I had to DFN this one. I was so excited to read this but character names are SO important! I kept picturing a family of pigs because of a characters name and it just ruined it for me

for a debut this was pretty good. i was intrigued and creeped out A LOT throughout. the ending was clever and i like that it was left to our imagination. some parts felt slow and boring, and i never really connected with julia. but the rest was fantastic!

Thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for gifting me an early copy of this novel. (Well, early for the US!) Below is my honest review.

This novel had a great hook - grief, twins, lost parent/partner, mysterious entity. We never know what we can trust the whole time. Is Black Mamba real? Is he imaginary? Is he a demon? Are the girls making him up? It makes for a fun, compelling read, as events keep pushing Alfie, the twins' widowed father, and Julia, the twins' aunt, towards a confrontation with the thing known as Black Mamba... and each other.

All in all, I found it to be a hard to put down read. The short chapters are split by Julia and Alfie POVs, and we learn a little more of the story from each - both past and present - as things are slowly revealed. But each chapter makes you want to read just one more, which is the sign of a great book.

I did say, the ending didn't leave me fully satisfied, and I really wish that they'd kept the UK title ("Black Mamba") for the novel. Of course, it wasn't a bad ending... I just had felt so compelled to keep reading that when I got to the end, I wanted more.

All in all, four stars. Recommended for horror fans and fans of tales of grief and rebuilding.

After Pippa's death Alfie was never himself, he lost his strength to look after his daughters.He became less and less like a father and avoided all the responsibilities absorbed in his own grief.

When one night, his daughters wakes him up telling about a man in their room.He searches everywhere and he couldn't find anyone so he ignored it as a nightmare..

Later on he forgot about their nightmare and never asked them about it until they mentions a friend 'Black Mamba' and how it can turn into anything it wants and keep them safe always.

Alfie plunges with jealous when the twins actually ignore him and always talks about the adventures they had with Black Mamba .At times he worries whether they are pretending or actually they believes its existence.He seeks Pippa's twin,Julia help to find out the truth.

I really enjoyed this book.The book didn't grip me at first but then I got caught up in their family dynamics and the characters.Alfie and his worry about twins really got to me and I felt for them.The book is not that scary but if you are immersed in their story you will feel the horror.The book also have haunted house vibes which was very thrilling and chilling.The curiosity got tot me despite its slow pace.

The only problem I felt with the book is the ending.I think many of the things are left without answers and very confusing. Iam not sure what really happened at the ending and I still feel like I didn't get a closure.Ignoring this it was really good for a debut.Highly recommended.

A sincere thanks to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This debut novel was twisty, terrifying, sad, and a pleasure to read.

We follow Alfie, a widower, and his twin daughters. The girls have a new imaginary friend and Alfie wants him gone. He enlists Julia, his late wife's sister (and psychiatrist) to help get to the bottom of what is happening with the girls, but Julia knows things about their house and their family that Alfie doesn't....

Ultimately I greatly enjoyed this. The ending felt a bit rushed, but there was genuine dread and mystery throughout that kept me hooked. Excited to see what else is to come from Friend!

4.5
This book is about a pair of twins who are grieving the tragic death of their mother, Pippa (who was herself a twin and died in the house they still live in) and start talking to an imaginary friend they call, Black Mamba.
Black Mamba is a man who can take any form of animal he chooses (yes, his namesake snake is one of those terrifying forms) and only the twins can see him.
Their dad alfie, is also still coping with the death and seeks help from his wives sister a psycologist (whose family was involved in a religion they practiced that comes into the story). They both are trying to help themselves and the kids.

What I felt this book did well at:

It sets a great scene and plays with our perception. Is there an intruder or other-worldly spirit the girls can see, or is it their active imaginations, perhaps as a reaction to their grief? Is the father doing something sinister or merely trying to help his daughters and himself with grief?
It creates a fantastic shadow man with fantasy elements that I found really interesting. They were scary and creepy sometimes and other times funny or weird? Is he real?
It did a great job at showing how belief and what we show are kids are passed down and effect and can create tramua for later generations and those connected to them.

The cons I had on this book:

It says it is a new release called "Let him in" but there was a book by the same author last year called "black mamba" that is the exact same story. I really do not mind cause I still got to read the book but confused me at first.
I felt there was a little bit of repetitiveness that made the book longer than needed to be but I still wanted to find out answers.
I did not like how the psycologist would talk in very simple terms and a kind of kid like thinking and next minute talking in counsler and science terms.
I also was a little confused by how they kept giving us tiny bits of clues and story but then an abrupt ending with not much explanation. I guess you decide still what you felt was real or not.
Overall, I enjoyed this read. I got invested in the two little girls. I did not feel the romance was good or tense or anything. I felt it was awkward. I did have to know what happened in the end and I did like the little girls and the force in the story.

