Thank you to Random House for letting me read THE STRANGER UPSTAIRS early. This one hits shelves on September 12.

I really enjoyed this one, another great debut that I've read recently. I read the whole thing in the course of 24 hours. If life hadn't gotten in the way, I could have just done it all in one sitting. I really loved the mystery of the characters and the twists that kept me flipping pages as fast as possible. I definitely recommend this one!

This was a book you wanted to keep reading. So many questions you wanted answers to. I think you knew how it all was going to end pretty much when things started unraveling but it still had you in it’s grip to keep on going. Good book.

Thank you to netgalley for letting me receive this arc.

In efforts to outrun a troubled past, a woman and her husband buy a notorious murder house to renovate and begin again. Sarah Slade is a social media influencer/author/counselor who appears to have her life put together and hopes that renovating the murder house will help her obtain more followers on social media and fix her problematic marriage.

Black Wood House has sat vacant for forty years and it seems like it has been waiting on the perfect person to welcome home. Sarah begins updating the house with what crew she can convince to renovate, and she begins to realize the house might not want to be changed. She begins to experience mysterious notes, a dead rat in the mailbox, and someone attacking her cat. With her husband gone most nights, it is up to Sarah to figure out what is happening and if it is the house, or someone behind this.

This book had me guessing until the very end - and if you love spooky house with a small town setting, this is the book for you. I loved the gothic atmosphere, Sarah's character development and setting of the book. Lisa Matlin has a great debut and her author's note was brave and inspirational.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for my ARC!

I LOVED this one. It's so binge-able. Matlin nails the creepy atmosphere and main character that you love to hate. Highly recommend if you like thrillers without a dull moment.

Loved the idea of a murder house being renovated by an "influencer" and all of that narcissism posted online. I didn't love our main character in this book. That wasn't a deal breaker, but a lot of her decisions were not smart girl choices. The house was a character and the cat, I love Reaper! This had good spooky vibes and I didn't know who to trust all the way through.

Lisa M. Matlin's novel, The Stranger Upstairs, is a well-written, fast-paced thriller that I enjoyed all the way through the unexpected twists at the end! Will there be a sequel? Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with an ARC ebook to use for this review.

Sarah Slade, a social media influencer, and her husband Joe purchase a "murder house" in Beacon. Forty years ago a wife was murdered in the bedroom that Sarah chooses to sleep in because she wants to renovate the house and flip it for profit all while showing it off to her followers. But the house and the neighbors have a deep dark secret and want her out of town.

What a well written, fast paced mystery psychological thriller. I truly enjoyed the twist at the end and didn't see it coming.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

Do you love those HGTV shows about house remodeling? Do you also love true crime shut?
Tada! This book will be your new favorite!
I love me an unlikable female character and Sarah Slade is a bitch! She's determined to increase her social media presence and redeem her faith in herself by spending all her money to buy a murder house and renovating it. Obviously, things don't go as planned and I loved reading through Sarah's slowing unraveling mental state -- that makes me sound awful, but it was just that good! Vibes are The Yellow Wallpaper mixed with a dab of The Haunting of Hill House with some modern embellishments.

You'll want to read this one!

This was such a great debut. Fast paced, interesting plot and a murder house. I’m so happy I was able to get an early copy of this book!

When a social media influencer buys a murder house to renovate, she realizes pretty quickly that she bit off more than she can chew.

I really enjoyed this book. It had me captivated from the very first page. I loved the news headlines throughout the story as well. Don’t let this cover fool you though, this book is very dark and twisted! I wasn’t expecting that ending at all!

I highly recommend checking this one out on September 26th!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the e-arc!

DAAAANG. I'm not a reader of mysteries and thrillers, but this book hooked me. The story and main character had such depth and layers. Everything felt so rich and was teased perfectly to make me want to keep reading. I like Main Characters that I can root for and that grow, but once I learned the twist about Sarah, I knew that wouldn't be this kind of book- and it's perfect for that reason.

