3/5 overall

I was quite looking forward to a creepy horror story involving twin girls and an imaginary friend named Black Mamba. While I did enjoy the story, it fell a little short for me on the horror side. I think it could’ve been a little more intense.

Received an ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.. (~potential spoilers~)


This was a creepy, chilling story that kept me engaged throughout. I find that being genuinely scared while reading a story is rare for me, but I definitely felt that here.

The story follows a recently widowed single father, raising twins that are also dealing with the grief of traumatically losing their mother. Slowly, the twins reveal that they communicate with a specific presence that begins to take up more and more space in their lives.

Pieces of information were incompletely revealed as the story progressed, which led to intense suspense while waiting to see what would happen next, and if what we thought we knew was the truth or if something more lurking beneath. This style of writing did lead to some parts that felt confusing and slightly unexplained, but overall did not seem to leave out any big points.

The one thing I didn't love was the ending - I won't give any specific spoilers but I feel like I have no idea what happened in the end. At one point the story was going, and the next it wasn't and there was a time jump in conclusion.

Otherwise, while reading this I felt unsettled and a little jumpy. Friend did an excellent job writing and developing the story, especially for a debut novel, and I look forward to what he writes in the future.


4.5/5

The beginning sucked me in…. The middle lost me a little and the ending had me down right questioning if this was the same book. I feel like there was too many loose ends. Not really enough transitioning details from one event to the next.

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for sending me an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

For starters, let me say that for a debut novel, and not knowing what to expect, this throughly impressed me!
Premise is fairly simple, we alternate between two points of view, one being recently widowed Alfie who is dealing with his grief and responsibility of taking care of his twin daughters Cassia and Sylvie, who recently started having a quite sinister imaginary friend and Julia, a psychiatrist and twin sister of their deceased mother and wife Pippa, who was called to help the girls out once they started exhibiting strange behavior.
But the execution with questions of weather it's psychological or supernatural issue is really where this books shines with many possibilities it throws at us, as it plays with the reader throughout whilst also exploring grief, family dynamics/history, loss and religious aspect in such a nuanced way.
Horror elements did not lack either, i was genuinely creeped out whenever black mamba was mentioned, as creepy kids and their imaginary friends have always been my weak spot and one of the favorite tropes in horror genre.
Some parts of the book were left for an interpretation, which i didn't mind as it actually worked well with the story for everyone to draw their own conclusion in certain parts.
It was poignant and very well written.
All in all, I really enjoyed my reading experience and would easily recommend this to anyone looking for a spooky read with a strong character focus.
4/5 ★

Alfie tries to find his footing together with his young twins Cassia and Sylvie, after the passing of his wife. They live in Hart House, a gothic house near Peter's Park where pretty soon, things go wrong as the twins invent a imaginary friend - Black Mamba. He is a protective figure who can transform into a snake, a hugging bear, a bird or even a fish. Alfie reaches out to his wife's twin Julia who is a psychologist to help him with the girls, as their relationship struggles under the ever growing influence of Black Mamba.

The ensuing story is one that is chilling and eerie and so creepy and disturbing, I had to stop reading at times, especially right before bedtime. It features all the ingredients for a disturbing read: a set of headstrong twins, an imaginary friend (or foe?), a cult-like family history, bizarre dreams, all set in a big old house with too many rooms and a chilling history. The build-up is slow and unsettling, don't expect gory horror, but rather subtle psycho games between family members that will leave you wondering what is reality and what isn't; and at the end if there is any form of paranormal occurrences at all.

I can recommend it for readers who enjoyed Ira Levin's Rosemary's Baby, as it has the same chilling vibe, slow build up and strange characters. A truly remarkable debut and an author that I needs to be watched.

A sincere thanks to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love creepy twins, supernatural and unexplained occurrences So when I saw this title I thought ' yes this is going to be a winner," but sadly everything seemed to fall short for me. The issue for me comes from a few things, I think the first one is that the book is pretty short. So most of the first half ( or maybe even more) is building the suspense of the story. Then once things really start to pick up, the book is over. The second issue is that the consistency of *what* type of horror book seemed to me missing. And maybe that was the vibe the author was going for. But it really left me more confused then in suspense. The ending chapters were VERY good, and at the same time stopped feeling like they were in the same book. Almost like they were written first and then then the author built a story around them ( which is good, but to me you could still feel a little of the disconnect).

Over all enjoyed the concept of the book and the authors writing style. It just feels like there needs to be a little more tweaking to make it feel like the same story. 2-2.5 stars. If changes are made before publishing I would give the book another shot to see what the difference are.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a copy of this to read. I was captivated by the cover and was expecting something dark and sinister, and I wasn’t blown away it felt all over the place and I just wasn’t a fan at all. I would rate it 2/5 stars.

Sometimes I'm in the mood for a horror story, which is why I chose this.

I was drawn in from the beginning, and I found the writing to have a chilling quality. The story itself didn't take too long to finish, but it was spooky and unsettling in quite a satisfying way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

Previously published as Black Mamba overseas, Let Him In tells of twin girls and their imaginary friend who does not seem to like their father much at all. Of course, there’s much more to it than that—including some family secrets and an eerie belief system involving the dead and demons—but the tension and mystery of it all rarely rises to the occasion. Between the character changes, memories, and dream-like sequences, it was difficult at times to follow this story. And when I thought we were ramping up for an exciting finale, I found the ending to be rather subdued and lacking. Though the writing and characters shined, I was too often frustrated to ever get drawn into the story, which was largely presented at a slow pace. As such, the thrill was often lost on me.

