Really enjoyed this descent into madness. Sarah just moved into a murder house. Shortly after her life begins to deteriorate. Someone or something is haunting Sarah, will she find out who before she loses it all?

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This was an updated haunted house story, perfect for horror fans. Only negative was the slow start to the book , but once it got started I was drawn in until the secrets were revealed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙈𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙪𝙮 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙛𝙪𝙣 . . . 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙎𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙝 𝙎𝙡𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚.

Meh.

I had such mixed feelings after finishing this book. I thoroughly enjoyed parts of it, but at times the story felt so ridiculous. I honestly was on the fence about whether I wanted to pick this book up in the first place, but I caved in as the premise sounded so interesting.

I think the beginning was interesting in its own way, however, part two is what completely threw me off and changed my perspective on the story. Yes, the pacing was excellent, but I feel like there wasn’t enough action to keep me entertained the whole way through.

Overall, this was a super quick read and had some spooky elements to it. I enjoyed the first half of the book a lot more than the second. While the story was mediocre for me, I can definitely see readers enjoying this more than I did.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Bantam for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

i did not enjoy this book unfortunately. the premise intrigued me but while reading it i couldn’t help but draw comparisons between this and the haunting of hill house (the show, not the book) and how much better hill house did the whole haunted house thing.

sarah is clearly unstable from the beginning and quite frankly, an insufferable main character from chapter two and on. like no wonder your marriage is failing. she also gave into the whole house being alive thing from the very beginning which doesn’t work for a story like this. from the beginning she talks about trying to renovate and then being like “no. the house doesn’t want me to” girl at that point just move out.

i wasn’t rooting for her at any point in the book. especially since at the end she tells us that she doesn’t want to change and then exhibits that throughout the book until the end by not changing at all. i also didn’t understand why sometimes she said “stuff” in place of “fuck”, like “stuff this”.

to build suspense it would’ve been better for her not to believe in the houses sentience from the beginning and have her slowly accept it because there seems to be no other explanation. especially since we were presented with an explanation at the end, the carbon monoxide. which was confusing because did no one inspect it before selling it to two separate buyers? but then the epilogue ruined it by insinuating that the house is actually sentient and evil? so which is it? also was jeff actually as evil as she thought he was or was that another hallucination?

lots of things didn’t make sense and i didn’t enjoy this book as much as i thought i was going to.

I thank the Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book! The opinions in this review are entirely my own.

This book was at times a bit confusing. I did like the writing, but overall the book was just OK for me. I couldn't like the MC. I usually like unreliable narrators and morally grey characters, but this MC didn't do it for me. I tried to find something to like about her, I really did. Alas, she was just annoying and I felt no sympathy for her.

Sarah, a social media influencer, decides to buy and move into an infamous murder house. Her goal is to renovate the house and bring her followers along for the ride. However, as she starts to peel away the layers of the house, she quickly realizes there may be more to this house than a murder-suicide past. The builders start acting weird and falling victim to strange incidents. While Sarah lays in her blood-stained carpet bedroom, she starts to hear footsteps in the attic when she's home alone. As time progresses, Sarah starts to find ominous notes everywhere: her work, her car, and the house. Sarah quickly starts to consider that someone in the town wants to run her off the property so it can be torn down for good. However, Sarah is desperate to make this renovation project a success and continues to remodel the house despite the ever-increasing threat of danger from the house or someone in the town. She's desperate for this to be a success because she has a dark past that she is desperate to keep running from.

This was a fun thrill ride, I could not put it down. It was shocking to me that it was the author's debut, because it read like the product of a seasoned author. The twists at the end were unlike anything I had read before, which is always a pleasant surprise. Look forward to following this author's future work.

The stranger upstairs had me hooked. I couldn't wait to find out what was happening at the black woods house. I also think it was great that mental health was touched on so openly. Really enjoyed this one.

My thanks to Bantam and NetGalley for an eARC of The Stranger Upstairs.

Sarah Slade, in the midst of a failing marriage and floundering career as author, counselor, and influencer, decides to comlplicate her life even more by purchasing and remodeling an infamous murder house. Though it’s been over 40 years since the brutal crimes were committed there, the neighbors are none to eager to have her there and she can’t help but become suspicious of them when strange things start happening.

As the mysteries about the house deepen, so do the mysteries about Sarah’s past. With the perfect level of creepiness and secrets, this one is sure to be a page turner for any reader looking for a satisfying thriller. Also the author’s note is not one to miss and her vulnerability in sharing is commendable.

The Stranger Upstairs has the perfect setup for a quick-read mystery/thriller. Who doesn’t love a good haunted/murder house premise? Add an unreliable and unlikeable narrator and Matlin has certainly followed in the footsteps of some of the most popular books in the genre in recent years. It kept me guessing until the end, and while I wouldn’t call it a must-read, I’d definitely recommend it to fans of the genre. Knowing this is a debut novel, I’m curious to see what Matlin writes in the future. 3.5 stars.

I will admit that up until about a third of the way through the book, I was not that into it. Luckily, I kept reading. This book is so atmospheric. You can actually feel the cold, picture the bloodstains. There are numerous symbols throughout the book, primarily about birds, that pretty much tell you that this is not going to end well, but for whom? Is the house haunted, or is Sarah just crazy? Once I got to about forty percent, I finished the rest in one sitting. I loved the creepiness, the twists and characterization. Sarah is not an easy protagonist to figure out, but once you do, you will have to decide for yourself if she is haunted, a victim of circumstances or just plain psychopathic. I'd love to hear what you think!

