I was very into this book starting off. I wanted to know what was going to happen every step of the way. Her backstory had me wanting to read more about it, but I wanted more on her and her husband's relationship. I also was pretty indifferent to the ending, I wanted something more, but I'm not sure I felt as connected to the main character to really care about how it ended. Overall, a solid read.

Sarah Slade and her husband decide to buy and renovate a notorious “murder house” in a posh neighborhood. As the story progresses, we learn more about Sarah’s hidden past and her rocky relationship, as her whole life continues to unravel. This was a quick thriller with a ton going on. It had me questioning the main character/narrator, and pretty much everyone else in the book (including the house itself). A great debut novel!

This was such a good, fun read and something different then the genre I usually read I really enjoyed it

The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin

Published: September 12, 2023
Bantam
Genre: Horror Suspense
Pages: 278
KKECReads Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

LISA M. MATLIN was a guitarist in a rock band before switching from songwriting to story writing. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband, pug, and golden retriever. She’s probably re-watching The Walking Dead right now and trying not to laugh at her own jokes. Lisa is a passionate mental health advocate and your dog’s number one fan. The Stranger Upstairs is her debut novel.

“Maybe it’s Maybelline. Or maybe it’s murder.”

This book was so good. I was captivated by the first chapter. The writing, the characters, the development, the plot, everything was so well done!

As a debut goes, this one is fantastic! I loved the dark elements and how the storyline kept twisting and turning. I did not see any of this coming!

I liked the characters; Sarah was likable until she wasn’t. Joe was a jerk completely. Emily was kind and compassionate. The way this story tells both the past and present of the main character is brilliant.

I predict Lisa will become a well-known thriller-writing queen!

To be honest this started out slow and I wasn’t feeling it but I kept reading it and glad I did the second half of the book was great !

This book is a perfect October read. The house provides the perfect atmosphere for supernatural activity. I would love to visit despite the tragic history. Sarah quite the witch herself, so there wasn't a lot of love lost on her or any of the other characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for a review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

I enjoyed this, but I have hang ups that I can't quite put my finger on. There's a lot going on in a short book, which I enjoyed.

Rating: 3/5

This is your typical haunted house style plot, but it has a few twists and turns. There were tons of things that I didn’t see coming and kept the flow of everything moving along nicely without confusuion. The character development supports the plot and provided a well-rounded story that was really enjoyable.

Sarah is the main character and she brings a lot to the table in this one. As the observer, you will watch her full transition throughout this one and it’s really interesting! The author seems to lean on her own experiences with mental health issues to give you a really deep understanding of Sarah and what her experience is like.
The husband Joe is essential to Sarah’s development, but ultimately an unimportant character. Other than that, you have a few other supporting characters, but the emphasis of this one is all about Sarah.

I loved the ending. I loved how the author let the Murder House situation play out and Sarah’s open ended conclusion in the story. I walked away from this one with more questions than answers and it left me thinking about it for days. A great psychological thriller that will have you pointing fingers at everyone!

Sarah Slade is determined to live like an influencer, and what better way than to purchase and renovate historic Black Wood House. The catch - the house has a morbid past. After Sarah and her husband move in, a series of more and more disturbing events start to occur. Will they succeed, or will they be the home’s next tragedy?

A fantastic thriller for fans of home renovations, murder documentaries, and elite neighborhoods. An incredibly well written and captivating story that unfortunately lost a star for me after an ending that I didn’t love.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for a fair review.

This book was just ok for me. I was never fully invested in the story. The cover is an eye catcher and while I didn’t love the book, I would definitely consider reading more from the author.

The Stranger Upstairs is a thrilling debut novel that masterfully blends gothic psychological horror with a social media twist. The author's vivid descriptions and realistic dialogues create a creepy and suspenseful atmosphere, drawing readers into the story from the very first page.
The book follows Sarah Slade, a self-help writer and influencer, who purchases a notorious murder house with the aim of renovating it and documenting the process on her blog. However, as she delves deeper into the house's dark history, she realizes that it holds a sinister presence that haunts her every move.
What sets this book apart is the way the author skillfully combines horror, mystery, and drama to create a captivating plot with complex narration. The house itself becomes a character, with its hidden rooms, creaky noises, and bloody stains. The chapters alternate between Sarah's perspective, her blog posts, diary entries, and press releases, adding to the narration's richness and unreliability.

Haunted house stories are really intriguing to me, thanks to a love of Amityville Horror. I think I read these types of books chasing that same enjoyment.

