Really good! Loved the plot and characters, highly recommend for a good summer thriller read! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

Let Him In is a story about a family mourning the loss of their loved one in a house that has seen more than its fair share of tragedy. The twin girls who have lost their mother are coping in paer with the introduction of an invisible friend who is not quite as harmless as it seems.

We learn more about the characters and the history of the house as the story goes on. While I enjoyed elements of the book I didn't love it. I didn't relate to any of the characters and the whole thing felt like it dragged a little bit

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC! This was a creepy, suspenseful read. The book is beautifully written, and the twists and turns left me constantly wanting more. The author made you feel Alfie’s grief and the giant hole that was left with the loss of Pippa. The twins were incredibly well written and the Psychologist of a sister in law added so much to the story. I would most definitely read another book by this author!

This book paints a creepy picture of a man, Alfie and his two young girls (that are twins) living in an old "murder house" of sorts. The story starts a year after the death of the twins mother and follows the journey of their beyond creepy "imaginary friend" and their aunt who attempts to help them cope and deal with the loss of their mother. Honestly, this book was really good but I am still so confused at the ending and unsure how I feel now that the book is over. I would recommend this for a book club read or something where there is some discussion of the ending since it is a little open ended.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to review this book!

This book was perfect nightmare fuel for me! Similar to the book, I have two young girls, one who is obsessed with snakes. We also live in my in laws old house that we purchased after my father in law passed away ( who happened to be a twin). Instantly, this creeped me out and I had to read it only during the daylight hours. Even if I hadn't been able to connect to it quite like I did, I feel the story was strong enough that I would've enjoyed it. The author did a great job with the atmospheric writing. I think the publishing date of October is perfect for spooky season and I will be recommending everyone to put it on their TBR. The cover really helped sell it as well. A strong 4.5 stars from me!

2.5 stars

William Friend’s debut, Let Him In, is perfect to read on a rainy, dark, and spooky October evening. The vibes are immaculate. Even though I read this in July, I started it one night in bed with all the lights off, and let me tell you, that was a great way to start this book.

The premise of this one drew me in immediately. A recently widowed father is struggling to raise his twin daughters who are obsessed with their imaginary friend whom they call “Black Mamba”. Sometimes Black Mamba appears as a shadowy figure at the foot of their bed, other times as a snake, others as a bear.

While the spooky vibes were good, I was left wanting… more? The writing became a bit repetitive and I started to skim through. When the action started to pick up towards the end I was hopeful, but I thought the ending was anticlimactic and I was disappointed.

While this wasn’t my favorite, I really do think this is a perfect read if you want something quick and spooky.

This is a book I devoured almost overnight. A father is attempting to handle the "man" his twin daughters are seeing after the death of their mother. Their aunt Julia, who is the twins' mother's twin sister, is also assisting by counseling the girls through this difficult time. As the father and aunt are helping the girls realize that "Black Mamba" isn't real, the more that strange things happen. This novel made me feel increasingly uneasy (in a good way) about the events that continue to take place to this family. Learning about the Hart House increases the disturbing feelings toward the events that unfold.

Alfie, a recently widowed father, is concerned when his twin daughters start seeing a figure that they call Black Mamba in the house. His wife has a twin sister who is a psychologist and Alfie calls on her to help him work out if Black Mamba is just a figment of his daughters imagination or if there is something supernatural going on.

As the story unfolds we witness the different and profound effects that grief plays on each member of the family. The emotional bonds or lack of bonds formed between family members also come into play. The character development is amazing and the plot was very unique.

Advanced Reader's Copy received,  thank you Netgalley, Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review!!

I love the way this book has been written,  creepy way to tell how grief can affect us differently!
The cover drew me in,  finished reading it in just two days, I just wanted to know what would happen to Alfie and his girls.
The book is overwhelmingly sad and creepy,  Alfie is a widower, who lost his wife Pippa tragically suffers from nightmares, and things become difficult when his twin daughters seek him during the night claiming,
''Daddy,  There's a man in our room...... ''
This book reminds me of The Whisper Man,
Set in 'Hart House' this is the story that sends shivers down the spine.
Brilliantly written 💥💥💥💥 4/5

The cover is what really lead me to this book. It reminds me of those Rorschach tests where you have to tell the Doctor or Therapist what you see in the inkblot. I thought that this was going to be like those mysterious inkblots where I thought one thing but it can definitely be another. Wrong! I was right all along and it was disappointing.

This book took me forever to read. I would read page after page then I would look at my progress, that percentage never moved. It was under three hundred pages but it felt a lot longer. Ugh! This book was not what I wanted at all. Talk about slow-moving and extremely repetitive.

