This book was, ok. It wasn’t scary, it focused more on how grief effects us all differently. Which is great, but I went into it thinking it was going to be a terrifying, but alas.

There were hints of cultish behavior within the book as well, but I felt it was all unnecessary. All and all this was an okay book. Even though it wasn’t for me, it may be for you. Make sure you read Goodreads reviews before making a decision to read or not read.

Absolutely spectacular and fixating horror starring twins who begin seeing a man in their room. Creepy cellars, haunting histories, and dysfunctional families along with grief and other complex emotions encase this story in an unputdownable thriller. I read it in one sitting. This is an author to watch!

“I see things more clearly now but that doesn’t mean I understand them.”

Let Him In
by William Friend
Pub Date: 03 Oct 2023
Ok, this one was creeeeeeeeepy!
Twin girls, several deaths, nightmares, and a man only the twins can see...it has all the makings of a truly creepy read.
Alfie is doing is best raising his twin girls while mourning the tragic loss of love of his life. Then the girls start having nightmares. "There's a man in our bedroom" they tell him one night. He searches their room and the house in terror as one would, but find no such man. This happens repeatedly night after night, but it's not unusual for children who've lost a parent to have bad dreams. Alfie is relieved when they quit having this bad dream and things somewhat go back to normal, until they start talking about how Black Mamba is now their friend and they are no longer afraid of him. It's normal for kids to have imaginary friends, but Black Mamba becomes more and more demanding. Alfie turns to his sister-in-law Julia, a psychotherapist and his dead partner's twin, to help him get to the bottom of the girls' "friend".
This is a quick read that will keep you turning the pages for sure.
#LetHimIn #WilliamFriend #Netgalley

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, this book starts off a little shaky. While intriguing, most of the synopsis happens within the first chapter, making the beginning feel rushed where it could have been drawn out more to help build up some suspense.

This novel was a quick read and the only thing that kept me reading was wanting to know WHAT Black Mamba was. The tones of grief touched on throughout the book felt authentic and yet it wasn’t the most compelling.

I feel like I would have enjoyed this more if it stuck to a singular POV and went more in depth into some aspects of the story and background. Some more pages wouldn’t have hurt in this case.

That being said, knowing that this is a debut novel, I would absolutely check out what William Friend does next and I’m interested in his growth as an author.

This book was a disappointment for me. The storyline was choppy and creepy (not in a good way; a husband sleeping with his dead wife’s twin way). The spooks weren’t clear or interesting enough.

The dead are never gone. You should know that better than anyone.

Daddy, there's a man in our room...

Let Him In by William Friend is a moody and gothic novel that is heavy with grief but also creepy fun. This was originally released in the UK under the title Black Mamba.

Alfie's wife has recently passed away, leaving him to live through the grief while parenting their young twin girls. The girls start engaging with an imaginary friend that envelopes all of their lives. There are two POV's throughout and I thought they were used well. The book starts with Alfie and trades with Julia, Alfie's sister-in-law, who is also a psychologist.

The twins were written well and I had empathy for them even though they created images of The Shining twins in my head. The writing has a subtle style and a couple of times I would be caught off guard by a nonchalant plot reveal in a sentence. The pace is slow but still kept my attention and found the interaction with the twins to be my favorite parts. There is a mysterious aspect to the plot that also was engaging and causes a real vs. psychical element.

Overall, this is a slow-burn book with a spooky house, unnerving twins, occult undertones, a mystery, and an unreliable reality. This isn't a story that re-invents the wheel, but definitely scratches the spooky itch. This is perfect for autumn people.

Thank you, Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Alfie is a widower to twin girls who are going through a traumatic experience of losing their mother and wife. Grief is ripping this family apart when the girls start talking about an imaginary friend named Black Mamba.

At first, Alfie is okay, but hesitant, about this new presence in the girls' lives, but it slowly becomes a more prevalent part of their life that starts having drastic consequences for everybody - especially when Black Mamba makes it known that he does not want to leave.

What originally drew me to this book was the cover, it is beautiful and creepy. But I found this book to be lacking.

The beginning was great with how disturbing everything was described about Black Mamba, and the house they live in. You didn’t know if it was grief playing into everybody’s experiences, or if it was the paranormal. I really enjoy books where the lines are blurred.

What disappointed me with this book was that the reveals weren’t that climatic. To me, it felt lacking and rushed.

The best way I can describe this book is chaotic! It was way too all over the place and honestly just left me confused.

Imaginary friend that may not be imaginary?! Sign me up. I love a good horror novel that lays out all the tropes, creepy twins, potentially cursed house, and grieving single parent. A slow burn but with maximum creepiness. The story is told from multiple POV between our main characters, Alfie, a recently widowed single dad of eight-year-old twins and Julia, the girls’ aunt and twin sister of Alfie’s late wife. I enjoyed the dual POV and the insight into Julie and Pippa’s childhood. I’d have liked to know more about this and felt the book would have benefited from some additional flashback chapters but understand why the author focused on the present. Overall this was a fun, quick and easy to read horror debut from an author to watch.

