Alfie awakes one night to his daughters, Sylvie and Cassia, at the foot of his bed claiming they have seen a man in their room. After searching their room he sees no evidence of an intruder in the house. This goes on for awhile until suddenly they stop going into his room and Alfie assumes they’ve stopped having nightmares. Until recently the girls have made a new imaginary friend. A “man” who takes them on adventures at night and can turn into anything from a fish to a bear. He’s recently lost his wife, Pipa, and Alfie thinks it’s their way of coping with the loss of their mom. They start drawing him and even want a place for him at the table. Claiming “Black Mamba” doesn’t want them to do things because he doesn’t like it, they whisper to him. It’s starting to feel unreal and not so “imaginary” friend. Alfie then calls Pipa’s sister, Julia, whom is a psychiatrist. But Julia has been avoiding to counsel the girls and Alfie for fear of returning to Hart House. Alfie fears he’s losing his daughters to whatever is calling upon them and even worse he feels like he’s losing himself. He doesn’t know what’s real anymore.

My thought 💭

I loved this book! It definitely gave me the chills. I read it at night and was scared to see a shadow looming over me. The screams and nightmares all felt so real. The buildup was slow and it took a minute for the story to unfold. So it was definitely a slow start and at times a little repetitive. But at the same time I felt like I was imagining the movie the whole time. I cannot wait until I read more books by this author. If you’re looking for a spooky read this October, this is the book for you!!!

Thank you @NetGalley and the @williamfriend for allowing me to read the ARC.

This book started off great. The twins come into their father’s room to tell him there is a man in their room. My only problem was in the middle it was slow and somewhat repetitive. I didn’t like a couple chapters on Julia’s POV because I felt like it was a filler and didn’t really need to be in the story. Especially when she talks to her mom and aunt. It pulled me away from the story a bit.

The ending was okay. I was left with more questions than answers. I recommend this book though it was a fun read.

This was a super creepy, and at times frightening, book. I loved every single page as I tried to figure out exactly what was going on and why. If you want a story that's going to make you pull the covers tightly over your head to keep the bad things out, look no further.

This new book is just what I like to read. Quiet, insidious horror. The little girls have me going and I think their twinship makes it even creepier. It took a while to sort out all the relationships and untangle Alfie's confusion but I had a feeling all along that he was really a good guy. It was very evident that he and Pippa truly loved each other and the girls. Could hardly finish it fast enough!

This was creepy and spine-tingling! And that ending! I really wanted to know more about the house's history and the family's relationship to it, so maybe there will be a sequel?

“Daddy, there’s a man in our room”
Alfie is a newly widowed father, and keeps getting woken up in the middle of the night by his twin girls who tell him that a man is in their room. After a while of this happening, it suddenly stops, and Alfie doesn’t think about it again until one day when the twins start talking about their imaginary friend “black mamba”. Alfie’s sister-in-law is a child psychologist and went round to their house to reassure Alfie that it was perfectly normal behaviour in grieving children, but she ends up leaving the house terrified that this is something more insidious than a harmless imaginary friend. When I read horror books I do hope I will get a bit scared, and this one was truly creepy and disturbing and I thought about it so much in the days after reading it!

The book is about grief, haunting, the bonds between parents and siblings, family tensions, religion and belief. I was gripped the whole way through and read it in a few sittings because I had to find out what was going on.

This book would make such a great film adaptation and I think it would be truly terrifying.

This book is a different take on grief and coming back from sadness.
It gives you all the goosebumps and creepy vibes.

It’s slow at times but pushing through the ending is good.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Friend for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of Let Him In. This book follows Alfie and his twin girls after the death of their mother, Pippa. Soon after her death, the twins begin having seemingly harmless nightmares where they envision a man standing at the foot of their bed. But slowly, the visions become all-encompassing and Black Mamba begins to take over every aspect of their lives. Desperate for help, Alfie calls on his dead wife’s twin Julia to offer the twins counseling. But the more she talks to them, the more they all begin to think that Black Mamba may be more real…and more dangerous…than any of them had ever imagined.

I would rate Let Him In by William Friend 4 out of 5 stars. Friend did an excellent job of slowly unraveling the narrative, letting readers in on past events one at a time. It was a little slow at times and could occasionally get pretty unclear, but other than that it was a very good read. Definitely treads the line between thriller and horror and leaves you full of questions at the end.

I would recommend this book to any and all horror lovers! Especially those who love books where you get to make your own assumption of what happens at the end. I would offer trigger warnings for suspected child abuse and mentions of suicide. If you are looking for a new horror book to read this fall, definitely check out Let Him In when it releases on October 3, 2023.

I was so drawn to this story because I love anything thrilling and haunting. The synopsis hooked me from the very beginning. Anytime your child comes to you and says there’s a man in their room, I’m wide awake and alert. Let’s go! So, as much as it pains me to say this, I didn’t come away with those feelings. Instead, I feel deflated, of sorts. I’m on the fence with this one you might say.

Alfie is a widower raising twin daughters, Cassia, and Sylvie. Twins, in and of themselves, are a wonder to begin with, so imagine, if you will, when your daughters are telling you of a man they continually see and talk to daily. Alfie assumed his daughter’s trauma of having lost their mother so tragically brought about this “imaginary” character named Black Mamba. Black Mamba can turn into anything he wishes. Most of the time he presented himself to the girls as a snake or sometimes he’s a bird, but make no mistake Black Mamba exists. Alfie has no idea what he’s to do about his daughters’ behavior, so he seeks out his sister-in-law, Julia, who is a psychiatrist, to help him sort out what is going on.

