Such a good read! The Stranger Upstairs is a good mix of creepy haunted house, mystery, thriller and suspense. Let me also mention the twists! Just when you think you’ve figured it out, another twist comes. The ending was really good and the whole atmosphere was provided enough creepiness to have me peek over my shoulder a few times.

Sarah Slade and her husband Joe are starting over. They purchase the Black Wood House in hopes to renovate and flip it. However, there is one problem; the Black Wood House is tainted by a grisly murder/suicide that happened there. Sarah isn’t deterred; she believes this purchase and renovation will help her gain new followers on her blog (and also help her fix her broken marriage).

Soon, Sarah begins finding threatening notes and creepy things begin happening in her new home. She doesn’t know who to trust anymore and slowly she feels like she spiraling into madness. The more she pushes to hasten the remodel, the more things begin to keep happening. Sarah begins to wonder if this was all worth it, or will she end up dead like the previous owners?

The release date is September 26, 2023; perfect for the Halloween season!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC.

While the Stranger Upstairs is a dark psychological thriller, I cannot justify the principles endorsed in it and definitely not the successful protagonist ending. The book does encourage never giving up but does it have to be at others expense?

Book: The Stranger Upstairs
Author: Lisa Matlin
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, Bantam
Pub Date: September 26, 2023

This is a GREAT book and a fast read! It takes your attention and doesn’t let go. All I wanted to do was read until I finished the book. You will love it from beginning to end and won’t be able to put it down. It’s a very different haunted house story. While Sarah is not an honest person I loved her and I somehow rooted for her despite all the lies. She was addicted to social media and the attention. At one point she says, “the more likes I get the less I bleed.” (We all know that person.) The plot was very believable and the characters were likable despite their flaws. I never know how to express this other than to say the dialogue was real. It sounded like me talking. Some books just sound fake when it comes to conversation but this was a normal with someone sarcastic, witty and a dark sense of humor. My kind of person. I don’t even like cats yet I was invested in Reaper as much as Sarah was. The twists and the way the story came to life was genius. She has a great way of building tension and pulling you chapter to chapter. The author done a wonderful job making you feel just as scared as Sarah was inside that house. I was screaming don’t go into the attic! It definitely keeps you guessing until the end and the end was perfect! Not one disappointment with this read. This is author Lisa Marlin’s debut book and she definitely set the standard high for her next book. Bravo!

Thank you Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, Bantam and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is September 26, 2023.

Wow. I *loved* this book. I just knew I would, and I did.

I won't over review it, since it won't be published until September, and will have to remind myself to review closer to then.

I'll say this is an impressive debut for Lisa M. Matlin, and I can't wait to see what comes next. The story was thrilling, and moved at a perfect pace. Blog posts and news stories were interspersed throughout, but it didn't annoy me the way that usually does. The twists were fun, and the ending 🤯 I vacillated between hating and loving Sarah. Ultimately, I don't know if she's a morally gray character or darker (I'll call her Sherwin Williams Peppercorn), but the parts to do with her struggling mental health hit different, and had me convinced Lisa was writing from personal experience. Her Author's Note confirmed as much, and was one of my favorite parts of having the opportunity to read this book.

I can't recommend this book enough. Available September 26th 2023!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballentine, Bantam for this e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing House for the eARC.
Sarah Slade and her husband move into the Black Wood House, which twenty years ago was the scene of a murder, suicide and severe wounding of a couple and their daughter. Sarah hopes she can fix it up and sell it for a profit. Her husband isn't enthusiastic at all and doesn't help much. As she works on the house she gets the distinct feeling it doesn't want to be overhauled. Her marriage suffers, her beloved cat is acting strangely and her marriage is in trouble.
The couple have secrets that seem to haunt them
and Sarah feels terrible, she feels disconnected and wonders if she is suffering from the flu. Plus, there are scary notes as well as noises upstairs at night.
I loved this book, couldn't stop reading! Also, the foreword and afterword by the author are great. All in all a must read, highly recommended!

4.5 ⭐

I do have to say I hated Sarah but that made me love the book even more. Lisa M. Matlin did a fantastic job writing a character you hated but still wanted to read the book. I loved how she wrote about mental health and how she didn't make it cliche. There is a big trigger for me in this book was animal sickness and there is animal death in the book but it isn't the MC cat. I really could have read this book in one day but I did need to take breaks to get my anxiety down (in a good way). I do think this is a good book for people just getting into thriller/horror. The twist and turns had me on the edge of my sit and I loved it. I really can't wait to read more from Lisa M. Matlin.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review.

