3.5-3.75 stars

If you love books about houses that give people the creeps, then this one's for you.

This is a story where the creepiness is in the air, in the walls, on top of stairs, around the corner, and in the corner of your eye. That is to say, it may not always be obvious, but it's always THERE.

What you have is one such creepy house, that earlier belonged to Pippa's parents, and now belong to the family consisting of Alfie (Dad), Pippa (now deceased) and their 'The Shining'-esque twins, Sylvie and Cassia.

Alfie is having trouble coping with life and its demands since his wife has passed away fairly recently, and now it's on him to raise his daughters. It doesn't help that his twins come to him every night and ask to sleep in his room because there's a man in their room (which upon checking, of course there isn't).

Then the girls befriend an imaginary person called 'Black Mamba', who can transform into any animal or bird he desires and takes them on adventures to the sun, and through the city, and under the sea.

At first, Alfie plays along, because a lot of kids have imaginary friends, right? Then it starts to get more serious, and the twins start acting out and blaming it on their friend. This causes Alfie to turn to Pippa's twin sister Julia, who (very conveniently) is a psychiatrist. Julia also has a little secret of her own, namely, that she and Pippa also used to have an imaginary friend when they were little. To top it off, their parents used to dabble in the occult/metaphysical, and she's afraid that it has unleashed something sinister into this house, and onto their family.

The question that you are faced with throughout the book is-do paranormal entities really exist, or do we bring them into existence ourselves? Our minds are weird, and how do we tell the difference between real and imaginary?

I could feel the darkness and heaviness of the house, which was a good thing, because I think that's what the author intended...to give the house a life and entity of its own. The twins are every bit as weird and spooky as you would imagine twins to be in a horror story. I almost felt sorry for Alfie at times, because he was their Dad and couldn't just ditch them or run away from them (lol).

There is a romance(?) angle towards the end that didn't sit quite right with me, and seemed altogether a too-easy way to give the girls a substitute mom. Is a single Dad raising his daughters not still acceptable? It seemed unnecessary, especially since Alfie was still grieving so deeply, and didn't really need to be in a relationship at that time, especially with the person he decided to be with.

I personally did not feel that the character of Julia did not contribute to the understanding or resolution of the issue with the twins as a psychiatrist, any more than any lay person with a basic understanding of psychology could have done.

The name 'Black Mamba' seemed a bit jarring to me. Maybe because he could turn himself into a snake as well? I don't know, but an innocuous name such as 'Pennywise' or 'Mr. Rogers', for example, sounds much more creepy than a more obvious name like that, at least to me.

Overall, I did enjoy the book, and would recommend that you put it on your TBR for the spooky season, as it will not disappoint.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

This was not for me. It was extremely slow and the ending had me underwhelmed. I did enjoy that elements and the creepy horror vibes. Also, the audiobook narrators were good!

3.5 ⭐️ This book was so creepy , from the picture on the book you know it’s going to be good and scary lol . It was different style than what I read , felt like a scary movie , I enjoyed the plot .


Thank you to Poisened Pen Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest revie

Let Him In by William Friend was utterly creepy and superbly mysterious! Told from multiple perspectives, this book is creepy and will keep you guessing.

I received a review copy of this book from the author/publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #PoisonedPenPress for the ARC #LetHimIn by #WilliamFriend. This is a very interesting and dark book that contains a lot of grief and mourning for loved ones.

I was so excited for this book. I saw the cover and I requested right away. I really wanted to like it, but unfortunately this book wasn't it for me. I felt like the plot had holes and failed to grasp my attention. There were a few chapters that did grasp my attention, but it wasn't until I was 40% in, and thats no fun! I had lots of questions at the end that I needed clarification on and I still couldn't figure it out. With that being said, I don't know if I would recommend this book to my friends. Thank you Netgalley for this early ARC.

✨ BOOK REVIEW ✨

ʟᴇᴛ ʜɪᴍ ɪɴ ʙʏ ᴡɪʟʟɪᴀᴍ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅ

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️// 5

I talk a big talk when it comes to horror/mystery books. I can handle serial killers, domestic thrillers, and even the paranormal books.. but when it comes to creepy kids (or 2 of them 🫠) that is where I just start to lose it.

It’s rare when it happens, but this book gave me nightmares. I was hearing things and making sure my nightlight was on lol.

Even though it is creepy af, this book was one of the best I’ve read this year. Highly recommend to anyone! (Unless you have small children that wake you up in the middle of the night. In that case, hold off 😅)

Thank you @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress . This book was an amazing debut and I can’t wait to read more from William Friend!

