The idea of a child disappearing is awful. The idea of a child disappearing and then coming back.....different is almost worse.

The Stanger in Our House has taken this storyline and created a creepy tale that will fly off many airport shelves. That being said, I didn't care for this too much. The style of voice notes and therapy notes, didn't really work for me. I like a more...traditional way of writing? Am I old?

It's a good story and could have worked well had it been presented better.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Many dream of moving out of the city to live somewhere rural. For the Aiken family it becomes a reality, but the move begins what can best be described as a deeply troubling experience.
When the family settle into Little Crake they fall in love with their new cottage, but soon it becomes a place they fear. Son, Noah, goes missing and three days later he is found covered in clay, with cuts in his abdomen and wedged into the hollow of an oak tree. Noah is alive, but - understandably - is not the same upon his return.
The story is told through a series of diary entries, voice recordings, therapist meetings and letters. This makes the book feel quite disjointed. Every one of the family is seen to be suffering as we watch them fracture further.
Local superstitions abound. Deeply traumatised, Noah behaves in ways that indicate an extreme mental break. Nobody knows how to help him, so it’s no surprise that they become susceptible to talk of hauntings, possession and evil. We’re never quite sure what is happening, but watch in horror as things deteriorate.
From start to finish the book depends on our willingness to engage with a local myth. We’re not given a full picture of what’s been happening until it’s really too late. At this point there was a grim fascination to seeing things resolved, but it wouldn’t be right to say I enjoyed this.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this. An odd tale, and yet it didn’t quite work for me.

I have read a few books by this author and liked them all. This was very different from other books I have read having a somewhat supernatural slant to it which ordinarily is not my genre of book but nevertheless was enjoyable.

The Aiken family, Parents Aaron and Meera and son and daughter Noah and Uma have recently moved from London to a small Northern village called little Crake stepped in history going back to the plague. shortly after their arrival Noah goes missing for 3 days eventually being found in the dark woods near their cottage inside a tree covered in abdominal cuts and covered in mud.

Noah, previously a mild mannered Well behaved 15 year old changes and shows alarming traits and harms a girl at his school. The woods are where the dead from the plague were buried and rumour had it of a black dog with red eyes known as a Gytrash is in the woods and was responsible for what happened to Noah.

Meera believes Noah is possessny the Gytrash whereas Aaron believes his son needs time and counselling. Uma is unsure what to believe but seems the most logical member of the family albeit she is only 12 years old.

The story is told from the perspective of all the family members as dirty entries, voice notes which makes it more interesting from my perspective and I recommend this book.

I would like to thank netgalley UK and victory editing negalley co-op for the arc in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

The Aiken family has left behind city life for a new, quiet life in a small village. When their teen don, Noah, goes missing and is found injured in the woods, the village’s legends come out.

This was a very fast paced read. It speeds by and I finished it in one day. I loved the diary style writing and different perspectives. It escalates quickly and can be a bit unbelievable but was still an entertaining read.

“At that moment, I realized our family would never be the same again. What I don’t know is whether we’re simply cracked, or if we’ve been broken open. One is irreparable.”

The Stranger in our House comes out 2/7.

So very creepy.. written in diary and notes from therapist. Such a different, unique way to write a book. Definitely glad I didn't read this at night.
Soared through this as just had to hold onto the weirdness and creepiness happening.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

I was enjoying this so much until the end, very disappointed in the wrapping up.

However, the writing was fantastic. The story is written from the perspective of diaries, and you find out more towards the end, which I thought was an excellent touch.

I just feel the actual ending of the story was a little bit blasé. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I was hoping for a bit more.

That being said, the suspense, the empathy, and emotion all come out in the story, it was very well written and my personal opinion about the ending isn't enough to put me off reading more from the author.

I’d like to thank Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Stranger In Our House’ by Sarah A Denzil in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Aaron and Meera move from London with their children, fifteen-year-old Noah and Uma fifteen, to have a better life. They find a house in Little Crake, North Yorkshire, but soon after they get there Noah leaves the school bus, heads for Deep Valley Forest and disappears. When he’s found three days’ later Noah isn’t the same person, he has cuts to his abdomen and is covered in clay, but it’s almost as if he’s a different person.

‘The Stranger In Our House’ is a chilling supernatural story written in diary form by Aaron, Uma and Noah with voice notes from Meera and additional statements from Noah’s headteacher and his therapist Dr Madsen. This story has been different to the normal thrillers I read and I was so involved that I raced through it desperate to know what was going to happen to Noah and his family. It’s an impressive story, well-written and quite unique, that’s made my heart race and the back of my neck tingle. I look forward to reading more by this author.

I’ve always inhaled this author’s books, but this one took a turn for the decidedly weird. I enjoyed reading about the Celtic folklore behind the story, and I found myself believing along with the characters that something evil had inhabited this family. As an American, much of the backstory was unknown to me, and I appreciated the history lesson as well. I will always instantly request anything by Ms Denzel, but this one was a rare treat.

I DNF's this book about half way through. I was really enjoying the book at the beginning. Then nothing seemed to happen. The story stayed the same for too long with nothing changing or happening. Also, I did not care for the addition of talking about transgender children when that had nothing to do with the story also racism which had nothing to do with the story.