Let Him In had a really dark, ominous atmosphere from start to finish. There are two narrators within the novel. There’s Alfie, a widower who is still grieving the death of his wife Pippa, while having to raise their two twin daughters alone. Then there’s Julia, Pippa’s twin sister. The house that Alfie and his daughters reside in was also Pippa and Julia’s childhood home called Hart House. After Alfie’s daughters Cassia and Sylvie claim they made a friend they call Black Mamba, Alfie begins to worry as this friend creates a rift between him and the twins. He reaches out to Julia to get help with breaking the twins’ growing attachment to Black Mamba. Towards the latter part of the novel, the history behind Hart House surfaces and is more connected to what they’re battling in present day.

The plot was gripping yet difficult to figure what was happening until the end. The characters were well written and the detail in the scenery was really vividly created. I wasn’t sure whether to believe Black Mamba was a figment of the twins’ imagination or some kind of supernatural entity that was there to cause them and the whole family harm. It was not obviously stated but more inferred. I would definitely recommend this book to a fan of supernatural thrillers. Thank you NetGalley, to the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this novel and review it before the official release!

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

What to say about “Let Him In?” Easiest three stars I’ve ever given, probably. I didn’t have to think about the rating too much.

First of all, it’s gorgeously written. This is William Friend’s debut novel. He clearly wrote it with a lot of talent in his pocket. The way he writes is magnetic, interesting, and thorough. It takes on this whimsical tone that is just perfect for a gothic horror, and sometimes it felt like you were sitting in the middle of a Tim Burton movie. It aids in the atmosphere. The writing here is top notch.

The dialogue was believable, the characters complex and rich with their own personalities. I liked that Alfy was portrayed as an honest to goodness lovable but fallible father. Sylvie and Cassia, the twins (with lovely and original names,) are at times a bit interchangeable, but they do take on individual qualities, like Sylvie being the more sensitive one, and Cassia being more independent. The late Pippa is creative and somewhat free spirited, while Auntie Julia is diligent and hardworking. There were things I liked and didn’t like about all of them.

So, the setup is wonderful, the characters are realistic, and the writing really sells the deal. So what could my issues possibly be?

Well, first of all, I still don’t understand Black Mamba. I felt like I read this whole book waiting for some grand finale, or some giant shocking look at who the “imaginary friend” turned villain actually is. Maybe I missed something, but it felt like a light went off (literally) and suddenly with it went the twins’ issues and all current familial gripes. There is also a romantic situation more prevalent toward the end of the book that I understood, but was a bit weirded out by. It’s not immoral, so I can’t really explain why, but I wasn’t able to fully embrace this pairing or root for it. I mean, it’s all well and good, but it was enough for me to raise my eyebrows for a second. If I had any, I mean, which I don’t, but that’s neither here nor there.

The ending, and the final portion of the book, felt quite empty. Almost like you’re going uphill on a rollercoaster ride and it kind of just- stops there. No big leap. The tension mounted and then it got stuck. I would’ve liked a lot more out of this ending, and whatever revelations it may or may not have been trying to convey went pretty straight over my head.

Still, I can’t say enough positive things about the characterization, atmosphere, and writing style.

If this tickles your pickle, Let Him In will be available to the public on October 3rd, 2023. Don’t let Black Mamba catch you with your copy. He doesn’t wanna leave!

An amazing gothic thriller~

After his wife's passing, Alfie tries to push forward with his twin daughters, who tell him they have an imaginary friend Black Mamba, who apparently is also a shape shifter.
Living in an old, large foreboding home just adds to this spine tingling story.

Very reminiscent of The Shining and it gives Rosemary's Baby vibes.

Definitely recommend this one.

Let Him In is the perfect book for fall and all the spooky vibes. The story centers around twin girls who can see dark presence. This story is twisted and atmospheric and gives off all the creepy “twin” vibes we associate so well with other books, like The Shining. This one is a great addition for anyone who enjoys horror or just mood reading for fall/Halloween.

"Let Him In," is a great book to read with Halloween around the corner. The story is creepy and gave me full body chills a few times. Alfie is a widower who has twin daughters. As the story unfolds you see how their grief plays a big role on how the shadowy figure comes into their lives. I won't go into detail because I don't want to spoil it! I'll admit that I was a bit confused towards the end but the actual ending was so good! Thank you to NetGalley, William Friend and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Publication date Oct. 2023.

I have no idea if he was real or not.

I do know that I want another book because I need to know what happens six months later. I'm left with the *it sets the scene for it to all happen again* or *they finally rid the house of it* ponder and I need answers. These decide for yourself endings are frustrating.

