Ever since Bird Box, I have loved Josh Malerman's books. Thank you to NetGalley for this arc because it rully did help me get out of a massive reading funk! I read this back in February, maybe even January (time goes by wayyyy too quick) and I still recall the tension I felt and how I was scared to read this at night. First book I had read in a L.O.N.G time that actually kept my attention and made me WANT to read!

What a great year for horror fans everywhere! Why? There have already been a few books released this year that surely will be contenders for my Best Horror of 2024 list, and now I have added INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE.

Young Bela has mentioned "Other Mommy" several times to her family, but no one seemed to be listening. Other Mommy lives in Bela's closet, or at least she used to. She used to be confined to Bela's room, but now she seems to be following Bela, even on a trip to the playground. No one is really paying attention though, until finally Bela's real mommy gets a glimpse of her. From that moment on the tension steadily hums as the scares get darker and more frequent. As Bela's parents search for answers, the only answer that they come up with is to tell Bela to continue saying "No" when Other Mommy asks her if she can come in to Bela's heart. What is Other mommy trying to accomplish? Why has she attached herself to Bela? You'll have to read this to find out!

Nearly 400 pages flew by in what seemed like seconds to me. I was so engaged with this severely dysfunctional family, I did not want to put this book down. The mystery of Other Mommy was intriguing as was the family's hunt for someone that could help them. Aside from all this, there were other family dramas occurring and all of that just added to the realistic feeling of this fast paced familial nightmare.

As a seasoned horror reader of 40 some odd years, rarely does a book actually scare me. I must admit though, that at times, this one did. The visual of Other Mommy as drawn by Malerman's incredible imagination is going to haunt me for a long, long time.

I say, BRAVO! My highest recommendation!

*ARC from publisher.*

This book was eerie and unsettling from start to finish. I love the fact that the book was written from the point of view of the child, Bella. Everything to a kid is more terrifying than it really is-which makes it more terrifying for the reader. In this case, Bella’s point of view was just the tip of the iceberg, as the Other Mother was worse than she realized. The constant shadows and creaking noises provide nightmare-inducing terror and suffocating dread. Malerman also did a great job of weaving in real life cruelties that have opened up a way for the villain to latch onto Bella; it’s real life that is what breaks us, sharpens our edges, and obliterates our innocence.

This story was a great haunting/poltergeist inspired plot whose prose is jarring and abrupt. It encompasses childhood fears and adult disbelief-colliding violently and thoroughly. This is a perfect book for horror fans, and will stick with you after you read the ending.

"Can I go inside your heart?

Bela, a precocious 8 year old, loves her Mommy, Daddo, and Grandma Ruth more than anything in the world. Lately, though, there is Other Mommy that lives inside her closet and wants to be her friend. Before long, Other Mommy, is coming out of the closet and asking Bela things that make her uncomfortable. She mentions Other Mommy to her parents but of course they think it's the wild imaginings of a child.

Until, they have a house party with friends and one of those friends also sees Other Mommy causing her to run screaming from the house and confirming that their daughter was telling the truth.

Who or what is Other Mommy? You'll have to read this to find out!

Do you like to be scared? Then this is the book for YOU!!!

I worried that a book being narrated by an 8 year old would be too annoying and juvenile but I was so wrong. Bela gave this story authenticity and it was so effective in frightening me to see things through her eyes. Other Mommy is straight out of a nightmare. To see her parents fumble time and time again through this hellscape they now found themselves in really got under my skin. I wanted so badly for them to have a happy ending.

Josh Malerman didn't just knock this out of the park, he knocked it into another dimension. He blew me away with his debut, Bird Box, but nothing else I have read of his has impressed. I couldn't finish either Pearl or Daphne and I wondered what happened to the genius writer that created the world of Bird Box. Well, I've found him again. This is the caliber of work I have expected of him. Absolutely everything about this book worked for me. The dialogue, the atmosphere, the foreboding sense of dread had me shivering. A real peak through your fingers kind of book because the horror is inescapable. AND. IT. NEVER. LET'S. UP. So don't think your going to get comfortable at any time while reading this, you won't, and it's for that reason why I can't praise this book enough.

For me this is a horror lovers dream (nightmare?) come true! EVERY STAR IMAGINABLE! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for my complimentary copy.

Netgalley ARC review:

This book had me absolutely terrified of the dark corners of my bedroom after reading each night. A story of a child haunted by an entity she names "Other Mommy" - my spine tingles just thinking about the images of this creature haunting this family.

The book is entirely written from the perspective of Bela, the child. It's also written in blocky chunks of mostly dialogue with no quotations, so if that's not your jam, this will drive you crazy. It took me awhile to adjust to the format and perspective. But it absolutely did not take away from how horrifying this book is. While I would have liked more atmosphere building and context on "Other Mommy", I know why it wasn't incorporated since we're seeing events unfold from a child's understanding.

What a spooky book. I normally don't care for books narrated by children but this one made sense. I could easily visualize every creepy thing that main character Bela was seeing and hearing. 'Incidents Around the House' is a quick, uncomplicated ghost story that will be perfect for any horror fan. Definitely pick this one up.

