The Stranger Upstairs is a chilling thriller that keeps you wondering if there is paranormal activity, sheer bad luck, or something, or someone, more sinister at play.

While this was a chilling read, I felt it lacked that nail biter plot line that would have kept me hooked from start to finish.
It definitely did have a creepiness about it!

While I liked, didn't love, The Stranger Upstairs, I do look forward to more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Bantam Publishing, for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Posting to Barnes & Noble and Amazon awaiting approval.

I did not enjoy this story. I think the social media influencer storyline is over done for me. I know that it gets some younger readers, but I am starting to avoid books that mention this.

Sarah Slade is a fixer. The author of self-help books, a therapist and blogger, she and her husband Joe have bought an abandoned murder house and she is determined to fix that too. Forty years earlier a husband stabbed his wife to death, attempted to kill his daughter and finally committed suicide. The neighbors would prefer that the house be bulldozed. From the very beginning there are problems, both with the renovations and her marriage. Their bed has been set in the room where the murder occurred. There are still blood stains on the floor and Joe prefers the couch to their bed. As the days progress, Joe becomes even more distant. Then Sarah discovers the first note that refers to secrets in her past. Sarah and Joe are not who they seem. They have known each other from school, when Joe was dating her sister. A mystery surrounding her sister Lizzy had them change their names and appearances and leave town. Now someone is taunting Sarah with nots threatening to reveal her past.

Wallpaper filled with birds that seem to glare at her, locked doors that she finds opened, creaking steps from the attic and worsening headaches threaten Sarah’s sanity and her job as she becomes increasingly paranoid. The one soothing presence in her life is Emily, the therapist with an office across from hers. Sarah discovers that someone else lived in her home a year earlier. No one will talk about Amanda, who just disappeared one day, although Amanda’s former friend reveals that she began receiving notes shortly before she was gone. Lisa Matlin steadily increases the tension as Sarah begins to unravel. Discovering Amanda’s fate and the mystery surrounding Lizzy is guaranteed to keep you glued to the pages and listening for strange sounds as you read. I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for providing this book for my review.

This book caught my attention from the very beginning and kept me pretty attentive the entire book through. I enjoyed the authors writing style and how they broke up the story time line with the news alerts and blog posts. The author makes the story very believable and makes you feel like you are just another character involved in the book. I'd definitely be interested in reading more from this author in the future. I'd recommend anyone Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for the advanced copy. I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

A house of murders, purchased by a new family in the hopes of redoing and making money. But the evil is greater and the danger is real. Sarah is a mess and has a trait of becoming others as her own personality is weak. With wine and pills her life is deteriorating at a rapid pace, hurting others and herself. I felt the power of the author in my feelings for Sarah as a damaged person with hidden issues. It also invoked an uneasiness for the character in me.

What a great debut by Lisa M. Matlin! I love an unreliable narrator, and this book kept me on the edge of my seat. Just creepy enough to have me glancing around while I read, not so much that it kept me up at night.

The Stranger Upstairs gave me the creeps, in all the good ways. I loved being being scared and entangled in this one.

I could not put this one down! Creepy! I loved the plot of this one, and honestly it was so well written that I felt like I was living in this story. Do yourself a favor and read this!

I tried really hard to give this book a chance but it was only a 2.5 star for me. The whole concept and storyline were super interesting, and I was captivated by the plot. I also enjoyed the narrator of this story, as she was engaging and interesting. So I believed this book had so much potential. Although the plot line was interesting, the exestuation fell short. Also, another thing that was frustration for me was the ending. I felt like after all of the suspense, it was a huge let down. I was expecting and wanting more.

I’m a sucker for a good cover and THE STRANGER UPSTAIRS has a great cover.

I just wished I enjoyed the pages in between more.

I have been struggling with thrillers lately so I am starting to think it’s me, not them.

I listened to this one on audiobook and the narrator was fine. This was a fast paced story, engaging, and kept me wanting to learn more.

However, it just didn’t work overall.

