend, boggled my mind and made me go back and revisit some passages to really appreciate the timing that Friend uses.

I can also appreciate Friend’s presentation of grief and how it has affected the characters that readers are presented with - even Julia’s patients are an interesting look at relatively difficult topics to traverse, and I think he presented them beautifully.

Other than not being able to really connect with the characters (which is a personal problem, as stated above), I really enjoyed the overall story. I will definitely be recommending this to several friends to read and add to their Spooktober reading lists.

I would like to say thank you again to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and of course William Friend for giving me the opportunity to read this book as an ARC. I look forward to diving into more of Friend’s work in the future.

I will be posting this review to Goodreads prior to submitting the NetGalley review, and will be adding it to my still in progress blog at a later date once I get everything squared away.

William Friend's debut was spooky. In Let Him In, the author will refresh your memory as to why we are afraid of the dark.

Not only does the story take place in a haunted house, but it takes the readers on a horror filled ride. After the tragic death of his wife, Alfie and his twin daughters Sylvie and Cassia try to start a new, but the grief is so devastating that it seems to have a life of its own. When the twins start telling Alfie 'Daddy, there's a man in our room, everything will down spiral. This definitely had some jumpy moments. What is more terrifying than sensing an entity who called himself Black Mamba.

This is the story of widower, Alfie and his twin daughters. After the death of their mother the twins begin to communicate with an imaginary friend, Black Mamba. Their aunt Julia happens to be a psychiatrist and explains that this is a normal response when children are faced with trauma. As time passes though Black Mamba becomes more dominant and even Alfie begins to question the true purpose of this “friend’ as well as his own sanity.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a slow build but it is well crafted and delivers the uneasiness and creepiness it promises. The uncertainty and the pain that the characters are experiencing are the driving force throughout the story. It is best to go into the story without spoilers or expectations. My only wish is that some of the back stories and history had been given more time, I found them interesting and wanted more details.



Thank you toNetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 ⭐️

#NetGalley #LetHimIn #WilliamFriend

3.5 stars

After his wife suddenly dies, Alfie is left to raise his twin daughters on his own. When the girls start seeing an imaginary friend, Alfie seeks the help of his dead wife's sister, who's a psychologist, to help him deal with his and the girl's grief. What follows is a creepy, atmospheric haunted house story perfect for the season.

In this, the author's debut, he's able to capture the essence of the childhood creation of imaginary friends. His use of the duel perspectives of Alfie and his dead wife's sister, Julia, works nicely to create tension and intrigue. The story is well written with a comfortable pace that kept me engaged throughout. If you're looking for a good Halloween season creepy read, I can happily recommend this one.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for granting me an e-ARC to read, review and enjoy.

Featuring two of the creepiest tropes in horror -- twins and imaginary friends -- William Friend's chilling debut Let Him In is the scary book to add to your October reading list.

After the tragic death of their mother Pippa months earlier, Alfie is raising his seven-year-old twin daughters alone. One night the girls wake him up claiming that there's a man in their room -- an imaginary friend they call Black Mamba. Certain that Black Mamba is his daughters' way of dealing with their grief, Alfie enlists Pippa's twin sister Julia, who is a psychotherapist, to help them work through their feelings. But Black Mamba doesn't seem to be going away...

I was sucked in immediately by the book's opening line ("This morning, I heard the name Black Mamba for the first time..."), and from that moment, I didn't want to put this down. Although it's slower-paced in spots, delving into the backstories of the characters, I found it tense and suspenseful, infused with Gothic atmosphere and a bleak sense of foreboding. The bond between the twins is suitably creepy, and the setting is claustrophobic and eerie. There are a several scenes that made me uneasy (and one that literally gave me chills), but mostly the horror of Let Him In is deeply psychological in nature, as Friend delves into the complex manifestations of grief. This is a raw, stark portrait of trauma, guilt, and the grieving process seen through a horror-infused lens, and it's just as thought-provoking as it is frightening.

