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

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

The Stranger Upstairs follows blogger Sarah Slade, who has just recently moved into a house that was once a murder scene. As she remodels the house, increasingly menacing notes begin to appear, and Sarah slowly starts to question everyone and everything.

This book definitely got darker than I expected, but I am totally here for it! It's twisty and mysterious, and our main character is just as complex -- and sometimes unlikable and awful -- as the house she resides in. I loved how fast-paced this book was, and I enjoyed a lot of the ways that it got weird (I love when books lean into weird a bit!). There were some moments that did feel like they were only for shock value, and I found myself wanting to be in the action a bit more than I was, but overall I thought this was an incredibly solid horror read.

I loved this one! The Stranger Upstairs had me wondering if our main character was even more crazy than I already thought she was, if the house was haunted or if someone was messing with her, or maybe all of the above. It reads pretty quick and I really liked the ending. It read quickly and I loved the ending. I can’t wait to read more from Lisa M. Matlin. Thanks to Ballantine, Bantam and Random House Publishing for my eARC. The Stranger Upstairs is available today!

Enjoy haunted houses and the feelings of being creeped out long after you have put the book down? 👀

Then Lisa Matlin's debut novel, The Stranger Upstairs is the book for you! Publication date 📅9.26.23 and just in time to kick off a spooky👻 reading season.

I loved EVERYTHING about this book. There is no other way to explain it. A page turning book filled with suspense, horror, thrills, and a bit of mystery! The plot is intriguing (not your typical haunted house story) and paced well to create an eerie vibe that leaves you wanting more.

The cover alone had me sucked in with its beautiful color display. I thought it was very clever as the inside tells a different story, a much darker story. One that will keep you up at night and make you sleep with a nightlight.

This was my first horror book for the season and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐📚 5 star must read novel that has set the bar high for my next scary reads to follow. I look forward to reading more great works from the author.

It was my absolute pleasure to leave an honest review in exchange for a gifted copy of The Stranger Upstairs. Thank you to Lisa M. Matlin, Bantam Publishing, and NetGalley!

[3.5 rounded to 4] The Stranger Upstairs is the debut novel for Lisa Matlin. The cover and synopsis both are really intriguing and made me want to pick it up to try it. While I enjoy mysteries and thrillers, they are not my usual go-to genres, so I was curious how I would enjoy this novel. The story follows social media influencer and self-help guru Sarah Slade who has bought the infamous murder house, Black Wood House. This 1889 built house was once the home of Bill Campbell who one day murdered his wife, Susan, and then committed suicide. The house was vacant until Sarah and her husband Joe Cosgrove moved in. As they begin plans for renovations, they begin to experience strange events.

Sarah tries to get to the bottom of the mysteries of the house, but, unfortunately, her neighbors are not any help, and neither are the contractors who come to work on renovations. Not only are there the outside characters who add to the mystery of the house and its past, but Sarah herself is an unreliable narrator. She has secrets of her own, so the reader attempts to follow along to figure everything out. The descriptions in the story are great and it was easy to imagine the setting and events. The psychological and mental health aspect of the story was well-done as it was a great exploration into the madness that occurred. There are some elements that were not original as the very basics have been done before and were, therefore, predictable; however, there were some elements that were difficult to guess. Overall, there was a lot of potential for this author, and I greatly look forward to reading more from her in the future.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Bantam, for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

This debut horror/mystery blows the doors off. Black Wood House is an amazing character all its own. I could not stop turning these pages. Sarah Slade moves in as a slick therapist and influencer. By the end she can't even be bothered to put on clothes. Her unravelling is so hard to watch. Talk about life snowballing in the wrong direction. One of the supporting characters was a therapist named Emily. She frequently repeated a wise saying: We repeat what we don't repair. Once you have read this book, you will see how applicable that statement is in so many ways. BTW, the Black Wood House will never be on my "must visit" list.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a hard book to review. It's very easy to get caught up in the mess that is this woman's fractured mind. The story is fascinating and terrifying at the same time, yet I had trouble putting it down.
Sadly, mental illness is a common problem that, to this day, continues to be swept under the rug and hidden behind closed doors, and until that significantly improves, life will be horrible for many of those who must deal with this problem every day..
Don't ever stop writing, Ms. Matlin. You're really good at it!

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳."

This was a fun and spooky debut by Lisa M. Matlin. I loved the idea of an influencer buying a murder house to show the renovations online. The unreliable narrator, Sarah Slade, worked really well for this story, and I loved reading to see exactly what she was hiding.

The setting of a creepy, old house that a murder took place in years before was my favorite part of the book. The house itself felt like another character in the book and it gave me eerie vibes during the scenes set there.

I listened to the audiobook while I read along with the DRC and enjoyed Fiona Hardingham as the narrator. She did a good job with making the book spooky and keeping me guessing.

The author did a good job of throwing in red herrings, and I honestly did not figure out the ending until a couple of chapters before. There were some plot holes and a few things you need to suspend disbelief for in this book, but overall this was a unique take on the haunted house trope and overall I enjoyed the story.

Make sure you read the author’s note at the end.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, PRH Audio, and NetGalley for advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars

This one had me on the edge of my seat as I tried to figure out what was real and what was imagined, and what was supernatural and what was terrible neighbors.

Sarah Slade is a social media influencer and therapist with a troubled past, a failing marriage, and caught up in flipping a murder house. Honestly, I was not a fan of hers, and yet I had a hard time looking away. If I were prone to nightmares, this book would have given me nightmares. The house was a character in itself, and in some ways was the most interesting part of the story. But what I liked was that although Sarah was not a great person, the author did a great job diving into her motivations and the vicious cycle she found herself in.

