Thank you so much to Netgalley, the Publisher and William Friend for the opportunity to read this early.

I was pleasantly surprised by the beginning of this book. Considering horror books never scare me, this definitely gave me the creeps.

Unfortunately as the story began to unfold it became a little unhinged and confusing. I’m still very unsure of what happened at the end, we didn’t get much clarification as to what actually happened in this house. Maybe that was the intended outcome but I personally like stories to be well tied up.

I hoped for a big unravelling, with the cause of deaths coming to light and the big reveal as to what happened in the house but it was all a bit underwhelming.

I will be adding my review to my book review page linked in my profile.

This psychological thriller nailed an air of discomfort from the very start. You’re immediately thrown into the mystery, and your desperation for answers keeps you reading.

I feel like this book pulls on some really simple horror tropes, most obviously creepy twins who can see something no one else can. But, the twist comes in the form of their psychologist Aunt who ‘experienced’ something herself as a child and is convinced that ‘Black Mamba‘ isn’t real.

I found the tension between what’s real and what isn’t was perfectly balanced. Just when you think you’ve wrapped your head around what’s happening, something comes along to challenge your thinking. But, I have to admit I was disappointed with the ambiguous ending that seemed reluctant to commit to either option.

Slight spoiler: the relationship between the Aunt and the Father really frustrated me. It felt unnatural, forced and just thrown in at the end. For me, it jarred from the plot at the heart of the story. Given how much Alfie adored his wife, I just didn’t get why they ended up together.

At its core, this psychological horror explores the effect of grief on a family. It watches as a father implodes, as twin girls struggle to process their loss. I wanted more from the horror aspect of this book - something of a more unexplained and supernatural nature.

It was a good book though and one I’d recommend for those into psychological thrillers and horror books. I’m keen to see what’s next from this author and what others think of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and William Friend for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Let Him In is an upcoming horror novel surrounding a grieving family and the entity that appears at night at the foot of the girls bed.

When I read the synopsis, I knew I had to read this book, as a huge fan of horror I jumped at the chance to read Let Him In as soon as I knew of its existence.

Unfortunately, this story with such a promising premise fell flat. It’s short, which could be a good thing and a bad thing- good because I got through it in one day, bad because I felt there is a massively interesting backstory that could have been explored.

We never get a full explanation on what exactly is going on, is it the house or the family that’s “cursed”? Nonetheless, I felt as I was reading that this had been done before. The book really brought nothing new to the genre.

3 stars

Thank you Netgalley and Poison pen press for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and the author William Friend for the ARC! To me, this book was a solid 3 stars: I liked it. could have been better.

Alfie is a recently widowed parent of twins. One night the girls come to his room saying that there's a man in their room, and even if that's not weird (considering the trauma they just sustained and the grief affecting them because of Pippa, their mother, dying), it is when an imaginary friend, starts taking a lot of space in their family life. Thinking that it's just a coping mechanism he calls Julia, the girls' aunt who is a psychiatrist to help out. But then weird things start happening in the house and he's plagued with visions as the imaginary friend tells the girls he doesn't want to leave.

This was cool. There's nothing creepier than twin girls who speak in unison of strange imaginary friends. Between that and the cover, honestly, I was hooked.

It's difficult to explain the things I liked and didn't like about this book without spoiling it, but I'll try my best.

The first 15% of the book felt a bit dense and boring. As I got to the 25% mark it got a little better. I really liked how the book handled Alfie's struggle with raising two girls while also grieving himself and, to someone who doesn't understand how kids work, they felt very real (I don't know if it's just me but sometimes kids in books seem fake, like to charactery to be actual kids).

I didn't like Julia. I think she had a lot of potential to be a really cool character but I got bored of her really fast and (a little spoiler) <spoiler>I hated that she knew something was happening and still not only didn't want to help but also kept telling Alfie that everything was fine</spoiler>. To me, she lacked a real personality because a lot of it was her <i>not</i> being Pippa.

I loved the ambiance of the strange house and how the rooms are described, and I love that you can tell there's a lot of history in those walls even before reading about it, just by how the characters feel in it. I think the author did a great job of making it feel as if we were actually there.
The twins and the imaginary friend are very creepy, but what I loved the most was the constant doubt about the thing being actually an imaginary friend or a supernatural being.

I don't have a problem with short books, but even though GoodReads states that the book is 240 pages my ARC was 208 which I feel is too short for a book surrounding family relationships, which could have been more developed. I'd also like to read more about the church Pippa and Julia attended as kids.