Another debut novel on this list, Let Him In is the store of Alfie, raising his twin girls after the death of his wife Pippa. When the twins start showing strange behavior, he enlists the help of Pippa’s sister, Julia.

Working with the twins forces Julia to confront parts of her own past, and the history of her childhood home, where Alfie and the girls now live.

This was an atmospheric slow burn, perfect for the Halloween season.

A review of Let Him In by William Friend. His novel will be released this Tuesday, October 3. Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Penn Press for the advanced Kindle version of the novel for an honest review.
3 out of 5 stars.


In this creepy and suspenseful novel a family endures a tragedy that the young twin girls are having a difficult time coping with. Their dad isn’t handling life and fatherhood very well after the family’s tragic event. Aunt Julia tries to help the twins and her brother in-law Alfie work through their grief in hopes of healing and moving on. Grandma, Julia’s mother, unfortunately has a foot dipped into the plot by always interjecting her opinion and viewpoints that Julia and Alfie alike tolerate, but don’t agree with.

There are supernatural forces at play that keep the plot moving, albeit slow in some areas. This novel is definitely creepy and suspenseful up to a point. I felt like at times the climax of the story was about to happen, and then it didn’t and fell flat for me. I honestly expected something truly jaw dropping or wanting to throw my Kindle across the room with an unexpected twist, but it didn’t happen. That’s not to say, I didn’t enjoy the novel, I did. The author's style of writing was quite good and he is a talented writer. His character development was well done, and he had several suspenseful moments that kept me reading. I grew to dislike the grandma in the story, and great writing will elicit feelings towards a character whether you strongly connect with a character or despise them.

I will definitely read other works by William Friend in the future. I feel his stories that he has yet told, will evolve and only grow and become better with time.

This book kept me curious till the very end.

I was wondering if it is a psychological thriller or if there are some paranormal things. Well, you won’t know until the last pages!

Something happens and then you have a really good logical explanation. But then something happens again. And again and again.

The book has a lot of twists and I liked them all! The ending was a little bit predictable but still shocking.

Funny, but the character who shocked me the most was not the one of main characters but the twins’ grandma. Oh, this lady has her secrets and knows much more than she shows!

I enjoyed “Let Him In” a lot! Can’t wait to read other books by William Friend.

Thank you, NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

A recently widowed father of twin girls is trying to get things under control. Until the girls tell him a man is in their room. This nightmare goes away soon, but now the twins have an imaginary adult male friend who becomes more and more a part of this family's life—finally giving orders and working to take over the Dad's place.

This was a decent tale of an evil imaginary friend who turns out to be much more. I didn't connect with the characters, not really liking them, even the kids. It was however a sometimes creepy little book.

Before I even opened this I was creeped out from the cover .
Then add creepy twins ... I need a nightlight 😂

Overall though I was disappointed in this book . Although yes it was creepy at times , overall it fell flat for me . Maybe because imo it was a slow burn .. also I'm not a fan of the ending. ... it was weird & rushed & a bit confusing.

#lethimin was a creepy read at times but overall not for me I guess.
Regardless thanks for the Arc #NetGalley 🖤

This book started off with serious creepy vibes but I ended up having a hard time getting into it. The ending was also a little confusing.

Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Let Him In" was a very slow start for me. The concept is there, the storytelling skills are there. There's just not a lot there. Character development is lacking tremendously. This seems like it has the basic start to something really cool, but it needs more structure. It also seemed like it was hard choosing a genre. I like when authors mix genres, but it has to be done well.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

With a cover that immediately grabbed by attention, Let Him In impressed me with its exploration of some really complicated family dynamics.

In this story, we meet Dad, Alfie, and his twin daughters, Cassia and Sylvie. Nine months ago, the girls' Mum, and Alfie's long-time partner, Pippa, died suddenly and unexpectedly in their home.

Alfie, battling his own grief, is struggling to parent the girls alone. In spite of the challenges, Alfie feels like overall, they're doing okay. At least as well as could be expected. Things take a turn though when the girls wake Alfie one night stating, 'Daddy, there's a man in our room...'

Cue eyebrow raise, jaw drop and shiver running up spine.

That starts the girls' new found obsession with their imaginary friend, Black Mamba, who they describe as a man who can shape-shift into any animal. He protects them and also takes them on fabulous adventures.
Alfie calls in Pippa's sister, the girls' Aunt Julia, for help with the Black Mamba situation. As a psychiatrist, he feels Julia is probably much more qualified to navigate this situation than he is.

