I had a hard time following this story and the characters. While at some points the writing was compelling, at times it felt like there was too much going on for me to be invested in a character or plot line.

I was not expecting this one to be as spooky as it was and I have to admit it had me quite scared at times! I was definitely engaged in the story because I needed to know what was going to happen next, which is always the mark of a good thriller. Unfortunately, the concept of buying a house that ends up being this creepy is a little too much for me!

I really love the cover of this book it is so pretty. The colors are beautiful it's one of the reasons I wanted to read it but also I have been trying to read more thrillers lately and this looked good.
I liked that is was set in Australia as I don't read many books set there. This book did start out a little slow for me. I was a little confused about what was going on. Damn the last 25% was really good and I was definitely not expecting the twist.
If you like thrillers I think you will definitely like this one.

Reading Between the Wines book review #139/115(met goal in Sept!) for 2023:
Rating: 2 🍷 🍷
Book: The Stranger Upstairs
Author: Lisa M. Matlin
Available Now!!

Sipping thoughts: I really thought I was gonna love this book but the ending just fell really short for me. I loved the book’s storyline and was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what happened. But the moment it was revealed, I felt like all the air was let out of my sails. I also did not like one of the tragedies in the book. I wish it could have panned out differently.

Cheers and thank you to @RandomHousePublishingGroup, and @Netgalley for an advanced copy of @TheStrangerUpstairs.

#TheStrangerUpstairs #LisaMMatlin #RandomHousePublishingGroup #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

A social media influencer purchases a house known for a murder-suicide to renovate to reach a new online audience. What could possibly go wrong? Lots of things! Fast paced with so many twists!

The Stranger Upstairs is the debut novel from Lisa M. Matlin.

"Sarah Slade buys an old Victorian house in an upscale neighborhood. One problem - it was the site of an infamous murder years ago. Sarah wants to fix it up and flip it - all while using the renovations to drive likes and comments to her social media. But none of the neighbors want to see the house improved. They would rather see it bulldozed to the ground. Sarah is determined to get it done. But there are noises at night and someone has been leaving threatening notes..."

This is a perfect example of an unreliable narrator. One with a past full of secrets and slowly unravelling from the stress of the house. There are no likable characters here except for one and she doesn't make it to the end.
Matlin keeps you invested with the news articles that hint at something bad happening at the house and with the slow reveal of Sarah's secrets. Not sure I have ever seen a house explained the way it is here. Not sure if I would have picked that story resolution.
Matlin talks about her own mental health challenges in the author notes.
Interesting debut from Matlin.

The book moved a little slow in the beginning and had a different layout than I am used to. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, it just felt like something was a little lacking. 4.5 stars rounded down to 4 because it just wasn’t a perfect 5 for me. Very gripping and keeps you guessing!

Sarah Slade and her husband Joe have just purchased an abandoned home with the hopes of renovating it and making a huge profit. Sarah has a lifestyle blog and is hoping to gain more followers and sponsors to make even more money. The problem is that the house they purchased is known in their town Beacon as the "murder house". Forty years ago a husband murdered his wife and then killed himself and no one has wanted to live in the house since. Townspeople want the house torn down and don't give Sarah and Joe a warm welcome. Soon thereafter their marriage starts to show some cracks and Sarah beings hearing things in the house, making her question her sanity. Sarah starts to wonder if buying the house was a huge mistake, an even bigger mistake than the one she and Joe ran away from.

This book had such good potential in the beginning. A creepy house with a mysterious past and no one in town willing to talk about it. The author unfortunately threw way too much into the story. Murder, a possible ghost, the trendy "girl drinking wine and acting crazy" trope, a huge secret in their previous town, etc. It was all too much. I wish she had focused more on one things instead of a million things all at once.

What a debut novel – this author has found a fan in me.

Sarah isn’t who her social media followers or clients believe her to be. Her marriage is in shambles, her professional life isn’t much better, and the murder house she spent her savings on in the hopes of selling it at a profit comes along with problems she couldn’t have imagined. Besides the bizarre happenings within Black Wood House, the affluent neighborhood is inhabited by unfriendly residents eager to see it torn down.

If unreliable narrators are your thing, this novel excels in that area. There are multiple layers to Sarah, and every new revelation is a shock that makes it difficult to put this book down. Her series of bad decisions only heightens the suspense, and she’s dealing with mental health issues that will make you wonder if the eerie occurrences in the house are a product of those issues. Whatever the case, the house provides chilling moments and seems to have a personality of its own. Let’s just say it isn’t welcoming to strangers. Even Sarah’s cat, Reaper, knows something isn’t right (the pets always know) and leads her to the attic stairs more than once.

I made a prediction in early chapters, sure I knew the direction the story would take. I was delighted to be wrong – I’m not a big fan of predictable plots. This is an atmospheric novel, and I enjoyed the small town setting in Australia. Sarah is a loathsome character (for me her only redeeming quality was that she loved Reaper), but I could have plowed through this book in one sitting. If you read it at night, you might want to sleep with a light on – just sayin’.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

3.5 STARS

The Stranger Upstairs is a strong debut novel! I did the audio, big thank you to PRH Audio, and thought the narrator did an excellent job.

