I definitely judged a book by its cover here but I was not disappointed!

I went into this book thinking it was a typical haunted house story but the twists and turns kept it fresh. I enjoyed the non-linear cut ins that kept me wanting to know more about what was going on. Overall I thought this was a great debut novel!

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Publishing - Ballantine and the author for the opportunity to read this e-ARC.

Sarah Slade, a superficial social media influencer and her husband buy a run down 'murder house', hoping to flip it and turn a huge profit. This is where things go wrong and very quickly. Before I knew it, I was soaking up the atmosphere, staying awake late into the night and being startled by my own house's creaks and groans as I read this admittedly creepy novel.

While her marriage, already on shaky ground falters, Sarah becomes more and more obsessed with the prior owner, a young woman by the name of Amanda and before not too much time passes, she is convinced that the townspeople did something to Amanda and are out to get her too. Can she discover the truth before it's too late? Is the house haunted or is is just Sarah's imagination?

While I enjoyed the novel, particularly the creepy, haunted house aspect, there were certain times the story faltered for me and I found myself wishing certain characters could be fleshed out a little more, for example Sarah's husband Liam had no real substance other than to provide some backstory to Sarah's life. I also felt the story between the two sisters could have been enlarged with perhaps more of a psychological twist. By and large, I enjoyed the novel and would recommend.

Sarah and her husband have purchased the infamous "murder house" in hopes of renovating it and flipping to make a nice profit. But when they move in, Sarah starts hearing noises, forgetting things, and finding very odd coincidences from things and people in the community. Sarah wants to make the house (and her marriage) a success, but it might end up killing her---literally. Great page turner!

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I have a weak spot for psychological thrillers by women Australian authors so when I saw a new author on the scene, I hit that request button over on NetGalley. This was a breath of something different in that genre, and I really enjoyed it.

What stood out to me was how the setting was in the more rural part of Australia. That means the scene setting includes more Australian wildlife and trees. Also this main character was neither a mother nor pregnant nor trying to become pregnant. Her focus is her social media career.

I liked how the book used the starting point of Sarah trying to keep her moment in the sun going. She had an article she wrote for a website take off and managed to spin that into a self-help book deal that did well. But now she’s struggling to write her second book and keep the interest up on her. She decides to feed two birds with one scone. She’ll fulfill a dream of hers to live in a town that she normally could never afford. She’ll also spin it as something to keep interest in her social media account while she struggles to write her second book.

The mystery of is the house evil or not is accompanied by some mystery about Sarah herself. The is the house evil or not mystery really kept me guessing right up until the end, and the twist surprised me. I didn’t so much enjoy the mystery about Sarah for a couple of reasons. First, it’s solely mysterious due to information being withheld from the reader that the main character knows. I think the book would have just as thrilling (perhaps even more so) if we had known what Sarah knew earlier. Second, it leans heavily on psychological issues. I don’t know enough about the specific issue being used to know if it was represented accurately. But I am a little concerned it might have been overly dramatized for the sake of the plot.

The main character drinks too much and is also presented in the narrative as having an alcohol problem. But this plot point gets dropped at the end and not resolved.

Readers sensitive to plots involving animals in pain should be aware that a pet becomes sick for mystery reasons partway through the book. The pet does survive, however.

Overall, this was a different plot in the women’s Australian psychological thriller genre. Recommended to fans of the genre looking for some variety or those who have yet to try it out for whom the maybe evil house plot appeals.

GoodReads:
I stayed up late to finish it, so I enjoyed it!

Check out my full review.