I enjoyed the pacing of this story, it gave me the creeps the longer it drug on. The repetition, and circling back had me questioning a few motives and plotlines. The only thing I would ask for more of, was details into the church. There are still so many unanswered questions ab0ut the . . . situation itself, that is now moving on to another generation and touching so many lives.

I enjoyed the twin dynamics. The children having a different twin relationship compared to their mother and aunt was also fun. Kept me guessing about what had happen all those year ago, compared to what was currently happening.

All and all a relaxing bump in the night story.

You'll enjoy this book if you enjoy paranormal, with a bit of a religious background pushing it forward. I do hope there is a sequel in the works because there are so many directions and ending like this could go, and all of them have a nice thread of revenge for the twins.

I'm still shuddering a little after finishing this creepy novel that's like nothing I've read before! Alfie is dad to seven-year-old twins Sylvie and Cassia who lost their mother, Pippa to an unnamed accident years before. Pippa's sister, Julia is a psychoanalyst and often helps Alfie with the girls as they are so close but have recently been "seeing" Black Mamba, a snake-like creature who can take many forms and seems to manipulate the girls into doing what he says. Enough said. If that doesn't interest you, this book isn't for you...BUT...it's compelling and spellbinding even as it sends shivers down your spine! It's one of those books where you can't look away...but maybe don't read in the dark!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Thank you, William Friend, Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed Let Him In from the beginning right until the heart stopping finish. A perfect fall read as it has everything you want in a spooky, Gothic thriller.There is just something about these twins that really sent shivers down my spine! This was my first book by this author but it definitely won't be my last.

It was an intriguing and different kind of storyline. One that I couldn’t figure out and kept me on edge the whole way through. It was a little too slow paced for myself, but it was a decent read.

My thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC of "Let Him In" in exchange for an honest review.
Unquestionably one of the best, most evocative front covers for a scary book this year. In many ways the book more than fulfills the promise of that cover - to take you on a creepy tour of a cursed, possibly haunted house and keep you in a state of unease, dread and worry for its occupants throughout the story.
But any reader who thinks they're in store for decaying corpses, floating sprits and gallons of flowing gore.......this is not that book. Despite all its traditional supernatural trappings, "Let Him In" tends to veer more in the direction of psychological horror, of psychosis spawned by grief, tragedy and all too human frailty.
The Victorian style Hart House, as it's called, bears a reputation every bit as forbidding as Shirley Jackson's Hill House. The history of the first family who inhabited Hart House is filled with murderous calamities. And the current family who've taken up residence there suffer through their own particular miseries - including a background of religious fanaticism and some freakish, tragic fatal accidents.
One of those bizarre deaths widowed Archie and left Sylvie and Cassia, his 8 year old twin daughters without their loving, vibrant mother Pippa. And adding to Archie and the girls' dysfunction as they work their way through their grief, a new presence comes to live among them. . From the twins' synchronized imaginations (or so it seems) springs "Black Mamba, an unseen shape-shifting friend whom they treat as all too real. Uncomfortably, creepily so..
To Archie's growing horror, this invisible entity, who manifests himself as either a man or various beasts evolves from a therapeutic playmate to a sinister evil force......and maybe, just maybe something more than imaginary. Even to the point of unleashing violence.
I should point out here that none of this transpires at any kind of breathless pace, it that's what you're hoping for. "Let Him In" functions as a slow burn, steadily building up its increasing levels of frightening moments to keep a reader shuddering. Personally, I couldn't think of a better book to curl up with under a comfy blanket on a cold dark night. It's clear that author William Friend wanted a cumulative growing sense of anxiety rather than "gotcha" jumps. And I thought he pulled off that difficult, risky task of straddling the line between what's other-worldly and what derives from the dark recesses of the mind.
While I fully embraced and enjoyed what the author accomplished here, I'm aware that hardcore fans may find the wrap-up mild, abrupt and inconclusive. For sure, this is no carnival funhouse ride.....but a more of an unsettling trip through the wounded hearts of a damaged family. And that itself, fellow readers, can be plenty scary.

This slow burn creepy claustrophobic horror was such a pager turner and a quick read.

The twins have seen a man in their bedroom. Months after their mother died suddenly they have a new imaginary friend and it’s making their father lose his mind. When their aunt - their mother’s twin - steps in to help age old secrets start coming to light - about their house, their family, and what creeping terror is haunting their house…

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this book before publication. My review will appear on episode 28 of my podcast which drops on Monday, October 2. The review will also appear on the episode page on my website and will be posted to Goodreads:

Review:

I love a good haunted house tale. Anything in the vein of "The Haunting of Hill House" or "The Turn of the Screw" (especially the Mike Flanagan versions) will have me throwing my money at them. I love to cuddle up on the couch, turn off the lights, and be freaked out, whether it's with a book, movie, or TV series. I was beyond excited to read this one after reading the synopsis and was happy to be approved for a galley on NetGalley. It's a quick read and while the story is definitely creepy, it didn't fully hit the marks that I was hoping for.

