Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was alright. It was an entertaining read and kept me interested.

I read this book a few months ago and I’m taking the time to review it now, but I just found it forgettable. The spooky vibes were enough for me to continue reading it and I’d read this author again.

I feel like I’m being a bit generous with a 3 star and I know I’m definitely the odd ball here but oof. Sarah Slade with her secret past and moving into a murder house called Black Wood House that has its own secrets. It all starts so intriguing and I’m swallowing the chapters as fast as possible and then we get towards a little over half of the book and double tee eff. The intrigue is over and I run into crazy land where the crazy isn’t even the fun kind. The loops and twirls and turns the author took was not only seen coming but I was hoping I was wrong because it was over the top wrong. It was all so much but yet not enough. Nope just nope.

Unfortunately, this was just wasn’t for me. I just couldn’t like the main character- nor her friends, paramour/husband. Maybe it’s because there have been an influx of therapist books out at this time or maybe I didn’t feel the explanations plausible but just not for me.

Wow, wow, wow! What a great debut! I cannot wait to see what else Matlin is capable of! This was sooooooooo twisted and I just couldn't put it down! Every character was f*ucked up and I loved every moment of reading this book!!!! Please please please write more Lisa!!!

I expected a creepy, haunted house kind of story. This is not that kind of story.

What we have is an unlikable female main character. No, not even unlikable. Let’s go with despicable. She’s a horrible mess of sociopathic craziness.

And that’s what this book is about.

In fact, absolutely everyone in this story, with the exception of one minor character, is horrible. The likable one is unreasonably naive.

Once I got over my expectations, I was intrigued by all the secrets. For a while.

We experience so much ridiculous nonsense. I don’t do well when there’s not a single likable thing about anyone, and all we have are tons of stupid decisions or flat-out complacency. Ugh.

Then the ending made me mad.

So, not for me.

Hmmm. First, I think this book is marketed wrong when it shows HORROR as the first category - if you go in like I did expecting a creepy, haunted house book, you may be disappointed.

Second - can we take a second though to talk about how awesome this cover is? This cover alone made me want to pick the book up!

The Stranger Upstairs was more of a domestic thriller - and unfortunately kind of a forgettable one. We have an unreliable narrator, social media, a community who may or may not be causing trouble, a lot of plot lines (some that really never get explained or brought up again) and then and now and later time jumps (which did help keep me intrigued enough to keep reading since I wanted to know the details of what actually happened with what I learned in the later time jumps), and a "twist" that left me a tad disappointed.

This was not a bad book, it was entertaining and kept my interest enough that I wanted to see how it all wrapped up. But it just didn't stand out enough in a year where I read a lot of memorable thrillers. It's a quick read and I would recommend the print versus the audio - I ended up listening to some of it on audio and the audio narrators "creeks" started to make me laugh after awhile and took away from the atmosphere that I believe the author was trying to create.

Overall - entertaining, but forgettable and not the book I was hoping for.

2 stars!

This book was an absolute dumpster fire. To its credit, I did read it very fast and in one sitting, but the plot made no sense and I hated every single character. I don't mind occasionally suspending my belief with a book, but this was doing too much. Finally, the horror aspect did not even work for me and I found the final twist/reveal/ending underwhelming.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🔨🔨🔨🔨 / 5

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was a great debut! I was hooked from the beginning due to the unique writing style as well as the unique spin on a typical haunted house story. I enjoyed the horror and gothic elements and appreciated the spotlight on mental health. Be sure to stick around to read the author’s note—she explains how this book came to be and why it’s so important to her. Though I felt like there were some loose ends, this might just be a preference thing. I’d absolutely recommend this book!

I had a hard time following this story and the characters. While at some points the writing was compelling, at times it felt like there was too much going on for me to be invested in a character or plot line.

I was not expecting this one to be as spooky as it was and I have to admit it had me quite scared at times! I was definitely engaged in the story because I needed to know what was going to happen next, which is always the mark of a good thriller. Unfortunately, the concept of buying a house that ends up being this creepy is a little too much for me!

I really love the cover of this book it is so pretty. The colors are beautiful it's one of the reasons I wanted to read it but also I have been trying to read more thrillers lately and this looked good.
I liked that is was set in Australia as I don't read many books set there. This book did start out a little slow for me. I was a little confused about what was going on. Damn the last 25% was really good and I was definitely not expecting the twist.
If you like thrillers I think you will definitely like this one.

Reading Between the Wines book review #139/115(met goal in Sept!) for 2023:
Rating: 2 🍷 🍷
Book: The Stranger Upstairs
Author: Lisa M. Matlin
Available Now!!

Sipping thoughts: I really thought I was gonna love this book but the ending just fell really short for me. I loved the book’s storyline and was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what happened. But the moment it was revealed, I felt like all the air was let out of my sails. I also did not like one of the tragedies in the book. I wish it could have panned out differently.

