I really enjoyed this book. The book was a good mix of horror, psychological thriller, and creepy. I kept wanting to pick this book up to read, life gets in the way sometimes of that. I always wanted to know what was going to happen next and that ending, wow.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy of The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin. A social media influencer buys a murder house to renovate then flip and all doesn't well . This was super creepy. I literally wouldn’t read this at night.

I really gave this one a shot but had to DNF at 50%. The main character, Sarah, was so beyond insufferable that I just couldn't keep reading. The storyline was mediocre and not strong enough to make up for how awful the MC was.

Sarah Slade, a therapist and blogger has the opportunity of a lifetime. She and her husband are able to buy Black Wood, a huge house in a great town. It needs a lot of work and someone was murdered there, so the price is right. Sarah has big plans. Her and her husband will live there and renovate it, while she blogs about the daily events which she hopes will earn her sponsors and money to continue the renovations and offset costs. However, strange things begin to happen right away. It's like the house doesn't want her there. The townspeople certainly don't. And, is Sarah really who we think she is?
This was just an okay book for me.

Marked as DNF @ 10% on 9/25/23 | Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the digital review copy! This did not affect my reading experience or review in any way.

Sadly, this was a fairly quick DNF for me and I was so excited to read this. WOW, the main character was so annoying! We get it, she's a bad person. Maybe it would have been less annoying if the book was in third person, so we got some other input besides being inside her head? It would have maybe made it a little more mysterious and a little less blunt/in-your-face. She kept talking about what a bad person she was, being obnoxious, etc. It was just way overkill and I couldn't listen to this whole book from her POV.

Thankfully, my sister read this one first and gave me all the details 😆 I'm happy I skipped most of this, sad I missed one juicy part. I would have been upset about the way that it ended so I'm glad this one was a DNF. I would have been livid by the end if I kept reading... Mostly, the writing style wasn't for me. If I hadn't been so turned off by the writing and the MC, I would have kept reading and it likely wouldn't have been so bad, but starting off that poorly is a sure way for me to hate the whole thing.

Time of death: 44% - I had to DNF this one, unfortunately. Sometimes it be like that. 💀

The characters in this story are SO MESSY. If you like unlikable MCs then this is the book to read. I was appalled and fascinated with Sarah, who is a a complete narcissist. She works as a marriage therapist, whose own marriage is on the rocks, and who has some dark ways of making herself feel better about it all.

She and her husband purchase a home together in an effort to start fresh and repair their broken marriage. They buy a "murder house" where a husband killed his wife because why not? It's cheaper this way, they think, and after they fix it up and sell it they will have made a profit.

It's clear the couple have secrets, but the book doesn't reveal them all at once. The mystery element of this was fun at first but eventually became redundant. I think it was written purely for entertainment purposes as it lacks the finesse of writing that I enjoy in deeper literary works. But if you're looking for a quick easy read that doesn't go in hard on the prose, then this may be a good thriller for you.

The Stranger Upstairs, set in Australia, is one of those thrillers with an unreliable narrator. At the beginning of the book, Sarah seems totally together, and her picture perfect life unravels as you learn more. She and her husband Joe have bought a "murder house" as a fixer-upper, and living in it while they fix up the house and their marriage. But it seems the house does not want to be fixed - or is it the neighbors causing trouble for Sarah? This was a fast read, not anything new, but entertaining.

This was such a good horror/thriller. I enjoyed the atmosphere, and descriptions of Blackwood House. I really did picture this as a movie the whole time.
Sarah is a Psychologist and social media influencer. In order to boost her following she decides to buy " The Murder House". 40 years ago a husband murdered his wife, tried to murder his daughter, and killed himself. Sarah believes if she renovates the house, and blogs it, that this will boost her numbers. Things are never this easy. Now her husband is never home, spooky noises and occurrences are happening, and she is alone.
This is a read on one sitting, glued to the page read. I cannot wait to see what this author does next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

2 1/2 stars rounded up for this debut novel. I actually did enjoy the first part of the book but for some reason the last part/ending left me confused and I don't think I understood the ending. There are a lot of great reviews so somehow I think maybe I overlooked something in the book that caused my confusion. This book has a gorgeous cover - the design is just perfect. I do think this author does have great potential.