The Reader gets both Alfie and Julia's perspectives as the drama with the girls' new friend escalates. What they both assume is just a coping mechanism following Pippa's untimely death begins to feel like more, however, as a series of increasingly disturbing events occurs. This includes both Alfie and Julia having visions that could possibly be linked to the mysterious Black Mamba.

Will Julia and Alfie be able to exorcise this hostile presence from their lives? Their family has already been shattered by tragedy, but it seems this being, the hold he has over the girls, could end up causing even further irreparable harm.

I really enjoyed my time with this story. I did end up listening to the audiobook and appreciate that it included the use of dual narration. Having a different voice for both Alfie and Julia helped to bring the story to life.
I thought the family dynamics were fascinating, not just amongst our main characters, but the backstory of Pippa and Julia's family as well.

This is a debut novel for William Friend and I feel like it's definitely impressive in that regard. The story has a ominous, haunting feel throughout that succeeded in getting under my skin. There were a couple places towards the end where I got a little lost, but that could totally just be my own issue. Wandering mind and all that. Besides those couple of spots though, overall, I was extremely invested in this.

One of my favorite Horror tropes is the creepy kid trope. Friend definitely nailed that. Bonus points for them being twins and for the super-disturbing imaginary friend. I'm not going to say anything else about this one, because I feel it's best served if you go in knowing just the basics. Settle in and go along for the ride. This is the perfect read to kick off your October Spooky Season TBR.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press and Dreamscape Media, for providing me with copies to read and review. I'm looking forward to more from William Friend!

Let Him In is both terrifying and heartrending. It explores the terrible impact of a mother's sudden death on her husband, twin daughters, elderly and medically fragile mother, and her twin sister. What begins as a creepy story about grieving little girls making an imaginary friend is a complex exploration of perspectives on loss, love, envy, faith, and family dynamics. You will cower, question, and commiserate.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was an absolutely FANTASTIC book. I didn’t even make notes for a review throughout my read as I didn’t want anything to take me out of it.

I don’t think that anything I say will do it justice, so this is a short but sweet review. This was truly one of the most eerie & captivating books I have ever read. Do yourself a favour & buy this IMMEDIATELY on its publication date!

Friend’s debut novel is a horror/mystery-thriller by category but I found it more psychological thriller. Well written and entertaining, I found the character development a bit lacking; especially the grandmother and aunt, the nephew/cousin is nothing more than a device to further the plot. The story is slow moving with information dropped as you need it but at times feels like it is being withheld too long. The basic plot line and story idea is very intriguing and worth the read.

In Friend’s debut novel Alfie, his twin daughters Sylvie and Cassia and his sister-in-law, psychotherapist Julia are all reeling from the unexpected death of Pippa, Allie’s partner, mother of the twins and Julia’s own twin. Alfie, Sylvia and Cassia reside at Hart House which was Julia and Pippa’s childhood home and where their father died. The novel begins with the girls saying that they see a man in their room at night. This man becomes Black Mamba, an imaginary friend who seemingly makes the girls act out in destructive ways. Julia attempts to counsel them, but what is really going on at Hart House and is it related to Julia and Pippa’s unconventional upbringing?

This was originally published in the UK as BLACK MAMBA and it’s a good thing the publishers changed the title or I would have dismissed this as a book about Kobe Bryant (rest well, Kobe). As it was I couldn’t help thinking of him throughout and how odd it was that the twins were haunted by the ghost of Kobe. This wasn’t really a BAD book, per se, but the ending was really so much….nothing that I was quite disappointed, hence my low rating. A psychotherapist and those really interested in twins might find more to like, I don’t know. I was just really sad it wasn’t more. Sorry to say I can’t recommend this one. Too little payoff in the end.

This debut horror novel is a study in grief and how it can effect everyone differently. Twins, Sylvie and Cassia unexpectedly lost their mother, Pippa, to a freak accident. Their father, Alfie, is not coping well and is overwhelmed by his responsibilities as a single parent. Pippa's twin sister, Julia, a psychiatrist, is also not coping well but dealing with her grief very differently.
One night, the girls tell Alfie there is a man in their room. But there isn't. Suddenly, "Black Mamba" is all they talk about, set places for him at dinner, blame him for accidents and injuries, and even start calling him "daddy". Alfie is beside himself and Julia is perplexed. Told from both POVs, this one will have you guessing until the very end.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this e-arc.*