Thank you Poisoned Pens Press, William Friend, & NetGalley for this opportunity to read Let Him In.

Let Him In by William Friend is a creepy, haunted house story with lots of religious undertones. The book basically revolves around twin girls who are growing up in Hart House with their father, Alfie, in the aftermath of losing their mother. They are dealing with their grief when the twins start becoming obsessed with an imaginary friend they call Black Mamba.

I love the ideas surrounding this book with the twins because for whatever reason children characters are so easy to make very unsettling. Then there's the weirdness of Hart House itself, & imaginary friends are such a fun trope if you will because the possibilities are endless in what to do with them. So the imagery was really well done, I didn't really like a lot of the characters but I did find them interesting, & the tone of the book was definitely hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

Where I do find that this book fell flat was it seemed to be far too long of a book for the story that ended up being told. It got to the point where it just felt repetitive. Or for a bit it felt like we were moving forward in the story but then it didn't really go anywhere. At times the plot felt like it was much too all over the place. There were many times were I was forgetting certain characters because of the length of the book & also because it was hard to relate to something that happened 4 chapters ago & then is being brought back up again.

This book took me ridiculously long time to finish because it just felt daunting every time I went to read it & that's unfortunate.

I really enjoyed this book. It didn't make me as uneasy as I thought it would, but the story and characters were really compelling. I enjoyed the narrative journey we went on, and I love the end being a tad bit open (but maybe not really). It feels like a story you have heard before, while also being something I haven't read. Nice book for low-key spooky season vibes!

The premise really interested me but when I finally got a chance to read it, it wasn't what I was expecting. I wanted to push through and see to the end but it wasn't worth it for me. It was too slow-paced and dry. There wasn't much of a unique voice to differentiate between the two points of view (the dad in the story, Alfie, and his sister-in-law, Julia). It felt like the same narrator was speaking. Also, I think the author was trying to make the twin daughters in the story seem kind of creepy. Otherworldly? But they just came off as flat characters. And because they're twins the author was really playing on the trope of "they're identical inside and out and finish each other's sentences and everything." Instead of them coming off as being one person, they just felt like a one-dimensional blob. Certainly a creepy book with many unsettling and dark moments. It lost a couple of stars for me as I kept waiting for a big twist or something that never came. The ending also wasn’t overly satisfying.

This story focused on grief and specifically the relationship between twins in this high pace thriller. The tension built throughout the story seamlessly and the atmosphere got creepier and creepier. The dual POVs and the creepy imaginary friend are my favorite parts of this story.

I’d seen such mixed reviews for this ! It did not put me off ! Loved it love a horror supernatural read and it’s coming up that time of year for me ! Can’t wait to read more like this !!!

Love, love, love, loved this book!! I wanted something twisty and psychological, the cover pulled me in and I got just what I was hoping for!!

An amazing supernatural horror book, that deals with loss and grief.

In the beginning it gave me Haunting on Hill House vibes, but then it became its own book.

For me this book gelled really well and it became a super fast read for me.

Don't let the Goodreads rating put you off! This was a fantastic horror debut! It's so creepy and atmospheric and I really enjoyed it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Let Him In by William Friend offers an intriguing premise with eerie atmosphere, blending psychological horror and supernatural elements. The story of Tom, a grieving father, grappling with strange occurrences after moving to a remote house, starts strong, building tension effectively. However, the novel struggles with pacing, and some plot points feel underdeveloped, leaving more questions than answers. The characters, while relatable, lack depth, making it hard to fully connect with their plight. Despite its flaws, Let Him In delivers enough chills to keep horror fans engaged, though it falls short of its full potential.

Grief horror is very hit or miss for me and this book was just really.... boring.
There was a potential creepiness factor here with "black mamba" This was an extremely slow burn of a story that just, unfortunately, never got interesting. I figured early on that there was going to be some sort of culty/religious aspect and even that was disappointingly dull. I didn't really like any of the characters at all, and I'm not sure any of them even lied each other... I was just very underwhelmed with this story and the relationship between the MC and his dead wife's sister was just uncomfortably bizarre. This was a big no from me.

Such a spooky read full of suspense!!! Such a great read for the Halloween Season, read it you won't regret it!!!

I have extremely mixed feelings about this book. The only character I consistently liked was aunt Julia. Everyone else was either, at times, too obnoxious or too self-absorbed for me to like much. I think her character does the best job of pulling the story together. Alfie spends a lot of time wallowing in grief and self-pity and and not enough time on his daughters. Which may be the root cause of this stories issues.

I’m still not completely sure where this story was going. I spent a lot of time thinking “what the heck?” I had expected it to be suspenseful, and I had been putting off reading it b/c I expected it to be scary as well. But I didn’t find it to be any of those things. While it wasn’t bad, I quickly read it in less than a day, it wasn’t one of my favorites. I did like the Q&A the author put at the end b/c that gave me a better idea of what he might have been going for, story-wise, and helped me collect my thoughts and feelings a bit better. Would make for an interesting book club read b/c it’s definitely a book that is open to interpretation.

*I was given a copy of this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion *

This is a quick read with a creepy premise, but the story jumped from one point to another without any explanation. The characters were interesting, if a bit undeveloped.

This was a creative and creepy way to show how grief affects us all differently. I expected an adrenaline-filled horror novel that would be unputdownable. It was slow and not the pace I was hoping for. This book was slow and repetitive. I considered abandoning it, but I kept reading to see if it would take an interesting turn, but it didn’t.

Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher.

"Let Him In" by William Friend is a gripping psychological thriller that dives deep into the haunting dynamics of grief and fear. Alfie’s life is upended when his twin daughters, still reeling from their mother's death, start talking about a shadowy figure they claim is their new imaginary friend. What begins as a troubling yet seemingly innocent manifestation of their grief quickly spirals into a chilling and malevolent force that threatens to consume their lives. Friend expertly weaves a tale of growing dread, with the unsettling atmosphere of Hart House amplifying the tension. As Alfie and his sister-in-law Julia confront the increasingly disturbing events, the plot thickens with dark secrets and supernatural horror, leading to a tense and unexpected climax. The escalating terror and the unraveling of buried truths make for a compelling and immersive read.

This book was exactly what i was looking for in a haunted house type book. It was very atmospheric and definitely had some creepy vibes to it. Thank you for letting me read and review this book.

I enjoyed the writing and plot throughout most of the book. It conveyed a creepy, eerie tone; the characters were believable; and the plot and kept you guessing throughout. I think the ending came on a bit abruptly and could have been detailed a bit more; otherwise it was a great read!

This book is grief personified and I loved the gothic atmosphere, I couldn’t put it down once I got started. This is definitely one of those books where the cover perfectly matches he vibe of the story. Definitely reminded me of Babadook in the best way!! Thanks to Netgalley and Poison Press for an advanced copy of this spooky read!

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"Let Him In" is a chilling and suspenseful slow burn. The premise of a grieving single father dealing with his twins' unsettling imaginary friend is masterfully creepy. The ambiguity about the entity's nature keeps you guessing and adds a layer of unease that lingers long after the last page.