I have a lot to say about the ending but I don't want to spoil anything, so I'm just gonna say that I hated half of chapter 15, including Alfie's part, and half of chapter 16. Chapters 17 and 18 were great, but I'm still not sure what happened and I don't know how to feel about that. I get that maybe that's what the author intended, to leave the ending a bit ambiguous so the reader could take it wherever they wanted, it's just that I don't know if I liked that. I expected something a bit more intense given everything that led to what happened, but it just felt a bit anticlimactic.

Overall I liked this book, I just think it left a lot to be desired and it could have been a lot better.

Let Him In’s creepy cover called to me. It captures the vibe of this book so well.  William Friend’s debut is a hazy, spooky slow burn. I stayed up way past my bedtime reading this one.

Alfie’s wife Pippa has died, leaving behind their twin little girls.  The girls casually mention that a man has been watching them sleep, and he can turn into animals, and oh, he’s their new best friend.

Alfie brings in Pippa’s sister Julie, a child psychologist, to figure out what’s going on.

There’s a bunch more weirdness that Alfie and Julia uncover… I loved how it hit many of the spooky kid / imaginary friend tropes without ever feeling cliché or predictable.  The little girls’ dialogue is natural and not written to be cute or precocious.  

I’ve seen some debate online about the end of the book, but it really worked for me.  It was ambiguous and unsettling and will stick with me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my review copy of this book.

First thing that caught my attention to this book was the cover! It was a quick read and told in alternating POVs. I will forever be decimated with twins after reading this. I loved that this book had paranormal elements to it. The more you read the more secrets come out which lead to an ending that didn’t keep you guessing which personally I like. I did feel like the back story could have been stronger to bring it all together a little more! Overall a good read!

Being a sister to twins, I was really intrigued by what the author would do regarding the double sets of twins in this story. And it was very believable! It also helped add to creepiness of the plot: is Black Mamba real or just a figment of the girls' imaginations?

To me, it was the constant not knowing that really kept the plot moving and the creepy background stuff--the weird religion, Alfie's grief, the crazy grandmother, all the secrets just added to the horror.

Is the book nicely wrapped up at the end? Bwahaha--that's for you to decide!

Ugh. I wanted to like this book so badly but it just fell short. Too many ecclesiastical references for me. The narration could have been better

1.75/5 stars! This cover was creepy goodness, so I was really excited to read the book. Unfortunately, this was a case of the cover being the best part. The pros: This was a quick read. The cons: Everything else. Psychiatrists don't deal with evil spirits in the way the book presents it, the tale was beyond far-fetched, and I didn't honestly care what happened to Alfie or the girls.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

An eerily atmospheric book that will keep you up at night. This truly delivers on the creepy scare factor, as more secrets of the past unravel you can feel the tense atmosphere building. I thought this was incredibly skilfully written especially with the twins behaviour. I do wish this had more of a solid ending and explanation to what was truly happening but I can see how some readers prefer an open ending to decide for themselves.

I really wish that this book were longer... by the time things really started amping up I felt like there wasn't much time left for resolution. And there was so much more I wanted to know about the backstory of the house and the clear connection that had to Julia's family. I feel like there needed to be more exploration of that connection and the "church". I did like the semi-ambiguous ending, though. It gave me Inception-vibes...like, is it really over?

This book is amazing. It was truly amazing at amersing me into the atmosphere and bringing the horror onto my own home

I've been looking for a scary book to read for some time and every one I read disappoints. I mean the kind of creepy that makes you not want to read at night, or not go downstairs alone for a snack if you do read it after dark. I won't say that this book hit the nail on the head, but it contained an excellent creep factor that sent chills up my spine. I couldn't put it down.

I think part of the reason I liked it so much is that Black Mamba reminded me of the Anne Rice character Lasher from the Mayfair Witches series. What is he? Is he real, is he made up? Is he a ghost or a demon? We don't really know and that aspect leaves the reader unsettled throughout. It's scary enough when the kids see him, but when the adults start to think they're seeing him too, it boosts the horror factor up considerably.

I liked the ending and in the end, I considered this a good, satisfying read. I'd really like to read more by this author!

The idea of this story was interesting the execution left a lot to be desired. Let him in starts of with this eerie feeling. A great way to start a book like this, and I wasn’t able to read it in bed at night. Unfortunately after a while the scary factor of the book starts degrading quite rapidly. There is a lot of repeated motions throughout the book as if the writer needed some extra filling. The story itself could have done with a reduced amount of words. This would have helped keep the tension for the duration of the story.