The concept of this book is so very, very delicious, but I honestly couldn't make it through more than about 25%. The main character, Sarah, is so hideous, so horribly unlikable.... I just couldn't tolerate it any longer. Maybe if I saw something, ANYTHING, redeemable in her, I'd probably really enjoy reading this. Since I don't see it, I can't read any further, plain and simple. I'm sure this will appeal to many readers, but sadly, not to me.

I absolutely love when I’m unable to guess the plot twist and have genuine shock when I finally read it. That’s exactly what this book did to me. Shocked didn’t even begin to describe it, I was basically in jaw-on-the-floor disbelief.
This has to be one of the best haunted house stories I’ve ever read and I enjoyed every suspenseful second of reading it.

Sarah and her husband have just moved into a house with a gruesome past. Black Wood House has been unoccupied for 40 years, and Sarah and Joe seem like the perfect couple to take on renovating it and make it the perfect flip. However, if there’s one thing you’ll learn very quickly with this book, it’s that absolutely nothing is what it seems.
The neighbors aren’t welcoming and don’t hide the fact that they don’t want Sarah there and would rather see the house bulldozed which leads to Sarah having some strained relationships with them.
As Sarah spends more and more time in the house and unexplainable things start happening, it effect all aspects of her life.

When I say you need to read this book and find out for yourself what happens to Sarah, I mean it. 4.5 starts, I loved this.

Huge thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What an incredible debut!! An enjoyable blend of intrigue, mystery and horror that totally gave me the creeps. The house, the townspeople, the cat, Sarah herself! Just take your pick. This book was crazy!! I was nervous as hell while reading and of course my notorious leg-shaking movement was in full effect. Not knowing what is real or imagined, person or supernatural being? What a fun ride! I flew through this book in a day, and I just want to go back and read it all over again. I love how the author spaced out her reveals, not leaving it all for the end. It made the story even more intense! The ending was not what I expected but bittersweet at the same time. I think that all my questions were answered but I still feel like I have questions. LOL! This is a compliment to the author for messing with my head. I will definitely be looking forward to any and all future books by Matlin. I highly recommend that you read this fast-paced thriller as soon as possible!

Thank you to the author, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and NetGalley for allowing me digital access in exchange for my honest opinion!!

Sarah buys a 40 year old house that a man murdered his wife and tried to murder his daughter. All the neighbors want the house torn down and are not welcoming. Then strange things start to happen is it the house, is it ghost or is it all in her head? This was an entertaining and quick read. Found it to be a little wordy at times but kept me reading and guessing.

This book was WILD. A page turner for sure. Sarah is a social media influencer/therapist who bought a house with her husband Joe where a murder took place. She had a goal of renovating and selling it. But the house and townspeople have other plans…

I loved the way this book was written, piecing together news stories, diary entries, and Sarah’s narration. I do wish we’d gotten the other person’s viewpoint sooner in the book, but it definitely worked. The twists were good!

Pick this one up on pub day. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thriller? Horror? A little of both? This was a phenomenal debut! The Stranger Upstairs brought all the twists, the eery suspense, the creeping claustrophobia, and even a touch of gothic horror. I loved how we got glimpses into Sarah’s mind through her Instagram posts, website updates, and diary entries. The interspersed press releases also kept me guessing about how everything went down at the end. This book gets an A+ for atmosphere. I’ve still got goose bumps. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Let talk about a few things first. Firstly this cover — STUNNING! Secondly, I ate this entire book up! This entire book had me shook by the end. I sat down to read this debut book by Lisa M. Matlin and never put it down until the very end.

This fast paced gripping page turner takes you on a wild ride with the main character. I finished the book and just sat in silence taking it all in. Every single time I thought the story had got worse—it got even worse and made me question everything I had thought before that point. Every single time I thought Sarah (the main character) couldn’t get more deranged, we are thrown down another loop. THE TWISTS I’m telling you.

The character development and world building in this book was perfection. I felt like at times I could absolutely relate to the character(s) and the plot was there and more, the ending was incredible. The ending felt more like a cliffhanger & I cannot wait to find out if we get to continue the Black Wood House saga with Lisa’s next book.

This book is an absolute MUST READ! If you love fast paced page turners, suspense, thrillers and a wild adventure — pop a squat, hold on tight and be prepared for the best ride of your life.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Penguin
Random House for allowing me to provide my honest feedback of 'The Stranger Upstairs’.

Wow! What a trip this one was. First, such an awesome concept for a book. It hooked me right from the start. I felt the book built nicely and you could feel the main charts yet slowly unraveling and I just had to know what happened next. I loved the way the timeline was presented and felt it continues to hook the reader. I recommend this one for anyone looking for an engaging thriller that keeps you guessing what’s really going on!