Sarah and her husband buy a Murder House, part of Sarah's attempt at making her life better, but instead everything starts to fall apart. I'm still curious about the House's 'personality' and mishaps, and about the owner before Sarah and how they looked so alike, but maybe the end reveal explained this away and my brain can't accept it haha....This book messed with my brain and I'm still thinking about it. I was hopeful we'd see a certain someone pop up in the book, and get a little more backstory/explanation on certain things, but overall it was a very enjoyable (& creepy) read.

Sarah Slade, by all appearances, has everything. A handsome husband, a vibrant career as a therapist, a best selling book, and now....a murder house.

With plans to renovate the infamous Black Wood Murder House, Sarah hopes that this will bring in a hefty payday as well as fix her crumbling marriage.

What Sarah finds is a hostile community, a ice-cold husband, and terrifying creaks and cracks in the house.

This is a FAST moving thriller from Lisa Matlin. The writing is smart and the story moves at lightening speed. Fantastic for fans of spooky psychological mysteries.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

Received copy of this book as an ARC via NetGalley.

A self-help author, therapist, and social media influencer moves into a murder house in an affluent Australian neighborhood with her bartender husband. However there are strange things afoot and it's not just the murder house that is strange. The neighbors can't be trusted, either can Sarah's co-workers, her husband, and Sarah herself. The story follows Sarah trying to remodel this house that doesn't want it's darkness changed while her inner darkness is also coming to light. If you like a thriller book filled with unlikeable characters and the plot consistently getting more layered and twisted, this book is for you.

Wow! It is hard to believe that this is a debut novel. Sarah is a successful therapist and an instagram star. She and her hubby buy a murder house. What could possibly go wrong? The plot is fantastic and the twists keep coming from the beginning. That said, what caught my interest is the story behind this mystery. The author faced mental illness herself, so reading about Sarah’s slow descent into madness is even more poignant, since it gives an inking of what Matlin had to overcome. Granted, we don’t know what’s really going on, is it a mental condition, gaslighting by a foe or a friend, a legit haunting? I loved how the tension and explanation are withheld till the very end because I hadn’t figured it out. From the beginning it is clear that Sarah is hiding a lot of secrets and her transformation from put together to completely unhinged is extreme but believable. She may not be likable, but I was still rooting for her. Extra points for Reaper the cat, who won my heart and had me at the edge of my seat. Great job, I can’t wait to see what the author does next.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam!

If you are into fast pace psychological thrillers you will love this roller coaster ride. The Stranger Upstairs if the debut novel from author Lisa M. Matlin that follows Sarah Slade, a social media influencer thirsty for a different kind of follower. Sarah purchases a house where a horrific murder/suicide happened thus the great price. She wants to renovate it and sell it for a profit but what she doesn't know is how her life will change forever. Everything from strange noises, weird "accidents" within the renovating crew, racing thoughts and paranoia attacks poor Sarah. She believes even the house is out to get her.
Between hateful neighbors, a crumbling marriage and a murder house that should've been let alone is making Sarah confused between what is real and what is not.
This book will capture you from the beginning. It's an easy read that will keep you guessing. Highly recommended for horror/thriller fans.

This is a debut psychological novel about mind games, sticky notes and unlocked doors. They’re watching you. It was much darker and more chilling than I expected. I have relatives who do home renovation and construction so I’ve always been around it. This book was an obvious choice because I love mysteries and thrillers that draw me into the concept of the story. Sarah’s home project idea seemed sound to me.
She rather impulsively convinced her husband, Joe, to buy Black Wood House as a quick way to make a profit. The stigma of a historical family tragedy there seemed overblown to her. She’s going to use her social media to draw followers into the project. She didn’t anticipate the amount of vitriol from the locals. Everyone warned her about buying the murder house. The new neighbors won’t acknowledge her, speak to or welcome her. In fact, the neighbors want her and the murder house gone. Why not call the police? Well someone is related to the sheriff in this little enclave. Sarah is spiraling from all the pressure, her work and personal life are crashing towards the bottom. She can’t trust anybody, she’s becoming physically ill, steadily slurping her wine, hearing things and feels watched. What really happened before to that poor family and has someone else lived here? The house is adamantly letting her know she isn’t wanted here. She has one nice lady from work who seems to care about what happens to her, will she make it in time?
There were a few little things I pieced together and figured out, but not enough to prepare me for the stunning ending. I loved Sarah’s obstinate cat, Reaper. That personality was priceless! Lots of shady characters and red herrings kept me guessing. The author addressed the importance of mental health in a bone chilling suspense filled story. A notable first effort from an author I’ll watch for.
A digital advance reader copy of “The Stranger Upstairs” by Lisa Matlin, Published by Bantam Books, was provided by NetGalley. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.