In The Stranger Upstairs, main character Sarah is immediately unreliable. She’s keeping secrets, she drinks, she lies, and it’s hard to know if what she’s experiencing is real. She bought a “murder house” hoping to renovate and flip it, growing her online platform at the same time. But word things start to happen, particularly noises from the attic. Is the house haunted? Or is it all in Sarah’s head?

I enjoyed this book. Unreliable narrators are always interesting and add to the tension of books like this. I was interested in Sarah’s unraveling, both in the sense of her mentality but also in learning her secrets.

If you like haunted house stories, thrillers, and/or unreliable narrators, I think you’d like this one.

I loved this book! I couldn’t put it down and stayed up way too late reading. Had the title been different I likely would have read this first from my ARCs. Don’t let the title fool you, this book is so different and intriguing! Murders, scary surroundings, Instagram famous personas, and a crumbling marriage. Lots of drama!

I thought this was a fun thriller, but the ending plot twist was so out of this world to me. The setting in Australia was neat to read about. Our MC was such an awful woman.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This debut thriller set in Australia was a totally wild ride and I’m still reeling over the ending days later! The twists were clever and unique, and the ending will make you want to IMMEDIATELY discuss with someone.

I’m a sucker for any type of ‘is the house haunted’ storyline and this one definitely delivered!

I wish the beginning was a littleee faster paced and the ending tied up a bit more, but overall this was such a fun, wild ride!

Trope recommendations - read if you like haunted house tropes and unreliable narrators.

I found this book to be very interesting and intriguing. I would recommend this a friend because this is a book for everyone. I really enjoyed emerging myself into this book and it was just wonderful.

Buckle up for this book review, because we are about to go through all the pain and annoyance this book caused. Spoiler alert; it was A LOT.

I was very excited when I first saw this book cover. It is absolutely stunning. Then I read the synopsis, and I was even more excited to read it. A social media influencer/psychiatrist buys a murder house and plans to renovate it, but the house has other plans and absolute chaos ensues? Sign me up. This book should have been a slam dunk. Unfortunately for everyone who read it, this book was anything but.

I don’t mind unreliable narrators, but if I read one more book where it’s a female with a drinking problem, I will roll my eyes out of my freaking head. Of course, she’s the only one who’s really noticing all of the weird things happening in the house and *shocker* no one believes her because she is drunk all the time. The rest of the characters were terrible as well. The only good character in the book is the cat, and even Reaper deserved better than his stupid owners.

Throw in some details about her failing marriage and a garbage ending, and that’s the book. If I had been reading a physical copy of the book, I would have thrown it. This book is terrible. Please don’t waste your money on it.

3.5⭐
Genre ~ psychological thriller
Setting ~ Melbourne, Australia
Publication date ~ September 12, 2023
Est page Count ~ 278 (39 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 9 hours 6 minutes
Narrator ~ Fiona Hardingham
POV ~mostly single 1st, with an extra POV towards the end
Featuring ~ debut, 2 part story, unreliable narrator, secrets, diary entries, animal cruelty

Neighbors are not too thrilled when Sarah buys the Black Wood House, aka The Murder House, at a fraction of the cost in order to fix it up. I love a good deal, so I could see myself doing something like this.

All characters are pretty unlikable, including Sarah's absentee cheating husband, Joe. But you can't really blame him due to the reason they are married. That's an extra secret from the past that's slowly revealed.

It has a creepy atmosphere vibe. which made me eager to know what was going on upstairs. I didn't like what happened with Reaper the cat, but it was imperative to the story.

Is the whole plot believable in the whole scheme of things, no not really, but is was a pretty good debut. I didn't see the conclusion coming and for that reason I decided to round up my 3.5.

I appreciated the author's note which shared her personal story of her struggles with mental illness.

I was able to listen to a copy as well.
Narration notes:
I think she did a fantastic job with proper emotion when necessary. Her actually saying creak in a creaky voice was pretty funny.

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟

Sarah, a striving social media influences an therapist decides to buy a murder house to flip for the $$$ but the house has other plans. This is a book I still think about weeks later. It had me hooked and i had to keep reading to find out what was going on in that house. The main character is unreliable and she spirals towards the end which make this book even more intriguing. The twist involving Sarah threw me off but I think the ending left some cliffhangers which I, personally, don’t enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review

This was very Edgar Allen Poe-esque. I got Tell Tale Heart vibes as I was reading. I really enjoyed this book.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.