This was the first book I have read by Malerman. Starting out, it took me use to getting use to his writing style and from the point of view of a child. I stopped and started more times than I can count but so glad I pushed through. This book has all the creepiness factor. I had to stop reading at night a few times because I was creeped out. It takes a lot to creep me out and Josh accomplished that. I really started liking the point of view by Bela. It made it feel more realistic with her naive views.
I did not see that ending coming. I recommend everyone read this. The visual I had of other mommy was truly scary! Josh knocked this out of the park!

Thank you to netgalley and Ballentine Publishing for the ARC.

I loved Malorie and Birdbox and heard great things about Incidents Around the House but it fell short for me. I understood the POV of the story was from a confused 8-year-old girl, Bela, who saw a creature/ghost “Other Mommy” in her closet but the repetitive dialogue got old pretty quick and it seemed like Bela was younger or a less mature 8-year-old. Also all the adults in Bela’s life (Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, and a handful of parents’ friends” were insufferable, unlikeable characters. Her parents’ brutally honest monologues sitting on the edge of Bela’s bed when they thought she was sleeping were unrealistic

The beginning had a solid start building up the fearfulness of Other Mommy, proving she was attached to Bela and not the house, following her to the playground and ultimately making her take a scary fall and terrifying her friend. But that felt like the scariest it got. The rest of the storyline was repetitive in that they just kept trying to outrun Other Mommy in different places without learning that it would always follow Bela.

I appreciated the finality of the ending but it just didn’t come full circle for me. I felt a heavy sadness for Bela for having awful parents who thought they were doing right by her, they almost felt like they were doing her more harm and damage than Other Mommy. This just didn’t really feel like a horror book. That being said I will still read whatever Malerman puts out next. 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and DelRay Publishing for this advanced reader copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I tried to like this book but I couldn’t get into it. It was too weird for me and the no quotation marks for those talking really bothered me. It was definitely a horror book but I just didn’t enjoy it. I wish I had liked it more.

I unfortunately couldn't read this before the publication date... but I still want to thank everyone for allowing me to read this ARC. Im'm really happy I did.

This was a great book, very creepy and also very sad. Why that ending man??

Not quite a creepy kid story but instead it is spun with a unique twist about a young girl whom is haunted by the other mommy who lives in her closet and the lengths her parents are willing to go through to keep their family safe all told through the perspective of the little girl.

Building you full of dread, fear and just a sense of uneasiness all around but in the best way possible. And I loved every minute of it.

Thank you to Josh Malerman, Random House Publishing, and Netgalley for an early asking of entering my heart! 🖤

THIS WAS SO SCARY.
this had so many pieces of classic horror that I love (The Exorcist, Paranormal Activity) but still felt like its own original story. loved the direction it went it & Malerman's writing!

Thanks to Del Ray and Josh Malerman for the chance to read ‘Incidents Around the House’! I worried about starting this book because I don't tend to enjoy novels told from the perspective of a child. They always seem too young or too old for the actual age of the character. Other than the kid calling her dad 'Daddo' (why??), this one was a good one. I HATED the mom so much, but I guess that was the point of making a character with almost zero redeeming characteristics. The ending fell a bit flat for me personally but I really enjoyed the descriptions of the Other Mommy.

I was a bit hesitant to get into this one after learning that this book was in the perspective of a child. However, this book was genuinely creepy. For the first 2/3 of this novel I was left creeped out and really had a hard time flipping to the next page because of how creeped out I was, but unfortunately I did not like how this book ended which really affected how I feel about the rest of the book. Its so disappointing when you're really loving a book for most of it and then the ending just isn't as strong as the rest. I also didnt love the experimental writing style with the no dialogue quotations and weird grammar.

4 stars.

This book absolutely blew me away. I LOVED that the story is through the POV of a small child and think this decision made the book even creepier. I also loved (but also hated) the parents and how they were pertrayed in the story because we are seeing this story through Bella's eyes. Cannot wait to see what else this author comes up with.