Thank you to NetGalley, author, and publisher for this ARC!

What happens when a couple whose marriage is on the rocks buy a murder house. This a pretty typical thriller in my opinion. I was so excited to read this, because the blurb really hooked, and I wanted so desperately to REALLY like this book but it fell very flat for me.

It felt predictable for a thriller, the shocking moments weren’t that shocking, and I feel like if you are going to make a main character unlikable then the writing and plot had to be on par and it just wasn’t for me.

This was a fast paced edge of your seat great summer read! I honestly did not know where this was going and did not anticipate how everything ended up going down. The ending was a bit diabolical in the best way.

Sarah Slade and her husband Joe just bought a murder house. Sarah is a social media influencer and is looking to hit it big by flipping this house for her followers to see and then see it for some cash. We realize right away that Sarah is putting on a front. Her and her husband are not sleeping in the same room and are barely speaking at this point. He was not on board with this decision. They have a past that keeps flippantly being mentioned and you want to know what it is. Sarah is a therapist who seems to be fueled off of the couples who aren't doing well. She just seems a bit off. And then things start happening to her in the house. One of her contractors gets injured. Her and Joe have a moment with some wallpaper that all gets undone by some unseen force. She starts receiving notes along the lines of "What would your followers do if they knew who you really were." She hasn't been sleeping. Her cat goes missing and then shows up seemingly poisoned. The bottom line is what is really happening in the Black Wood house.

In the meantime, she makes nice with one of her coworkers who really seems to want to help her. Sarah confesses EVERYTHING to her- her past with her family, her past with Joe, all of the dirty secrets she has been hiding. Emily realizes what is going on before we all do, but when she goes to warn Sarah everything goes to hell.

I liked the mental twist at the end. I really didn't see that coming. I liked that the spooky aspect was somewhat believable- not that I am not a fantasy fan. I just wasn't sure where this was heading. Overall, I would recommend this read! Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for a copy of this ARC!

We follow Sarah as she decides to purchase Black Wood House, a creepy home where a murder occurred 40 years prior, in order to renovate it, sell it and hopefully make a profit. Initially, this sounded like something right up my alley. Who would be crazy enough to not only purchase a murder house, but LIVE in it?! I was totally invested at first, but then things started to drag part of the way through and some of that initial excitement was lost for me.

This book had all the main elements of a thriller - unreliable main character, unlikeable characters, twists, drama, secrets…but for some reason, it still didn’t work for me. I feel like many of the underlying themes have been done so many times in other thrillers, that it made this one stand out a little less. (Even though there was SO much potential with the creepy house vibe)!! There was also a lot going on for much of the story and the shifting timelines on the included newspaper clippings made things a bit confusing and disjointed. I did like reading the extra clippings, but I feel like the timeline could have been better established so I knew when certain things were happening.

Overall, I still thought this was a quick and exciting read!

The Stranger Upstairs had such a cool concept but the execution didn’t quite work for me. Sarah Slade isn’t supposed to be a character you like and that’s fine with me. But she seriously has not even an ounce of anything redeeming to where you can excuse her poor choices and behavior. She was completely insufferable and came across more juvenile than her age.

The writing is very repetitive, very repetitive, very repetitive. I was so tired of all the sentences and phrases that were repeated several times. It took me out of the story and I couldn’t focus on anything else. This story never really grabbed my full attention and I’m so bummed because I had high hopes!

I would have loved more details and really didn’t care for the reasoning behind the strange happenings. It was a bit of a letdown and felt unoriginal.

While this book wasn’t for me - I could see how people would enjoy it. I realize the author spent a lot of time writing this and I really appreciated the author’s note.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Young couple buys a house where murders have taken place. The price is too good to be true and we soon learn why. Seriously creepy moments.