I adored this deliciously creepy novel from the start. Murder house? Totally intriguing! A background full of dangerous secrets? I'm all in! I thought Lisa M. Martin did a fantastic job of creating a completely unsettling novel about a woman and her husband who move into an infamous house where a murder occurred 40 years ago, only to watch their lives, and sanity, unravel. I love those chills-up-the-spine feelings that this story left me with, and will definitely be on the lookout for more from Lisa Martin!

Lil twisty, lil spooky, ultimately a fun weekend read. The Australian setting was unexpectedly quirky.

If you know me then you know that I love to be scared and terrified. Scared enough to sleep with the lights on and lose some sleep. Give me the chills and I love it. This book hit me differently. The cover is very inviting, so I assumed that this was going to freak me out because looks can always be deceiving. The synopsis was hit and miss but I was all in it for a murder house.

"Be careful. They're watching you."

Murder house for the mediocre. I was going to say win but that would mean that I loved this. I can't say hate because that's too strong of a word for what this is. I'm rolling my eyes as I'm writing this because it had so much potential but it really fell faster than a skydiver with a broken ripcord. And splat goes the brain after reading that huge letdown of an ending.

I might be one of a few who just didn't like this. It was hard for me to like any of the characters because none of them were telling the truth and none of them were even a tad bit likable. I just wanted that house to pull a Carrie and bury all of them under it as it collapses but we can never truly get what we want in life.

What it had going for it was the beautiful cover and the mystery of "Sarah" losing her ever-loving mind. Having a strong character doubt everything was fantastic but it never lasted that long. Those parts are what kept me around but not enough for me to love this.

The Stranger Upstairs was a meh kind of read and one that I won't read again. I'm hoping the author gets better with her next book because she has a lot of potential.

I never really got into this. Despite it not being that long, I thought it dragged a little. And the main character was very unlikable which also made it hard to root for anyone. I don’t know that the background/history was fleshed out as much as I would’ve liked. The ending was a little twisty and suspenseful. For whatever reason, I stuck around and read the Author’s Note which made me look at the book in a different light. The author had been struggling with depression and this book was an outlet of sorts. It made me like her more and I will try her next book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 30% - the horror elements in this one were a bit much for me. as a non-horror girlie, I was expecting this one to be more mystery thriller and less grisly. if you’re into horror though, it’s super intriguing and the writing is excellent!!!

The book grabbed me immediately and only let go once I knew the story's outcome. I tore through this book and enjoyed (almost) every minute of it. Our protagonist is fully-fleshed out, which means readers will both like and dislike her throughout the book, depending on the moment. I can't wait for this to be published, for many reasons, but high on the list is that I know the ending is going to be divisive. I had to take a few days before writing this review to figure out how I felt about it. Ultimately, I think it fit in with the narrative and made sense, at least to some degree. This is a book that really takes you inside the protagonist's mind, and this is one character where you will need to buckle up for the ride and think twice before turning off your lights.

(Many thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC!)

I absolutely loved this book! This was such a gripping read. I loved the twists, the atmosphere, the characters, everything. Definitely a great read!

A blogger and her husband buy a dilapidated mansion and she wants to write about the progress of fixing up the house, but the town and the house have other plans.

Apparently this is Lisa M Matlin’s debut novel and it’s about a social influencer who buys a house to renovate who has had a murder happen in it. She has all kinds of scary things happening, creepy things making noises at all hours of the day or night. This kept me up reading late into the night and made me think twice before turning out the lights! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. To be published September 2023.

Could you ever buy a house where someone had been murdered? Do you think it would be haunted? And if you bought it, could you live there? It’s been 40 years, so all the bad energy must be gone right?

Sarah Slade and her husband purchase Black Wood House – the site of a murder-suicide -- with plans to fix it up and sell it for a big profit. Sarah even sleeps in the bedroom where the murder took place.

Then creepy things start to happen with the house and the people in town. It’s almost like the house doesn’t want anyone to make renovations. Notes are left for Sarah with intimate details about her life. Strange noises are coming from the attic too. As Sarah’s life starts to fall apart, she wonders what she got herself into.