In this debut novel by Lisa M. Matlin, Sarah Slade buys a murder house where a murder/suicide happened and plans to renovate it to boost her lifestyle blog reach but things do not go as planned. She hears footsteps coming from the attic at night and there are still blood stains on the floor from the house's horrible past. The builders start acting odd and accident keep happening. She thought this would be a way to get her life back on track but everything is happening the opposite of what she envisioned. Wonderful debut novel! Can't wait to see more from Matlin.

This was a psychological thriller that I did not expect to have me mind blown. At the beginning of the story I thought I knew exactly what was going to happen but boy was I wrong. Thinking this was going to be a typical murder mystery with the whole town in on this big conspiracy to find out it is all in the characters head (supposedly) Very interesting storyline. The last chapter was kind of disappointing for me and I would have liked it more if it ended another way but I still enjoyed the book as a whole. I'm left after the epilogue thinking what is up with that house??!!

I have no idea how I heard of this book, but I requested the ARC from NetGalley and received it. It was scarier than I normally like, but it was good! I enjoyed the twists and turns, and at one point was alone in the house with all of the lights on because I was pretty freaked out! 😳 But I wanted to finish it, so I powered through! 😆

Sarah Slade is a social media influencer who is starting over. So she buys Black Wood House, the scene of a violent murder many years ago, with plans to renovate it with her husband and resell it. But Black Wood House has other plans. The workers start having strangely and having accidents, Sarah receives notes that only someone who really knows her would send, and the neighbors want nothing to do with her.

Then she starts to hear footsteps in the attic and believes someone, or something, is trying to kill her. She does not know who or what it is, but she trusts no one. Not her husband, her co-workers, or her neighbors. As Sarah's life falls apart her secrets start to be exposed and she wonders if any of this is worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC!
I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it.
The FMC was too whiny and bratty for me to like.
I did think that it was a little over the top with all the allusive EVERYTHING, but it kept me guessing for sure.
Overall, a decent story that I would recommend to friends.

If your neighbor shares the following, "be careful, they're watching" I'd be nervous about my new home purchase.

This cover screams, READ ME! The Stranger Upstairs has a lot of build-up, then stumbles at the end. Bits of this story were confusing, and its plot moved so slow. If you enjoy a thriller with incredibly unlikable characters, this book is for you.

Thank you Random House for the complimentary copy.

Thanks to netgalley for this ARC. What a great book to read during spooky season! The main character has a lot of flaws but makes her very relatable. I loved how much personality is given to this house and the grumpy cat, Reaper, as well. A great debut book by the author. I also really appreciated the author's note and her opening up about her personal struggles.

When Sarah and Joe buy and move into Black Wood House, they have big plans to renovate and make a huge profit sale afterwards. The fact that murders have been committed in this house they feel will add to the mystic and selling power. As they leave their own secrets behind to begin anew - they find themselves in a house that has secrets of its own...the dangerous kind. Soon things begin happening that have no explanation, and the eeriness of the house becomes scary. Even the cat, Reaper, is reacting to something very strange. As the story unfolds, we find there is so much more to all the secrets and it begins to twist and turn in unexpected ways. Feelings of tension, fear, anxiety and drama are woven throughout the pages as we are drawn to answers and conclusions that can be mind-bending. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #NetGalley #TheStrangerUpstairs

The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin was not one of my favorites.

It was a quick read with lots of twists. For me the way the main character was portrayed was really troubling and was hard to get past.

The characters were one dimensional and while the ending was good, this one didn't do it for me.

Great twisted book.

The writing gets more jumbled as the narrators mental health deteriorates which takes some getting used to but overall a great thriller book.

Would recommend for my BA Paris or Megan Miranda fans

This was such a dang good debut novel. I’ve been sitting on writing this review because I just feel like I couldn’t put into words what I was feeling. But I love when books make me feel this way.

I also listened to this audio and you could literally feel Sarah going crazy. You felt every single emotion. The unreliable narrator aspect really worked for this book.

There were so many twists and turns in this book that you think you know where it’s going but bam, it throws another wrench in the mix.

I will say the ending was a little eh, for me. However I completely never would have guessed it. Such a fun, quick read

I will for sure pick up other reads from this author!

A really refreshing twist on the haunted house/sinister neighbors subgenre. Can honestly say the twist was unexpected!