Buying a murder house seems like a good idea. Too bad the house seems to have other ideas. This thriller has lots of twists and turns.

Unfortunately this book was not a favorite of mine. I did give the book three stars as the writing was well done I just personally did not enjoy the plot.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Lisa M Matlin for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Stranger Upstairs coming out September 12, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A therapist/self-help writer with all the right answers, Sarah Slade has just bought a gorgeous Victorian in the community of her dreams. Turns out, you can get a really good deal on a house when someone was murdered in it. Plus, renovating Black Wood House makes for great blog content and a good distraction from her failing marriage. It’s probably a good thing that no one knows that Sarah’s past is just as filthy as the dried bloodstains on her bedroom floor.

But the renovations are turning into a nightmare. Sarah imagined custom avocado wallpaper, massive profits, and an appreciative husband who wants to share her bed again. Instead, the neighbors hate her for moving in and her husband still sleeps on the couch. And though the builders attempt to cover up Black Wood’s horrific past, a series of bizarre accidents, threatening notes, and fresh footsteps in the attic only confirms for Sarah what the rest of the town already knew: Something is very wrong in that house.

With every moment, Sarah’s life spins further out of control—and with it, her sense of reality. But as she takes off the curling wallpaper and discovers the house’s secrets, she realizes she might not like what she finds.

NetGalley sent this book to me and I’m so happy about it! I’ve read a couple books by Australian writers this year and I’m becoming obsessed with them! This is a debut author. I definitely want to check out any other books she writes. I’m obsessed with the dark, old house genre. I love ghost and murder house stories. This book was unexpected and I loved it! It was fast paced and offered some twists and turns. The whole plot of the book was crazy, but it was the kind of crazy I love!

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys murder house thrillers!

📚: The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin
⭐️: 2.5/5 (rounding up on #goodreads)

#murderhouse. Is that hashtag a bit much to use? Fictional Australian influencer Sarah Slade asks herself this as she moves into an infamous home, Black Wood House, with her oaf of a husband, Joe and temperamental (but loyal) cat, Reaper. 

With a hope to flip Black Wood House for a profit, Sarah and Joe try to get down to work but find that the neighborhood - and house itself - may have other plans. As the house seems to say that it wants to be left alone, Sarah's mental state spirals. Is it reality or paranoia? And as secrets come tumbling out, who's to trust and who's to blame? 

Very psychological thriller-ish, but still a bit haunted house horror, I wanted to love this read, but came to the conclusion that it'd be stronger if the story angled fully on either thriller or horror. How both genres are blended here felt confusing as a reader. The plot was gripping for the latter 20%, however, the full reveal didn't stick, and partially felt like an out of place public service announcement.

Many thanks to Random House - Ballantine via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Stranger Upstairs is out tomorrow, September 12th.

Lisa M. Matlin's smashing debut, THE STRANGER UPSTAIRS —an author/social media influencer/therapist/author buys a murder house, and her life spins out of control in this edge-of-your-seat eerie suspense thriller with dark humor/horror.

Want a deal of a house? Buy one where someone was murdered!

Welcome to Black Wood House, a quiet wooded estate in Beacon, southeast of Melbourne—a stunning Victorian Gothic two-story home on lush two acres built in 1889 next door to a 400-acre bushland reserve.

On the morning of 1980, Bill Campbell walked upstairs where Susan, his wife of 20 years, lay sleeping and bashed her skull with a hammer. After murdering her, he drifted downstairs into Janet, his 17-year-old daughter's room, and attempted to do the same, running out the front door. Then Bill locked himself in the bathroom and took a fatal overdose of acid and tranquilizers.

Black Wood House has sat empty and silent for 40 years, but now the new owner, Sarah Slade, does not believe in superstitions. She and her husband, Joe, of three years (bartender), look at the project as a business opportunity. They plan to restore it and sell it for a nice profit.

Sarah is a fixer. She does not like broken things. She believes you should not judge anything by its dark past. Sarah is a therapist with a bestselling self-help book, Clear, Calm, and in Control.