When Julia starts to interview her nieces, she is eerily reminded of a time when she was about their age, where her sister, Pippa, once told her about a man she saw. Could it be a coincidence or just child’s play? Julia wasn’t sure what was going on, but one thing was for certain, she knew her nieces weren’t making up what they saw. And the more she delved into what was going on with her family, a strange picture and ugly truths began to emerge.

Umm, ok, so let’s get down to it. I found this story to be extremely boring through most of it. The excitement, for me, didn’t begin to happen until I was about 70% into the story. I believe that’s why I’m on that dreaded fence. This was a very good story, but I wasn’t thrilled with the delivery of it. It was too much carrot dangling for me and not enough getting down to the crux of what we’re here for. I’m not sure how to convey what I’m saying, but at the end of the day, I wasn’t a fan of this story.

The back and forth between Alfie and Julia narrating our story grated on my nerves a bit because as I mentioned, it was taking too long for me to find out what was actually happening and when I did, I was left with...hmm? At the end of the day, every story isn't for everyone and this just happened to be one of them.
Was this a bad book? Absolutely not. I was able to read it with ease and navigate quite well throughout the story--I just wished the story had picked up speed well before the ending.

This was a very creepy story following the imaginary friend of two twin girls. Really makes you question what’s real and what isn’t. I’m still not totally sure I had it all figured out by the end. But not in a bad way! Definitely one I’ll be thinking about for awhile!

From the very first page I was drawn into this creepy debut. Twins bring on the thrills!

A strong debut that is a dark delight & a refreshingly different read. I’ve read a lot of books about twins, however this one felt original. Well plotted with a number of twists and a clever ending. I thought it would go in a creepier direction, however I was very satisfied. Obvious is boring. This was…..fun!

4.5 stars rounded to 5. William is a natural storyteller with writing that is smooth & flows easily through the pages. I’ll definitely be reading more by this author.

If you love psychological suspense, horror & the supernatural this is a book for you.

Favorite line: “What I want & what I am don’t align.”

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press & William Friend for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Alfie, a recent widower, is disturbed when his twin daughters believe they have seen a man in their bedroom. Then even more disturbed when that man turns into an imaginary friend. He brings in Julia, psychiatrist and twin sister of his late wife, to help the children. She tries to guide them all through their grief, but she's not much of a help at all.

Let him in is a slow, creeping gothic, and the reader can absolutely feel. Alfie's sense of dread. Fantastic. My only gripe is that Alfie and Julia refuse to get with the "there's a demonic entity in this house" program. I get it, I'm a nonbeliever as well, but if a demon version of myself showed up in my bedroom and my kids were telling me about his intentions to replace me, I'd be rethinking my plans for the future. Both adults are unreliable narrators and what they are hiding makes the plot even more interesting than it seems at first, but what they reveal should make them MORE inclined to believe what's happening, not less. No spoilers, but I'm not convinced that Julia isn't responsible for everything after all.

Definitely recommending this to fans of horror and gothics.

I will round this up to 3 stars. First of all the cover of this one is absolutely fantastic! It left me hopeful this was going to be a chilling read.

This is a supernatural, gothic children’s horror story. When tragedy struck leaving Pippa dead, her husband Alfie was left to raise their 7 year old twins on his own. Cassia and Sylvie see a man in their room. He haunts the family in eerie ways. Alfie calls on Pippa’s twin sister, Julia, to help. Is the man real, imaginary, or something more demonic?

This one just missed for me. I thought it would have been a good, slow burn. But the ending completely through me off. I feel like I am left without any resolve. Maybe I just missed what Friend was trying to convey? I was expecting this to be much more sinister and chilling. But it just left me missing that. I did enjoy most of story however. I think others will too.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks, Poisoned Pen Press, and the author for the digital ARC copy of this book.
Publication Date: 10/03/23 ☺️

This was a really good story, but the end left me puzzled. It was very abrupt and felt like nothing had been really resolved. Other than that, it was an entertaining read. I liked the characters, they were very nuanced and fully fleshed out. There were so many words that I had to look up due to them being really only used in British English, that did bother me a bit. It felt very tied to the location; I thought that it was a mixed bag of smart snd unintelligent. Pretty good for a debut novel.

Thank you netgalley and to the publishers for this arc copy. I did not enjoy thia book at all i only made it a little past the half way point . something about this book did not grab my attention and it took me forever just to read to the half way point. I did not wamt to dnf this book but i really could not finish it

This book was awesome! The storyline was very creepy and the characters were extremely lovable with great development. The book grips you from the very first page. I highly recommend!!

Good potential but fell short for me. Very slow burn and repetitive without revealing much of what was going on behind the scenes until about 80%. Did not love any of the characters. Definitely dark and tense. The whole Black Mamba moniker was strange to me. Never really understood why it was used or if it was real. Overall this book entertained me for a few days but I probably won’t think about it again and it left me wanting more explained at the end.

The cover, the premise love it! But the story and the characters not so much, the narrative is repetitive and will still don’t know the whole story behind Hart House. Thank you to NetGalley and Poison Pen Press for an early copy.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book actually started off really good and seemed like it would be a great thriller. Towards the middle, I was expecting a twist but I was disappointed when there wasn’t one. It ended up getting really confusing. #lethimin #NetGalley

Very intriguing read. The type that leaves you thinking about the book the next day. I was captivated by it from the beginning. It was spooky, but not enough to have me check over my shoulder. I felt like the author did a great job showing how the different characters grieved. It was sad, but not enough to leave me feeling melancholy. My only complaint was that I wish there was more of a supernatural twist. Other than that, I would defines read again and look forward to reading more from this author.