Cheers and thank you to @RandomHousePublishingGroup, and @Netgalley for an advanced copy of @TheStrangerUpstairs.

#TheStrangerUpstairs #LisaMMatlin #RandomHousePublishingGroup #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

A social media influencer purchases a house known for a murder-suicide to renovate to reach a new online audience. What could possibly go wrong? Lots of things! Fast paced with so many twists!

The Stranger Upstairs is the debut novel from Lisa M. Matlin.

"Sarah Slade buys an old Victorian house in an upscale neighborhood. One problem - it was the site of an infamous murder years ago. Sarah wants to fix it up and flip it - all while using the renovations to drive likes and comments to her social media. But none of the neighbors want to see the house improved. They would rather see it bulldozed to the ground. Sarah is determined to get it done. But there are noises at night and someone has been leaving threatening notes..."

This is a perfect example of an unreliable narrator. One with a past full of secrets and slowly unravelling from the stress of the house. There are no likable characters here except for one and she doesn't make it to the end.
Matlin keeps you invested with the news articles that hint at something bad happening at the house and with the slow reveal of Sarah's secrets. Not sure I have ever seen a house explained the way it is here. Not sure if I would have picked that story resolution.
Matlin talks about her own mental health challenges in the author notes.
Interesting debut from Matlin.

The book moved a little slow in the beginning and had a different layout than I am used to. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, it just felt like something was a little lacking. 4.5 stars rounded down to 4 because it just wasn’t a perfect 5 for me. Very gripping and keeps you guessing!

Sarah Slade and her husband Joe have just purchased an abandoned home with the hopes of renovating it and making a huge profit. Sarah has a lifestyle blog and is hoping to gain more followers and sponsors to make even more money. The problem is that the house they purchased is known in their town Beacon as the "murder house". Forty years ago a husband murdered his wife and then killed himself and no one has wanted to live in the house since. Townspeople want the house torn down and don't give Sarah and Joe a warm welcome. Soon thereafter their marriage starts to show some cracks and Sarah beings hearing things in the house, making her question her sanity. Sarah starts to wonder if buying the house was a huge mistake, an even bigger mistake than the one she and Joe ran away from.

This book had such good potential in the beginning. A creepy house with a mysterious past and no one in town willing to talk about it. The author unfortunately threw way too much into the story. Murder, a possible ghost, the trendy "girl drinking wine and acting crazy" trope, a huge secret in their previous town, etc. It was all too much. I wish she had focused more on one things instead of a million things all at once.

What a debut novel – this author has found a fan in me.

Sarah isn’t who her social media followers or clients believe her to be. Her marriage is in shambles, her professional life isn’t much better, and the murder house she spent her savings on in the hopes of selling it at a profit comes along with problems she couldn’t have imagined. Besides the bizarre happenings within Black Wood House, the affluent neighborhood is inhabited by unfriendly residents eager to see it torn down.

If unreliable narrators are your thing, this novel excels in that area. There are multiple layers to Sarah, and every new revelation is a shock that makes it difficult to put this book down. Her series of bad decisions only heightens the suspense, and she’s dealing with mental health issues that will make you wonder if the eerie occurrences in the house are a product of those issues. Whatever the case, the house provides chilling moments and seems to have a personality of its own. Let’s just say it isn’t welcoming to strangers. Even Sarah’s cat, Reaper, knows something isn’t right (the pets always know) and leads her to the attic stairs more than once.

I made a prediction in early chapters, sure I knew the direction the story would take. I was delighted to be wrong – I’m not a big fan of predictable plots. This is an atmospheric novel, and I enjoyed the small town setting in Australia. Sarah is a loathsome character (for me her only redeeming quality was that she loved Reaper), but I could have plowed through this book in one sitting. If you read it at night, you might want to sleep with a light on – just sayin’.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

3.5 STARS

The Stranger Upstairs is a strong debut novel! I did the audio, big thank you to PRH Audio, and thought the narrator did an excellent job.

I was sucked in right from the start! This has the perfect spooky vibes, I mean does it get much more haunted than a murder house where the previous residents mysteriously go missing?

This was sitting around a 4-5 star read for me, I kept wanting to pick it up to listen and find out “who was the stranger upstairs”, buuuuut somewhere around the big reveal I got lost. I ended up with more questions than answers, and wasn’t sure I could trust our unreliable MC.

I will still give this author another go, as far as atmospheric reads go, this is a must! And I absolutely loved the authors note!

Big thank you to NetGalley and PRH audio for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this disturbing psychological thriller pulled me right in- I am here for darks secrets and a haunted "murder house". Elements of the novel were unnerving and had a bit of a horror vibe- ultimately though it got a bit ambitious and tried to do too much. It's not a terrible read by any means but execution and character development could have been stronger

What an absolute fever dream this was. The amount of times our protagonist complained of a headache was starting to give me one