Joe is creeped out and not thrilled about living in the house. However, Sarah makes it all social when she touts the renovations on her blog website, SarahSlays.com.

However, renovations cannot gloss over every secret. Then bizarre accidents occur, and sinister, creepy things, menacing notes, and mysterious footsteps in the attic. Is someone out to kill her? Her husband, the neighbors, or the house itself?

Through diary entries, we learn the problems of her marriage and the wicked secrets of her past. Sarah cannot have her past come out, which will ruin her reputation. It could be her undoing if people discover what happened to her sister, Lizzy. Will the house get the best of her?

The lies begin to unravel...

Told in three parts with an Epilogue, from POVs Sarah and Emily, THE STRANGER UPSTAIRS is creepy, eerie, atmospheric, and mixed with dark humor and horror—blended with media and commentary, makes for an entertaining read. Perfect for the spooky Halloween season.

With themes of mental health, I appreciate the author's note regarding this topic and references. The novel explores the dark areas of our lives we do not want others to see. For fans of authors Lisa Jewell, Stephen King, and Dean Koontz.

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for a gifted ARC in exchange for an honest opinion. #CoverLove

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Sept 12, 2023
My Rating: 4 Stars
Sept 2023 Must-Read Books

Sadly, there were so many things wrong with this book. It started slowly, eventually drew me in, but I had so many flashbacks from so many other books with similarities I kept waiting for something, well, DIFFERENT to happen. But it didn't. Same ole same ole, think Amityville meets Pet Semetary meets every "scary" Lifetime movie you've ever seen. The only characters worthy of my time were Reaper and Emily. I did appreciate the snark and dark humor, but all in all this was a bust for me.

The Stranger Upstairs is a thriller that sucks you in from page one and remains a page turner until the very end.

I loved the creepy murder house vibes - this is a great spooky season read and definitely got me into the fall spooky season mood. Sarah Slade is a blogger/therapist who decides to purchase the infamous Black Wood House with her husband in hopes of renovating it. The House has other ideas though.

Loved the premise and I found Sarah to be a very interesting albeit unreliable narrator. It was hard to tell what was true and what wasn't. I did find the ending to be lacking a little something as the reveal wasn't exactly what I was expecting but I was impressed that the story fooled me, I had just wished for a little spookier reveal maybe?

All in all, this is a wonderful debut and I would definitely recommend grabbing this as your next fall read!

The Stranger Upstairs, by Lisa M. Matlin

Short Take: Here, have a twist or seventeen.

(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)

Greetings, my beloved nerdlings!! As much as I love summer, and as painful as it is to admit, I will not be sorry to see the end of this one. Outside has been whipsawing between storming and scorching, with the occasional wildfire smoke adding to the festivities.

But now I’m seeing pumpkin spice at Dunkin Donuts, and you all know what that means - it’s spooky season! (I’m ignoring Costco’s ginormous Christmas section but seriously WTF Costco)

Which is where The Stranger Upstairs comes in. It’s a simple premise - Sarah Slade, bestselling author, therapist, and instagram influencer has a new plan to get more content, clicks, and the all-important discount codes. She and her husband Joe will buy a house where a famous murder-suicide took place 40 years ago, removate and resell it, while documenting every step and profiting handsomely.

It sounds like a sure-fire road map to (more) fame and fortune, but, well… Sarah has secrets. Joe has secrets. The neighbors have secrets. The house has secrets. I swear, even the cat has seen things he’s not talking about.

Duckies, I had no idea where this story was going at any given time. There were a lot of familiar parts that added up to a dizzying, surprising whole. Sarah is one of my favorite types of characters, but I’m not going to elaborate and risk spoilers.

Truthfully, I am a little stumped right now, because I feel like anything I say will give away something, and the joy of this book is that you really, really never know what’s coming. So just pretend that I’ve said something brilliantly intriguing, and go get this one.

The Nerd’s Rating: FIVE HAPPY NEURONS (and a cup of lavender tea. I’ve never tried it, but I hear it’s good for detoxing.)

Perfect read if you're looking for something spooky to read this fall.