I give this book 4 instead of 5 stars, because it was a little science fiction and not just straight thriller. I love this author though, and will continue reading everything she writes. It was a good book, and I kept reading because I needed to know what was going to happen. Very intriguing.

I am thankful to Netgalley for approving me for this title!
I was so excited to get this book and I was immediately drawn in by the cover!
I like the plot of this book as it was so mysterious and unique!
I found myself thinking I knew what was happening and then a twist comes in that had me guessing until the end!
This is my first book by this author but I will be reading all of her books now!
I highly reccomend this book to others looking for a thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A creepy scary book that keeps you turning the pages real quick to see what happens next.
This is a mix of folklore and present.
The story is told through diary entries, transcripts and newspaper articles which i must say i liked it is a unique book.

Really enjoyed this book. Loved the different styles in which the story was told. Showed an insight into the story and characters that you may miss from a static storytelling method. Also loved the character development, they all had their own personalities and showed both a commercial

This was a first read from this author and I really enjoyed it! I felt that the format (diary entires, letters and interviews) with short chapters really sold it to me!

It was incredibly well written and was very tesne to read, especially in the last hour! I was on edge, Denzil's writing flowed well and enjoyable to read!

Uma is one of the most relatable characters I know! Super fun book, obsessed gal!

Let me start off by saying the blurb sounded very interesting. I wanted to read this. This book was just not it. It was very hard to get into. I had to force myself to keep reading because it was pretty boring for the first 2/3 of the book. The ending felt very rushed and wild, off the wall, etc. I just didn’t enjoy this one very much, but I do think the idea of the book could’ve been great. It just wasn’t put together well. Also, this book is written in a series of diaries, therapy sessions, and news articles which just wasn’t easy to follow and wasn’t appealing to me.

Thank you so much to the publishers for my early copy of this one in exchange for my honest review.

The Stranger In Our House tells the story of the Aiken family having recently moved into a new house and what transpires after the son, Noah goes missing and is found in the forest behind their new home.

I loved this. I loved the different ways that this story was told and really had a hard time coming up with any major flaws. It was so well thought and drawn out between the diary entries, pictures, and voice notes. Everything about this novel gave me chills, and I found myself ripping through the pages to its shocking conclusion. It gave me constant goosebumps and really reminded me of paranormal activity and the Blair witch project at times as well as a touch of The Amityville Horror.

Cannot wait to read more of Sarah Denzil. 5 stars!

I can't get over how much I love this novel.
It starts out with this absolutely horrifying image of a teen curled into a tree. I can't describe it but you get this feeling about it all.
Then we have our characters. They are all relatable.
Noah is a teen boy on the cusp of adulthood and any parent of a teen can attest that they change dramatically at this stage. It is basic human development. But Noah might be dealing with something extra. We can't say for sure.
The dad is dealing with this like dads do. He is trying to fix the issues with professionals and logic. The mom is deeply saddened and looking for guidance from older women who might know a thing or two.
And the teen girl is trying to be a normal teen in the midst of all of this terror but her brother is starting to scare her. My brother is paranoid schizophrenic and I felt every single word she wrote in her diary. No matter the cause, trauma, or supernatural things, I think she would be relatable.
And the town history. I loved the town history. I love the way local history can shape town beliefs and culture. We see it a lot in our old west town.
Anyway, the book also reads like a nonfiction novel. This a treasure.

Sarah Denzil is a master at telling stories that are creepy & somewhat disturbing, yet realistic enough to make the reader think it could actually happen (a combination I love!). I love the family in the book and the way it is told from different perspectives. Like all Denzil’s books, I was hooked from page one. I will be telling everyone about The Stranger in Our House!! It is definitely one of my favorite books from my favorite author!

Although I read the whole book it wasn't massively to my taste, I don't really read fantasy novels and felt there was a big element of that present. The book was in diary, voice note form, there's nothing wrong with that it's just not a format I like to read in.

The book was written well and the story was good, I have given 4 stars as I just felt it wasn't to my usual liking and I don't like giving low reviews because I personally wasn't enthralled. I think fans of fantasy, mystery mixed with a bit of horror would enjoy this book.

This book is the horror book I've been waiting for. The format is so cool and well put together - a mix of journal entries, therapy notes, creepy drawings, newspaper articles, and even descriptions of video footage. I had to restrain myself from devouring this in one day, and even then, I hadn't realized how far into the story I actually was due to its fast pace and addictive writing style. The lore of the village added such an eerie feel to the plot with how it was intertwined throughout the story.

All of the characters are so likable - even when they make questionable decisions. Uma is so endearing, and Aaron and Meera are such supportive, loving parents that it doesn't even matter that readers never really get to know exactly what Noah was like before he went missing - his family rooting for his recovery had me rooting for him as well. I loved that a big chunk of the book came from Aaron's perspective as I enjoyed the father-daughter bond between him and Uma along with his - somewhat broken - bond with Noah. Meera's voice memos helped understand her thought process and showed that, even though they had different ways of achieving it, both she and Aaron just wanted what was best for Noah.

The messages of the book, which I won't directly name because I don't want to spoil any of the twists or the ending, made me highly emotional as they were delivered so beautifully and tragically. Even though this book was one of my first reads this year, it will definitely make its way into my top favorites for 2023.