Sarah is a social influencer, writer, and therapist – and all of that is falling apart too as she struggles to keep her appointments, her posts don’t generate much interaction, and she’s nowhere with writing a new book.

This one edged more into horror than I was expecting and there were several loose storyline threads. I wish I had gotten more engaged with this one, but it just didn’t totally grab me.

The protagonist of this novel is not easy to like. Sarah is a psychologist who wrote a bestselling book and is a media influencer. She thought that by buying what is known as the murder house and renovating it, she’d increase her following, but instead, she mired her and her husband in massive debt. None of the small-town neighbors accept her because they want that house and its evil past bulldozed. Is one of the neighbors the one leaving her notes and making those noises at night?

As Sarah’s marriage and career seem to be crumbling, Sarah worries that her secret past will come out and destroy her completely—if she survives that long.

This is a downer book. I liked some parts of the ending, but I wouldn’t describe this as a fun read.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES SEPTEMBER 26, 2023.

This was so good!! Creepy and well thought out! I do love a good haunted house story, and this one was fresh and original!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC

Thank you to Random House for letting me read THE STRANGER UPSTAIRS early. This one hits shelves on September 12.

I really enjoyed this one, another great debut that I've read recently. I read the whole thing in the course of 24 hours. If life hadn't gotten in the way, I could have just done it all in one sitting. I really loved the mystery of the characters and the twists that kept me flipping pages as fast as possible. I definitely recommend this one!

This was a book you wanted to keep reading. So many questions you wanted answers to. I think you knew how it all was going to end pretty much when things started unraveling but it still had you in it’s grip to keep on going. Good book.

Thank you to netgalley for letting me receive this arc.

In efforts to outrun a troubled past, a woman and her husband buy a notorious murder house to renovate and begin again. Sarah Slade is a social media influencer/author/counselor who appears to have her life put together and hopes that renovating the murder house will help her obtain more followers on social media and fix her problematic marriage.

Black Wood House has sat vacant for forty years and it seems like it has been waiting on the perfect person to welcome home. Sarah begins updating the house with what crew she can convince to renovate, and she begins to realize the house might not want to be changed. She begins to experience mysterious notes, a dead rat in the mailbox, and someone attacking her cat. With her husband gone most nights, it is up to Sarah to figure out what is happening and if it is the house, or someone behind this.

This book had me guessing until the very end - and if you love spooky house with a small town setting, this is the book for you. I loved the gothic atmosphere, Sarah's character development and setting of the book. Lisa Matlin has a great debut and her author's note was brave and inspirational.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for my ARC!

I LOVED this one. It's so binge-able. Matlin nails the creepy atmosphere and main character that you love to hate. Highly recommend if you like thrillers without a dull moment.

Loved the idea of a murder house being renovated by an "influencer" and all of that narcissism posted online. I didn't love our main character in this book. That wasn't a deal breaker, but a lot of her decisions were not smart girl choices. The house was a character and the cat, I love Reaper! This had good spooky vibes and I didn't know who to trust all the way through.

Lisa M. Matlin's novel, The Stranger Upstairs, is a well-written, fast-paced thriller that I enjoyed all the way through the unexpected twists at the end! Will there be a sequel? Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with an ARC ebook to use for this review.

Sarah Slade, a social media influencer, and her husband Joe purchase a "murder house" in Beacon. Forty years ago a wife was murdered in the bedroom that Sarah chooses to sleep in because she wants to renovate the house and flip it for profit all while showing it off to her followers. But the house and the neighbors have a deep dark secret and want her out of town.

What a well written, fast paced mystery psychological thriller. I truly enjoyed the twist at the end and didn't see it coming.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

Do you love those HGTV shows about house remodeling? Do you also love true crime shut?
Tada! This book will be your new favorite!
I love me an unlikable female character and Sarah Slade is a bitch! She's determined to increase her social media presence and redeem her faith in herself by spending all her money to buy a murder house and renovating it. Obviously, things don't go as planned and I loved reading through Sarah's slowing unraveling mental state -- that makes me sound awful, but it was just that good! Vibes are The Yellow Wallpaper mixed with a dab of The Haunting of Hill House with some modern embellishments.

You'll want to read this one!