Social media influencer, Sarah Slade buys a murder house to renovate. Her plan is to grow her brand and draw in new followers. She's also doing it to distract from her failing marriage.

As the new owner of the infamous Black Wood House—the scene of a grisly murder-suicide—she’s finding more than she bargained for. Bizarre incidents begin to occur, creaks on the second floor, footsteps in the attic, and finally threatening notes appear everywhere. And every time she goes to start a project she stops feeling like the house doesn't want her to continue.

She's clinging to her carefully crafted lies as her life begins spiraling out of control, with every passing day, even her sense of reality.

Thank you so much to the author and Penguin Random House for this ARC to review.

Wow, what did I just read? I loved this book and can't believe it is a first for this author. I am a little bleary eyed from reading so much but what a great thriller. The author's note at the end was much appreciated also. Will recommend this book for sure...

The Stranger Upstairs is an amazing debut novel. The premise of a social influencer/therapist moving into a house where someone was murdered was an intriguing premise for a book. Add in the revelations about the social influencer and the status of her marriage, the neighbors that do not want her there, and the stories she hears about the house, as well as the seemingly negative reactions of her cat and the contractors working on her house and it all adds up to a horrific place to live.
I found myself drawn to Emily who seemed the most realistic character to me. I did not understand Sara’s choices at all until, after the revelations, I finally did.
The house seemed so overwhelmingly evil that it detracted from my personal enjoyment of the book, turning it more into the horror genre than the thriller I was hoping for. Lisa Marlin’s writing style is easy to read and I enjoyed the newspaper/media headlines juxtaposed with the text. They served to drive the reader to make predictions, which were then contradicted by the following text, leaving the mystery unsolved. Great suspense building strategy.
Many thanks to Lisa Marlin, Bantam, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this book, to be published on 9-12. I am looking forward to reading her next book!

The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin was a gripping debut.
Anyone who loves reading creepy, suspenseful stories during spooky season this is for you!
This book checked all my boxes and then some.

➳ social media influencer
➳ murder house
➳ haunted houses
➳ unreliable narrators
➳ domestic thriller
➳ marriage issues
➳ ton of secrets
➳ creepiness

Lisa M. Matlin killed it with her debut. I will be keeping my eyes open for next titles because her writing was phenomenal.
She kept me hooked and wanting to do absolutely nothing but read this book.
This was thoroughly addicting, clever and thrilling.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Random House, Ballantine & Bantam for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I don’t know what book those with 5 star ratings read, but it can’t be the same one I read because *yawn* this was about as far from five star as they come. I debated DNF’ing a couple of times, but only pushed through because I hate to not finish an arc. And a debut arc at that deserves to be finished because I struggle with writing reviews so I cam imagine how hard it is to write an entire story. Maybe it was in the marketing in that it was pushed as a haunted house and it ended up more a domestic thriller. And I applaud the authors honesty at the end when she said that she was struggling with her mental health when she wrote it. But this book was missing a lot to make it 5 stars. A lot.
The writing is simplistic and repetitive and the chat are barely fleshed out. You have to really suspend belief to go along with why they fled town.
There was nothing scary or surprising! Yes there were post it’s left for her to find-wow-I leave those for myself everyday. Ok, there was an issue with the cat, but even that was just kinda meh. I wanted scary and I got ho hum.
Overall there was potential but it just didn’t get there for me. Had it gone in the direction of the haunted house, I think it would have made for a better story.
Thanks to Bantam Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

This was such a good spooky season read! This is my preferred way to incorporate supernatural elements but wont say more because I don’t want to spoil anything. Sarah was an interesting morally grey character and I enjoyed seeing how Matlin slowly revealed her past. The unreliable narrator trope is still popular and Matlin does her own twist on it.

