Spooky Debut Novel
"Let Him In" by William Friend is a debut novel that immediately caught my attention with its striking cover and held it throughout its spine-tingling narrative. This story delves into the intricate web of family dynamics, presenting a haunting tale that is equal parts unsettling and riveting.

The narrative revolves around Dad, Alfie, and his twin daughters, Cassia and Sylvie, who are grappling with the sudden and unexpected loss of their beloved partner and mother, Pippa. Alfie, overwhelmed by his own grief, finds himself navigating the challenging task of single parenting. Despite the difficulties, he believes they are managing as well as can be expected. However, everything changes when the girls claim to have an imaginary friend named Black Mamba, a shape-shifting man who takes them on adventures and promises protection.

The introduction of Black Mamba sets off a series of events that grow increasingly disturbing, blurring the line between imagination and reality. In search of answers and guidance, Alfie enlists the help of his late partner's sister, Aunt Julia, a psychiatrist with a unique perspective. The story unfolds through the alternating viewpoints of Alfie and Julia, allowing readers to witness the escalating drama with the mysterious Black Mamba.

Friend skillfully weaves a narrative that keeps readers on edge, making us question whether Black Mamba is merely a coping mechanism or something far more sinister. The family dynamics are not only captivating within the central characters but also in the exploration of Pippa and Julia's family history.

The author's ability to create an ominous and haunting atmosphere throughout the story is commendable, effectively immersing readers in a sense of unease. As a debut novelist, William Friend displays an impressive talent for crafting a story that grips the reader's imagination and refuses to let go. I eagerly look forward to more works by this author in the future.

One of the standout elements of "Let Him In" is its use of the creepy kid trope, heightened by the fact that the unsettling imaginary friend is shared by twin sisters. Friend expertly capitalizes on this trope, delivering a truly chilling and spine-tingling experience.

I won't divulge any more details, as I believe this book is best enjoyed with just the basic premise in mind. Prepare to be absorbed into a thrilling and eerie narrative that is perfect for kicking off your October Spooky Season TBR.

I extend my gratitude to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press and Dreamscape Media, for providing me with the opportunity to read and review "Let Him In." If you're in the mood for a spine-tingling read that explores the depths of family and the supernatural, I highly recommend picking up this book.

The premise of the story is quite interesting, and, although the actual book was nothing like what I was expecting, it was a really enjoyable experience. It's basically "The Babadook" meets the twins from "The Shining", and it's amazing.
The story becomes a little bit repetitive at times, but I didn't really care about that. I think it could have used some more scenes where something supernatural happens, but, being a psychological thriller, it was actually quite balanced.
The whole Black Mamba theme was really well executed, and it's a really accurate representation of how grief feels like for some people.
The author manages to maintain the tension throughout the book, making for a really enjoyable and thrilling reading experience.
And that ending was really creepy.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

✨️Will be posting links ✨️
What can I say? I am a sucker for a great paranormal book - especially written by debut authors. I was pumped to read this book. Creepy kids seeing people in their room? I am hooked. I'd give a solid 4 stars as it did meet every expectation I have. I feel it is one of the better paranormal horror books out there. I would recommend to haunting of hill house or the Warren fans. I will update this post with links to my online reviews.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Alfie, a newly widowed dad, wakes to his young twin daughters standing at the end of his bed. "Daddy, there's a man in our room." Alfie calls Julia, his sister in law, and asks for her help because she's a psychiatrist. The twins remain adamant that Black Mamba is a real man who can shape-shift into any form. Alfie and Julia chalk it up to an imaginary friend due to grief from the loss of their mother. Julia agrees to stay in the Hart House for 3 nights to observe the girls.

The Hart House has a sordid past and had been Julia's childhood home, but her sister and Alfie purchased it after the girls were born. After 3 days, it appears something far more sinister than an imaginary friend was afoot.

I feel like although this was an enjoyable read, it could have been a great book. There were elements presented that had they been fully fleshed out, would have filled out the story, and made it much more horrifying. We had glimmers of the Hart House curse and history, the odd religious beliefs of Julia's and Pippa's parents, The Book of Princes, and other artifacts, but they just sort of dropped off. I will be thinking about that ending for a while, though!