I was sucked in right from the start! This has the perfect spooky vibes, I mean does it get much more haunted than a murder house where the previous residents mysteriously go missing?

This was sitting around a 4-5 star read for me, I kept wanting to pick it up to listen and find out “who was the stranger upstairs”, buuuuut somewhere around the big reveal I got lost. I ended up with more questions than answers, and wasn’t sure I could trust our unreliable MC.

I will still give this author another go, as far as atmospheric reads go, this is a must! And I absolutely loved the authors note!

Big thank you to NetGalley and PRH audio for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this disturbing psychological thriller pulled me right in- I am here for darks secrets and a haunted "murder house". Elements of the novel were unnerving and had a bit of a horror vibe- ultimately though it got a bit ambitious and tried to do too much. It's not a terrible read by any means but execution and character development could have been stronger

What an absolute fever dream this was. The amount of times our protagonist complained of a headache was starting to give me one

I would like to thank NetGalley and Bantam Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It’s available now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

Sarah Slade is a popular influencer and author, and she’s just purchased a neglected house that she intends to remodel and document on her lifestyle blog. Black Wood House was the site of a grisly murder-suicide 40 years earlier and has sat empty for the majority of time since then. The more Sarah tries to make changes to Black Wood House, the more it seems like the house doesn’t want to be changed. Meanwhile, Sarah’s life is unraveling. Her husband is distant, her blog isn’t going well, and neither is her job as a therapist. With her life spiraling, Sarah’s connection with reality begins to fail.

I really, really liked this book. It was equally riveting and terrifying. I wasn’t sure if it was a ghost story or a psychological thriller, but I was rapt. This is the author’s debut novel, and I can’t wait to read what she writes next.

This is my first book by Matlin, but I doubt it will be my last. The story gripped me from the start and maintained a good pace throughout. The characters felt a little distant, but overall, an engaging read!

A house full of secrets and that is just the beginning. Sarah had so many visions for this house and her marriage but nothing is what it seems. This one kept me guessing!

Huge thank you #randomhouse and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

The storyline had potential. A social media influencer/therapist/author, Sarah Slade is trying to make a comeback blogging about her recently purchased “murder house”. Unfortunately, this one fell short for me on many levels.
The writing was mediocre at best & was confusing at times. The characters were unrealistic & the repetitive scenarios made me lose interest quickly.
Thank you to #NetGalley & #TheStrangerUpstairs for the ARC. My review is strictly voluntary..

I wanted to love this, but unfortunately I was not a fan of the female mental health aspect which I feel is so overplayed in stories and this was no different. It was a fast read and the ending was not what I was expecting and really shocked me! For a debut, this was decent overall and I’ll be looking forward to what comes next from Matlin.

Y'all, I wrote a whole review of this book, and it didn't save. My autosave feature failed me. :(  So, I'm going to do my best to remember what I wrote.

I know that I loved this book. I took my time reading it at night. It was creepy, and I love creepy. I live on an island, but I live in the woods. I refused to read this during the day and only at night to make sure I got the max creeped out effect.  I mean, who doesn't love a book about a haunted house? 

That ending got me!! I 10000% did not see that coming. The reason why everything was happening surprised me!! The whole book had me hooked and invested, and I freaking loved every second of it. 

This book reminded me of the House on the Hill. I read the book forever ago and can't explain exactly why this reminded me of it. It could simply be the haunted house thing. 

I would have never guessed it was Lisa's first book. You can bet all your pennies that I will be requesting the ARC of her next book whenever it comes out. You know I'm an impatient lady and will not want to wait for PUB day whenever that might be. 

Read This Book If:

👻 you want to say, "WHAT THE WHATTTT?" Multiple times during the reading of a book

👻 You love being creeped out

I'm so glad I bought a copy to keep forever!

If a house could talk it would be the Blackwood house in The Stranger Upstairs. A creepy novel that makes the reader wonder if they are reading things correctly. In the realm of the Silent Patient, this is a twisty book. The ending however, left a little to be desired and I wished the final chapters had been different.

Ah, that feeling when you read the perfect book at the perfect time - that was The Stranger Upstairs. I was in the mood for a creepy thriller and this one was perfect!
The main character is a fairly unlikable social media influencer named Sarah. Sarah buys an old abandoned house in the hopes of fixing it up and making lots of money. She also hopes the project may bring her and her husband back together. The only problem is that the house was abandoned because of a murder-suicide and it looks like she made a big mistake.

First of all none of the neighbors want her redoing the house, they just want it gone. And, it seems as if the house doesn’t want to be redone either. As Sarah sleeps in the room with the bloodstain still on the floor and drinks copious amounts of wine, she becomes an unreliable narrator.

Totally creepy, I enjoyed every minute and found myself sneaking away to read all during the day.