As a parent, the last thing you want to hear is that there is a stranger in your child's room. Alfie, a recent widower, is awakened by his twin daughters who claim a strange man is in their bedroom. When he investigates, nothing seems out of place. Is this a ploy to sleep with their dad? Alfie enlists the help of his sister-in-law, a psychologist, to find out what is going on. Alfie's wife, Pippa, died in a freak accident and he is trying to cope. Strange things are happening. The girls refer to their new invisible friend as "Black Mamba". Is this friend an attempt to replace their mother? Can Julia the psychologist help this damaged family?

William Friend's characters need some development. Julia, the sister-in-law, leaves her psychology practice to help her nieces. Her actions seem stiff and forced, making it hard for the reader to relate to her. More detail could help the characters become more relatable and understandable.

Let Him In will confuse and surprise you, This thriller actually borders on terror, be prepared!

This book was a slow burn at times but wanting to find out what was happening kept me interested. I don't feel that the reader ever gets a good sense of what was occurring/why/how so I hope there is another book in the works which might expand on that and continue the storyline. Overall I did like the book and would read a sequel if one became available.

Unfortunately I was left frustrated while reading this book. So many concepts were introduced but never fully explained. I don't necessarily need to know what Black Mamba was (ghost, demon, etc) but details like Michael, the rattle, the fatal bug bite amongst others were introduced but never explained. I also absolutely hated that [ Julia and Alfie end up together. It felt out of nowhere and a huge betrayal to Pippa. How can Alfie have loved her so much but moved on so easily to her twin sister?

This book. Wow. Gothic suspense perfect for anyone who is looking to get into the Halloween spirit. Chilling and intriguing story surrounding a recent widower and his young twins. Immediate similarities and comparisons are unavoidable to the creepy twins from Kubrick's "The Shining", where the house itself and an entity actually play the main characters in the plot. Supernatural elements also come into play but truthfully the center of the eeriness of the story is the setting. You can't tell me that you aren't a bit creeped out by time worn buildings with sinister back stories no matter how old you are or aren't. Truly great debut from William Friend, perfect for the upcoming season, but be prepared to be looking over your shoulder for a few sleepless nights. Reminiscent of "The Others", it will make you question what you think you know over the course of the story. Well done. 4/5 stars.

I was very excited to get my hands on Let Him In. It begins almost like a domestic suspense with the cast of characters all trying to find their footing in the wake of Pippa’s death but it soon morphs into a different type of haunted house tale. Rather than the dark, creepy, and foreboding isolated “classic” haunted house, the house in this story is bright and comfortable with an ideal location in London— the perfect home to raise families despite the tragedies that keep occurring. After losing his wife Pippa, Alfie struggles to keep himself together while raising young twin girls who have an obsessive relationship with each other and with their imaginary friend Black Mamba. Alfie and his late wife’s sister Julia try to discover who or what Black Mamba is as he begins to consume the lives and thoughts of the family. The atmosphere was chilling, the characters compelling, and the story interesting, but the end falls a little short for me. It moves too fast towards an ending and left a few too many unanswered questions in its wake which left me frustrated. I am very thankful to have received an ARC on Net Galley and can’t wait to hear everyone else’s thought after it’s out.

A gothic thriller laced with tragedy and suspense. I loved this chilling and eerie tale and could not wait to see what each new chapter would unfold, definitely unputdownable.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel before publish date!

If you up for a great horror book, THIS IS IT!

Great read, steady pace!

Don't read when you are home alone and have a active imagination like me!

Highly recommend this book.

This book was very good. It took awhile to get to what if was alk about but once I did I couldn't put it down. If ya like spooky then this book would be a good own for you. Thanks to herbalist for the opportunity to read this book!!!

I think this story had big potential but it just moved too slow for me. It’s definitely a physiological thriller but it didn’t seem to have enough events to keep me invested.

The greatest strength of the novel Let Him In by William Friend is the skillfully ambiguous narration that makes the reader struggle to place its genre until the climax. It is a suspense filled horror story about the psychology of personal loss that leaves scope for multiple interpretations.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

This was really atmospheric, the author really made it feel like someone was watching you. I had the creepy & eerie sense of someone behind me. Also being a parent myself made it feel all too real.
Very captivating from the start. Will definitely look forward to other books by this author.

5/5⭐️

This book had me on the edge of my seat I read the whole thing in like 2 hours lol.
This is such a great creepy read to get you in the fall spirit.

I grew up in a house that was haunted and I used to see a “shadow man” at my bed, in the corner of my room, & on my attic stairs. So needless to say, this book felt so real to me.

I constantly was looking up from my Kindle and checking to make sure nothing was watching me, and had an uneasy feeling of someone sitting next to me while I was reading.

Very reminiscent of Shirley Jackson’s Haunting of Hill House which I’m a huge fan of the book & the Netflix show!

Multiple POV with a twist, I had a sense of what was coming but kept doubting and doubting and wow, the ending was fantastic.

I really enjoyed the gothic dark feel and it felt like I was transported into the pages of this book. This is probably in the top of my favorite horror reads this year.