Thanks to Netgalley and Poison Pen Press for the opportunity to read and review this spooky season book.

This book had me questioning things throughout, but in a good way!! 👀 Words that come to mind when trying to describe this book: creepy, dark, dread, grief, sadness, loss, depression, unease, demonic, imaginary, tense, atmospheric, haunting, and utterly unsettling. All. Of. That. 🙌

I do have to say that this would have been a 5 star review had it not been for a turn in the plot towards the end that made me literally roll my eyes and ask “why did this even need to go there?”. May have just been a “me” thing, though! 😂

The ending did leave me with some questions, though it may very well have been the author’s intent to leave things up to interpretation! Would love to discuss thoughts with others who read this book!! 🤓

I definitely recommend it as a great creepy read, especially for spooky season!! 🧡

Thank you to @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

QUICK SUMMARY 🖊️
Grieving widower Alfie wakes up one night with his twin daughters claiming there’s a shadowy man in their room, when no evidence of this is found he assumes it’s just a nightmare.

This becomes a nightly thing, until it’s not anymore, and they introduce their imaginary friend. Chalking this up to grief, Alfie enlists the help of his sister in law and twin of his dead wife


FINAL THOUGHTS 💭
First thank you to @NetGalley & @PoisonedPenPress for this copy of #LetHimIn

I’ll use @curiously.karts famous line but flipped. Loved the journey, hated the destination. But it seems I may be on the minority end of this.

This book gave me literal nightmares that made me want to crawl out of my skin. Not because the book so scary per se but it was written in a way that let my imagination get away from me at bedtime.

I was drinking it all in until the end. Then it lost me, there was a couple things I liked from it but mostly it just lost me. I will definitely recommend this book, even though I didn’t love the ending the journey was worth it.

*As always, please check trigger warnings, if you ever wonder about a book I’ve read feel free to ask me.

First, I would like to thank Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

I will say, I LOVE my slow burns, but I guess not so much when it comes to horror/thrillers.

Alfie is a recent widow and a father to twins. As Alfie and the twins are healing over the loss of their wife/mother, the twins have gained a new friend...who's imaginary. He goes by the name of Black Mamba and only the twins can see him. Alfie becomes concerned and reaches out to his wife's sister Julia, who is a therapist. As we go along both Alfie's and Julia's POV's, we start to learn some history and secrets hidden in the house.

Overall, I thought the story was good. The thing is, I'm a bit confused what happened at the end. When it comes to psychological thrillers or horror stories, I like to understand how the end...ended. I'm not quite sure if I would describe this book more on the thriller/psychological side or paranormal...and I had wished it was more paranormal.

I wish the grandmother was introduced earlier and that we got to know her side a little more. Once I got to the middle of the book, I was certain Black Mamba was the father after he's had a few drinks since his alcohol consumption was brought up a bit. And that was the reason why the twins said Black Mamba looked like their dad but different. I feel like I would have been fine with this outcome. But then the grandma revealed whatever it was she revealed so that's why I'm a bit confused.

I also wish we got more details on the rattle! That was a bit freaky.

But overall, this story was fine.

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

The dual narration on this audiobook worked so well with the story! Both the male and female narrators brought their characters to life and made the story so much more enjoyable for me! This book is about a father coping with the loss of his wife while trying to navigate becoming a single father to twin daughters. There were certain aspects I found absolutely chilling, especially as a parent with daughters, if they told me there was a man in their room at night I would probably pack their things and sell the house! It was all a very interesting story and I really like how the book concluded.

What a fun spooky start to October, I really enjoyed the Whisper Man type vibes this book has.

Let Him In, by William Friend, tells the story of Alfie, a man who is trying to do his best at raising his twin daughters after the unexpected passing of his wife. When the girls start talking about their new imaginary friend, Black Mamba, he at first brushes it off as a coping mechanism to deal with their grief. It isn’t until unexplained things start to happen, and physical proof of Black Mamba’s presence start to appear, that Alfie starts questioning if maybe something sinister is really in his house after all.


