Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC!

Wow—what a creepy and disturbing read! Yet, I really enjoyed it. We follow Archie, a single father to twins, and the twins’ aunt, Julia, as they work together to cope with loss and figure out the story behind the twins’ imaginary friend named Black Mamba. This book had such a creepy vibe and I found myself unable to read at nighttime! It reminded me a lot of the movie Hide and Seek, which I find particularly scary for many reasons…

I will say though, I was a little bit confused at the ending. I think the story ended a bit abruptly and didn’t fully explain what happened and how things were wrapped up. Overall though, I really enjoyed this one!

OMG I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars! This book infuriated me. I will not even lie about that. But in a good way. The way that older slasher films make you want to scream at the screen when the killer gets into the house and they stupidly run upstairs lol. This book gave me chills early on and they only increased in intensity the more I read, to the point I was literally shivering by the time I finished this title. This book is terrifying, truly. Not in the "traditional horror" sense like Vamps and other such monsters are terrifying but in the way that it is so realistic for lack of better words. We , as humans, have a tendency to completely over look, blind out, ignore, anything that makes us too uncomfortable or doesn't align with our beliefs or thoughts. This book , hands down is phenomenal ! Part of me would love another title following this family BUT a larger part of me really appreciates that I am left with so much unanswered. The "obvious" is left entirely unspoken leaving the reader to wonder alongside the characters if they have gone mad ! LOVED IT! EVERY........INFURIATING..........SECOND.............SUPERBLY DONE!

This book is ideal for the spooky season. It features a creepy old house with a dark past, young twins with an eerie imaginary friend, and a despondent widower whose wife died mysteriously. The book is filled with tension, with each chapter building on the feeling of dread. There are two narrators: Alfie, the widower, and the twin sister of his late wife. They take turns telling the story of how the twin daughters deal with the death of their mother. Throughout the book, there are hints to the dark history of the house and the family. It harkens back to the romantic gothic horror of Henry James and Poe. The ending is terrifying. You might think it’s just a game, but you can’t be sure.

A fantastic psychological horror novel that swims in the waters of the supernatural, grief, family secrets, and parenthood.

A newly widowed father and his twin daughters start to experience seemingly supernatural events when the girls wake him up one night and tell him there's a man in their room.

But this isn't any man and it's not quite the imagination of children. As events start spinning further out of control and become more demanding, family secrets from the sister of the mans late wife come to the surface. These secrets might hold the answers to this "man" and what it is he really wants.

This story isn't particularly bloody or gory but it's truly a deeply disturbing and extremely unsettling tale about family. It's filled with tension that's as thick as the walls of the house they live in and the slow reveals plink these puzzle pieces together brilliantly.

This is a great book for a dark and stormy night that will give you goosebumps and make you scared of every strange sound. I highly recommend it.

Rounded up to 3.5 stars

I received an email from Netgalley about this new gothic psychological suspense book coming out and the cover alone made me immediately hit request. I got the book right then and there and dove right into it. The synopsis of the book "A widowed father is struggling to raise twin daughters obsessed with an imaginary friend. "Daddy, there's a man in our room.'"

From the beginning, I couldn't stop reading. It was so interesting and gave me the redrum twins creepy vibes. Somewhere along the middle of the book, the writing started unraveling. Still gave off creepiness but now I had a lot more questions and wanted to see what actually happened to the Mom because I thought there would be more to that story. I wish the history of the house would have had more background as well as the other tragedy that took place there. Then religion, demons, witchiness was brought in. The story had Hereditary movie vibes but also fell apart like the movie did in my opinion.

I think this book is very promising for a debut. There are a few more things that could be added and/or explained so that the reader has a better understanding of why this is happening. Maybe the house is actually a portal to the netherworld and that's why things happen or the mom didn't really die that way but was dragged to the netherworld and is trying to get out. Something more.

I'm not one that gets uneasy feelings very often but I woke up at 3 AM one morning to use the loo and looked in the corner of my room and saw a shadow. Heart thumping loudly as I turned on the light and it was just a shirt that I had left hanging on the closet door. I thought it was HIM!