Okay, not all of this was terrible. When the spookiest of scenes unfolded it was hair-raisingly spooky. I had to reread some of those scenes because they were something else. Something that happened to me when my house was haunted.

Let Him In was a meh kind of read and not sure it will be for all horror-loving fanatics. Things weren't different enough for this to stand out to lovers of all things spooky.

The description of this book sounded fantastic, but I found it very boring. Pages and pages of description and not much exciting happening. Sorry!

Alfie's young twin daughters start seeing a man in their room at night after their mom has died. Is he imaginary or is he real? This book dives into trauma and emotion of dealing with death. It's a slow build for 60% of the book and then gets faster at the end. However a lot of information (history and religious trauma) gets thrown at us during the last quarter of the book. It becomes a bit confusing and too much at once. Throughout the book I kept guessing on what was happening and honestly I don't feel like the ending was the ending as it just kind of stops and then jumps into the future 6 months. There are so many ways this book could have went and it for some reason it didn't land in any direction at the same time.

Each chapter is through the eyes of Alfie or his wife's sister Julia. Everything with the twin girls and their friend is written out really well. The big information we get on Alfie's wife, Pippa, and Julia are just scattered throughout the story and then kind of dwindles and was not that big of an impact as I thought it would be. The writing itself is good but for some reason the author could not decide if they wanted this to be religious, psychological or paranormal. So they tried to put everything in and it fell flat for me. The premise is creepy but the book itself is not very scary or suspenseful.

I received this book as an ARC. As such, all opinions are my own.

Let Him In is a slow burn of a suspenseful thriller story. It follows the story of a newly-widowed father and his twin daughters after the recent loss of their wife/mother due to an accident (not explained in the book). The twins start talking about a man who can turn into a beast called "Black Mamba", and it goes downhill from here.

It gets a little slow going, but when it picked up, it was REALLY picking up. I went into this expecting it to be a different form of thriller based on the summary. I'm glad it wasn't. The themes throughout regarding grief and healing from a major loss, and how that can alter the relationships between parents and children without them realizing is a topic I don't really see a lot of. It was done very well here.

All in all, good debut novel!

A story that builds and builds on a sense of dread until you find yourself questioning your own perceptions about the events unfolding. The author did an excellent job of exploring the unnerving quality of children, especially twins, while also showing the young characters a lot of respect. I tore through this one and often times found it genuinely frightening.

I came across a review in a fb group and it sounded creepy and knew I needed to read it. I picked up an ARC on Netgalley and I have to say, it was creepy. Black Mamba? Ok... nope! While dealing with grief is hard enough when you have two young kids, adding anything to the mix would overwhelm me. I really liked the story overall.

Let Him In
By: William Friend

4 stars

Imaginary friends are a part of childhood. So, sometimes, is grief. Together, they can be a scary combination. Alfie finds this out after the death of his daughter's mother, Pippa. His daughters begin seeing and playing with an imaginary friend. When this "friend" won't leave, Alfie does what he thinks is best and calls the girls aunt Julia, who is not only Pippas twin, but is a psychotherapist. Together they must fight this "friend", while unburying long kept secrets from their family and the home they live in.

This was a genuinely spooky read. A parents worst nightmare comes to life here in this story. It's easy to feel the stress and fear seeping from the pages. The writing was good and the characters were easy to follow and fun to learn. Once I was reading this book, it had me in its grasp with the overall spooky mysterious storyline. It is definitely one that will keep you up at night, either reading, or with your lamp on.

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Reviews

Suspenseful, creepy, and page-turner are the main things I’d say describe this book! There wasn’t anything gory or horrific, it was the incredible descriptive writing that made this book eerily creepy. As the suspense of the mystery built, and I’d think I figured out what was coming next, I’d be thrown for a loop. Overall, I enjoyed this book, though I was a bit puzzled by the ending. Perhaps, the point of it was to be left open for interpretation? A good discussion book, for sure!

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

This cover is awesome! I wish I had taken more time to read this book but I couldn't put it down! The dread and creepiness never let up. The whole time I was reading I kept asking myself "What the hell is going on?!" Hours after I finished it I'm still trying to figure things out.

What a great debut. I need more!

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. Definitely one crazy, wild ride. Horror readers would enjoy I believe. I read it quickly in less than 24 hours but can honestly say I am not sure what the plot really was about and it ended without a “resolution” for lack of a better word.

Thoroughly and delightfully creepy. Black Mamba is a boogeyman I won’t soon forget. The twins were just as spooky as their adopted monster and I loved the feeling of them slipping away not only from their dad but from us as the audience as well.