Thank you NetGalley, and Poisoned Press for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

LET HIM IN

A psychological suspense about a young, newly widowed father struggling to raise twin daughters obsessed with an imaginary friend.

First off, I'm obsessed with this cover!

This book has an interesting concept and I appreciate how smart it is that grief is the main focus here. There's something so terrifying about horror meeting grief, intertwining, and tapping straight into a reader's brain.

Envision you have an imaginary friend to help cope with the death of a loved one, only this "friend" is mysteriously frightening. Black Mamba, lurks in the twin's room, watches them while they sleep, and even wants a place setting at the dinner table. *Excuse me while I go sage off my Kindle*

It sounds promising, right?
Well, while it was an eerie thought-provoking read, something didn't fully connect. I can appreciate a slow-moving horror story, but there were several things I would have liked to get more background information on. Its pacing was off-putting at times. Also, dare say I wanted more...sinister?

This is the kind of horror novel that is open for interpretation, so it won't be for everyone.

Thank you @poisonedpenpress @netgalley for this e-arc.

Out tomorrow, 10/3/23

3.5-3.75 stars

If you love books about houses that give people the creeps, then this one's for you.

This is a story where the creepiness is in the air, in the walls, on top of stairs, around the corner, and in the corner of your eye. That is to say, it may not always be obvious, but it's always THERE.

What you have is one such creepy house, that earlier belonged to Pippa's parents, and now belong to the family consisting of Alfie (Dad), Pippa (now deceased) and their 'The Shining'-esque twins, Sylvie and Cassia.

Alfie is having trouble coping with life and its demands since his wife has passed away fairly recently, and now it's on him to raise his daughters. It doesn't help that his twins come to him every night and ask to sleep in his room because there's a man in their room (which upon checking, of course there isn't).

Then the girls befriend an imaginary person called 'Black Mamba', who can transform into any animal or bird he desires and takes them on adventures to the sun, and through the city, and under the sea.

At first, Alfie plays along, because a lot of kids have imaginary friends, right? Then it starts to get more serious, and the twins start acting out and blaming it on their friend. This causes Alfie to turn to Pippa's twin sister Julia, who (very conveniently) is a psychiatrist. Julia also has a little secret of her own, namely, that she and Pippa also used to have an imaginary friend when they were little. To top it off, their parents used to dabble in the occult/metaphysical, and she's afraid that it has unleashed something sinister into this house, and onto their family.

The question that you are faced with throughout the book is-do paranormal entities really exist, or do we bring them into existence ourselves? Our minds are weird, and how do we tell the difference between real and imaginary?

I could feel the darkness and heaviness of the house, which was a good thing, because I think that's what the author intended...to give the house a life and entity of its own. The twins are every bit as weird and spooky as you would imagine twins to be in a horror story. I almost felt sorry for Alfie at times, because he was their Dad and couldn't just ditch them or run away from them (lol).

There is a romance(?) angle towards the end that didn't sit quite right with me, and seemed altogether a too-easy way to give the girls a substitute mom. Is a single Dad raising his daughters not still acceptable? It seemed unnecessary, especially since Alfie was still grieving so deeply, and didn't really need to be in a relationship at that time, especially with the person he decided to be with.

I personally did not feel that the character of Julia did not contribute to the understanding or resolution of the issue with the twins as a psychiatrist, any more than any lay person with a basic understanding of psychology could have done.

The name 'Black Mamba' seemed a bit jarring to me. Maybe because he could turn himself into a snake as well? I don't know, but an innocuous name such as 'Pennywise' or 'Mr. Rogers', for example, sounds much more creepy than a more obvious name like that, at least to me.

Overall, I did enjoy the book, and would recommend that you put it on your TBR for the spooky season, as it will not disappoint.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

This was not for me. It was extremely slow and the ending had me underwhelmed. I did enjoy that elements and the creepy horror vibes. Also, the audiobook narrators were good!