This is a book that doesn't give up its secrets too soon -- and sometimes not at all -- leaving room for a lot of interpretation on the part of the reader. Horror, to me, is always more effective when there's a murky aspect to it, and that's the case here. I found the ending enormously satisfying for this reason, although there are a couple of aspects of the plot I wish would've been further explored.

Let Him In is unnerving on several levels, using horror elements to tell a poignant story about a grieving family. If you're looking for a horror novel with some emotional depth to it, I would definitely recommend this one. Be sure to read it in the dark for maximum effect! Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the early reading opportunity.

Y’all, I’m coming in hot with a creepy book. It has twins! Kid twins. You know how kids can be creepy. They are girl twins, which to me is even worse. They have an imaginary friend! His name is Black Mamba. He can turn into all types of animals, but is visible only to the twins.

Let me back up. Because there are heavy grief themes here, too. And religious themes. Alfie’s wife, and the twins’ mother, dies. They are mourning her death. Alfie is now a single dad and he’s struggling with parenting. Then, the twins wake him up to tell them there is a man in their room. Night after night until they just don’t anymore. Instead, they have befriended him and that’s when things really start to get chaotic. They whisper to him and claim he makes them act out.

This is a dark, creepy, gothic, psychological suspense, which is perfect for October.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: horror/thriller📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
A creepy read about grief.

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Disturbing imaginary friends
Thought provoking reads
Gothic thrillers
Creepy tiwns
Family drama

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
The cover

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
The ending!
Slow and repetitive at times

“𝙳𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚢, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎‘𝚜 𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖.“

And, thus begins this delightfully creepy debut novel from William Friend. This story, about grief and ghosts, is one that unfurls slowly & dreadfully until you find yourself unable or unwilling to put it down.

“𝙲𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚔; 𝚢𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚏𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚜 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚢 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚜 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚢 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚎.“

Just like all surreal dreams, this gothic tale and its haunted house are built on emotion & pain. We are left wondering if trauma begets guilt or if it’s the other way round. Does guilt beget trauma or are the two forever inexplicably linked?

“𝚃𝚠𝚘 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚗𝚘𝚠. 𝙸 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚘.“

𝙻𝚎𝚝 𝙷𝚒𝚖 𝙸𝚗 is available now so do yourself a favour and grab it. It’s the perfect spooky season read!

Thanks so much to Poisoned Pen Press for my advanced copy!

Though this book was a bit hard to dive into at first, I completely understand the reasoning for doing so. The author slowly gives the reader puzzle pieces, making them question everything, before the story starts to pick up speed and more info comes, and you’re scrambling to put the pieces together in the right order.

Is the imaginary friend really imaginary, is it a ghost, a family member passed on, some other entity, how did it get there, how long, and so on. The questions I had just kept coming as I got more and more information, even when I thought I figured it out multiple times (didn’t actually until near the end). I was given more and more clues that constantly readjusted what I thought was going on, and I loved every second of it.

It’s rare nowadays to be completely surprised by what’s going to happen, but this book got me. I highly recommend to people wanting a thriller book with only a few terrifying moments. And that ending??? Everything was there for me to see, but I was genuinely surprised by who this imaginary friend was and what they came to be.

Outside of the plot itself, the author also makes you feel the exasperation and desperation of Alfie, the hesitancy and guilt of Julia, and the darkness surrounding the twins. That alone kept me going trudging through until the story picked up.

Recently widowed Alfie is struggling to hold things together while raising his twin girls in his late wifes family home, Hart House.

The girls' nightmares of seeing a man in their room, then the appearance of their new 'friend' the Black Mamba also doesn't help. Julia, his late wife's twin sister, offers to help talk to the girls as she is a psychologist. But as stranger and stranger occurances happen around Hart Housel, the girls behavior gets more violent and aggressive, and Black Mamba's presence continues to grow, Alfie begins to wonder what's real and what's not.