Thank you to #netgalley, #williamfriend and #poisonedpenpress for the advanced copy of Let Him In.

Creepy. After the death of Pippa, wife and mother, her family struggles to find normalcy again. Through the twins grief Black Mamba appears and weird things start to happen. Add in a cult-like religion and let the terror roll. This book will have you jumping at every sound, yet you will be unable to put it down until the very end. While it has a couple slow spots, stick with it because the end is worth it! Looking for more from this debut author!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley, William Friend and Sourcebooks/Poisoned Pen Press for hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

Let Him In by William Friend is a novel about Alfie, his twin daughters and their aunt Julia. After the twins mother dies unexpectedly the twins begin experiencing visions of a man inside their home. They grow closer and closer to ‘Black Mamba’ a man who can change forms. This is an engrossing story that slowly gives details that paint a haunting picture. Is the man a demon or simply a fantasy that the twins enjoy? Very good book!

Let Him In is an atmospheric, character-driven literary suspense. The story is told in dual first-person POV. First, we get the perspective of Alfie, a newly widowed single father of twin girls. It’s been ten months since their mother passed, and they’ve made a new… friend. This imaginary friend, named Black Mamba, is unsettling and Alfie isn’t sure of what he should do. The second POV comes from his late wife’s twin sister–Julia. She’s a psychotherapist, and she comes to the house regularly to check on the girls.

Despite the book being quite short (at only about 240 pages), it’s very slow-paced. The author leisurely takes his time telling this story, which is filled with flashbacks–in both POVs–of the late wife, Pippa. While the imaginary friend possibly being something more plotline is far from original, Let Him In takes this concept and pairs it with themes of loss and grieving of a loved one. While unsettling at times, I’m reluctant to call this book a “horror” title, as the author doesn’t quite deliver on that front. The novel is more of a character study with an atmospheric setting and a languorously suspenseful plot.

Let Him In is for those who want to read a creepy (haunted house?) story that’s rife with allegory.

Let Him In was an intense ride from start to finish. It's a story about grief, about the connection between twins, about belief systems. Told in chapters that feature one of two characters' thoughts and observations, the book tells the tale of a family still grieving the loss of a mother/wife/sister/daughter. Alfie and his twin seven-year old daughters Cassia and Sylvie are struggling after the Alfie's wife Pippa died unexpectedly a while before. One night, the twins show up at Alfie's bed claiming there was a man in their room. A man they call "Black Mamba" who continues to visit and takes on the forms of various animals. Marian, Alfie's mother-in-law, insists that Julia, Pippa's twin who is a family psychiatrist, help the twins out. Julia tries to resist, as she has distanced herself on purpose as being too close to them to offer therapy, and also has no desire to return to Hart House, the old house in which she grew up and in which her parents practiced their own versions of religion and spirituality. But as the twins' dependence on Black Mamba and resistance to Alfie escalate, Julia finds herself drawn in to try to set the girls straight and hope to save her remaining family from calamity.
I don't know what William Friend's writing background is prior to this, his debut novel, but this book read like the work of a veteran author. The atmosphere got creepier as the story went along, and the tension increased throughout, as past secrets were unveiled little by little, and the truth of Black Mamba eventually comes to light. 4.5 of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Let Him In.

I'll be honest, this isn't scary. Not at all.

It contains elements that would make for a potentially scary story; twins, a grieving family, a house with a sordid past.

But, nothing fully coalesces and I think it's because the author doesn't have a clear idea of what he's trying to say.

Is this about grief, sorrow, is the imaginary friend the twins see their version of Babadook? Great movie, by the way.

Or is this about cults and the strange, fervent behavior they inspire and produce in their parishioners?

I feel the author is pointing fingers at fringe religious sects, but doesn't take it further, even though the narrative had potential to become something truly macabre and horrifying.

I also wasn't a fan of Julia hooking up with Alfie at the end, felt kind of icky about that.

The family dynamics and the unsettling relationship between Alfie and Julia was creepier than the imaginary friend.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this before publication but I wasn't a fan of the narrative, the characters, or the writing style.

