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…

Wow, that was really creepy. From the cover to the plot and characters, I was creeped out the entire time. We have a large base of horror readers, so we are definitely going to purchase for the collection.

I was hoping for a creepy read where I needed lights on afterward. I enjoyed the beginning of this book regarding twins who have a “friend” that takes them on adventures.
As the story unfolds, my confusion rises. First, there is the house with a horrid history so you start to think it could be a paranormal twist. Then you add in the grandmother with her religious beliefs and rituals, and now you questions whether it’s a possessive/spiritual problem. The ending gets very chaotic and makes you believe it was all imaginary (except there wasn’t an explanation on what happened to the dad in the cellar. Did he pass out, did he switch bodies with Black Mamba). The end makes the reader decide what they think.

All in all, a decent fast read, but it definitely could have been better.

An interesting, though familiar premise, Let Him In was a quick, fun read. It was trope-heavy, and I expected the story to be a bit 'more horror' than it is, but there are still some creepy moments through the suspense.
It may just be me, but I was a little confused toward the end.
Overall, an entertaining, autumn-ready book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC by William Friend!

"Let Him in" is a well written multiple POV story told by Alfie and Julia.

All Hart House knows is grief. A grieving Alfie is left to fend for himself and twin daughters after the death of his wife.
Unexplainable things start to happen when his daughters speak about the "Man in our Room".
Julia, the twins aunt, arrives at the house to help but soon her own secrets and desires are brought to light.

Mr Friend beautiful dives into the ups and downs of losing someone while maintaining the horror and suspense factor to an all time high. I finished this book in just one sitting since every chapter kept you wanting more.
In overall, I rate this 4.5 out 5 since it left me feeling like some questions were left unanswered.

I will definitely recommend this book.

A unsettling story involving slightly creepy twins, left alone with a single father after their mother’s death. When an imaginary friend makes an appearance, the adults think it’s a normal manifestation of grief. Turns out that it’s anything but normal.

Recommended.

I was interested from the description and actual cover of this book. Once i started i felt like i was on the road to a fantastic read. In the beginning it was just that however, i did find a bit of it slow in the middle of the read. It is well written and a very good story just something about the middle to get to the secret seems slow. I recommend this book to those who enjoy reading to try and discover the ending as you go and staying the path till the end. All in all a good read.

Let Him In follows a widower, raising his twin daughters alone as he questions his own sanity. His twin daughters have an imaginary friend named Black Mamba. It seems Black Mamba is taking over and controlling his daughters. Is this invisible friend a paranormal being or just a figment of the girls' imaginations? The story has you guessing and curious from the first page. I have to say I enjoyed this story, it was quite different and not like most thrillers.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.
Let Him In is about Alfie, a recently widowed father, who finds himself with an unwelcome guest when his twin daughters tell him there’s a man in their bedroom. The story goes down many interesting routes, mainly demon and spooky spirits (if that’s what we want to call him) but nothing overly scary.
I do wish this book had more horror but it still kept my attention at most parts. Some of it was repetitive and made the book longer than it needed to be but I did enjoy the plot twist, cliffhanger ending.
I keep seeing VERY mixed reviews about this book and I was definitely nervous to read it but I’m glad I did. Given this, I would say I think you’ll either really like this book or really hate it. Good thing is that it it’s a relatively short read. I would recommend this book but I know it will not be everyone’s cup of tea.
Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC. Let Him In will be published October 3, 2023.

I went into this book only knowing what the synopsis was. I had this book finished within 24 hours. It had me on the edge of every page. It's a nail-biting, horror, gothic novel. I would say it is a mix of the movie Hereditary and The Boogieman. So, if you liked those, there is a good chance you'd enjoy this novel.

For most of the book, the reader's perspective is switching between Alfie and Julie. Both who are overcoming a tragic loss and maneuvering their grief. They come even closer together once Alfie's twin girls start to talk about a man figure in their room. While they aren't terrified of him, they start to change their behaviors. More or less, the novel grows to uncover secrets about all of them and leaves the reader guessing who is manifesting this shadowy figure that is taunting the house and the residents within.

For the most part, this book was incredibly written and well thought out. The details were enough to keep the figure and grief a "hidden" secret but well laid out for the reader to understand what was happening.

There were parts of the book that I personally found repetitive. I was so immersed in the story that I just wanted it to go and go and go. I needed to find out what was going to happen next. Yet, that repetitiveness is not a downfall on the storyline whatsoever. I can understand how it keeps emphasizing what is needed for the reader to know.

As a high school librarian, I found that parts of this book could be emotionally disturbing. Thankfully there is not any gore details or prudent remarks about death/suicide/ or other emotional personal trauma. This novel centers around a black shadowy figure, therefore I feel it would be appropriate for 16+ readers who are advanced in their reading comprehension and skills.

4/5 star rating for me. It was absolutely entertaining and well written. and I would love to read more from William Friend.

One night, Alfie awakens to discover his twin daughters standing at the foot of his bed, complaining about a mysterious presence in their chamber. He guesses the girls had a nightmare because he cannot find anything similar.

He is not shocked by their problems. The twins' mother Pippa died nine months ago, leaving Alfie to raise the children alone. Grief has settled in at Hart House. And now, it sounds like a reasonable coping method when the girls discuss a new imaginary acquaintance. However, the circumstance quickly turns into something more cunning. He was given a special seat at the table by the girls. They speak softly to him. They claim he's planning to remove them.

Alfie asks Julia, a psychiatrist, and Pippa's sister, to drive the evil renter out of their lives. However, Alfie starts to wonder about the true nature of the force that has poisoned his daughters' minds, with dark and violent consequences, as he himself is plagued by visions and someone is watching him at night.

Regardless of what this "friend" is, he doesn't want to go. Alfie will have to face his own embarrassing secrets, Hart House's sinister past, and even the limits of reality, or he runs the possibility of contributing to a terrible tragedy.

Do twins have similar thoughts? Is the house possessed? Or is it all due to great sadness?

The Friend's skill in starting strong, increasing the suspense, settling into a lull, and then shocking me with another terrifying twist was what I found most appealing.

Both the characters' and the readers' thoughts are deftly manipulated by the author, keeping them on the edge of their seats the entire time. The author throws a curveball that surprises you just when you think you have the plot figured out.

There are some portions in the book that I really appreciated, especially in terms of the author's word choice and phrasing. Only a few phrases evoke an incredible sense of sadness and hopelessness.

The book is more than just a horror story; it's also a study of sorrow and how it affects the entire family.


3,5/5

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC by William Friend!

I look forward to digging into this work and getting incredibly creeped out! It has been added to my shelf! I can already think of a few library patrons who would pull this off the shelf as soon as it comes in.