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.

This was a great spooky story. The vibes were equal parts creepy and I was hooked from the first chapter. The ending gave .me chills. It was super satisfying!!

The two things that drew me towards this book were the creepy cover (because it's brilliant) and the equally creepy premise. Unfortunately, while there were some enjoyable moments, I found the majority of Let Him In to be slow-moving and a bit repetitive.

Let Him In is well written, with intriguing characters and interesting dynamics between them. I also enjoyed seeing how these characters developed throughout the story as they dealt with (or didn't deal with) their grief, particularly Alfie and the twins. The setting of this book, Hart House, and the nearby Peter's Park are described beautifully. There are also some moments of tension that are so heightened they genuinely made me feel uneasy while reading, in the best way.

Throughout the book, the narrative toys around with what is real and what isn't, going back and forth between the two and never really deciding one way or the other. While I don't mind an open or ambiguous ending, I found the ending to this book too inconclusive and confusing to be satisfying. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, a final 'a-ah!' moment to bring everything together... but it never did, and my questions were left unanswered.

Ultimately this book just wasn't for me, but if the premise sounds intriguing to you and you don't mind a slow burn, then definitely give it a go if you're looking for something to read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and William Friend for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a bit of slow burn for me . It definitely creates a tense atmosphere that sucks you in.It finally picked up for me after the 51% mark. I enjoyed this overall. It was creepy as any good horror should be!
I liked this book
thank you netgalley for the ARC

This was a fairly short read but was more of a slow burn in building up the characters and plot. It didn’t take anything away from the creep factor though! At times I felt like I was questioning what was going on just as Alfie had. New information is given to the reader at several points throughout. It turns into being about something different than you’re lead to believe in the beginning. The less information you have on this before going into it, the better. Overall, a great atmospheric novel that draws you in and doesn’t want to let you go.

Alfie and his twin daughters are mourning the loss of Pippa, his partner and their mother. Soon, the girls start to talk about a mysterious man in their bedroom they eventually call Black Mamba. Can Pippa’s own twin sister help the girls and Alfie to move on, or is something more sinister happening?

The grief experienced by Alfie and the girls was palpable. The book exposed the complicated nature of families and the battle faced those left behind.

'Let Him In' is very reminiscent of the horror movie, Darkness for me. We meet Alfie and his twin girls after the devastating lose of their wife/mother.  As more and more strange things start happening, Alfie reaches out to their Aunt and family psychiatrist, Julia. As we follow this family, we explore if the darkness is coming from their lose, the house, or the people closest to them.

Thanks to NetGalley and poison pen press. This book by Willian Friend is a creepy read right up my alley. I am a mood reader so it took me while to finish it as I was not really into creepy at the moment.

Alfie has twin daughters and has recently lost his wife. His wife was also a twin and she has a sister, Julia, a psychologist by trade who figures prominently in this book, as Alfie seeks her help when the twins insist they see a man named black Mambo.

William Friend takes grief and trauma and mixes it with twin lore and horror. The author does an excellent job creating an Atmosphere that leaves the reader wondering: is this grief/trauma or is it supernatural? That said the book is slow at times, although I love the voices of Julia and Alfie. He does a good job at character development, especially with Alfie. Here we see the impact of grief as it wars with reason.

The twins for me are really creepy. They are reminiscent of the twins in the Shining.. I do recommend this book when you are in the mood to be creeped out.. It would be a great Halloween read.

This was a fun read. Built on the foundationof many familiarsnd well loved tropes, Let Him In definitely creates a tense atmosphere and a sense of uncertainty that any good supernatural story needs. The eerie connection between twins is a fantastic background on which this horror story grows, and is certainly a reminder of just how creepy kids really are.

What a way of creeping your mind. It exposes you to meanings of what ifs and it even felt like a horror film jumpscares. But overall, it seems a little bit flat for me and somewhat familiar to me.