Another thriller with an unhinged, mentally unstable FMC. This wasn’t the most unique story, and the reveals at the end were a bit underwhelming. Still, there were some fun twists along the way. I’m reading the author’s note, we learn that the author struggled with her own mental health, which clearly inspired this story, which gives some context to some of her choices.

I’m so happy I was introduced to Lisa Matlin! This book is ridiculously good. I was captivated from the very beginning all the way to the end, I could not put this down even though it was creepy. Do not let this beautiful cover fool you! This story is so twisty, unique and again….creepy. I’m looking forward to more from Lisa Matlin and will be recommending this book to everyone. Thank you Lisa M. Matlin, NetGalley and Bantam for this ebook.

Sarah Slade, a therapist with a bestselling book and blogger, has bought a beautiful Victorian house in an affluent community, hoping to renovate and run and make tons of money while saving her struggling marriage. Unfortunately for Sarah, a high profile murder happened in the house years ago… That’s why it was so cheap. And the neighbors don’t want her there. And her marriage is still struggling. And the house doesn’t seem to like the renovations. Sarah begins to receive strange, threatening notes that know things no one should know. Her cat hears things and acts strange. Everything Sarah has built starts to unravel. Is it the house? A neighbor?

Thrilling and suspenseful and not what you think!

“You shouldn’t have bought the house, son. It doesn’t want to be fixed, and it doesn’t want you here. And it’s going to make you pay.”

Pub date- September 12, 2023

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for a copy of this book.

What a thrilling debut from Lisa Matlin! Another great read for SPOOKY SEASON!👻

What a crazy ride! I absolutely loved this book and it checked all my creepy thrilling boxes.
Murder House? Check!
Haunted House? Check!
Psychological Thriller? Check!
Unreliable Narrator? Check!
Twists and Turns? Check!

This book kept me up reading at night and it was CREEEEPY! 40 years ago a gruesome murder happened at Black Wood house. Sarah Slade and her husband move in to renovate in hopes to resell. As soon as they move in strange things start to happen. We are inside Sarah’s mind and it felt like I was going crazy with her! Pick this book up for spooky season!
✨Be sure to read the Authors Note at the end!

Very fun read with a fresh take on a murder story. I really liked the main character and found her storyline compelling. I wish I hadn’t guessed the twist as early as I did, but great read overall.

The Stranger Upstairs is a crazy, haunted, thrill ride! I did not know what to expect from page to page. Sarah is the quintessential unreliable narrator and admits as much in the beginning. Thus, the plot and characters are a mirage…or are they? I was left guessing until the very end! I loved the creepy, manic tone this book is written in; more than once I questioned my own perception of reality. Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. I loved it!

I loved a lot of things about this novel: the premise of the living murder house is perfectly spooky, Sarah Slade and all of her problems create an interesting and very unreliable narrator, and the twist that is revealed regarding her background was not one that I saw coming and helped to keep interest as the book moved along.

In many ways, The Stranger Upstairs reminds me of a Freida McFadden tale, and that is high praise.

Thank you NetGallery for the early copy of the book. In all honesty, the premise of the book was intriguing, but I DNF. It quickly lost its appeal and I couldn’t keep interest enough to finish it out.

First, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Random House, for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa Matlin releases on September 11th, 2023.

Sarah Slade and her husband have just bought a new house, but this new house is special. This new house was once home to a murderer who killed his wife and attempted to kill his daughter. Their intent is to renovate the house sell it with the hope of making a generous profit — and the neighbors are not happy about it. They want the home to be demolished. It doesn’t take long for weird things to begin happening and it doesn’t take long until Sarah is driven to madness.

Okay, I’m going to start out by saying this book is creepy. It was one of those books that I couldn’t read while home alone because I felt like I was starting to hear things. It’s a fun story and Lisa seamlessly makes you feel like you are losing your mind as our main character, Sarah Slade, does. It is truly interesting in how immersed I became in this book.

The writing can be a little choppy at times, but I think that has more to do with it being set in Australia and me not being used to the language they use. It doesn’t take away from the book, it is still a relatively fast-paced story and one I foresee myself recommending for anyone who wants to read something that will give them goosebumps.