I was going to wait to review this. Maybe let my brain marinate a lil and see if I felt differently in the morning.

Well, that’s not happening. I need to get this out now. W T F was that?! Here’s the thing, I don’t even know if that’s a bad WTF. It could be good 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’m so shook right now.

Beginning gives off Paranormal Activity 3 vibes. Middle gives Single White Female vibes. End gives Sapranos series finale vibes. Take that as you will.

Did this read make me feel uneasy, dare say scared, at times? Sure. In my defense I mostly read this at night in total darkness (bc I’m punk like that).

I have so many questions, SO MANY; what’s the rattle, what is stinging people in the UK like that, where da fuq did mum come from, where’s the key, why was he naked, who saw him first, why she so jelly???

I’ll leave you with this, it’s a good book that reads well and toys, meticulously, with tension. Personally, I think the swing for the SURPRISE ending was a miss. Give it a go tho fo sho.

Spooky, chilling and I'm pretty sure I've already read this under a different name .. Black Mamba by the same author. It is a brilliant thrilling read though abd I would recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The cover of this book is absolutely stunning and it drew me into wanting to read this so desperately. However, the promise of the cover didn't follow through into the story.

I expected some more scare and horror to this but was left a little disappointed and found myself struggling to pick this back up when I'd put it down. I felt it was a little slow and didn't give too much atmosphere. It also felt a little repetitive in parts.

I will commend the characters in this book. I could see the different personality types come through each one and easily understood their feelings and situations.

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for sending me an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

When Alfie’s wife passes away suddenly, he is left to process his grief with his twin daughters. They suddenly start experiencing fits of uncharacteristic aggression, they claim it’s the work of their imaginary friend, Black Mamba. With the help of his wife’s twin sister, they try to help his daughters separate their imagination from reality. However, visions plague them as well, they begin to question if their friend is truly imaginary.

William Friend is a master wordsmith, the care he takes to describe his characters and the old house they live in definitely shows in his writing. The horror elements in this story were not very strong and I’d categorize it as more of a thriller with horror elements. It was suspenseful and engaging, but I did get lost in the details surrounding the history of the house and various deaths in the family. These details did not feel resolved or fleshed out by the end of the book, so I was left questioning their significance. I felt like the book was strong and engaging and fell flat during the last third.

This is no fault to the book, but metaphorical dream sequences do not work for me as a reader. I am a pretty literal person, so if the metaphors are not explained or have obvious connotations, then it is lost on me and I’ve missed out on what was trying to be conveyed.

Duality. So much duality in this book. Twins, parents, life and death, love and hate, hope and fear.

Alfie is recently widowed and left to take care of his twin daughters, Sylvie and Cassia, but he's not alone. His late wife's twin sister is being pulled back into the home she ran from, his mother in law won't stay away and suddenly the girls have begun to see a man in their room. Black Mamba, they call him.

This one absolutely gripped me in a way I wasn't expecting. I love the tangibility of grief and the way the darkness of it creeps under your skin. Takes the twin trope and actually makes it interesting. I loved the look at the psychology of the girls mingled with the mysticism throughout.

The flow at the end got a little dreamlike and hard for me to grasp, so I had to reread a few chapters but at the end of it all I absolutely loved this book. It's spooky and enchanting and a total knock out for a debut.

Thanks to NetGalley, William Friend and Poisoned Pen Press for my ARC! This honest review is in exchange for the privilege of being able to read this book!

This was crazy and also crazy spooky! But I really enjoyed it and had a fun time reading it. I definitely want to read this again in the fall around Halloween because I think it would be so much fun!

This was an incredible read, itwas scary and creepy and chilling!
The different representations of grief and guilt in all the characters feels so raw and real, and the suspense of the story keeps you glued to the pages.
Thank you Net Galley for the access to this story!

Thank you net galley for offering this book free in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this!! Brilliantly written and very scary… there’s something about evil infiltrating a family that’s terrifying 😳

Alfie is suddenly widowed and left alone, struggling to bring up his girls. Their house is really odd and it’s pretty obvious to the reader that there is something else sharing it with them. As with all great horror, you’re never sure if the experiences are symptoms of grief and genuine sadness (or maybe madness?) or the supernatural. I have to say I still wasn’t sure as I read the last page…

The characters are all excellent, developed and real. The creepiness of the twins is captured perfectly too - twins can be creepy right!?

This had real ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ vibe. If you liked that, give it a go.

5 BIG stars and looking forward to more from this author!

The supremely creepy cover certainly lets you know what you're in for! An imaginary friend (...or is he?) wreaks havoc in this slow burn thriller that's perfect for candidates s of Paul Tremblay and Susan Hill.

Terrific horror debut novel from Friend about a man and his two small girls struggling to cope with the sudden death of the wife/mom while living in their big, creepy house. When the girls start claiming to have met a man called "Black Mamba", who shape shifts and only they can see, Dad calls in the wife's sister and girls' aunt, a psychologist, for help. Is Black Mamba real? Where did he come from and why are the girls so obsessed with him? Have to read it and find out. A gripping tale from beginning to end, with an ending you will ponder over for some time after. I'll be reading more from Friend. 4.5 stars. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book left my jaw on the floor. Like, wtf just happened?? I can tell you what happened, but at the same time I also can’t tell you what even happened.

The writing style definitely leaves you with a million and one questions throughout the whole book that you NEED answered. Luckily, most of the loose ends get tied up by the end. It definitely gave off a lot of creepy vibes throughout. Anything to do with kids seeing things you can’t is always creepy.

I am still a little confused about the whole religion thing they had going and what it had to do with twins…