The concept is compelling: a social media, self help author/therapist and her husband buy a house with a history in the hopes of renovating it, documenting the renovations, and making lots of money. The commentary about social media likes and stardom was really interesting and I almost wish this was fleshed out just a little bit more.

The unreliable alcoholic therapist trope is played out, but I found something engaging with our MC. Mostly just her secretive past.

The marriage plot like was uninteresting. The cat was the best character. I actually loved the haunted house story line a lot. The ending was fine, though I didn’t like it initially, having sat with it for a few days, I find I do like it overall.

I will probably read from this author again. While I wasn’t blown away by the story, there was something there that kept me reading. Even if it was just the cat and the haunted house.

Black Wood House has lain vacant for years, going to rack and ruin. The neighbors want to bulldoze it, but Sarah Slade, social influencer, wants to renovate it, after all, buying a murder house is cheap! The Beacon neighborhood is a desirable area, but Sarah does not find any allies there, even her husband isn’t on board. When Sarah finds out that there was another buyer not so long ago that’s gone missing, even she starts to question her choice. Soon Sarah begins to spiral. Finding notes about her past, a past that she’s carefully hidden send her nearer and nearer the edge. There’s someone in the attic, she’s sure of it, and the house itself is talking to her! Will Sarah be able to transform Black Wood House before she becomes its next victim? What a creepy, twisty debut that Matlin has graced us with. Pages turn quickly as Sarah descends into darkness, a darkness she might not be able to escape! Thank you to Bantam Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This was my first read from Lisa Matlin and I can’t say I loved it but I definitely didn’t dislike it. I enjoyed the pace as I was continuously eager to figure out what was going on in the Blackwood House. Was it supernatural , was it a crazy neighbor, was it all in Sarah’s head? I definitely did not expect the ending and enjoyed the twist, but really disliked the main character Sarah, and hoped she got what she deserved at the end. This was a fun quick read with some scary moments, perfect for the fall, 3.5⭐️

Thank you for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of this title via NetGalley.

This one gives vibes of a modern day Lizzie Borden. This is part paranormal, part domestic suspense and a few mysteries that propel the story. I had no idea where this one was headed and while I liked it at the beginning, the longer I read, the more I could take or leave it.

The best part is it is a unique story. The worst part for me is it got a little too out there for me. But I’ve seen rave reviews, so make sure and see what they had to say and figure out if this book is for you.

Sarah Slade is a successful therapist, author, and blogger, and now she’s embarking on a new project – the renovation of a house where several murders occurred. After sitting on the market for years, Sarah is determined to flip the house and make a killing (no pun intended) on the resale. But first, she has to deal with unexplained noises, neighbors who hate her, and a crumbling marriage.

There’s a lot going on in this book and not necessarily in a good way. There’s lots of illogical reasoning (buy a house and save a marriage?), a missing homeowner, bizarre accidents, and Sarah’s life cratering all at the same time. As a therapist I would have expected her to handle things a bit better. In the end, I didn’t find the characters very appealing and I really wasn’t too invested in what happened to them. As a result, I didn’t enjoy The Strange Upstairs as much as I would have liked. NetGalley provided an advance copy.

This book scared the sh*t out of me. And I loved every minute. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the nightmares — and I don’t even live in an old house!

📚𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗨𝗽𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝗮 𝗠. 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻📚

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ

𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: 𝙼𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚢/𝚃𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬💭:
AHHH if you’ve seen and liked The Watcher, pick this book up asap! As @poetry.and.plot.twists kindly pointed that out to me, she was absolutely right! Soon as I started this book, I got hooked so good with the premise of the story.

Thank you Bantam Books ans Penguin Random House for my ARC

𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐛📝:
Sarah Slade is an influencer who bought the infamous Blackwood House, a house known for a murder that happened many years ago in the hopes of using it as content for her lifestyle blog. With a dark past of her own, she soon discovers that the house is overflowing with even more secrets that’s yet to be revealed as bizarre things start to happen.