This book was WILD and I loved every crazy second of it. I could not stop reading it. I finished it in one sitting..even after it got dark out and I was afraid to walk around my house without every light on while I moved from the couch to my bed 😂 This was the perfect creepy read for me. I won’t tell you too much because I’m big on going into books blind and I recommend you do the same for this one BUT

🏚️there’s a murder house filled with unexplained noises and accidents
🤨a snarky, cynical and morally grey female main character
🤫a neighborhood full of secrets and lies
🐈‍⬛ the very best cat named Reaper

I was surprised to find after reading this that it’s Matlin’s debut novel. It’s one hell a debut 👏🏻Definitely add this to your list of spooky season reads! Publish Date 9/12/23

Ps. Read the authors note at the end of the book. I’m grateful to Lisa for sharing her own story about her mental health and healing 🖤

Thank you @penguinrandomhouse and @netgalley for this ARC

I was so happy to be able to read this debut novel by Lisa Matlin! I am afraid that I will spoil it for some but let me try my best.

Sarah has a secret past and she is trying to start over when she decides to buy the Black Wood house and renovate it. The house is known as the murder house because a murder-suicide took place there sitting vacant for 40 years! Will Sarah and her husband Joe repair their marriage as they repair this house? Or will it tear them apart when Sarah starts to hear voices coming from the attic?

Such a creepy, captivating thriller that you must read!

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and author for my ARC!

The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M Matlin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A big thank you to @netgalley and @bantambooksuk for the ARC. This one comes out Sept. 12.

This is the perfect spooky read to kick off spooky season. A murder house that might have something sinister in it in a small town with a “no outsider” mentality - count me in.

If you let yourself get caught up in the book and not think too much about the plot holes, it is very enjoyable. The author was able to create a tension that made me feel uneasy, and that uneasiness grew the entire book. There were some plot points and character introductions that made me scratch my head, but I didn’t think too much about them. My mind drew connections to the Amityville Horror movie.

For those of you who selected this as their BOTM, you’re in for a (trick or) treat! For those of you who are animal lovers, the cat is ok.

3.75 stars. Thanks to Penguin Random House for sending me this widget to read. Let me start off by saying I am a scardy cat I don't like to watch scary movies nor read them. I couldn't sleep one night so I started reading this from like 2 am to like 3:30 am and then I couldn't fall asleep because I was so scared. This book was like just a huge trainwreck and I could not look away and I was here for it 👏 .

Matlin has fashioned a creepy, psychological thriller with enough twists and turns to satisfy fans of the genre. The novel is set in Beacon, a perfect Australian town marred only by Black Wood House, a supposedly haunted murder house. Sarah Slade, best-selling self help author and therapist with a drinking problem and a troubled marriage, buys the house to renovate and resell, hoping to get sponsors for her project through her social media. But Sarah and her husband Joe have secrets, and the house seems to be hostile to them, to the renovation. It’s almost as if the house doesn’t want them there.Sarah and Joe are plagued by strange sounds, weird accidents, and, in Sarah’s case, threatening notes. Even worse, Sarah hears noises in the attic when no one else is in the house. Is the house haunted or is Sarah losing her sanity? What are the secrets Sarah and Joe are so anxious to hide?

Matlin makes clever use of social media and news posts interspersed in the story narrated by Sarah, foreshadowing the events to come. Not only is Sarah an unreliable narrator, but she is also an unlikable narrator, her true character revealed as the story develops. Surprise reveals cause vacillation between two premises - Black Wood is truly haunted or Sarah is losing her mind. Or perhaps the house is evil personified. Or there is a perfectly logical explanation for the weird events at Black Wood House. Matlin takes the reader on a bumpy ride, full of surprises and ambiguity - sure to appeal to thriller readers.

#TheStrangerUpstairs #NetGalley

I found this book to be too vague. It was a slow build and I was hoping for a shocking twist. I also found it to be repetitive and hate when authors repeat words multiple times in a row. I’m also not a fan of the “the house is alive” trope. I thought the ending was too unclear. The twist that it was CO poisoning and that Sarah was writing the notes herself wasn’t satisfying to me. But then the author seems to take that back by saying there was no CO leak and including the epilogue. So was it ghosts? Was there someone in the attic? What happened to Joe or Amanda or Janet? I don’t think the author made a final decision on what was going on in this book, so it felt unfinished. 2.5 stars