The author did a great job of building the suspense and without revealing spoilers, I have mixed feelings about the ending, partly because I didn't really like her that much. Although I have to say, I was an even less of a fan of her husband. The ending definitely fit with who she was and I have to say I was left unsettled, which I suppose was part of the point.

This author shows promise and I would be interested in reading more from her in the future. She is from Australia and I like reading books from authors from other countries. It's always a different feel.

Overall, I'd recommend this for people who enjoy psychological thrillers set in a contemporary setting.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M Matlin is a psychological thriller, I guess. To me it was kind of a mess. The type of things that happen in this book don’t happen to mentally healthy people. Sarah and her husband, Joe, have bought this house. It was relatively cheap as it was a murder house, which is to say that forty years earlier a man had gone berserk and murdered his wife with a hammer; he had gone after his daughter, too, but she escaped. The blood stain was still on the bedroom floor. Sarah thought they could flip it and make a mint. But the minute they moved in things started happening. Things that made her more nuts than she already was.

Not my cup of tea, but I hung in and I guess for what it was, it was decent. It was frightening, the things that kept happening in the house, but Sarah was so mentally disturbed, it was hard to know if they were really happening. Her husband seemed pretty normal but kind of brutalized by Sarah’s mental illness. The whole thing was really not worth reading, for me.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Stranger Upstairs by Random House Publishing-Ballantine. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #RandomHousePublishingBallantine #LisaMMatlin #TheStrangerUpstairs

The cover is gorgeous and based on the synopsis, I was excited to read this but I’m sad to say I was a bit disappointed.
It started off great but I couldn’t stand Sarah. While I don’t mind an unreliable or even unlikeable narrator, Sarah was just too much. Reaper the cat was a bonus though!

A lot of time is spent in Sarah’s head as she slowly loses her mind and you’re left wondering, is it the house or are the people in the town messing with her? I enjoyed seeing her thought process as she tried to work out who was behind everything.
The pacing felt a bit uneven at times - the beginning had me hooked but lost me somewhere around the middle. The end though? That had my attention again.

While I didn’t love this, I’m definitely looking forward to what Lisa M. Matlin writes next!

Good debut, but not as suspenseful as I'd hoped it to be. A good story to read around Halloween with a good dose of spooky!

First things first, I really enjoyed this spooky thriller, especially the haunted house vibes! Though it all comes together in the end and makes more sense, I thought the beginning felt a little forced since our protagonist not only bought a murder-house, but was also a social media influences, and also a therapist. It seemed to be combining too many elements of the thriller genre rather than picking one and elaborating on that to give the story more depth. This book was definitely plot-driven, and though the ending wasn't quite what I hoped, it overall was a very enjoyable read that I would highly recommend. I can't wait to read more from this author!

This one definitely had some twists I didn’t see coming. Sarah Slade (therapist, blogger/minor social media darling and author of a best selling self help book) and her husband need a fresh start so they’ve just made one of the biggest decisions of their lives. They’ve bought a house and plan to renovate it. But not just any house. The infamous Black Wood House, an infamous murder house that has sat empty for 40 years. Right from the start author Lisa Matlin starts dropping hints that things aren’t right, aren’t as they seem. With the house. With the Sarah and her husband. And I have to say Ms Matlin was very sly in the way she dropped those little nuggets of information, in the way she slowly revealed the truth about our…heroine? Yes, I meant that as a question. Because Sarah is quite the complex character, and I have to honestly say I am not sure if we are actually meant to like her. Sure you’re likely to sympathize with her at times, and yet…well, I don’t want to say too much more about her as I’d probably be risking spoilers and I honestly don’t want to taint anyone’s feelings about the character. Better to go in somewhat blind and make up your own mind about her. Needless to say things do not go smoothly for Sarah and her husband. Moving is a stressful experience at the best of times, moving into a house needing a massive overall even more so, but then throw in the things that begin to happen (odd notes being left, strange noises, etc) and things just snowball from there. My feelings for Sarah aside, there is no denying how engaging this story is, and I did not want to put it down. Every time you think you know what is going on, things will take an unexpected turn. And I for one love when that happens. This is an extremely impressive debut novel and I look forward to seeing what Matlin will come up with next. Her author’s note at the end of the book both touching and absolutely raw in its honesty. Don’t skip it. Overall 4.5 stars, and as I said it’s an impressive debut. I’d like to thank Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of The Stranger Upstairs.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R2H2O8H07BB73W/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

#FirstLine - Welcome to Black Wood House.

“The Stranger Upstairs" by Lisa M. Matlin is a gripping and suspenseful novel that explores the complexities of its protagonist, Sarah Slade, a therapist and self-help writer, who seems to have it all together on the surface. Set against the backdrop of a charming Victorian house with a dark history, the story delves into the entwined mysteries of Sarah's past and the eerie events unfolding in her newly acquired home.

Matlin weaves an intricate narrative, skillfully blending elements of psychological thriller and domestic drama. Sarah's journey, both as a character and a homeowner, takes unexpected twists and turns, drawing readers into her world of secrets, betrayal, and self-discovery. The author's vivid descriptions make the Black Wood House come alive, with its ominous atmosphere and chilling secrets that lurk behind the wallpaper.

As the story unfolds, readers are treated to a rollercoaster of emotions, from sympathy for Sarah's struggles to suspicion of her neighbors and the history of the house itself. Matlin masterfully builds tension, keeping readers on edge with each page-turn, as the line between reality and Sarah's increasingly unstable perception blurs.

"The Stranger Upstairs" is a thought-provoking exploration of the consequences of one's actions and the darkness that can hide behind the façade of a seemingly perfect life. Lisa M. Matlin's storytelling prowess shines through in this suspenseful tale that will keep readers guessing until the very end. If you enjoy psychological thrillers with a touch of the supernatural, this novel is a must-read.