Although having been a writer for a very long time, I cannot say I am familiar with Iain Maitland’s books, The Girl Downstairs, is the first of Iain’s books that I have read, I’m sure this book will have plenty of appeal for Iain’s die-hard fans, but, unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me and I’m not sure if I will be reaching for any of Iain’s other books anytime soon.

I felt the story was slow starting, with too much emphasis on the boring mundane daily chores of preparing dinner and Phil’s dog Fluffy’s daily constitution, I kept waiting for something to happen, and then it did, and to me it felt creepy, a tad disturbing, and definitely had an underlying squeamish component.

Rosie and Philip both have entirely different back grounds, both with a disturbing past that slowly unravels as the story evolves. I cannot say I warmed to any of the characters, neither of them was particularly nice and I didn’t engage with them in any way.

There are plenty of plot twists and turns along the way that kept me guessing, but, sadly not enough and I just wasn’t invested in the characters or the story.

Thank you Netgalley for my advance copy.

Philip has not had an easy life, but the reasons for this are only gradually revealed throughout the book. He is now living alone with his dog when he becomes obsessed by a girl begging in the rundown seaside resort where he lives. After he tracks her down, he offers her a bed for the night.
Little by little they bond and share confidences. She has not had an easy life either and is on the run. The suspense builds up in this psychological thriller until something devastating happens. Philip's past is not as bad as your imagination believes, Rosie's is maybe worse.
I enjoyed reading this book it kept my interest throughout .It finished on a cliffhanger, what is going to happen next? You feel the claustrophy of being at home in and after a snowstorm . The building relationship of the two main characters is well described all from Philip's point of view. Not an easy book to read and I will be thinking about it for a while yet
Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Not my usual type of genre but I thought I’d try it for a change. I wasn’t sure to start with but I got drawn in and glad I’d read it. Well done.

“The Girl Downstairs” is a House of mirrors from beginning to end. I knew in my gut that something more was happening here. A house of mirrors leading you into directions which are illusion until they’re not and then again until it’s not and so on.

I seriously dnf’d this book 4-5 times. I couldn’t take it. The first chapters were sleazy and gross and perverse, but I kept going back. I didn’t know what the pull was. For a bit I felt, holy sh*t, this seems like a persons journal and that was the first time I put it on a DNF shelf.

“The Girl Downstairs” lured me in and it took courage to get beyond the difficult points contemplating whether you want to toss the book aside saying farewell to this sick bast*rd or whether you want to stick around to find out what makes him tick. Like the house of mirrors with the uneasy funhouse effect, nothing is as it appears. With that, I do hope everyone who picks this up to read follows through with it because it is very worth the read.

When Rosie is fully in the picture is the point in which the house of mirrors really kicks in. It’s a slow and detailed read. I see I’m in the minority here and I wish that wasn’t the case. It was the void of fast paced events, where the tension is given the chance to build inside with deep subtly and it works perfectly.

The reality is that this story was tragic! A deep, unsettling and sad story which is going to haunt me. I did ‘not’ see that coming. Mr. Adams is not working with a sound mind and his ways are damned nuts, but when loss causes mental illness to be……or to be-come worse there’s no telling what some people are capable of so I’d say it’s best not to bring strangers home…….or……. not to go home with strangers because who really knows which one is the dangerous one……..

Immensely happy I read this through to the end. Highly recommended and I’m thankful I got a chance to read it.

Thank you to the publisher, Inkubator, to NetGalley and to the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review……..an honest review for a book which easily is getting, completely unexpected yet completely deserving, five solid stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 📖 🤓 loved it!!

Posting on Goodreads, twitter shared from here and will be posting to Amazon.

If there’s one thing that I like doing, it’s discovering new authors. Iain Maitland is certainly a new author for me. I read the synopsis for ‘The Girl Downstairs’ and it certainly sounded like the dark and creepy psychological thriller that I particularly enjoy. Well it was certainly all that and more. I really enjoyed reading ‘The Girl Downstairs’ but more about that in a bit.
It took me a little while to get into ‘The Girl Downstairs’. Part of the problem was the fact that I didn’t take to or warm to the main character of Philip at all who quite frankly gave me the heebie jeebies. Eventually I did get into the story and from then on I had to keep reading to see what was going to happen to Philip. I had my own suspicions as to what was going to happen and I had to keep reading to see if I was anywhere near the truth or if I had the wrong end of the stick. The more of the book that I read, the more I wanted to read and the quicker the pages seemed to turn. I soon got to the end of the book and I could finally get away from Philip. I found ‘The Girl Downstairs’ to be a gripping and tense read, which certainly kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat.
‘The Girl Downstairs’ is well written. The author has one of those writing styles that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. He certainly knows how to grab the reader’s attention and draw them into what proves to be a compelling story. ‘The Girl Downstairs’ isn’t particularly fast paced and a bit of a slow burn, which actually suits the story that the author is wanting to tell. The tension builds as the story continues before reaching a tense conclusion. Reading ‘The Girl Downstairs’ felt like being on a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way.
In short, I really enjoyed reading ‘The Girl Downstairs’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will definitely be reading more of Iain’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

Secrets And Lies…
Secrets and lies abound in this psychological suspense with an edge, with a cast of well crafted characters and a well plotted storyline. Twists and turns aplenty as the storyline continues when against the drudgery of day to day life the underlying tension tells the reader that something is clearly very much afoot. A solid, suspenseful read.

