What if the childhood you remember isn’t really what happened at all?

After Molly’s father has a stroke she returns to her hometown to take care of him. Being back home brings up bad memories of her mother’s murder. All Molly remembers from that day is “there was a man downstairs”, but now that she’s back, she’s wondering if the wrong person was charged.

This psychological thriller was unpredictable and kept me guessing straight up until the end. I enjoyed the dual timelines and multiple POVs. Molly’s perspective in the present was done really well especially with her trying to remember exactly what happened to her mother. I really enjoyed her father, Gil’s point of view which is set “then” and tells the story of his courtship and marriage to Edie, Molly’s mom. The third perspective was the creepiest and is told by someone only know as “Him”.

The prologue of this book drew me right in and honestly I had no idea who did it right until the end. The plot worked really well especially with the dual timelines, and I always enjoy a thriller where I fail to figure out the ending. I did get confused with who was who some of the time, and I thought the ending dragged a bit, but overall I’d recommend reading this thriller.

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

A digital copy of this book was provided to me by Thriller Book Lovers Promotions. The opinions are my own and freely given.

This story alternates between NOW and THEN.

Now is Molly's story who moves back to her hometown with her teenage son, Alex. Her father Gil has had a stroke and she has hired a full time, live-in nurse, Glenn to take care of him. Molly and Alex move into the house of Russell, who lives in the basement. Brad, the boy next door that Molly had a childhood crush on moves back in with his mom, next door to Gil. Glenn, Russel and Brad were all friends in their teenage years, along with Terry. Terry was the boy accused and convicted of murdering Edie, Molly's mother.

THEN tells the story of Gil and Edie meeting and takes us up to the murder, witnessed by then 3-year-old Molly. Also, in this section is "Him". I spent the majority of the book wondering who "him" was. All of the boys were friends but now as adults, they don't have anything to do with each other.

I wasn't a huge fan of Gil's story. Edie, I didn't like much at all. I couldn't tell if she had some undiagnosed mental health issues, or she was just a young woman thrown into a relationship. She didn't want children to begin with and didn't seem to connect with Molly once she was born. I like Molly as she was recently divorced and managing her father's illness and her son, along with being back in the town that took her mother away from her at such a young age.

For me, this book started off slow and stayed slow most of the way through, but it finally hit that spot where everything just came together. Trying to figure out who "him" was, what happened to Edie, if Molly got it wrong or not and who was trying to contact Molly kept me intrigued.
Thank you, @thrillerbookloverspromotions, @nicolejlundrigan and @penguinrandomca

Thank you Netgalley and Viking for the chance to read A man downstairs by Nicole Lundrigan. This is a fabulous psychological thriller, told in two timelines, with multiple POV's. The suspense is slow-burning, with plenty of twists, and a creepy vibe. I did find the beginning a little slow, but the story kept me interested to find out what happened.

A Man Downstairs provides that more indepth thriller, the type that has you caring for the characters and providing a real background to them.
Molly witnessed her mother's murder when she was a child and her statement is what put a man away for the crime.
But now she has returned to the small town it happened in and is finding new information about her parents and the other people in town.
The caregiver of her ailing father, the neighbour who seems to know more, the landlord of her new rental that pops up randomly and gives off questionable vibes.
When Molly volunteers to answer a help line she gets calls from someone who gets her thinking about what she remembers about her mother's murder.
A Man Downstairs is slower but provides intense moments with questionable characters and twisted motivations.
An excellent thriller to keep you up all night reading.

Thank you ThrillerBookLovers Promotions, Viking, #partner, for an advanced e-copy of A Man Downstairs in exchange for my honest review.

This is the first book I’ve read by Nicole Lundrigan and I’m not sure how that is possible. I will definitely be checking out her other thrillers as she sure knows how to write a good one!

I love books that play with memory and the human mind, so of course, I had to read this one…and I was definitely rewarded with a thrilling, haunting story that slowly ramps up the tension until the very end. What really happened all those years ago and can Molly trust the memories that are starting to resurface now that she’s back in her hometown?

I think in part, the way this story is constructed really led to it being such a tense, edge-of-your seat type of read. Having the story told from multiple timelines as well as multiple points of view, including a “him” chapter really sets you up right away for that sense of the unknown. Can everyone we meet be trusted?

While this is more of a character-driven story than plot-driven, I found myself completely hooked. I needed answers as much as Molly did and I loved the twists and turns this one takes to get us to those answers. Definitely a good pick for those that love thrillers with a side of craziness, this one is not to be missed!

Meticulously crafted story and sharp characterization make this chilling suspense story a page turner. An eerily dark drama about a young woman, Molly, returning to her childhood home to care for her ailing father and also to face the demons from her troubled childhood.

A MAN DOWNSTAIRS by Nicole Lundrigan

What if the childhood you remember isn’t really what happened at all?

Secrets, secrets, secrets. I love stories with family secrets.

Molly Wynters has moved back to her small hometown to care for her father, recently felled by a stroke and no longer able to communicate. She is ready to make a fresh start with her son after her divorce, but is haunted by both old events and new realities in her childhood home.

What Molly recalls of her young life with her father is full of love and care, even though a violent trauma defined her childhood: when she was a young girl, she witnessed her mother’s murder, and her testimony—“There was a man downstairs”—sent a teenager to prison. This tragic episode is still very much alive in the culture of the town, and the more Molly remembers, the more she fears that what she said on the stand all those years ago might not have been the whole truth.  

I really enjoyed this book and I am interested in reading more from this author

Thank you to @netgalley and @penguinrandomhousecanada for the advanced reading copy.

Three points of view...