This book is definitely going to be a good one for spooky season. I recommend going in blind - it is so much fun to watch all the mysteries unravel.

4.5 stars. Might change my mind later and round up ;).
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishers for the ARC of The Stranger Upstairs.
Sarah and her husband, Joe, have scored a great deal on a fixer-upper a few towns over, and are looking to make a few bucks on a renovation. Unfortunately this “murder house” has other plans, and both the house and the local townspeople have no desire for a fresh start.
This debut novel was highly entertaining and kept my interest from start to finish. I love a good haunted house story!

Great read. Spooky enough to keep me interested to the end. The characters, including the house, are well-thought out and believable. I've read and watched some scary house stories and this one stands at the front of the line.

My thanks to the Author, Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing the electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 Unreliable narrator alert! I've seen this trope used so often that I realized fairly early on that our narrator was unreliable, but couldn't figure out exactly why. Would it turn out to be the old reliable- drugs/alcohol or maybe something like stress and lack of sleep? But then it could be ghosts or a cursed house causing the issues- after all, the protagonist does go against all advice and buys a "murder house." All around lots of fun and a fairly bizarre reason for everything that you probably won't guess.

I’m sad that I didn’t like this book about a murder house more. It started strong for me, but then I just started to lose interest. I stuck with it to find out what was really going on. I think others might like it though. I did appreciate the author’s note at the end. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Wellness influencer Sarah Slade buys a house known for murders with hopes to renovate it. She has a crumbling marriage and a soso practice and is hoping this will be her next big thing. However, soon she starts getting notes from a mysterious stranger who knows her secrets.

I thought this one was ok! I liked the writing but it was the story more that I thought was just fine. The big twist at the end was disappointing to me, almost like a bit of a cop out. It also adds another POV at the end. Which I understand why (Sarah was no longer reliable) but I think Emily’s POV could’ve been throughout. It would’ve made this less weird/jarring.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

3.5 rounded up - This was a fast paced, unputdownable thriller with a fun premise. The lies and drama kick off straight away and don’t let up. The FMC is pretty horrendous but an unreliable narrator with a bit of a twist is fun. This book was trying to do a lot - some things to a more successful degree than others. But it had the creepy vibes I was looking for! And we all know I am here for vibes 🤌🏻

While this definitely wasn’t perfect, it was an impressive debut. Overall, I think this is worth the read if a murder house renovation premise intrigues you, and I think Matlin’s only going to get better from here!

You must read this book at home, alone in the dark! Unless you don't like to be scared! This book is a psychological thriller mixed with a haunted house and I absolutely loved it! I can't believe this is this author's first book. Bravo! So well written and a book I definitely recommend.
#TheStrangerUpstairs #NetGalley

I stayed up far too late, absolutely terrified, yet still reading this book! I simply had to know what happened and the layers upon layers of complexity and mystery made for a great read.

It takes a special kind of person to buy a murder house, and that person is Sarah Slade. Sarah and her husband buy Black Wood House, an infamous murder house where Bill Campbell brutally killed his wife, attempted to kill his daughter, and then committed suicide 40 years ago. None of this deters Sarah, however, who is only thinking of how she can use renovating the house to further boost her social media career and save her marriage.

Sarah’s life may look shiny and perfect on Instagram, but in reality she’s broke, her marriage is failing under the weight of all the secrets between she and her husband, and she’s really counting on the payout from fixing this house to fix everything.

Sarah quickly realizes that things are going to be much harder than originally expected. Her husband is never home anymore, the neighbors don’t want her around, her cat is acting strange, and she’s been getting sick often putting her on thin ice with her job as a counselor. Then she starts finding menacing notes and learns there was one previous owner of Black Wood House that the town has done it’s best to keep quiet, and she disappeared without a trace. Furthermore, whoever is leaving these notes has found out her real identity.. and is going to expose her as the fraud she is.

There’s something seriously wrong with this house, and someone has it out for her. Can Black Wood House be fixed? Or will it drag Sarah down with it..

