I LOVE a haunted house trope, but this book truly had more to offer. Right from the start I thought I guessed the twist- I was very wrong and on my toes from start to finish. The Black Wood House truly felt like a character in itself and I loved the unreliable narrator element. A little reminiscent of Riley Sager's Home Before Dark (which is a huge compliment)! Thank you so much for the ARC.

This review will be posted on September 15, 2023 to: https://instagram.com/amandas.bookshelf

This was compulsively readable! Honest to goodness, I had such struggles putting this down at bed time and when I needed to work. I loved how the author blended the supernatural, the psychological, the gothic, and the thriller elements expertly. Most brilliant of all, I loved the subtle nods to THE YELLOW WALLPAPER and how Sarah's aged dove gray wallpaper slowly began to torture her already fragile psyche. The final twist at the end was chef's kiss perfect for Sarah, who I found so desperately unlikable with her social media obsession. Even though it became quickly clear she was struggling with a lot of mental health issues, I just didn't care for her as a character. #TheStrangerUpstairs Rating: 😊 / really liked it
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This book is scheduled for on September 12, 2023. Thank you @penguinrandomhouse for providing me this digital ARC via @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A broken house with a broken past! Could anything good come from this? Sarah Slade thought so. Besides being a clinical psychologist and a successful author, Sarah and her husband have ambitions to renovate Black Wood House, returning it to it’s original glory and flip it for a big profit. Unfortunately, Sarah and her husband Joe are a broken couple each having a broken past. The hope is that by working together on this project, the parts of their marriage—and the ghosts from their pasts—can be healed. But can their interpersonal rough edges and the broken parts of their relationship be so easily mended.

The reality is that Black Wood House is a murder house. A grizzly murder happened years ago by a previous owner where the husband/father killed his wife and threatened to murder his daughter, too, before committing suicide. The immediate predecessor to Sarah and Joe’s time at Black Wood House, Amanda, resided there only weeks before she disappeared and was presumed dead. Now everyone in town would like to see the house bulldozed and destroyed.

A lot of the book felt clichéd from countless horror flicks. The house creaks, moans, and groans seemed to be sentient. Sarah thinks the house is telling her that it doesn’t want her there, that it will kill her. At night she hears footsteps in the attic. As the story progresses it becomes increasingly clear that someone—or a group of people—are trying to gaslight Sarah, driving her further and further into insanity.

I had two big problems with the book. First, I did not find a character in the book that I liked. Sarah was completely unlikable and I could not “root for her” as the story progressed. In fact I hoped that she would quickly die and the mystery would really begin. Unfortunately it did not work out that way. Sarah Slade continued as an antihero. As a result, the end of the book did not satisfy me at all.

The second issue I had was that the book was promoted as a mystery/thriller which it was not. It is a horror story pure and simple—a genre I usually do not read. If you like horror stories with the usual clichéd tropes, then this is the book for you. Still, I appreciated the opportunity to read this book. The author exhibited a clear skill at word crafting and with a better plot could produce a real winner.

Holy moly this book has kept me on my toes! Usually I can figure out the twists and turns in horror and thriller books at 15% I was so sure I had the answers and then boom a twist out of nowhere followed by several more! I’ve loved the journey this book has taken me on!

A murder house with a personality fit for the Addams family? Sign me up. I cannot believe this was her debut novel. This book was so good and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time! I have read enough thrillers that usually I can figure out what is going on, but this one had me stumped. What really hit this book out of the park for me was the incredible job Matlin did of setting the scene. She had me feeling claustrophobic, looking over my shoulder and wary of the dark. I cannot wait to read future books by her!

Let me start by saying, the cover of this book is absolutely stunning! I loved the concept, but this book was just middle of the road for me. I did not like the main character at all so I had a very hard time relating to her. This thriller was just ok, but the plot twist at the end did not surprise me at all. I wanted more from this book.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Stranger Upstairs sounded great on paper but the execution was lacking. The premise of a social media influencer moving in to a murder house and renovating it caught my interest immediately. Where the story fell short was the characters. Sarah was so unlikeable and I felt like I’ve read this story many times before. It may be that I read too many thrillers but this one wasn’t for me.

I confess that the cover of this book was the reason I wanted to read it. I love the colors and the atmosphere it creates. However, I’m not really sure if the cover ended up going that well with the actual story.

Best selling author and budding influencer Sarah and her husband, Joe, buy an infamous murder house in a very desirable area for cheap, with hopes to renovate and flip it and maybe save her struggling marriage along the way. It does not take long to realize that Sarah is not the wise and inspiring therapist she’s supposed to be, but someone who is deeply disturbed and harboring a lot of secrets. And I was here for it! I found the first few chapters very intriguing and I couldn’t wait to continue it.