Throughout the book there are also many flashbacks to when pippa was alive. Some being of slight importance towards the plot, many more not being of importance at all. It felt overdone as if the author felt like the reader couldn’t comprehend how much Pippa ment to both Alfie as well as Julia (her sister).

Something else that bothers me is the way the story ended. There is a lot of hinting to past events as some sort of explanation for the present but there is no true ending. You could argue that the author meant for it to be somewhat of an open ending letting the reader believe whatever they wanted to about the situation. However there is not enough information to be able to come to any type of conclusion on your own. This is why a reread of this book will not happen for me. But since I did like the writing style of the author I will probably try one of his upcoming books.

3.75 stars. Very creepy and tense all the way throughout, liked the alternating POV and the use of imaginary friend turned supernatural/demonic. The ending was lacking for me and was a little confusing and rushed

"Daddy, there's a man in our room..."

Alfie wakes one night to find his twin daughters at the foot of his bed, claiming there's a shadowy figure in their bedroom. When no such thing can be found, he assumes the girls had a nightmare.

Alfie is recently widowed with two twin daughters. And now the twins are now seeing someone in their room called Black Mamba. Alfie asks Pippa; his sister in law who is a psychologist to figure out what is going on with his girls.

Is this Supernatural, psychological or religion? I'm not sure which way to go but I really liked the creepy image of Black Mamba and the behaviors of the twins were written perfectly. Sometimes I felt like the author has left behind some key factors about the plot. Nevertheless, this book was an amazing debut from the author.

(I received this book from the editor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)
Let Him In by William Friend is a story that devours the reader who ventures inside Hart House. This debut novel builds its eerie world slowly, nightmare after nightmare, doubt after doubt: Is it true, what the kids are saying? Is Black Mamba just an imaginary friend? Should Alfie and Julia be afraid of the malignant tenant they share their lives with, or should they really fear what is brewing inside the girls’ minds?
I really liked that the book presents Alfie and Julia’s point of views, and that in both instances the girls sometimes feel even creepier than the mysterious figure the reader should be dreading. The way they are described, unique but down-to-earth, with their strengths and their flaws, convey the reading of such a powerful force that it makes it very difficult to put down.
One thing I have seen other reviewers did not really enjoy was the ambiguity of the whole proposal, the feeling of being kind of ‘left out’ of what it is really happening in Hart House. Is there something supernatural, is it only grief, could religion materialize such monsters? I understand what they are criticising, I really do, I am usually not fond of these… let’s say techniques, but in this particular case if felt earned, as if, being the reader as it is just a passenger, we are feeling the same bewilderment the characters are, looking for an answer, any answer, that could stop this nightmare right away.

Let Him In is the newest addition to Poisoned Pen Press and what a creepy addition it is. This book is both haunting and devastating. It shook me to my core, and I think it will shake up many readers. I found myself flipping pages faster and faster to the inevitable conclusion.

Alfie and Julia, our main characters, are woven together in alternating perspectives after tragedy draws them together in raising twins. This book has a quick hook, once you are introduced to the dark and mysterious Black Mamba. Who this mysterious character is, I will leave up to the reader to discover, but trust and believe that there are twists and turns galore for this story. Exactly how this story plays out is one I'm going to mulling over for a while.

Check this story out!

Whhhheewww. Where to begin with this one? It’s got it all. Mystery. Suspense. Occultism. Creepy kids. And an ending that you get to interpret on your own! This book had me looking around the room at bedtime making sure nothing was creeping up on me. I’m usually not impressed with horror books, but this one hit all the right spots. Excellently written. Hard to put down. And super creepy. The only thing that could have added to it would have been a bit of the kids perspective. I’d have loved to see how their thought processes changed throughout the story. Overall highly recommend. Perfect October read!

Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the copy of Let Him In by William Friend. This book is why I love debuts! I had no idea what to expect, so I was pleasantly surprised that the book drew me right in and never let up. The story was slow but there was so much tension it really kept my interest. This is not a gory, jump out of your seat horror story, it’s a much more effective eerie, slowly scare-the-spit out of you story. The twins’ relationship was so chilling I loved it.
I didn’t love the ambiguity of the ending, but it allowed my imagination to run wild which might have been the intention. If you’re looking for a spell-binding book that you won’t want to stop reading, this is it. I look forward to many more books by this author.