What if a being of some odd sort…a demon maybe….comes out of your closet every night and asks “can I come inside your heart”? The easy answer is “No”, but suppose that thing is extraordinarily persistent and starts to follow you everywhere and then you discover that grown-ups see it, “Other Mommy” as you call it, too. When grown-ups see Other Mommy they scream and run away from Other Mommy’s hairy arms and upside down face.
Josh Malerman has succeeded in writing a tale of the stages before full-on demonic possess ion: Infestation, Oppression, Obsession and Possession. We’re not sure if Other Mommy is a demon or a dead person wanting to reincarnate in young Bella’s body, but either way the intention is to move in and live again in the body of a child….and to send that child’s soul off to eternal darkness.
This ranks high, very very high, in my list of outstanding fiction on the topic of possession (or pre-possession). Fantastic!!!
Mr. Malerman relies on creepy visualization, pictures of Other Mommy that you make in your head, imagining Other Mommy down the hall, in the closet, in the play park, in the water. For those, like me, that love to be creeped out without gore and guts….this book will fill that desire.
Thank you #netgalley for allowing me,to,read and review the creepy, wonderful #IncidentsAroundTheHouse

A bit hard to get into the writing style, and I usually find adult-stories-through-a-child's-voice to be tiresome, but this was absolutely gripping once the story was underway. I felt a delicious sense of dread until the end.

First off, Incidents Around the House is an incredible title. I think I’d probably read a book with that title regardless of who wrote it. But the fact that it’s the latest Josh Malerman novel just adds to the excitement.

Our narrator is Bela, an eight-year-old girl who lives with her Mommy and Daddo. AND a creepy entity that comes from her closet called Other Mommy, who frequently asks Bela, “Can I go inside your heart?” Yeesh. As other adults begin to see Other Mommy, and things become increasingly dangerous, Bela’s parents take desperate measures to save the family. But who can you turn to when you need to fight the unknown?

I haven’t read any of Josh Malerman’s work for a while, but Bird Box is one of my all-time favorites. Malerman is great at creating a terrifying atmosphere of inescapable terror, and this is displayed with aplomb in Incidents. This book is so unbelievably creepy that I was afraid to go to the bathroom during the night out of fear of what might be lurking in there. There are some images that will stay with me for a long time.

There’s also a beautiful story of a family here, and just how hard it can be to keep everything together, even when you’re not fighting literal demons.

It can be a challenge to tell a story from the POV of a child, and still maintain the attention of an adult audience (Room, by Emma Donohue, is a terrific example). Malerman tackles this issue well, including conversation and monologues directly from Bela’s family, as her parents often speak to Bela when they think she’s asleep. The structure of the writing made the book very easy to read, and I raced through it in a couple of days.

I really enjoyed this book, and can easily imagine this being adapted into a movie or TV show; it has a very cinematic quality. For fans of haunted house novels, demons, family drama, and being terrified beyond comprehension.

While I would recommend this book. I would NOT recommend reading it at night. 1) It's super creepy and 2) You'll stay up all night trying to finish it. I stayed up reading it for as long as I could and couldn't put it down the next day. The story jumps right in and doesn't stop. It centers around Bela, a young girl who keeps seeing an entity called Other Mommy. Other Mommy visits only at night....until she doesn't. This book starts off as a typical "child sees something that adults think is imaginary", but then quickly evolves from that. This book gave the chills multiple times and me loudly saying "NOPE!". I will easily recommend this to any horror fan looking for a fast paced read that will keep them up at night.

The concept was good, however poorly executed. There was only one part that was slightly scary. The ending was very predictable, and the characters were all unlikeable. The dialogue was poorly put together, and very unbelievable

I finished reading Incidents Around the House a week ago, and I’m still reeling from the reading experience. Josh Malerman is a favorite author of mine, but he’s outdone himself with this one. Incidents Around the House is one of the scariest books I’ve ever read. Ever.

A lot of that is down to the way the story is told, which is nothing short of genius on Malerman’s part. The book is narrated by eight-year-old Bela, who lives with her Mommy and Daddo, and who has recently made another friend she calls Other Mommy. Other Mommy lives in her closet and comes out at night to play with her. But lately, Other Mommy is starting to come out at all hours of the day, and to follow Bela places, and to ask insistently if she can come into Bela’s heart. When Other Mommy is spotted by one of Mommy and Daddo’s friends, Bela’s parents are forced to confront that a malevolent entity has attached itself to their daughter. But it’s not just Bela that is haunted…

There’s something so viscerally horrifying about reading an innocent child’s perspective on terrifying events, relayed casually and matter-of-factly in straightforward, simplistic prose. I can’t imagine it’s easy to write from a child’s point of view, but Malerman completely nails Bela’s voice. Her observations are age-appropriate, and yet through her, Malerman also manages to convey the more complex, nuanced emotions of the adults around her. Through Bela’s eyes, we are witness not only to the way she is being manipulated by other Mommy – but also to the very grown-up struggles of her parents, whose marriage is on the verge of falling apart. Part of me wonders if the idea for this book came when Malerman was writing “Half the House is Haunted,” a novella from Spin a Black Yarn that is partially written from a child’s point of view. In any case, his portrayal of a complicated family dynamic and of a frightening, traumatic haunting are masterfully conveyed through Bela’s eyes.

