Thank you for the opportunity to review this book!

While there was a lot that I liked about The Stranger Upstairs, especially the idea of an influencer renovating a house for a cash grab, the twists became more unrealistic as the text went on. I didn't love how Sarah's mental health issues were portrayed within the text, and the cast of characters was unrealistic. Similarly, the big reveal was similar to a popular Reddit post of a few years back. Still, I would check out another of Martin's books in the future.

A gothic horror meets a domestic influencer thriller for a good mashup. I was feeling sorry for this poor woman who purchased a murder house to flip for a quick profit until things go wrong and then I felt sorry for the neighbors who have to live by a daily reminder of a murder forty years ago. Will the house allow for its renovation or will it want revenge. Don’t be silly, it’s only a house, right?

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing me with an eARC of The Stranger Upstairs in exchange for my honest thoughts!

I really did think I was going to pour praise all over this book at the beginning. Its first act riveted me with its introduction to Sarah Slade, one of the more enthrallingly repugnant protagonists I've followed in a while, and its ability to toe the line between thriller and horror within a gothic atmosphere (the horror truly does amp up its psychological levels as the plot progresses). Unfortunately, the second act is where the book lost me thanks to how tepid and cliched it felt, even though it was admittedly keeping me engaged and reading at a fast pace. Once the third act arrived, my hopes rose momentarily because of the groundwork it was seemingly laying down for the payoff and for some massive twists. But then it headed in a certain direction and deployed a few tropes that left me feeling frustrated. As for how this depicts mental illness, I don't know if it was handled all that nimbly. This is an issue that I'll have to ruminate over, but at this moment, it comes off as stereotypical, particularly in Act 3.

Overall, I'm officially rating The Stranger Upstairs 2.5 out of 5 stars. It's sad that I found it to be underwhelming, but I will say that I'd be open to giving Lisa M. Matlin's work another try in the future. Her writing displayed enough potential here to intrigue me.

Sarah Slade and her husband Joe buy an infamous murder house, Black Wood House, in a upscale town called Beacon to renovate and sell for profit. The thing is Sarah and the people of Beacon and Black Wood Manor (yes, the house) have secrets that end up being deadly. Sarah finds out she isn't the first to buy the house and the previous owner disappeared.
I feel like some of this storyline was disjointed. I still enjoyed the book but I felt like the pace was off. Usually stories like this have the couple move in full of optimism, little things happening here and there and then a big finale. Maybe some readers will enjoy that this didn’t follow that same old technique. I would’ve enjoyed learning more about the original murder. I think some restructuring of the plot and timeline could make the book feel more complete. However, the novel falls a bit short in terms of its storylines, which often feel a bit flimsy and underdeveloped. The eventual "who dunnit" reveal was somewhat disappointing, as it doesn't fully live up to the suspense and anticipation built up throughout the story. While the storylines could have been more robust and the reveal more satisfying, the novel still succeeds in keeping the reader hooked and invested in Sarah's journey.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam for this ARC in exchange for a honest review. It’s hard to believe this is Lisa Matlin’s debut book.

Sarah has a secret past and a failing marriage. She and her husband Joe buy a murder mansion to restore and flip. She’s a psychologist and an author…well, she sort of is. She’s carefully crafted a social media presence for her followers to get updates on the renovation and hopefully pick up endorsements since she’s low on cash.

The murder took place 40 years ago and there are still blood stains in the house. This Western Australian town and the neighbors are far from friendly or welcoming. Contractors even hang up on her when she tries to hire them. No one wants to enter that house. The house seems to be undoing repairs they are making and then there’s the issue with Sarah’s angry little cat being spooked. Has someone from their past caught up with them or is the house making them pay the ultimate price for disturbing it?

I had mixed feelings on this one. At a mere 288 pages, I was disappointed in how much repetition there was. I don’t need to connect with or like characters, but they do need to be interesting or admirable in some way. The pill popping drunken “Woman in the Window” has never been my favorite trope, so that may have been a factor in it not working as well for me as it did others. There were some humorous moments and I liked the angry cat.

Thank you to @netgalley for an early digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
Pub date: September 26, 2023
Pages: 288

The Stranger Upstairs was an amazing addition to the thriller genre. I especially loved the haunted house aspect. It kept me guessing for the big reveal. You had to suspend a lot of belief from the main character. Overall, I really enjoyed the twists and turns. Amazing debut novel.

I loved this book. Lots of haunted house novels out there (September House, and that one by Darcey Bell come to mind) and there are loads of books with unlivable narrators, of which this does both quite well. A fun and frothy beach read. Recommended if you want to wake up from a literary fiction coma.

Everyone loves a good story about a house where a murder took place, right? But then again, I'm sure no one would be running to purchase said murder house to renovate for their blog.

WOW. All I can really say right now is HOLY WOWWW. This story completely blew me away. I absolutely loved every single second of this debut authors novel. Truly could not put this one down, and constantly left me guessing what would happen next.