Unfortunately, it ended up being a little uneven for me. Sarah went from being a petty and devious hate-to-love kind of character to just being paranoid and a little crazy. There is an author’s note after the story concludes about the author’s own mental health breakdown and issues and it made the focus on this part of the character make a little more sense. While I can appreciate the catharsis-ness of it, I would have rather seen more of that devious character from the first few chapters.

While there were mysterious elements to the story, I don’t think I would go as far to call it a mystery. I didn’t feel like was supposed to be trying to figure out Sarah’s secrets, as much as there were just little bombs dropped throughout the story to reveal them. While there is ultimately an answer to what has been going on in the house, there’s a little extra at the end to still make you wonder about the supernatural possibilities.

Overall, The Stranger Upstairs was a solid debut that had some entertaining moments, but probably isn’t a book I would pick up again.

Sarah Slate is determined to finish her next book, fix her marriage, and fix up and sell the mysterious muder house Black Wood. Strange things start happening the day Sarah and her husband Joe move in, Joe soon moves out, and Sarah seems to be slowly losing her mind...but is she, or is it the house itself driving her mad?

This book was scary and creepy and atmospheric. It keeps you guessing at every turn--who is Lizzy? Why did Sarah fake her credentials to get a job as a therapist? Why is Joe's hair dyed? What are they running away from? I think maybe I was a little disappointed at the way the book wrapped up the house storyline, but overall it was a great first novel for Lisa M Matlin and I'm looking forward to reading more of her books. She keeps the pace moving and keeps you guessing, needing to know what happens next by interspersing the story with clippings from news sites about bodies being found at Black Wood house.

Get ready for The Stranger Upstairs to give you all the creeps this fall! This is a book that will introduce you to renowned Psychologist and Social Media influencer, Sarah Slade. Her and her husband have just purchased one of the most popular Murder Houses and are planning to renovate it and re-sell it. But the mysteries of the house will not stay subdued. The terrible murders that happened here 40 years ago, still haunt the neighborhood and will soon be haunting Sarah and Joe as well.

Plot Review

This is your typical haunted house style plot, but it has a few twists and reminded me a little of Just Like Home with it's deeper connections within the house. There were plenty of twists in the plot that I didn't see coming and kept the flow of everything moving along nicely without hiccups. Individual motivations and drivers, as well as character development support the plot and provide a well-rounded story that was really quite enjoyable.

Character Overview

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 a sight to behold! The author, Lisa Matlin leans 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.

Overall Review

What really propelled me from a 4 star to a 5 star on this one, was the ending. I loved how Matlin 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!

Read if you like:
👻 Haunted Houses
😱 Spooky Vibes
🤷🏻‍♀️ Unlikable MC’s
🧠 MC’s with Mental
Health Concerns
🍂 Atmospheric Reads
🗞️ Articles and other
media in stories
🤐 Lots of Secrets

Oh my gosh! This on was such a well paced and enjoyable read! I truly loved being sucked into the story of Sarah and the haunted house she bought.

The insert of the articles within the story was such a great addition as it helped create build up and keep me feeling like I need to keep reading to find out what was going on with Sarah and the house!

I loved the creepy vibes and all the questioning as you wonder if you have a reliable narrator or not as Sarah alludes to secrets and lies but isnt forthcoming in her thoughts to help you understand what is going on.

The ending of the story I feel was the perfect wrap up to a bingable creepy read! Overall, I highly recommend this one to all my spooky book lovers as this one hit the spot for me!

At the start Sarah Slade seems like someone to be admired and envied. Maybe a little high-strung but looks like she’s taken a not-so-great start in life and turned it into something positive: a successful career as a therapist, a best-selling book, a blog with many, many followers and a perfect marriage. But it soon becomes clear that is only the truth if you are reading SarahSlays.com, the blog Sarah herself writes. Scratch the thin surface just a little and you will find things much different, and not in a good way. Her marriage is well on its way to being over, her therapy credentials and career seem pretty shaky, and the murder house she and husband Joe bought intending to fix, flip and make a bundle on needs a lot more work than advertised, and comes with neighbors who want them out and the house bulldozed. Plus . . . what’s that noise coming from the attic?

The Stranger Upstairs gets off to a good start: you start to doubt anything and everything, suspect everyone and realize there is a great big ball of secrets to unwind. Events become erratic and the pace becomes frenzied. That’s the problem, though, because the writing also becomes erratic and frenzied. The premise is good, the characters intriguing but there is too much going on and not enough about the characters to guess at or understand their motives. It's a chilling story with some surprises near the end and will definitely keep you riveted.

Thanks to Penguin Random House for providing an advance copy of The Stranger Upstairs via NetGalley. I voluntarily leave this review and all opinions are my own.

In my opinion there’s nothing better than a “Wait, WHAT!” moment in a thrilling novel. While reading The Stranger Upstairs I got to experience that moment. This was an entertaining story that had me hooked from the very first chapter. It was creepy, gave me nightmares, and I absolutely loved it! Now’s the perfect time to pick this book up with spooky season right around the corner. This a great choice for fans of Riley Sager’s novel “Home Before Dark”.

