Thank you Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for a copy of this e-arc.

First off, the cover on this book is gorgeous. I love the colors and the spooky vibes. I was excited to read Lisa M. Matlin's debut novel. It was a fast-paced read with an unreliable narrator. I could read it fairly quickly but had a hard time relating to or feeling bad for any of the characters. I feel like we didn't get much backstory on anything, which towards the end made sense. The first half of the book felt creepy and then the second half of the book had some weird/interesting twists that I had a hard time convincing myself would happen. While I didn't love this book, I look forward to her future releases.

I’ve been on such a spooky haunted house kick, and was so excited for this debut, from the moment I saw the gorgeous cover.

When therapist and self-help writer Sarah Slade buys and renovates the Black Wood House, a notorious Murder House, she will discover the secrets the house has been hiding.

It was fast paced right from the start, and there were plenty of twists to keep you guessing, but it was hard to get past the drunk unreliable narrator trope for me.

🎧I both read the physical copy and also listened to the audiobook, and thought the narration was so good! I love when the narrators pair the accent of the characters, and I thought Fiona Hardingham was a great choice!

WHAT TO EXPECT
-a debut thriller
-bingeable read
-all the twists
-unreliable narrator

*many thanks to Netgalley, PRH and PRH audio for the gifted copy for review

Sarah Slade buys Black Wood House, known as the Murder House. Soon she receives notes that leaves her feeling someone or something wants her out or to kill her. Also strange things happen. Sarah’s life spirals out of control along with her sense of reality. Everyone has secrets including her husband, neighbors and even Sarah.

This book was creepy and has its twisty moments. I enjoyed the spookiness of the house and things that were happening. I could feel Sarah’s descent into madness.

I didn’t like any of the characters. There needed to be more character development and explanation. The ending was a little less exciting and disappointing

I wanted to read this book as soon as I saw it on Netgalley. I mean, how gorgeous is this cover?!? Congrats to the author for writing such an impressive debut thriller. I was into the story from beginning to end and enjoyed all the twists and turns. I found the ending oddly satisfying, which I realize doesn’t look good for me. For my animal loving friends, (*SPOILER ALERT*) the cat survives or you know I wouldn’t be able to recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Bantom books for the ARC of The Stranger Upstairs, by Lisa M. Marlin. Sarah and her husband Joe buy a Murder House. Their plan is to renovate the house and resell it for a profit. The problem is, that everyone in the town is against them. From spying neighbors and lying characters, there is no one you can trust. The book has a good spook vibe, and who doesn’t live a good haunted house story. Unfortunately, I didn’t care for this book. None of the characters where very like-able and the story switched time frames and seemed a bit confusing at times. 2.5 stars rounded to 3.

Thank you Lisa M. Matlin, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC e-book. What an amazing debut novel! A murder house that has sat vacant for 40 years before a couple decides to make it theirs. Could this former site of a heinous murder-suicide be just what the couple needs to repair their crumbling marriage? This dark and twisted novel kept me hooked and I cannot wait to read her next book.

I just finished this book and I am not sure what to say. There was so much involved while reading. I believe the house is haunted, but is it? The house does not want to be remodeled. Is there a leak of som kind? The house seems to enjoy broken people. The realtor offered no disclosure on the bad things that have happened in the house, so is he in on it? The town despises anyone who buys the house but cannot get rid of the house. This is a creepy, make you look over your shoulder and read with the lights on book that anyone who like disturbing stories should read.

I found the characters to be dreadful. I wanted more of the creepiness and less of the drama. At times I found it to be a little confusing and repetitive. This wasn’t my cup of tea, but I do think it was a good debut and I would give the author another shot.

Oif. This really would have been a DNF, but it is a debut novel and I wanted to give this one a try. Unfortunately, it did not really work for me. The main character was so unlikeable that her dialogues were just so annoying and irritating. It sounded like this particular character was written to be a no-shame queen B but to me she just ends up completely to be just trying too hard to look tough and a bully. Halfway through the book, I speed read it. I am still giving this a 3.5 because I liked the twist, I liked how the author used that twist to create the vibe of the story.

Thank you Random House Ballantine, Bantam and author Lisa Matlin for sending me an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

This book is one of those where nothing good happens, but you can't put it down.

Influencer, therapist Sarah Slade moves into the Black Wood House - a delapidated murder house- with the intent of using the renovations as content. Think of the movie the Money Pit, with conspiracies, unfriendly neighbors, strange noises, and mysterious notes.

It's set in Australia so it was interesting to hear about local animals while bad things are happening.

Thank you to the publisher for my #gifted eARC in exchange for an honest review🤗


𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
First of all, I just love this cover!😍 The premise of this book sounded so good and so promising, so I was incredibly excited to receive a copy on netgalley. We follow Sarah and her husband who buy a an old Victorian home with a plan of restoring it and fixing it up. They get this house for a steal considering the neighborhood that it is in, and that is because a gruesome murder was committed inside the home years ago. A good deal is hard to pass up though, right?! Soon after starting the work on the old house, Sarah begins to question the house's past…its dark, sinister, and haunting past. Sarah begins to get a creepy feeling from the house, and when weird things start to happen around the house…and slowly Sarah starts to spiral out of control, losing all sense of reality. What exactly is happening? Is Sarah going crazy? Is it the old house? Is it actually haunted? Or is something more sinister going on?
This was a fun read, especially for a debut. I loved the amount of built up suspense and the mystery behind the old house. The author definitely fulfilled the goal of giving off an eerie, creepy, spine tingling vibe while reading this. I was definitely entertained and captivated throughout this one—AND THAT ENDING🫨 I totally did not expect the ending to play out as it did, and I was all for it! What a great debut and the perfect read for spooky season!

𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞?
Are you a fan of haunted houses? You will love this one! Especially if you enjoyed The Haunting of Hill House, because this has similar vibes and made me think of that.

𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️4/5

Creepy and disturbing! At every turn there’s more rot and wrong in this macabre tale. You’ll find yourself grimacing while eagerly turning the page! It’s a whodunnit, psychological, domestic thriller mashup!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my free copy. These opinions are my own.

The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa Marlin
Release date - 9/26

This debut caught my attention from the catchy and colorful cover! Plus its spooky season :-)
It follows the story of a young woman and her husband who purchase a murder house—that is, a husband brutally murdered his wife and attempted to kill their daughter before she got away. It has sat vacant for a very long time. Sarah is a social media influencer who plays a therapist by day, an author, and now she’s taking on a new role as an interior designer in this dreary mansion with one window.

Not everything is sunshine and roses, however, as strange things begin to happen to her, and with her relationship with others around town. Sarah becomes convinced that someone is out to kill her — or a ghost in the house, perhaps?? She’s sleeping in the murder room itself, after all! The house becomes a character as well, in this cold mystery.

This novel is getting 3.5 stars from me, rounded up, and here’s why:
The beginning quarter or more, I almost DNF’d as it’s crazy messy with an even crazier protagonist who I did not like at all. I immediately felt like she was a nut job (likely intent) but those types of books are not for me. Also, it felt predictable.
Likes: Many mentioned the cuss words as a turn off, but I don’t mind it when it puts you inside the character’s state of mind, making it authentic to the crazy train plot. Also, about the half-way mark, things started getting strange in an intriguing sort of way — so now I had to keep going! Haha! The pacing got better so I had to see if my prediction was right. (It was in the same arena, but I was ultimately wrong… it was a unique scene/plot stealer.) I also appreciated the author’s note.

Thank you to Bantam Books for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The House didn’t want to be fixed, pulled apart, made new and clean again. And neither do I.

I was in need of a real good bite my nails kinda book and man did this one have me on the edge of my seat! What I enjoyed about the story was the build up of the plot. You get the base of the story down and then have to join the main character in figuring out the who/what/when/where. There was so many parts of the book that were creepy and I was reading it in the middle of the night! One woman was murdered and another took his own life so you spend most of the book wondering is the disturbances from the house being haunted or is it someone trying to scare the homeowner away. All I know is this…no matter what it was I would not have stayed in this house for a second! Lol If you’re looking for a creepy thriller I highly recommend The Stranger Upstairs.
People probably think Sarah is crazy for buying a “murder house” but buying the house at a discount means she can flip it and make a substantial profit. Sarah is a therapist and plans on documenting all of her renovations online in hopes she can gain followers as well as sponsorships. Everyone is interested in how a normal couple can live in a home that has seen such tragedy, but somehow it intrigues Sarah and even excites her. Very quickly strange things start to happen that can’t be explained and as the days go by even Sarah is starting to become frightened. The thing is…is it that the house is haunted by ghosts of the past or is someone messing with her hoping they can scare her away? Sarah won’t walk away from her investment and she will do everything she can to find out the truth of Black wood House…..even if it kills her.

I feel there have been too many books recently about a woman descending into madness while everyone around her refuses to believe anything she says. While it was clear that the main character was meant to be unlikeable, I found myself growing quite tired of her over time. I get that when you're eager to buy a house where a murder occurred and that no one else wants, you'd probably cut a few corners with getting it inspected and making it livable. But the big reveal in the end just seemed unrealistic.

That feeling when you go to look at an author’s backlist and realize this crazy good book is actually their debut novel‽

The creep factor is top notch, and there were so many twists throughout the entire book I was guessing until the very end.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. Great story line an characters.. was definitely an excellent read. Book kept me interested.

Sarah Slade is a social media influencer who along with her husband Joe purchased an abandoned murder house to renovate. Sarah is hoping that documenting the renovations on her popular lifestyle blog will help her gain more followers as well as fix her failing marriage. She even goes so far as to sleep in the bedroom where the grisly murder suicide took place. Soon, strange, and creepy things begin to happen around her, and Sarah begins to unravel.


This book had the perfect amount of spookiness, and I could envision the murder house in my mind with the creepy wallpaper and blood-stained bedroom floor. There are several mysteries going on in the story. What happened to Sarah’s sister? Who is leaving her notes? Is someone out to kill her? I was not able to predict a single thing and was shocked when everything came together in the end. And the ending! Absolute perfection!

If you are looking for a book for the upcoming spooky season pick this one up right away!

I may be one of the few but I felt this debut novel started strong and fell short. Reminded me a little of Rose Red.

By far from my favorite and I struggled from 35% forward trying to finish. Disappointed, I hoped this would have been an amazing story with a way different outcome.

If you get a copy, I would read it but I wouldn’t go out of my way to but it on the top of my list.

Thank you Netgalley and the author for a chance to read and review this debut novel. The author definitely has skills, I just wished the story would have panned out differently.

What a great debut! I love a good haunted house story, and this one delivered.

I will say, I love a good unlikeable main character... and Sarah Slade is pretty unlikeable! But as the book kept going, I really enjoyed the look we got into her inner thoughts. Everytime she talked about slipping into a certain skin, it gave me the heebie jeebies and I LOVED it.

I had a hunch where this story was going, and my hunch was correct. Sometimes that can take my enjoyment out of a book, but I will say the epilogue helped change my opinion! I enjoyed this one as I was reading, but I assumed it would end up as a 3 star read once I made it to the end. But the epilogue helped bump it back to 4 stars! I really liked the way it was done.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the copy in exchange for my honest review!