"Let Him In" is a haunting tale that explores the depths of grief and the lengths a father will go to protect his children. It's set against the eerie backdrop of Hart House in London, and while I wasn't completely freaked out, I was engaged all the way through to the very surprising ending.

The story focuses on Alfie, a grieving father who is struggling to raise his twin daughters, Cassia and Sylvie, following the sudden death of his wife, Pippa. When the girls claim to have an imaginary friend who is haunting their bedroom, Alfie dismisses it as a result of their grief. Yet, as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that there is something much more sinister at play.

Friend skillfully builds an atmospheric setting within the walls of Hart House. The old, creaking house holds secrets, constantly reminding readers that anyone who steps foot in the house isn't exactly safe. As Alfie delves deeper into the mystery surrounding his daughters' imaginary friend, the house seems to come alive, revealing its own dark secrets.

The narrative kept me engaged from start to finish. Friend's writing style is descriptive and immersive and paints a vivid picture of the eerie atmosphere, which helps heighten the tension. While there was a sense of malice hanging about, I never felt completely sure of what this presence was until much later in the book. Was it a ghost? A demon? It becomes a little clearer towards the end what we're dealing with, but I wanted more earlier on.

I also felt that the pace was slightly uneven. The first 2/3 of the book seemed to be building toward something big and then fell flat. There were also a few scenes that felt repetitive until finally we were barreling toward the end. I will admit, there were times when I was a bit lost.

The character development in "Let Him In" is probably its strongest element. Friend delves deeply into the psychological effects of loss and creates a sense of unease that extends beyond the supernatural elements of the story. The grief-stricken characters are convincingly portrayed, adding depth and emotional weight to the narrative.

Alfie is an empathetic protagonist, burdened by guilt and haunted by his past. The reader can't help but sympathize with him as he struggles to protect his daughters from the unknown force that threatens them. Julia, Pippa's sister, adds another layer to the story as a psychiatrist who assists Alfie in uncovering the truth. Her own personal connection to the events at Hart House adds an extra element of intrigue, though I will admit, I wanted more here. A chapter or two with more detail as to what happened at Hart House years before would have benefitted the story. I think a deeper dive would have added layers to the overall story and upped the stakes a bit.

While the concept and execution of the story are strong, "Let Him In" falls just short of being genuinely terrifying. While there are certainly moments of creepiness, I was never fully frightened or on the edge of my seat. However, the ending is definitely a shocker. It leaves the reader guessing, and I liked that a lot.

With its well-developed characters, atmospheric setting, and exploration of grief, this book is enjoyable but left me wanting a little more. While it may not reach the heights of bone-chilling horror, the ending will linger in your mind long after you finish.

I liked it but I dont think it was right to catalog it as horror.

If i didnt know that was the category, I woukd have thought it was about a therapist helping her nieces go through the loss of a loved one.

It felt a bit too long, even for a short book. I felt like nothing was really happening.

When the horror things started happening, i loved it. Unluckily it didn't last long.

Loved the ambiguity of the ending.

William Friend’s "Let Him In” is quite possibly one of the creepiest slow-burns I’ve read in a long time. Told from shifting perspectives, it has the reader constantly questioning what exactly is happening and who is to blame.

Widower Alfie is trying to raise his twin daughters after their mother’s odd and tragic death. Of course they are going through some stuff processing their grief. And luckily, their mother’s twin, Julia, is a psychiatrist who is more than capable of treating them. When an imaginary friend joins the girls, Julia dismisses it at a as coping mechanism at first. Then the imaginary friend, Black Mamba, starts causing problems. Is Julia going to be able to help the girls with their psychological issues, or is something deeper and darker afoot?

Twins, an old manor house, a mysterious death... “Let Him In” gives us plenty of tropes we know and love from the horror genre. This is more than just a plain rehashing of old ideas, however. The tropes work to draw the reader in, but the author creates a fresh and dark take that keeps the reader involved. While reading this, I had a new puppy. I’d get up to put him out in the middle of the night. Normally, I’d want to go right back to sleep. With “Let Him In,” however, I found myself opening my Kindle and reading for another half-hour or more! I really wanted to see where the story was going, and it kept me engaged.

I definitely recommend this book to horror fans, and I look forward to the next story from William Friend. I received this book from NetGalley.