When a widowed father of twin girls awakes in the night to find them at the foot of his bed claiming there is a man in their room, he quickly checks the house only to find it empty and locked tight. Chalking the recurrence up to nightmares and nothing more...
But now the girls have an imaginary friend and things are happening in the house that are unexplainable.
This was a very good story! Very intense. I could not read this after dark without feeling unsettled... watched.
I can not wait to see what else this author has in store. I will definitely be checking out future work!

The cover is eye-catching, it really drew me in. The story was good to read in the dark. I loved that this had an imaginary friend in their story which gave it the creepiness to it. A wonderful chilly read that left me with goosebumps.

This book was creepy in all the right ways and even had me imagining shadowy figures in the dark as I read! Black Mamba was the perfect level of scary and mysterious and I was captivated and curious the entire time. Definitely read this one!

This story started out quite strong, setting a haunting tone that I hoped would be sustained throughout the book. Unfortunately, much of the writing felt redundant and there were several gaps that were never filled in, including (how did Pippa die? what happened with the baby? what happened with Julia and Pippa's dad?). After much buildup, a rushed ending that attempted to piece together these mysteries was the biggest disappointment.

This book had great potential but fell a little short for me and wound up just in the middle of the rating scale - definitely would have given 3.5 if I could have!

First, the plot is so good and the concept for this book is very unique. I was caught a bit off guard about the religious aspects as that wasn't mentioned at all in the book's blurb. There were parts of the book where I couldn't put it down, but then other parts that I felt were a bit of a slog. For me, I found Alfie/the twins' chapters to be most easily readable and felt that Julia was a bit more stale. I felt the ending was a bit rushed, but overall was solid.

The characters were well flushed out and I felt like I got a good picture of each character and their unique voice, which was a very strong point for this book. I felt like each character had a place in the book and I understand who they were and why they were that way. Definitely the strongest point in this book for me!

I recommend this book for horror lovers and found it a relatively easy read.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Friend, and Poisoned Pen Press for the chance to receive a copy of this book in exchange for a prompt and honest review. This review has been posted to multiple sites.

I was drawn to the cover and synopsis of this! I am always on the look out for more horror books & this fit the bill.

I was hooked from the start! I loved the build up, it started off creepy and got even creepier as the story developed.

I enjoyed the “imaginary friend” aspect although I did feel like there were key points that were unfinished.

I was disappointed by the ending, mainly because I am not a fan of open endings. I would have loved to have seen this cleared up more & a definitive ending.

Overall for a debut it was really good! I’d definitely read more from this author.

"Let Him In" is a terrifying examination of grief. When his twin daughters begin to claim that an imaginary friend is intruding into the family home, Alfie initially chalks up the strangeness to his wife's (and their mother) sudden death. But the *something* that stalks his children by night continues to turn his life upside down...

This book was slow-going at first but perfectly frightening! It's very difficult to "get" me - I'm so desensitized to horror that not much bothers me at this point. But something about the way that the imaginary friend intruded into the lives of this family - and the questions that aren't quite answered at the end of the book - made me question noises as I tried to fall asleep last night. Very much recommended!

Let Him In, the debut of author William Friend is a character driven force of slow creeping dread and fantastic atmospheric horror. This story will make the reader wonder along with the characters what is real and what is imaginary.
Buckle up dear reader for this book will take you on a ride.

Let Him In is a deliciously creepy tale including sinister twins who talk in unison and communicate with each other in meaningful glances. Into their life comes Black Mamba, a creature who starts as a snake but morphs, over the course of the book, into something far more ghoulish. Fast paced with excellent characterization, Let Him In is a good, chilling read.

This is a very creepy read. It’s also an almost overwhelmingly sad read.

Almost as much a study on grief as it is a horror novel, the book has you wondering just what is and is not real.

While I’m not sure I loved our little family, I definitely worried for them and I found the author both surprised me and pleased me with how this ended.

It does get a little repetitive at times (I was reminded a little bit of Stolen Tongues), but just when the repetition starts to get a little too much, the author amps things up, leaving you tense and worried all over again.

I would definitely read the author again!

• ARC via Publisher