I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys haunted houses/ true crime/ and anything mystery & thriller. This author did a phenomenal job at writing this and I will certainly be on the look out for future books of hers.

Thank you so much NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read this one!

The Stranger Upstairs is the epitome of a thriller!! A full on roller coaster ride in the dark.

Sarah Slade and her husband Joe buy an infamous murder house, Black Wood House, in a upscale town called Beacon to renovate and sell for profit. The thing is Sarah, the people of Beacon and Black Wood Manor (yes, the house) have secrets that end up being deadly. Sarah finds out she isn't the first to buy the house and the previous owner disappeared.

AS Sarah slowly loses her mind trying to solve the mysteries of Black Wood House, we learn Sarah isn't exactly who she appears to be and might just be the one to beat Black House Manor.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the ARC for my honest review

#NetGalley #TheStrangerUpstairs #LisaMatlin

I didn’t realize The Stranger Upstairs was a debut when I requested it. Quick summary: it’s really good.
Sarah Slade is a social media influencer. She has written a best selling book and now wants to document her experiences fixing up and then flipping Blackwood House. So it has a tragic past (murder), but that just means more people know about it and she is sure she will make an obscene profit and hopefully get deals with some new sponsors.
OK, so maybe her life isn’t as perfect as she depicts. Her husband, Joe seems to actively dislike her, and her cat Reaper doesn’t seem to like this house, and all the neighbors, well, they just want her gone.
But Sarah has worked hard to create the life she wants and nothing and no one is going to stand in her way. That is until the house seems to have ideas of its own.
As the story progressed, it got creepier and creepier, and I was sure I had it figured out. Author – 1. Me – 0. I guess you can figure out that means that I was wrong. A book that kept me flipping my Kindle pages. I won’t say I really liked Sarah, but wow she was one interesting character. This doesn’t publish until September and to me, it would be a perfect final read of summer 2023. It would also be a great way to gear up for Halloween a.k.a. spooky season.

I loved this dark and twisty book set in Australia. I am always happy to see a true crime element to a plot. This book takes you inside the mind of the main character and her mind is definitely a wild ride. I can’t wait for this authors next book because this one kept me guessing all the way through .

Okay so! This book definitely got me hooked. I wanted to know what the heck was going on so bad! I kind of hated the main character but, I also kinda felt her and her situation. Also this book scared me! It didn’t help that I was cat/house sitting in a quiet house all alone at night but still! This book comes out just in time for the spooky read season! This is a debut novel and I really liked it! I will be looking out for more from this author!!!!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this piece.
This book is takes you through some unexpected twists and turns that keeps you wanting more! I don’t want to go into too much detail to avoid spoilers. If you like thrillers/mysteries you’ll love this one!

Lisa Matlin’s debut novel is an absolute trip! Part horror, part thriller, and all fascinating, I could not put this book down! I’m not a haunted house kind of girl, but the strange and creepy goings-on in this house had me hooked. As Sarah spirals out of control and gets sicker and sicker, she becomes more and more of an unreliable narrator, which is my favorite kind of narrator! I loved the blog posts and the way the articles interspersed in the chapters foreshadowed the mystery with such a sense of foreboding. I totally did not see the ending coming AT ALL!

I never really connected with the main character, Sarah. But, I thought that the plot and twists in this book were pretty compelling and kept me reading to find out what happened next. I thought that the plot trope of moving into a haunted house was done pretty well here, but wasn't anything super inventive. The twists and turns, though, were pretty fun. Overall, this was a fun ride that I would recommend to anyone who likes adult thrillers!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC. This is the debut novel by Lisa Matlin and I am blown away! Her writing is that of a polished, well established author. If I didn't know this was her first novel I would think she's been doing this for years. This book is going to be very hard to review without spoilers, and I do not want to spoil anything! The author takes us through the story of Sarah our main character as she has recently bought a murder house with the intention to buy it and renovate it. Right away you find out that Sarah's life is now how it appears online and social media. One thing that I thought the author did so skillfully was make you really dislike Sarah but also want to keep turning the pages because you KNEW there was more happening you just could not put your finger on what that something was. As the story continues on the author made you feel almost like Sarah and could feel what she was feeling. I absolutely loved this book, story, setting, everything. I cannot wait to read more by Lisa Matlin.

This book kept me guessing through the whole thing. I couldn't put it down and it had me sucked in from the first page.
Lisa's writing was amazing and made sure to keep your attention. I definitely recommend reading this book!

Right from Page 1 the story sucked me in. I was a bit put off by Sarah, the main character who is an author, therapist, and social media influencer. I liked the idea of her moving into a haunted house. There were some thrills and twists in the book and it kept me wanting to find out what happened.

In which we learn renovating a murder house won’t save your marriage or your career…but you could lose your mind!

Not too many surprises, but that’s fine, I got exactly what I wanted out of this one. I’ll be looking for more from Miss Matlin in the future. A ghost of a good time.

I enjoyed this twisty little thriller. It wasn’t anything new or different, but it was well-written and put together. I will definitely check out more from this author.