What to expect while reading this: Haunted house, snooty small town, unreliable narrator, thrilling mystery, & short page turning chapters

Thank you so much NetGalley, Lisa M. Matlin, & Bantam for this gifted arc in exchange for an honest review. This was an awesome read!! Also, many thanks to Lisa Matlin for her authors note <3

Holy wow, ok, gathering my thoughts.

The first half of the book was slow for me. The MC was annoying and I found myself getting very irritated by her, but I think that was intended. By part two, I was completely hooked. The spiral, the twists, and suspense had me! It also has me nervous and wanting to give my house a very thorough check.

I think the husband/wife backstory could’ve been more fleshed out. He was very much a side character that I kept forgetting about, but it didn’t bother me. The FMC and the house (and Reaper!) were much more important.

I’d definitely recommend this book if you like thrillers, suspense, and creepy vibes. 4/5 for me! All in all, congrats on the debut novel! I’ll definitely keep my eye out for the next!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC!

THIS IS A DEBUT NOVEL? Stunned. 5 stars. This will probably be one of my favorite books of 2023.
I don’t read a lot of thrillers, this was probably my 12th thriller read all year but wow did this one start and finish strong.

I really went into this thinking Sarah wasn’t going to be this complex character, who is just naive and will get a scare of this house and something small eventually will happen but I was so so wrong!!! You can immediately tell by 10% that Sarah is so much more complicated than she makes her followers to believe. She has a dark past and you’ll find out why. The writing was fantastic. The setting was spooky. The house freaked me out. My mouth was hanging open during the epilogue.

Thank you netgalley for providing me an ARC!

The Stranger Upstairs was a thrilling ride and my first book by author Lisa Matlin.

Sarah Slade is a social media influencer, self-help guru and therapist married to distant emasculated Joe. Her marriage is in trouble and her lauded career is hanging by a thread. So she decides to buy a “murder house” to renovate and flip. What can go wrong? Black Wood House was the scene of a murder-suicide years before and has a bad reputation. Sarah feels that renovating the house and posting the renovations online will help save her marrige and her career. The only problem, there is something very wrong with Sarah and Joe and there is definitely something very wrong with Black Wood House. Sarah and Joe seem to both be running from their pasts and the house seems to feed on their secrets and lies.

Neither Sarah or Joe were likeable characters, but that is what made the story so thrilling. What were the secrets that they were running from and was the house haunted or just plain evil, or just the trick of twisted minds?

The Stranger Upstairs is a good thriller to while the afternoon away with.. Creepiness abounds.

Thanks to Netgalley, Random House Publishing, Ballantine and the author for the chance to read and review this book.

If I'm being honest, I initially was interested in this book because of the cover - it just popped! I was delighted to read Lisa M. Matlin's debut novel and found it to be a fresh take on a domestic thriller/suspense novel. It was an enjoyable, fast-paced read and I look forward to reading whatever she puts out next!

The Stranger Upstairs is spooky, suspenseful, and readable as a horror story. Blackwood House is a big scary old house that has a horrible pasts that involves murder. Sarah Slade thinks she is going to make a killing renovating and then selling the house. But the thing is the house doesn’t want renovations and it doesn’t want occupants. The story is definitely spooky enough to keep the pages turning with an unreliable protagonist. The story is supposed to be focused on the house but Sarah is literally so awful that you can’t help but think karma could be calling her name. Sarah is the most unlikable character I have ever read even trying to squeeze some sympathy out for her mental illness gets me no where. This book’s scare factor is probably its saving grace. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

3.5 stars
hmmmm this one is difficult to review because if I explained why it missed the mark it would be spoilery. this book wasn't quite what i was expecting overall (mostly in a good way) at it really leans more into a horror-tinged descent into madness, as opposed to a standard mainstream thriller. from the get-go, Sarah is an unlikeable and unreliable narrator, and I can see readers being put off by this character as it can easily become annoying to read from her POV.

The Stranger Upstairs is Lisa M. Marlin’s debut novel but it is written like a well seasoned author. This is an excellent book for this time of the year. It is a creepy psychological thriller that will blow your mind. I always refer to the characters in a book as the people, but I truly believe the main character in this one is the haunted house. The Black Woods House, where a horrific murder suicide occurred between a husband and wife, and their daughter is missing takes on a life all its own. You will not be able to put this one down. From the beginning to the end, Ms. Marlin grabs your attention. The creepiness and horror will keep you hands glued to the book. Your goosebumps will have goosebumps. There is tension and paranoia throughout that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I highly recommend this one and so look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing and Lisa M. Marlin for the privilege to read and review this thrilling story. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
#netgalley. #randomhousepublishing. #lisammatlin. #thestrangerupstairs. #arc
#psychologicalthriller