Incidents Around the House is Malerman writing at the top of his game: a chilling, complex, wholly unique tale of terror that is also emotionally rich and heartbreaking. I would have binge-read it in one sitting, but I couldn’t bring myself to read it in bed at night. I have a closet, after all, and it was all too easy to imagine Other Mommy in there, wanting to play….wanting to come into my heart. Thank you to Del Ray for the early reading opportunity and for the nights of restless sleep since I read this book.

This is probably the creepiest horror book I've read in a long time. Mallerman is at the top of his game with this one. One of the elements that struck me most deeply about this book are the unnamed, undefinable thing haunting the family, and it's relationship to the daughter. This problem becomes more than just the daughter's unsettling imaginary friend; in the interest of avoiding spoilers I hesitate to say anything more.
This has a similar feel to the films It Follows and The Boogeyman, and the creep factor and uneasiness keeps going through to the end.

Wildly eerie and terrifying. The voice of a child always makes horror books go to the next level.
This is good. A bit long winded, but still pretty good and recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey Books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I rated this 4.75 stars, rounded up to 5.

Bela is a young girl who has an imaginary friend she calls "Other Mommy," but is she really a friend? She definitely isn't imaginary...

Bela's story starts in the thick of it all. Other Mommy has already been a menace harassing Bela, trying to convince her to let her into Bela's heart. Shortly afterwards, Other Mommy appears to the adults in Bela's life; from here, they flounder around, trying to find help and figure out how to get rid of this entity.

As someone who isn't easily scared, I found this book actually terrifying. There wasn't any backstory or closure to what Other Mommy really was, and why she was so fixated on Bela, which kept her mysterious and made her a lot more horrifying. A lot of the fears I had as a child were 100% revisted with Bela's haunting, particularly that scene in the bathroom at Grandma Ruth's friend's house.

It was interesting reading this from Bela's perspective; the way her thoughts bounced around were actually childlike, and it was more effective making the story feel more terrifying. I also liked her perspective of her parents, and how she would hear and interpret their conversations. I didn't care the parents in general, especially the mother. The way they reacted was only human, but it frustrated me for Bela's sake.

This felt like I was watching a movie and I couldn't look away. I was hooked from the start to the finish, and what a ride this was! I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this one.

From the first page I was immediately hooked! And thankfully, I stayed that way!!!

This book is so creepy in such a classic way and I just loved it. I read 60% of it in one sitting and I would’ve continued but I was getting scared and I needed to go to bed. Closets are gonna be scary for a moment. I swallowed up the last bit in an hour or so.

I’m happy to say it’s a five star read for me after a handful of mediocre threes.

Highly recommend if you love horror where the bumps and creaks in the night just might kill you. Thank you to NetGalley, Josh Malerman and Del Rey Books. I’ve written this voluntarily.

This is a deeply disturbing and unsettling novel with a first person narrator in 8 year old Bela. Bela has been keeping a terrible secret, Other Mommy, with her stretchy body and a face that moves all over her head, has been living in her closet. And every time Other Mommy comes out of the closet, she quietly asks Bela, “Can I go inside your heart?”

Bela always says no, but Other Mommy is getting bold. Other Mommy begins ahowing herself to Mommy and Daddo and others.

An achingly beautiful horror story, written from a child’s perspective, about families and loneliness, lies and betrayal, love and trust, anxiety and denial. Bela is sensitive yet perceptive and though, on many levels she does not understand her parents, she sees and hears more than they do.

Malerman is a wonderful writer and creates a claustrophobic tale of terror and tension.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House and Josh Malerman for providing me with an ARC copy of Josh’s new novel.

I really enjoyed this novel and thought it was definitely very creepy. I read it in a 36 hour period because I wanted to see what was going to happen to the family being affected by the evil entity.

Things that I really liked in the novel:
-The character development and the fact that they were consistent throughout.
-The vivid description of the entity and the way it appeared differently was really creepy. Especially, the whole eyes situation.
-The ending really worked for me. I was curious how the story would be wrapped up and I really liked the choices the author made.

Things that weren’t so great:
-initially, the format really bothered me but once I just got into the story, I was able to get beyond that.
-While the characters are speaking with the little girl, they are using words that are way over the head of any child that age. That dialogue should really be “dumbed down” so that it’s age appropriate.
-I can’t imagine any parent sitting next to a supposedly sleeping child and talking about the things that these parents discussed. I appreciate the information from the monologues but they really should be from a different source like a journal or letters to someone else or even internal dialogue.

I will definitely recommend this book to fellow horror enthusiasts. I thought it was well paced and kept my interest throughout. I’ve read other novels by this author and, once again, he’s done a great job.

This was so deeply disturbing. I was actually scared and that’s really hard to do with a book. Super dark, super engaging, super good. I hated everyone except Bela and I really felt her sense of not being heard. Of being a fixture in the background of her parents lives. Loved this.

I loved this book! It was atmospheric and thought provoking. The parents were such unlikable characters. It reminded me a lot of Coraline but with grown up themes