Such a spooky read full of suspense!!! Such a great read for the Halloween Season, read it you won't regret it!!!

I have extremely mixed feelings about this book. The only character I consistently liked was aunt Julia. Everyone else was either, at times, too obnoxious or too self-absorbed for me to like much. I think her character does the best job of pulling the story together. Alfie spends a lot of time wallowing in grief and self-pity and and not enough time on his daughters. Which may be the root cause of this stories issues.

I’m still not completely sure where this story was going. I spent a lot of time thinking “what the heck?” I had expected it to be suspenseful, and I had been putting off reading it b/c I expected it to be scary as well. But I didn’t find it to be any of those things. While it wasn’t bad, I quickly read it in less than a day, it wasn’t one of my favorites. I did like the Q&A the author put at the end b/c that gave me a better idea of what he might have been going for, story-wise, and helped me collect my thoughts and feelings a bit better. Would make for an interesting book club read b/c it’s definitely a book that is open to interpretation.

*I was given a copy of this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion *

This is a quick read with a creepy premise, but the story jumped from one point to another without any explanation. The characters were interesting, if a bit undeveloped.

This was a creative and creepy way to show how grief affects us all differently. I expected an adrenaline-filled horror novel that would be unputdownable. It was slow and not the pace I was hoping for. This book was slow and repetitive. I considered abandoning it, but I kept reading to see if it would take an interesting turn, but it didn’t.

Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher.

"Let Him In" by William Friend is a gripping psychological thriller that dives deep into the haunting dynamics of grief and fear. Alfie’s life is upended when his twin daughters, still reeling from their mother's death, start talking about a shadowy figure they claim is their new imaginary friend. What begins as a troubling yet seemingly innocent manifestation of their grief quickly spirals into a chilling and malevolent force that threatens to consume their lives. Friend expertly weaves a tale of growing dread, with the unsettling atmosphere of Hart House amplifying the tension. As Alfie and his sister-in-law Julia confront the increasingly disturbing events, the plot thickens with dark secrets and supernatural horror, leading to a tense and unexpected climax. The escalating terror and the unraveling of buried truths make for a compelling and immersive read.

This book was exactly what i was looking for in a haunted house type book. It was very atmospheric and definitely had some creepy vibes to it. Thank you for letting me read and review this book.

I enjoyed the writing and plot throughout most of the book. It conveyed a creepy, eerie tone; the characters were believable; and the plot and kept you guessing throughout. I think the ending came on a bit abruptly and could have been detailed a bit more; otherwise it was a great read!

This book is grief personified and I loved the gothic atmosphere, I couldn’t put it down once I got started. This is definitely one of those books where the cover perfectly matches he vibe of the story. Definitely reminded me of Babadook in the best way!! Thanks to Netgalley and Poison Press for an advanced copy of this spooky read!

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"Let Him In" is a chilling and suspenseful slow burn. The premise of a grieving single father dealing with his twins' unsettling imaginary friend is masterfully creepy. The ambiguity about the entity's nature keeps you guessing and adds a layer of unease that lingers long after the last page.

Let Him In
By William Friend
Review and Rating 3 ⭐️

The creepiness hooked me and kept me intrigued right until the very end.
Alfie is raising twin daughters on his own after his wife Pippa died unexpectedly nine months before. They are not coping well and the twins now have an imaginary friend called Black Mamba. Alfie becomes alarmed when they seem to prefer Black Mamba over him and he threatens to take them away.
He enlists Pippa’s sister, Julia, a child psychologist, to work with the girls and oust Black Mamba from the house and their lives. Julia, who was raised in the house, Hart House, and has her own reasons for not wanting to return, decides to help. The situation, however, only worsens, and Alfie must unravel the mysteries surrounding Hart House and Black Mamba.
This was different from my usual read. I don’t usually like books with supernatural elements. However, I thought this one was done well, especially for a debut novel. A solid 3 ⭐️

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.


Book Rating Key
⭐️ Not Recommended
⭐️⭐️ Readable Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Good Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Excellent Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Near Perfect Book
***Note*** I seldom give ⭐️or ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ratings. If I feel a book is a ⭐️sometimes I just prefer to not finish reading it and not rate it. As for 5 ⭐️books, I think of those as books I would want to take with me to a deserted island 🏝️, and this means I read a whole lot of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️star books. Happy Reading!

Three and a half stars rounded up! This book was an insane roller coaster. Just when I thought I had it possibly figured out, it went in another direction, and so much of it, especially the last couple chapters, left me with more questions. It was still an entertaining read. I want to thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this.

I love a story where grief plays the main star in horror because it feels so natural and so real. Delightfully creepy and thought provoking read.

Let Him In is creepy, atmospheric, and although it's a modern story, reads like a classic suspense tale from early last century.

A harrowing, creepy, eerie novel that will spook you. Definitely don't read this novel along at night, or in the dark.

I loved the creepy vibes in this novel and waiting to see what would happen next.

You Want It Darker

“Let Him In” sounds like it would have all the makings of a chilling gothic horror novel. There is a grieving widower, Alfie, struggling to raise twin 8-year-old daughters in an apparently haunted house. The girls start bonding with an “invisible friend” who tries to take Alfie’s place with the girls, sometimes appearing as a snake, a black mamba… and sometimes a man, “...a lot like Dad…but his eyes are stranger, and he smiles more.” Is this sinister presence merely a psychological crutch for the girls… or are supernatural forces at play?

Alfie is a decidedly weak character– it has only been nine months since he has lost the love of his life, Pippa, and we want to cut him some slack. His sister-in-law, Julia, was not only Pippa’s twin, but a psychiatrist, seemingly a fortunate ally to have in this situation. Julia resists involvement, however, haunted by guilt and secrets from the past. Both Alfie and Julia want desperately to help the girls– yet both are emotionally immobilized. To this, there is an additional dimension of weirdness– Alfie’s mother-in-law. She is a religious zealot who believes in calling departed souls back across death’s barrier.

The young girls are the best characters in the story. Dealing with the loss of their mother and the appearance of some other-worldly creature, this is a great place to launch creepiness. Alfie and Julia are the ones that slow momentum down once we empathize with their guilt and grief. The finale is better, but it seems a long time in coming and one or two things seem forced to get it there.

Horror? I have seen a number of hard-core horror fans deny there is enough horror in this, and I have to agree. There is often a creepy atmosphere– particularly when the shadowy man / snake is described– but there was potential for things to get much darker.

Apparently, this book was released earlier (in Britain, at least) under the title “The Black Mamba.” That was not going to pass here… there was only one Black Mamba– Kobe Bean Bryant. RIP.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review

How good but creepy!!! This book feels like a fever dream and just when you think you know what's going on it takes another turn. I really enjoyed this book. The supernatural element was fantastic and this book was genuinely scary. The ending was nothing you'll ever see coming.

The cover of this book had me so excited to read it. It looks like it’s going to be so scary…. but it’s not. It is a slow read, and is very disappointing. The characters are not easy to connect with, and the dad is a joke. I felt like the girls were meant to be creepy which I found off putting.

Thank you so much Poisoned Pen Press, William Friend, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and honestly review this book.

A tale of grief as a father with twins wife dies . They are uncertain as o keep living until Black Mamba shows up . Dark and creepy with a definite horror aspect to it . This is quite the original novel

I love a creepy imaginary friend story line. The tension that was created here was tangible, so were the grief and the fear of what was happening in this house, to this family. It was pretty good overall, worth a shot!