I quite literally had no idea what was going on with this book at any point, I couldn’t put it down! Sarah was such an unreliable narrator, she really kept me on my toes at every point. The blog posts, newspaper articles, and diary entries really contributed to the book in a fabulous way. The only put downs for me were that Sarah truly doesn’t learn from her mistakes and is destined to be miserable forever with her actions, and that I was so scared for poor Reaper the cat the ENTIRE book. For a debut novel I’m absolutely enamored by Lisa Matlin. I’m very eager for future work from her.

Please read the author’s note! Mental health is such an important journey and it really takes a lot of bravery to speak publicly about one’s own. I admire her for opening up to her readers and find her to be very inspirational.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bantam, and the author for this ARC!
Publication date 9/12/2023

Review for the stranger upstairs

5% into this book I already know multiple people who would love this book. If you enjoy thrillers, mysteries, spooky houses, cats, and a crude sense of humor this book is likely for you. Likely I enjoy all of those things.

25% I thought this was gonna be a thriller but I think it’s gonna be a horror book… but I can’t put it down

50% I’m starting to think this might not be for cat lovers actually… but it’s still for this who are a little twisted inside and find spooky interesting

75% not for cat lovers I repeat not for cat lovers. I have no idea what to believe. I have ideas but I can’t piece them together AND keep reading. I haven’t stopped reading just going straight through

100% okay just kidding it IS safe for cat lovers!! Also wow! 5 stars that was a thriller beginning to end!

Over all thoughts:
Once I got to the end I realized my gut guess on what was happening was right but I dismissed it because no one ever uses the idea and it was also a plot on a tv show I saw so I thought maybe not but it WAS I was surprised but now wonder if she watches the same shows I do or if she’s just really really good! Over all the book was VERY high paced I read it straight through in a matter of hours probably the fastest book I read in WEEKS. Definitely had me second guessing myself but in the end it was perfect. I thought we might could have had a FEW moment to catch our breath but if we had I might have put the book down and not read it straight through. Excellent job.


Summery :
Sara and her husband of three years buy a house no one would touch with a 10 foot pole. A murder suicide happened in this house and the house has never rested. But it seems to be calling for Sara. She plans to renovate and flip the house. Updating her followers as she goes. But will she change this house for the better? Or will this therapist need a session for herself?

Spoilery commentary:

I was very worried about the cat. But the cat lives!! I have several people I think would like this book but if the cat had died I wouldn’t be able to tell any of those. Till number one in books you can off pretty much any characters but the animals better live.
If you’ve read the book then here’s the show it reminded me of as soon as I started. There’s an episode of psych called “here’s lassi “ and the show mimicked the shinning but instead of a real haunting they had gas poisoning that was making them crazy. So when I read old house I assumed it was either a gas or carbon monoxide leak but like I said I DID dismiss this idea when I couldn’t tell if this was a thriller or turning into a true haunting so she definitely made me abandon my rational thinking! I thought there were just enough characters but not overwhelming. At one point I actually thought she didn’t even have a sister but maybe has a split personality and joe was just trying to cope with her being two people and “her sister dying” was actually just a persona she buried. I even thought she was the cat at one point too but then I realized no the cat went to the vet I read ONE book in the last year with DID and now I’m worried that’s gonna be every plot twist!

4.5 ⭐️

Holy moly! I read this in one day. Super fast paced, twisty, and captivating. It’s like a psychological thriller mixed with a haunted house element. It is perfect for fans of Freida McFadden and readers who enjoy unreliable narrators.

The majority of the book is spent inside the FMCs head. There isn’t a TON of dialogue - so it feels like you are experiencing all of the fear and distrust yourself. There is a heavy, heady psychological element to the plot.

I will definitely have a book hangover after this one!

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

This was a fun take on an old trope that managed to surprise me with a twist I didn’t see coming (even though I really should have!!)

I wasn’t a huge fan of the narrative voice of our main character Sarah and even knowing what was going on, I have a hard time cutting her any slack. There felt like there were a lot of underdeveloped areas to the story which leaves it feeling a bit incomplete.

Not a bad book by any means, and may hit that perfect sweet spot for a reader wanting a bit of an unhinged main character.

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.