Who or what exactly is Black Mamba? What secrets does his late wifes family still keep locked up within Hart House? Alfie must face all this and more to try to save his girls from the darkness of grief that surrounds them.

This was a fast-paced and creepy story that had mystery and suspense built until the very end! The ending was a bit open-ended, but I have my theories! Definitely recommend it for a quick, creepy read, just maybe not right before bed!

I will note while I love love the cover, I don't see it's connection to the story? Maybe I missed something?

This was a debute novel, and I will be sure to keep an eye out for more from this author! Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press & Netgalley for this ARC!

Let Him In is a debut novel from William Friend. This was a 4 star read and comes out today. Perfect for fall's creepy season!

Alfie is taking care of his seven-year-old twins, Cassia and Sylvie, after his wife Pippa passes away unexpectedly. They live in Hart House, the family home of Pippa for generations. One night, the twins wake Alfie saying there's a man in their room. After searching the entire house, no one is found, but for weeks the girls say there's a man in their room and will sneak into bed with Alfie every night. Eventually, it stops and he thinks that whatever they say is there has gone. But it hasn't. They've just gotten to know it, and now he's their friend, Black Mamba. Thinking Black Mamba is only an imaginary friend, Alfie and the girls' aunt Julia continue to go along with their game. But things are getting progressively worse, not better, and Alfie is falling apart in his grief. Julia does the only thing she thinks she can, and moves back into Hart House. But is that what Black Mamba wanted all along?

This novel was creepy and atmospheric, perfect for spooky season. The story is told from both the point of view of Alfie and Julia, which lends more to the background story. Alfie's grief and inability to keep things together is well-developed and you feel for him in his loss. Julia is a little more secretive, we don't see a ton into her character, but she shows more history of the house and the family. Cassia and Sylvie are well fleshed out, and their twin bond is definitely on display. The way Black Mamba takes over their lives is eerie and slow, drawing the girls in bit by bit.

All in all, a great debut from William Friend. Atmospheric and spooky, this was a fast, short read, perfect for creepy season. If you enjoy a ghost story or one with a possession, this would be perfect for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a digital copy of Let Him In for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.

Rating: 2.83 leaves out of 5
-Characters: 3/5
-Cover: 4.5/5
-Story: 2.5/5
-Writing: 4/5
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Paranormal, Thriller
-Horror: 1.5/5
-Paranormal: 4/5
-Mystery: 2/5
-Thriller: 1/5
Type: Ebook
Worth?: Eh, I guess

Want to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book.

You ever just read a book and it feels like you aren't taking anything in? That is how I felt with this book. It was a drag for me, sadly. He got the creepy kids down pretty well but everything else? Julia worked my nerves on more than one occasion.

It was okay in the end. I wouldn't say it was great, but it wasn't all around bad. I gave it a 3 because I felt like it didn't deserve the 2.

Spooky Debut Novel
"Let Him In" by William Friend is a debut novel that immediately caught my attention with its striking cover and held it throughout its spine-tingling narrative. This story delves into the intricate web of family dynamics, presenting a haunting tale that is equal parts unsettling and riveting.

The narrative revolves around Dad, Alfie, and his twin daughters, Cassia and Sylvie, who are grappling with the sudden and unexpected loss of their beloved partner and mother, Pippa. Alfie, overwhelmed by his own grief, finds himself navigating the challenging task of single parenting. Despite the difficulties, he believes they are managing as well as can be expected. However, everything changes when the girls claim to have an imaginary friend named Black Mamba, a shape-shifting man who takes them on adventures and promises protection.

The introduction of Black Mamba sets off a series of events that grow increasingly disturbing, blurring the line between imagination and reality. In search of answers and guidance, Alfie enlists the help of his late partner's sister, Aunt Julia, a psychiatrist with a unique perspective. The story unfolds through the alternating viewpoints of Alfie and Julia, allowing readers to witness the escalating drama with the mysterious Black Mamba.