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.💫/5. An incredible and chilling debut that was exactly what I needed! This was a very quick read and had it not been for my busy and hectic week, i would have finished it overnight. Short chapters, chilly and creepy settings, intriguing mysteries and a murder house. What more could you ask for? It’s a quick page turner that got me really hooked on its mystery. I really enjoyed the pacing and the twists made it hard to put down. But i had a ton of questions when it ended! Which made me knock out half a star. This is absolutely worth the read though if you’re a fan of psychological thrillers, and are as amused by murder houses as I am. This is the perfect spooky season read, so don’t skip out on this one!

𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚: 𝘔𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴, 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘓𝘰𝘤𝘩 𝘕𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘦𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘔𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳

Lisa M. Matlin's "The Stranger Upstairs" is a taut and suspenseful thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish. Matlin masterfully weaves a story that blends elements of psychological suspense, mystery, and domestic drama, creating a compelling narrative that explores the dark secrets hidden behind closed doors.

The novel's main focus is on Sarah, a woman who lives a seemingly ordinary life with her husband and two children. Their quiet suburban existence is shattered when a new neighbor, Matt, moves into the apartment upstairs. As Sarah becomes increasingly drawn to Matt, she discovers that he may not be the friendly stranger he appears to be. Her growing obsession with him exposes the cracks in her seemingly perfect life, leading to a series of shocking revelations that will change everything.

Matlin's storytelling is characterized by its tight pacing and skillful character development. She gradually peels back the layers of her characters, delving into their complex emotions and motivations. Sarah is a relatable protagonist, and readers will find themselves empathizing with her struggles and inner turmoil. Matt, on the other hand, exudes an enigmatic charm that keeps the reader guessing about his true intentions. This character dynamic sets the stage for a gripping psychological duel.

One of the novel's strengths is its ability to create a palpable sense of unease. Matlin excels in building a foreboding atmosphere, and the tension continues to mount as the story progresses. The book's narrative structure is a noteworthy aspect, employing alternating perspectives between Sarah and Matt, which adds depth to the characters and offers different insights into the unfolding events.

While "The Stranger Upstairs" is an engaging and suspenseful read, some readers might find the plot to be somewhat predictable, as it occasionally relies on well-worn thriller tropes. Additionally, the pacing, which is generally tight, might feel a bit rushed towards the climax, leaving some questions unresolved.

Despite these minor shortcomings, Lisa M. Matlin's "The Stranger Upstairs" delivers a solid and entertaining psychological thriller. It's a page-turner that explores themes of obsession, secrets, and the consequences of allowing a stranger into one's life. Matlin's writing is compelling, and her ability to create suspense and maintain the reader's interest is evident throughout the book. If you enjoy suspenseful novels with well-drawn characters and a sense of impending danger, "The Stranger Upstairs" is a captivating choice that will keep you guessing until the very end.

The Stranger Upstairs was a little different from my normal reading choices. I had a difficult time connecting with the main character. I also didn't care for her. I will say, h0wever, that I didn't predict the ending. I figured that the ending would be mystical, but it wasn't. It was a twist I didn't see coming!

This was a GREAT spooky debut novel that I devoured in a very short amount of time. It's rare that I read a book that leaves me unsettled with my heart racing, but this book definitely did that! I thought that Sarah's character was so interesting and compelling. I loved that you didn't know if she was a reliable narrator or not. I would definitely read another book by Lisa Matlin. 5 stars!

This was a psychological thriller with an original and unusual premise that read in a creepy and mysterious way. It was difficult to know if the house was haunted or if things were part of a set up. In the case of this book, the house and the residents were both haunted in their own ways.

With this book, you are never quite sure who to trust. It seems people are never who they seem and their motives are rarely good. The characters weren't really likable and their viewpoints didn't seem reliable. There was a strong air of mystery that surrounded it all. That said, I kept reading because I was interested in seeing how everything ended up. I was curious to see what the real "story" was behind it all.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within re my own.