3.5 ⭐️ This book was so creepy , from the picture on the book you know it’s going to be good and scary lol . It was different style than what I read , felt like a scary movie , I enjoyed the plot .


Thank you to Poisened Pen Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest revie

Let Him In by William Friend was utterly creepy and superbly mysterious! Told from multiple perspectives, this book is creepy and will keep you guessing.

I received a review copy of this book from the author/publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #PoisonedPenPress for the ARC #LetHimIn by #WilliamFriend. This is a very interesting and dark book that contains a lot of grief and mourning for loved ones.

I was so excited for this book. I saw the cover and I requested right away. I really wanted to like it, but unfortunately this book wasn't it for me. I felt like the plot had holes and failed to grasp my attention. There were a few chapters that did grasp my attention, but it wasn't until I was 40% in, and thats no fun! I had lots of questions at the end that I needed clarification on and I still couldn't figure it out. With that being said, I don't know if I would recommend this book to my friends. Thank you Netgalley for this early ARC.

✨ BOOK REVIEW ✨

ʟᴇᴛ ʜɪᴍ ɪɴ ʙʏ ᴡɪʟʟɪᴀᴍ ғʀɪᴇɴᴅ

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️// 5

I talk a big talk when it comes to horror/mystery books. I can handle serial killers, domestic thrillers, and even the paranormal books.. but when it comes to creepy kids (or 2 of them 🫠) that is where I just start to lose it.

It’s rare when it happens, but this book gave me nightmares. I was hearing things and making sure my nightlight was on lol.

Even though it is creepy af, this book was one of the best I’ve read this year. Highly recommend to anyone! (Unless you have small children that wake you up in the middle of the night. In that case, hold off 😅)

Thank you @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress . This book was an amazing debut and I can’t wait to read more from William Friend!

Another debut novel on this list, Let Him In is the store of Alfie, raising his twin girls after the death of his wife Pippa. When the twins start showing strange behavior, he enlists the help of Pippa’s sister, Julia.

Working with the twins forces Julia to confront parts of her own past, and the history of her childhood home, where Alfie and the girls now live.

This was an atmospheric slow burn, perfect for the Halloween season.

A review of Let Him In by William Friend. His novel will be released this Tuesday, October 3. Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Penn Press for the advanced Kindle version of the novel for an honest review.
3 out of 5 stars.


In this creepy and suspenseful novel a family endures a tragedy that the young twin girls are having a difficult time coping with. Their dad isn’t handling life and fatherhood very well after the family’s tragic event. Aunt Julia tries to help the twins and her brother in-law Alfie work through their grief in hopes of healing and moving on. Grandma, Julia’s mother, unfortunately has a foot dipped into the plot by always interjecting her opinion and viewpoints that Julia and Alfie alike tolerate, but don’t agree with.

There are supernatural forces at play that keep the plot moving, albeit slow in some areas. This novel is definitely creepy and suspenseful up to a point. I felt like at times the climax of the story was about to happen, and then it didn’t and fell flat for me. I honestly expected something truly jaw dropping or wanting to throw my Kindle across the room with an unexpected twist, but it didn’t happen. That’s not to say, I didn’t enjoy the novel, I did. The author's style of writing was quite good and he is a talented writer. His character development was well done, and he had several suspenseful moments that kept me reading. I grew to dislike the grandma in the story, and great writing will elicit feelings towards a character whether you strongly connect with a character or despise them.

I will definitely read other works by William Friend in the future. I feel his stories that he has yet told, will evolve and only grow and become better with time.

This book kept me curious till the very end.

I was wondering if it is a psychological thriller or if there are some paranormal things. Well, you won’t know until the last pages!

Something happens and then you have a really good logical explanation. But then something happens again. And again and again.

The book has a lot of twists and I liked them all! The ending was a little bit predictable but still shocking.

Funny, but the character who shocked me the most was not the one of main characters but the twins’ grandma. Oh, this lady has her secrets and knows much more than she shows!

I enjoyed “Let Him In” a lot! Can’t wait to read other books by William Friend.

Thank you, NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.