"The Stranger Upstairs" is a book you need to stick with. It starts out good -- creepy, mysterious, dark. However, about a third of the way through, the story temporarily loses its way, as if the author is not quite sure what she wants to do with the story -- creepy psychological thriller or paranormal haunted house or some mash-up that is off the mark. But if you stick with the story, the author gets back on track, and it ends up being a good psychological thriller.

Sarah Slade and her husband Joe have purchased the Black Wood House, which was the site of a horrific murder forty years ago and has been abandoned since then. She plans to renovate it and flip it, documenting the process on social media, and hoping to rebuild and expand her brand. She is a therapist with a best-selling book, but fans are getting impatient for a second book and endorsements are slow/low, as she does not have much to offer right now that sets her apart from all the other "influencers"/wannabe influencers. However, Sarah is hiding a lot of secrets -- her failing marriage being one of the lesser secrets. The renovations are not going well -- being more extensive and costly than anticipated, especially as it is very difficult to find contractors willing to work on the house. In addition, the house does not seem to want anyone there. Lots of strange things will happen, as Sarah steadily becomes more unhinged. The neighbors seem to know things about the house that they are unwilling to share, which adds to Sarah's paranoia.

The house will claim more victims -- but will it be Sarah and/or Joe or someone else? The story has plenty of twists and turns. You may think you have figured out Sarah's past or what is happening in the house, but you will probably not be correct, or at least not entirely.

My wish has been granted!

GAH! I love that feeling and I will never get used to it! The only thing I can compare getting a book I had pined over as much as this one is CHRISTMAS MORNING.

First off, the cover is absolutely remarkable. The colors, the mystery, all of it! I had to have this book before I even read the synopsis. Second, after I finally finished gushing over the cover I read the teaser and that was it, it no longer had been a "want" but a "need" .

So I wished for it....

The book fairies aligned and granted this book loving psychopath the book of her dreams!

Thank you Thank you Thank you!

Now, about the book.

Holy moly was this a wild ride! Don't expect to put this one down or try to tell yourself "one more chapter" . You will never be able to keep that promise to yourself. I obsessed over every single word that ran across the page. I felt FEAR often, suspense ALWAYS, and that gut wrenching pull that lurched me forward into the twists and turns this book delivered time and time again.

This book is IT and will literally break the internet.

Congratulations to Lisa M. Matlin on this soon to be publication, she knocked it out of the park.

Thank you to Bantam and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.

Teaser :

A social media influencer with a secret past buys a murder house to renovate, but finds more than she bargained for behind the peeling wallpaper in this gothic psychological debut.

Sarah Slade is starting over. As the new owner of the infamous Black Wood House—the scene of grisly murder-suicide—she’s determined that the fixer-upper will help reach a new audience on her successful lifestyle blog, and distract her from her failing marriage.

But as Sarah paints over the house’s horrifying past, she knows better than anyone that a new façade can’t conceal every secret. Then the builders start acting erratically and experiencing bizarre accidents—and Sarah knows there’s only so long she can continue to sleep in the bedroom with the bloodstained floor and suffer the mysterious footsteps she hears from the attic.

When menacing notes start appearing everywhere, Sarah becomes convinced that someone or something is out to kill her—her husband, her neighbors, maybe even the house itself. The more she remodels Black Wood House, the angrier it seems to become.

With every passing moment, Sarah’s life spirals further out of control—and with it, her sense of reality. Though she desperately clings to the lies she’s crafted to conceal her own secrets, Sarah Slade must wonder . . . was it all worth it? Or will this house be her final unraveling?

I love creepy houses so much. This was great! And so much was happening. I was hooked the entire time trying to figure the whole thing out and I was satisified in the end. Recommended.

Sarah is trying to capitalize on her success with her bestselling book. She and her husband buy a house in an idyllic town for a steal hoping to flip it and monetize the process on social media. The house was cheap because it was the scene of a horrific murder over 40 years ago. The locals are not friendly and it's known they want the house bulldozed. When Sarah hears odd noises in the house and find notes about things only she knows about, she starts to get scared. Her carefully contrasted façade is falling apart and it seems she has some dark hidden secrets. Is a neighbor trying to scare her or could it be something more supernatural? The story had some creepy moments and it kept me guessing until the very end.

Sarah buys a house; it is frightening. What has happened there might have made it haunted. Murder and mayhem. The characters are realistic and some are likable; others not so much, but that is part of the mystery. What will happen in the house? When? Why? Questions like these are not easily discerned, but the ending does come to a resounding conclusion. This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Thanks to the publisher and the author.

4 stars

Woah this was an intense and fast read. I had no clue where this was going. Matlin is going to be a force to be reckoned with if she keeps this up.