*NO SPOILERS*

Thank you #NetGalley for this advance reader copy of #LetHimIn (formerly titled/published as #BlackMamba) for it's re-release in the US (from what I'm gathering, but that's an impression). This is definitely a creepy novel in which the house - Hart House - plays a character in its very presence. It evoked memories of The Amityville Horror (but not via imitation, just feel). The novel is legit creepy -- for perspective my two "scariest" recommendations for others are The Ruins (Scott Smith) and The Loney (Andrew Michael Hurley). If you're a fan of creepy images that will stay with you, you'll dig this book. I read it in conjunction with watching The Devil's Hour on Prime (coincidence) and had one or two evenings worth of nightmares (one for which my poor little bed-dwelling dog was mistaken for a Black Mamba, perhaps). PS she's fine!!! I dropped one star because I was not wild about the ending, but this is a DIFFICULT thing to land well -- and it's all subjective, isn't it? The cover simply kills. CHEERS to its creator -- one of my favorite aspects of the book and definitely what first pulled my attention toward the galley. AND good on the retitle as well.

2.5⭐️
This was a creative and creepy way to show how grief affects us all differently. The writing was a bit repetitive and slow at times but pushing through I found the ending to be quite satisfying! I loved the twins they made me feel so uneasy, black mamba was written perfect in my opinion and Alfies development throughout the book was great! Although I do understand why the religious aspects were there, I did find it quite dragging, I did however enjoy this and I'm still obsessed with the cover!

•eARC provided by NetGalley, and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick and easy read if you’re looking for something to start you in this genre or even something to help out of a reading slump. It has an interesting premise and you immediately are met with supernatural vibes. I think I expected more than I was given but it still was a refreshing original storyline. All in all I was able to finish it and didn’t think I wasted my time! I’d say give it a read and see if it creeps you out like it did me at certain points.

I adore the way this book was written. Me. Friend has a way of writing this gorgeous prose that brings feelings and dialogue to life. I have not previously found this style of writing in what I would consider to be the thriller/suspense/horror genre. The author doesn’t just hand you the answer to a question and instead makes you think and re-examine information given to come to your own conclusion. The creepy vibe of this book was consistent throughout (easy to do when you’ve got creepy kids involved!). I highly recommend this book and will absolutely be searching out more books from William Friend.

Thanks so much to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC copy of this book!

I have scheduled promotional posts around release day for this book and I will provide a full review on my Instagram once I am able to get to this read.

Rating 5 stars on Netgalley as a placeholder for me to update later once the review is complete.

Will also complete a review on Goodreads once read.

Thanks again!

The cover conveys the tone of this book well—super creepy which I love. The backstory is tragic which makes you feel for the characters even more while you worry about which direction the story will go in and if they'll survive the story physically and mentally intact. Very very creepy which is something coming from me with my high tolerance for horror.

This starts out as a slow burn….a grieving family living in a family home with an unsavoury past and a set of twins (of a twin) who have an imaginary friend called Black Mambo. This shape shifting “man” makes demands of the girls, insinuating his presence and dark power.
Eventually Alfie, the recently widowed father of Sylvia and Cassia, calls on his sister in law Julia (wife’s twin ) who is a psychiatrist, to intervene. We follow the” imaginary friend” thread but as we learn more about the house and family history we wonder, is Black Mambo imaginary or is there a supernatural explanation and what can be done to be rid of him? Darkness gathers and violence hovers.
The tension builds and the family dynamics shift. I was left questioning characters, motives and “truths” that may be other than they seem. It was a fascinating read and one I would like to revisit to tease out any threads I may have missed.
Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let Him In is a tale of secrets, tragedy, sexual tension, obsession, manipulation, the phenomenon of twinship and a lurking dark paranormal presence. Nine months after the loss of Pippa, Alfie’s wife and his twin daughter’s mother, the girls claim there’s a man in their room. Nobody is there. Apparently, it’s all just a nightmare, or perhaps an attention-seeking behaviour as they are all struggling with their grief. When the girls start talking about their new friend it seems to be an extension of this, a harmless coping mechanism. But then it doesn’t seem harmless at all… the imaginary friend intends to take the girls away. The story is told in the points of view of Alfie and Julia who is Pippa’s surviving twin and a psychiatrist. Will this family survive?
Let Him In is an intriguing slow-burn story in which the lines between supernatural and psychological are unclear. Recommended for lovers of gothic suspense novels.

Perfectly creepy in what is said and what happens, as well as what isn't. These people are struggling in different ways, all based around the sudden death of one loved one. Friend deftly weaves in family history, relationship dynamics, grief, and past trauma with the very real possibility that the MC's daughters (or he himself) are on a path of destruction. The sense that he is barreling towards an unraveling is palpable.
Great premise, storytelling, and ending. And who can resist a creepy set of twins?

This one is spooky with a capital S. I was shook whilst reading this novel! Right from the get go we are in this story and invested in the characters. If you looking for a spooky read this is a perfect Halloween read for a good scare!

I usually do like it very much when a horror novel doesn't answer every single question by the end of the story. Unanswered questions can terrify long after one is already done with reading the book.
However, I do believe that for the story to stand out among the masses of books that are already there that it needs to answer at least some questions, so that the reader's imagination has something to work on.