Ugh. I wanted to love this so badly. I didn’t mind the child narration. I did mind the child calling her dad “daddo”. I have never in my entire life heard a child call her father daddo ever in my existence. Aside from this- the story was odd, kind of boring, not scary, and the ending made zero sense.

This was a very disturbing book. The mom was
Annoying and I didn’t like her character. Other mommy was creepy and this story is filled with so much of the pain and loneliness we feel sometimes in life. I felt sorry for Bela. She went through so much at such a young age.

So creepy and o love that this was told from the child’s POV! This book seriously creeped me out. It’s a perfect read for spooky season or for fans of movies like Annabelle or The Conjuring. I’ve also heard it compared to Hidden Pictures which I haven’t read and can’t speak to but overall this was a fantastic creepy read!

I feel like I start all my Malerman reviews with "Malerman did it again!" But he sure did with this one. What I like most about Malerman is that he never repeats himself. He always finds new ways to work in this genre: unexpected narrators, unexpected premises. It's always new and fresh and quite terrifying.
In Incidents, we have a young child as our narrator. And their naivete brings a delicious edge of fear to this whole tale of the "Other Mommy." The tension slowly builds and I was happy we didn't spend the whole book with no one believing our young protagonist. The parents' frustration and fear in dealing (not dealing?) with this situation is very realistic and compelling. And I like that our narrator is torn throughout as to whether "Other Mommy" is a good or bad thing. The descriptions of "Other Mommy" are bone-chilling.
I can't recommend this highly enough!

Creeeepy! I thoroughly enjoyed this. If you want a spooky read definitely check this one out! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read this one!

What. Did. I. Just. Read. 😮 This had me spooked many times, and felt the suspense the entire time. Even though it took a little bit to get used to, I really liked the story told from a child's POV. It all kind of felt like found footage horror, but in book form - which was awesome! The ending left a lot for speculation, and I can't stop thinking about it. If you decide to give this one a read, I would recommend to go into it with little knowledge of the premise and just enjoy the ride.

this book starts off great, so scary i genuinely did not want to pick it back up again. the tension building and tone setting is amazing, and in combination with a young girl’s perspective i was totally spooked. i was loving this until the end :( it just threw me off too much and i thought we were maybe heading towards a happy ending so i was disappointed. i just ended up confused, both in a more literal sense of what was happening, and the overall metaphor the author is trying to convey. there’s some really interesting themes here and it is genuinely scary, but overall didn’t exactly work for me

Honestly, it takes a LOT to make me jump scare and this book was definitely able to do it. I could not get over how creepy this book actually read through the perspective of an eight year old. I would EASILY recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a horror that keeps you wondering until the very end how it will actually go. I stayed up until 3am reading and boy did I regret my dreams that not. 5/5. Highly enjoyed!

Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Incidents around the house was a great creepy read. While I wish there were a few more encounter with “other mommy” and a bit more explanation of where she came from. I enjoyed all of the creepy details. The parents dynamic was interesting, and how they interacted with Bela as well. It took me a while to get used to the use of Daddo constantly. I wish the ending had been a bit more detailed

This book was a masterpiece. NEVER have I been this creeper out by a book or even just the idea of what was going on. The description and scenes in this were enough to make this unforgettable. I kept rooting for what I hoped would be a satisfying conclusion...and we'll The end made me sad, but in a good way. The atmosphere was dreadful, frightening and creepy...although very bleak....this book is so good. I had a hard time wanting to read another book because this was top tier!!

Chilling, creepy, and terrifying .... all in a good way. This is one book that I read WITH the lights on after it got dark. It just grabs you and you find yourself meshed into this world. The characters .... oh, the characters, what can I say? I dunno how many times I found myself engaging in conversation with them. I finished this book over the holiday weekend and STILL I can't let them go. Cannot wait to read Mr. Malerman's next one. Thanks NETGALLEY for allowing me to review this book.

#INCIDENTSAROUNDTHEHOUSE #NETGALLEY #JOSHMALERMAN