This book was very interesting. It showed the true story behind grief and loss as well as the horror around trying to move forward in a world where it feels like you are standing still. Alfie and his twin daughters are trying to figure out what their life looks like after their mother / wife, Pippa, passes away. There are some unexplainable things going on in the home and Alfie turns to his wife’s sister for support. When the girls start talking about “a man in their room”, Alfie starts questioning things, and he’ll have to start addressing his own secrets, the secrets of the Hart House, and the secrets of reality.

This book did keep me engaged all the way through the end and did have me flipping back and forth a few times. There were some questions that were left unanswered, in my opinion, which I didn’t really like. Otherwise, it was a decently quick read. I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

If you are a fan of Catriona Ward, I believe you will enjoy this book. Told in a very similar style, we watch a family following a great tragedy and their meager attempts to regain their lives. However, things are not going well and the children have found a new way to cope. We see alternating perspectives and timelines as we take a deep dive into the strange occurrences that plague the family members. There are some twists and turns. I truly could not put this book down. I was racing through the pages to find out how it all ends. Honestly, I am still unsure at this point if all my questions are answered or maybe I just missed something and didn’t realize it, but I would say it ends on a cliffhanger of sorts. You will have to decide what's real and what isn’t and to me that was a frustrating but entertaining aspect.

So if you like to be left questioning after reading something a little creepy, this is your book!

Check it out October 3, 2023!! Perfect for your fall TBR.

Thanks to Netgalley, Sourcebooks, and William Friend for this advanced copy.

#creepystory #fallreading #familystories #lethimin #falltbr #bookstagram #addtoyourtbr #sourcebooks #williamfriend

Let Him In by William Friend is a haunting novel. The plot is original. Something is happening in Hart House. Alfie, Pippa, and their twins are the second generation of this family living in Hart House. Pippa and her twin sister grew up in Hart House.

I got the chills reading this book. The events taking place are through the eyes of the latest generation of children twins living here. Flashbacks add to the unease you get while reading this book. I knew what was going on, but the reality of it was always just out of reach.

When I finished Let Him In, I knew, in that world, nothing was right. This book is well written. Glimpses of reality are shocking. The ending lives up to the book itself. I would like to the author for this early copy. I enjoyed reading this book and will be following the author now.

Alfie is left widowed with his twin daughters, when his wife Pippa is killed in an accident. Told in Alfie and his sister in law Julia’s point of view, the novel introduces Black Mamba. A man who can shape shift that the girls have announced is their imaginary friend and protector. Alfie enlists the help of Julia, his sister in law who is also a psychotherapist to help determine what the girls are dealing with.
Weird dreams, physical reactions and behaviour changes in the girls worry both Alfie and Julia. There’s a connection between Black Mamba, the girls and the house; but how will that connection be broken?

This was a quick read. A story of trauma and grief, mixed with the paranormal, however, at times it became a little slow for me. There’s quite a mix of the imagination and real time events that I was sometimes lost in. I felt that the whole story wasn’t explained-was it about religion or the supernatural? Both aspects were touched on, but I didn’t feel that either was explained clearly. I did enjoy the way that the twins were written-they were eerie and creepy, while also innocent. Overall a decent story but it was lacking some detail for me.

A classic spooky gothic haunted house tale! However, warning-if you require answers being tied up in a neat bow, this will not be the book for you! Often in other horror fiction social media groups I'm in, I see a lot of people wanting a non-graphic scary haunted house tale akin to Shirley Jackson. This one by William Friend does accomplish that, but with this book, you have to be willing to go along with the ride without promise of a payoff. While the ominous setting and creepy twin trope are sure to grab your interest, you will be full of questions. Expect an unreliable narrator, or even unreliable narratives from several characters! This is the ole "is it paranormal or is it psychological" question. I think the pacing of the book worked nicely, and I was eager to read it to find out more. I don't pan books if they don't answer all my questions, and enjoyed my journey through the book. Thanks, NetGalley and Publisher for the ARC!

Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this super creepy ARC! Let Him In by William Friend is a well-written and atmospheric horror novel that will keep you up at night. It tackles themes of grief and trauma as well as the supernatural in a way that keeps the reader guessing. While the pacing is slow in the beginning, it picks up in the middle. The characters are well-developed, particularly Alfie, and the twins are truly unsettling. If you're in the mood for a creepy read, I highly recommend this read!

Alfie, recent widower wakes to his twin daughters waking him up to say there's a man in their room. Assuming grief, he calls on his wife's twin sister to talk to them as their psychiatrist. The twin 7 year olds have an "imaginary" friend called Black Mumba who can change shapes/beings. The girls start to become obsessed with Black Mumba and they do not want him to leave.
This started off great, but then nothing happened after the first quarter of the book, until the last few chapters.
The idea behind the book was great, but it was just never executed. There is a lot missing from the plot. They throw in talking pieces in the middle of a paragraph about one of their pasts, and you almost have to guess what happened. Half the time, it was unnecessary and did not add anything to the story. Honestly, this is the movie Hereditary. I would read something from Friend again, but I think he just needs to focus on keeping his plot points going in his next book. I would also probably not even classify this book horror. A few demon words doth not make a scary story. This was more a book about grief and lost; a thriller maybe.