I wasn't sure if I was disgusted by the main character or if I felt sorry for him. I went through a lot of emotions throughout this story. Phillip Adams is a widower that has lost his daughter as well as his wife. Did he do something to lose them? He comes upon a homeless young girl Rosie who he takes in and sees her as a daughter. But there is something so creepy about Mr. Adams and so is Rosie. I wanted to put down the book but I had to finish it to figure if I was warranted in not liking the main character. Even though this was something I wouldn't usually read, it piqued and kept my interest.
Thank you, NetGalley for this ARC The Girl Downstairs by Iain Maitland

This had the potential to be such a better book. It was really good up until the very end! Such a quick and lame ending, ugh I wanted it to end so much better

Mr. Adams has been waiting a long time, looking for that special girl and now he has seen her. She is homeless and winter is fast approaching so he hatches a plan to get her to his house. Little does he know that she has some secrets best kept to herself and things may not work out quite the way he planned.
A good mystery and I thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was OK. I did find it quite slow going to begin with and couldn't quite work out if he was a good guy or a mad guy or what was going on. It did take some perseverance to continue with. Don't be put off maybe just not what I was expecting. I thinking expected fast pace and I felt this was not sadly.

What was this book. the ending was...bizarre, but not shocking, the beginning felt choppy and forced, though it did get better throughout the book. I don't know if I would really call this a psychological thriller but other people seemed to think it was and that it was great so maybe I'm just wrong. not good, not bad, good for people new to the thriller genre or people who are looking for thrillers that aren't too scary.

An Inkubator published book is always a book I want to read. This is the first time I have read anything by Iain Maitland but the cover, blurb and title piqued my curiosity. So off I went to read this psychological thriller.
A tense, twisty and atmospheric thriller. Felixstowe where the story is set, was so well described. I could actually place myself there.
We meet Mr.Adams. a man who lives alone with his dog Fluffy. He befriends Rosie, a homeless girl because she reminds him of someone else. The biggest issue is that Mr. Adams has a secret...what he doesn't know is.. So does Rosie.
A book that I find hard to effectively put into words just how uncomfortable and creepy this story actually is. Mr Adams plays a massive part in those feelings. He is a character that has you glued to the page. A man who disturbed but transfixed me. I even felt like I played some part in this, just as if I was present. Iain Maitland has created him very skilfully, he draws you into the book, even though you are repulsed.
Rosie is another unreliable character also. I spent the time with these two, switching and changing my opinion constantly. This makes for a proper tense and uncertain story. I got a strong feeling of claustrophobia throughout, which got worse with the snow surrounding the cottages.
This is a dark, shocking and complex book that brings issues such as homelessness, family, the need for love, addiction and makes the reader face these things we push under the carpet and ignore.many thanks to Inkubator Books and Netgalley

3.5 rounded up to 4. I enjoyed this story but a few of the character choices were not my favorite. I really loved the story but a few of the other choices took me out of the story a few times.

Not one for me I'm afraid, I felt that is was sluggish and I found it hard to keep engaged as the pace was slow going and felt like I was forever waiting for a great revelation! I defiantly wouldn't put it into the psychological thriller category and the ending left me feeling perplexed!

In Felixstowe, Suffolk, Philip Adams is watching television, eating the last of his dinner, and feeding the scraps of leftover sausage to his dog, Fluffy. He is remembering the girl he has seen, the homeless one and decides to offer to let her stay.

Written from only one viewpoint, the reader spends time guessing what crimes, if any, Adams has committed. This added to the creepy vibe immensely and I certainly experienced the shivers a few times! As someone who enjoys reading slower-paced thrillers from time to time, the plodding tempo was not off-putting. I thought I had both Adams' and Rosie's situations worked out, but I was wrong on both counts. A tremendously good read.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Inkubator Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

A strangely disturbing storyline with lots of red herrings thrown about through out the story kept the reader guessing. A very surprising end to the story was not expected at a very good read well recommended..

This thriller is a slow burner which adds to the suspense, it's not sensationalist at all, much more unnerving. The author does a very good job creating a sense of disquiet tension and although at times it feels a little 'choppy' with hindsight I felt this added to the intrigue.

I so wanted to like this book but the writing was flat, choppy, and lacked any flow. The plot was simple. The characters were shallow. And the ending was rushed.

This was a bit slow to get into but my goodness. It gets really. Good. Stay with it. Dark and creepy and stands out from the rest x

When Philip Adams spots a homeless girl who looks a bit like his late daughter, he becomes preoccupied with the thought that his life might be happy again if only she will come to live with him.

The early chapters of The Girl Downstairs have a slow-burning, almost hypnotic quality to them, letting us see the small, every day details of Philip’s lonely life with his dog, Fluffy, his burgeoning obsession with the homeless girl and the nightmares that disrupt his sleep. Philip lives on his own in a cottage, surrounded by farmland and a few neighbours he does his best to avoid, a setting with a touch of the gothic which is only enhanced once the heavy snow starts to fall.

Aspects of Philip’s previous life creep into the narrative, alongside his increasing preoccupation with finding the homeless girl again and persuading her to move in. His tendency to overthink, over-prepare and over-imagine possible scenes with the girl quickly start to feel intrusive and predatory.

As the narrative progresses, Rosie, the homeless girl, becomes a sort of second protagonist in the novel. While we come to understand the life history and motivations of one of these complex characters, the other seems destined to remain slightly out of reach.

The Girl Downstairs is a truly psychological thriller, so the book’s power comes mainly from its emotional twists and turns. We are invited over and over to re-evaluate the things we think we know about its characters, as the story swings from the sinister to the heartbreaking and back again. Glimpses of possible true happiness are portrayed so seductively that I started to root for this along with the characters, and Fluffy the dog is a great addition, bringing out the best in almost everyone and reminding us that few lives are entirely without other sides and other possibilities.