Friend skillfully weaves a narrative that keeps readers on edge, making us question whether Black Mamba is merely a coping mechanism or something far more sinister. The family dynamics are not only captivating within the central characters but also in the exploration of Pippa and Julia's family history.

The author's ability to create an ominous and haunting atmosphere throughout the story is commendable, effectively immersing readers in a sense of unease. As a debut novelist, William Friend displays an impressive talent for crafting a story that grips the reader's imagination and refuses to let go. I eagerly look forward to more works by this author in the future.

One of the standout elements of "Let Him In" is its use of the creepy kid trope, heightened by the fact that the unsettling imaginary friend is shared by twin sisters. Friend expertly capitalizes on this trope, delivering a truly chilling and spine-tingling experience.

I won't divulge any more details, as I believe this book is best enjoyed with just the basic premise in mind. Prepare to be absorbed into a thrilling and eerie narrative that is perfect for kicking off your October Spooky Season TBR.

I extend my gratitude to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press and Dreamscape Media, for providing me with the opportunity to read and review "Let Him In." If you're in the mood for a spine-tingling read that explores the depths of family and the supernatural, I highly recommend picking up this book.

The premise of the story is quite interesting, and, although the actual book was nothing like what I was expecting, it was a really enjoyable experience. It's basically "The Babadook" meets the twins from "The Shining", and it's amazing.
The story becomes a little bit repetitive at times, but I didn't really care about that. I think it could have used some more scenes where something supernatural happens, but, being a psychological thriller, it was actually quite balanced.
The whole Black Mamba theme was really well executed, and it's a really accurate representation of how grief feels like for some people.
The author manages to maintain the tension throughout the book, making for a really enjoyable and thrilling reading experience.
And that ending was really creepy.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

✨️Will be posting links ✨️
What can I say? I am a sucker for a great paranormal book - especially written by debut authors. I was pumped to read this book. Creepy kids seeing people in their room? I am hooked. I'd give a solid 4 stars as it did meet every expectation I have. I feel it is one of the better paranormal horror books out there. I would recommend to haunting of hill house or the Warren fans. I will update this post with links to my online reviews.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Alfie, a newly widowed dad, wakes to his young twin daughters standing at the end of his bed. "Daddy, there's a man in our room." Alfie calls Julia, his sister in law, and asks for her help because she's a psychiatrist. The twins remain adamant that Black Mamba is a real man who can shape-shift into any form. Alfie and Julia chalk it up to an imaginary friend due to grief from the loss of their mother. Julia agrees to stay in the Hart House for 3 nights to observe the girls.

The Hart House has a sordid past and had been Julia's childhood home, but her sister and Alfie purchased it after the girls were born. After 3 days, it appears something far more sinister than an imaginary friend was afoot.

I feel like although this was an enjoyable read, it could have been a great book. There were elements presented that had they been fully fleshed out, would have filled out the story, and made it much more horrifying. We had glimmers of the Hart House curse and history, the odd religious beliefs of Julia's and Pippa's parents, The Book of Princes, and other artifacts, but they just sort of dropped off. I will be thinking about that ending for a while, though!

Thanks to Netgalley and Poison Pen Press for the opportunity to read and review this spooky season book.

This book had me questioning things throughout, but in a good way!! 👀 Words that come to mind when trying to describe this book: creepy, dark, dread, grief, sadness, loss, depression, unease, demonic, imaginary, tense, atmospheric, haunting, and utterly unsettling. All. Of. That. 🙌

I do have to say that this would have been a 5 star review had it not been for a turn in the plot towards the end that made me literally roll my eyes and ask “why did this even need to go there?”. May have just been a “me” thing, though! 😂

The ending did leave me with some questions, though it may very well have been the author’s intent to leave things up to interpretation! Would love to discuss thoughts with others who read this book!! 🤓

I definitely recommend it as a great creepy read, especially for spooky season!! 🧡

Thank you to @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for my honest review!