Molly Wynters as an adult-
She has moved back to her small hometown to care for her father, but is haunted by both old events and new realities in her childhood home. Molly reflects on her mother's murder..
- was the right man arrested and does Molly
remember who she saw correctly?

Molly's father in the past-
His story of meeting the love of his life, marrying her, and then her murder.

Him-
There is someone else's perspective the reader gets... a distorted mind of sorts... but you don't get to know who he is until the end. Just a warning to the reader that there are some scenes in these parts that are somewhat graphic and perverse.

The question of who the man downstairs is, and how the truth of it all would come together compelled me to keep reading.

Plus the ending was very well done! Always a bonus!

* You may enjoy this if you like a mysterious thriller, multiple POVs, reflections on the past, imperfect characters and a puzzle-like structure.

Thank you to @penguinrandomhouse, @netgalley and @thrillerbookloverspromotions for my gifted copy of this book.

A Man Downstairs was a creepy thriller that held my attention for its entirety! The story takes place in two different timelines and with 3 narrators. This book is absolutely filled with unlikable characters and unreliable narrators (which I’m only a fan of in thrillers).
Molly ends up back in her hometown to take care of her Father and deep dive into some of her past and her mothers death. I really enjoyed the authors writing style and am looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future :)

3.5 stars

Slow burn thrillers are not my favorite, but they can reel me in every now and then. This one had potential as the reader follows MC Molly and her attempts to decipher the series of events that led her mother’s death.

I did enjoy the multiple POVs and the dual timeline; however, it was difficult to keep track of the number of characters. The biggest issue I had with this book was the pacing as it took around 75% for the plot to really pick up.

The writer has some talent, and I will definitely look out for her next book and give it a try.

After reading Lundrigan's novel An Unthinkable Thing, I was very eager to get my hands on her newest release.

This thriller locked me right from the beginning and kept me guessing to the very end. I enjoyed the small town setting and a suspicious group of characters. There's a past and present timeline to keep close attention on as I got mixed up a couple of times.

I will say this book made my spine chill and gave me the ick in the best way possible. It's definitely bingeable!

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC from Penguin Random House Canada!

I enjoy how Lundrigan changed the tone of her writing to suit her "then" and "now" perspectives, giving the "then" narrative and conversation a 1970s feel. I was piqued of who "he" was because of the story's nameless point of view. The plot was interesting but the pace of the book was pretty slow. The ending was wrapped up nicely but I was hoping for a bigger twist!

This is my first book by Nicole Lundrigan and I am completely blown away by how GOOD this book is! I loved the characters, the storyline, and the ending! Oh my gosh, the ending!! Chefs kiss. I loved it all. I highly recommend!

This was a brilliantly written story. It is split into two parts. One part "now" follows Molly as she moves back to her home town to care for her father after he has an awful stroke. The second part "then" follows Mollys father; from when he met Molly's mum, right up to when she died and he was left a single dad to his 3 year old daughter. A daughter that had witnessed the death of her mother. But Molly soon realises that sometimes your memories aren't always the full story.
I really enjoyed this one and I look forward to reading more from this author.

After many years away, a therapist moves back to her childhood town with her diabetic son to take care of her disabled father.

Memories flash back to when, at three years old, she testified that a teen had murdered her mother. The town knows the real story, but will she be able to really remember it? Did she really witness the murder like she testified so many years ago?

The timelines take us to the early sixties when her parents met and to the present day where the past is catching up.

This book will keep you riveted until the very end.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this ARC!!

Overall, this was a very likable book. Everybody loves mysterious family drama. The last twist at the end definitely threw me for a loop!! This book is mote of a slow burn, but picks up around 75% in.

This is the first time I read from this author, and for sure, I added her into my auto-read author from now on.

Molly, when she was just three years old, she testified against a teenager who murdered her mother.
Molly and her son now returned home to care for her father, Gil, who suffered a stroke.
The story is presented through past and recent timelines, with multiple POV. It's intriguing as there's one POV that will make you wonder who this person is. The past timeline gives us a background of Molly's parents' marriage before she was born. A few shady, unreliable characters and lots of red herrings along the story make this book an unputdownable one. I loved how the truths are spilled slowly at the end.

A Man Downstairs is a slow burn thriller as Molly attempts to figure out the series of events that surrounds her mother’s death. The story is told from 3 different POVs and 2 different timelines. The POV of the mystery man was very creepy and made you wonder how he properly fit into the story. There were a lot of characters that made it difficult to keep track of. I often found myself trying to remember who certain characters were. There was one reveal toward the end that I wish was addressed or at least resolved in the final chapters, but it wasn’t brought up again. The writing was strong but the story overall could’ve benefited from a little more pace. (3.25/5)

**This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Molly returns to her hometown to care for her father and faces memories of her past. She was only 3 years old and her testimony was the key to the case. Now, her teenage son has taken interest in uncovering facts from the case and she starts to question everything.

This book kept you guessing where it was headed and weaved in the past with present time along with the mysterious “him.” The story was well written and the characters were developed along the way to keep the reader guessing how it would end.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reading copy and opportunity to review this book.

This was my first novel by this author and it was so good! Will be definitely be reading more. This story was told in multiple POVs and dual timelines. To make it even better, there is an ‘anonymous character’ that we get their perspective! Kinda creepy. This was a little bit of a slow burn to start but the story and timelines were woven together well. It kept me intrigued and wondering what would happen next. It did finally pick up and I didn’t want to put it down! I enjoyed the plot and how it wasn’t just the same old story line that’s been overdone. I would consider this a domestic mystery type of book. Another one that I could easily see myself watching on Lifetime Mystery channel! I read this ebook but after seeing so many rave reviews on the audiobook, I think I may just have to listen to that as well!