The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin was a strangely told novel that had the elements of a crime and horror(spooky). The house was creepy scary along with the crime. It started out strong and believable until the day to day activities proved otherwise. I couldn’t reconcile what was being told with what I was seeing for it to make any sense.
The last have was very confusing and too crazy for me to believe. So it basically didn’t work for me but tgere was a lot of potential here.
Thanks Random House Publishing Group via NetGalley.

Okay, this cover?!? Perfection. THE STRANGER UPSTAIRS had lots of potential. I love a good multiple timeline and the inclusion of news articles, but didn’t love the use of the MC being an alcoholic and don’t love when that’s used to create an unreliable narrator.

Sarah Slade and her husband Joe are in a rough patch. They decide to buy a murder house that has been boarded up to renovate hopefully make a good profit. As she learns more about the gruesome history of the house, she is seeing more and more inconsistencies with her life.

I will say this book did a great job with portraying how Sarah was feeling throughout the book. You really felt like she was going crazy and you were along for the ride. The ending was a wild, but also a little predictable.

Very solid read. I enjoyed it a lot!

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Random House Ballentine and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

This is a terrifying story with a great premise. Imagine, renovating a murder house, which you get at a bargain price - one that has sat empty for 40 years. It is quite the thrilling read that I enjoyed very much.

I am all for an unreliable narrator. Thank you so much for the review copy. This is a very solid debut novel.

I lost interest and don’t have the patience to force myself anymore. DNF at 15% lol Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy though.

The book begins when Sara Slade and her husband Joe Cosgrove buy a house where a murder and suicide occurred 40 yrs ago and the house has sat vacant ever since. Sarah hopes to restore the house and flip if for a nice profit while promoting herself on social media.
Sara is a therapist by day, and he is a bartender into the evening, However, their marriage is also in need of repair and Sarah also hopes that the project will help bring them back together. Sarah is having some issues at work and taking antidepressants (and mixing them with alcohol), while Joe sleeps on the couch. She sleeps in the bedroom where the murder and suicide occurred (which I found creepy), and at night, strange things begin to occur - she hears footsteps in the attic (above her bedroom), plus she finds a dead rat in the mailbox, she receives threatening notes, and the neighbors seem to resent her buying the house. As she tries to investigate the background of the house and the people who lived there, she uncovers more information than she expected, but she doesn't do anything about it.
The second part of the book seemed to try to present the elements of surprise and shock but I felt that it just emphasized how unstable the main character was. In this section, I learned of the issues that she has, her ugly past and how deceitful she was.
I rated this book at 3* because I felt that the characters were not well developed, the story was too dark and twisted and I felt that the plot was poorly executed. I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and the opinions expressed are my own.

I enjoyed the overall premise of this book, but it was way too drawn out. There were too many unnecessary plot points going on. The twists were numerous and hard to keep track of, and make sense of half the time, but I guess that is the point of major reveal. I did not like all the characters and I found the main character superficial at best.

I want to thank Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group—Ballantine for an ARC of this book.

Sarah Slade and her husband Joe move into a run down, stinky scary “murder house” that they plan to flip for a great profit. All the other houses in the area go for a lot of money and they bought this house for a song. Sarah works as a therapist and has a best selling book. Profits from that are running dry and they need to make some money. Sarah thinks that using her fame from her book, she can document the house renovations and her followers will ultimately bring her success. However, things don’t go as planned, and before long it seems like this “murder house” has plans of its own.

I enjoy a good thriller and even a bit of horror now and again. This book seemed like it would be a good one and it started out pretty well. It’s certainly an easy read. However, Sarah, is not a very likable or believable protagonist. She makes one poor decision, after another, and I found myself wanting to shake her, as I read her story. Even the idea of taking this infamous house, renovating it and making a profit seemed silly from the start. People are leery of buying a house where someone died, let alone where people were murdered. The other characters in the story are generally people I didn’t like. Joe, the husband who very quickly disappears from the story, and when he is on the page is not particularly nice and doesn’t have much of a backbone. Sarah’s colleague, Emily, who seems nice enough but it’s hard to suss out her motives, and thus she is a bit hard to embrace, as are all the townspeople, who seem to dislike Sarah, just for existing.

I think the general idea for the book was a good one but it wasn’t quite carried out in a way that I could embrace or love it. That being said, it did keep my interest, as I wanted to see how the author tied it together in the end.

You might love this book, but it was not a slam dunk for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read the e-galley of this novel, in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you for allowing me to read this book as an ARC!
Wow, what a debut novel. It was so captivating and thrilling. What could possibly go wrong with buying a house where people were murdered in?? Well...read to find out.
The storyline is chilling and taking twists and turns. The protagonist while unlikable and with many dark secrets of her own is making the story interesting and she is portrayed in a perfect way to fit the house!
While the house is the main character, the people in the story play important roles too. The house's falling apart appears to be equal to Sarah's marriage crumbling down. The cat Reaper is very likeable opposite whar the shelter wrote about him but perfectly fitting Sarah's personality 😀
While the story seemed to stretch a little in the beginning, it all of a sudden became a whirlwind and so much happening at once. While I had a hunch of the ending, it still took me somewhat of a surprise. The ending almost leaves room for a sequel.
Thank you to the author sharing about her own struggles with mental illness at the end. I hope it will be helpful to others to seek and find the help they needed. It was very gut wrenching to hear about her struggles and very brave to talk about it so openly to everyone!