*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*

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The face of a woman who, for some bizarre reason, decided to read a thriller about a woman moving into a new home right when she was...you guessed it...moving into a new home! Seriously, though, something about how everything was going wrong for the main character as she tried to settle into her new home made me laugh about the more regular stressors I was under during our unanticipated move. Recommended to fans of the the psychological Australian thriller genre looking for some variety or those who have yet to try it out for whom the maybe evil house plot appeals. Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!
#bookalicious #booksinthewild #avidreader #bookaesthetic #whatimreading #bookrecs

Giving this 3.25 stars as a boost from my experience with it. I'm not a scary movie person, so perhaps I should have stayed away from this book :0. Felt too much like watching The Shining or Halloween, both movies that are too haunting for my taste. For someone who revels on psychological thrillers/ yelling at someone to not open the door or go down the dark hallway, might be a better fit for them.

This book was a creepy atmospheric read, somewhere between a thriller and a horror story. The build up was promising, but it ultimately fizzled out at the end for me.

The unreliable narrator Sarah was used very well here, and she threw out many red herrings as she stayed in the murder house she was trying to renovate.

As she slowly loses her mind I was really kept on the edge of my seat, up until a little past halfway through. At that point, events started to feel redundant, and randomly inserted newspaper articles hinted at future tragedy, so we could guess at the ending.

Sarah also begins revealing more about her past, which ended up being more confusing because those past events weren't really fleshed out and were just kind of dropped without any real explanation as to why they happened, other than Sarah is a pretty crap person.

Anyway, I felt the end was a bit rushed and I was left with questions, again with the why's. But at the end of the day it was a quick read for me since I had no emotional attachment to any of the lying, deceitful characters.

What a twisted tale of lies, deceit and a crazy house. This author was new to me but her storytelling was gritty and riveting. There were still a few unresolved details but overall quite good.

I graciously received an e-ARC of The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin. This is my true and unprompted review:

While it took me a bit to get to this book (both the e-ARC I received and the physical copy I ended up getting from BOTM), it did not disappoint. Holy. Hell. The twists, the turns, the psychological aspect of it, THE ENDING!!!! This book truly had me on the edge of my seat the ENTIRE way through. I don't give out a lot of 5 stars...mostly 3 stars with the occasional 4 or 4.5 thrown in, but there aren't enough stars available to give this book. I loved it so freaking much! Lisa M. Matlin very easily just became one of my auto-buy authors!

A HUGE, GINORMOUS thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for letting me have my hands on this gem!

Ooo such a creepy read! I did have a feeling this one was going to be a great thriller and I was correct. Must read for all of the thriller/suspense fans out there! Excellent writing as well.

Social media influencer Sarah Slade attempts to revive her failing marriage by buying a fixer-upper and we go on a roller coaster ride that has surprising twists and wow - what an ending!
"That's the thing about marriages, it says. We all know the endings. Endings are loud. But we don't know about the middle."

Readers of a certain age have been terrified of attics since The Yellow Wallpaper, Flowers in the Attic, and every Gothic madwoman in the attic. The Stranger Upstairs gives us an entire house that frightens and chills, but that attic - that attic would have scared Doug Bradley. I found myself reading late into the night with this one and highly suggest this atmospheric, creepy, mulit-layered, murder house tale.
“Don’t be afraid of the truth,” she says. “Be afraid of believing your lies.”

The only thing that I think takes away from the book is the author's repeated usage of "smells like". More than 12 based on my Kindle search, such as "smells like a sweaty sheet/burnt toast/old cheese/melted cheese/vanilla and fear/mint and betrayal.". Some of them were evocative, but eventually the phrase started making me laugh, especially when we got lavender and toast!

Overall I enjoyed this book and appreciate the focus on mental health and Lisa M. Matlin is an author I will be watching out for more books from.

Sarah is a therapist and author who moves into a “murder house” and strange things begin happening from the jump. She doesn’t know who to trust and who is out to get her and if the house itself is trying to harm her.

I could not put this book down! I read it in one sitting because I just had to know what in the world was going on. The twist was a SHOCK and I didn’t see it coming at all.

Overall, I enjoyed the ride that this story took me on and I would recommend it for a quick and exciting thriller.

Thank you so much to Random House and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

5 Heart-Stopping Stars!!!

Move over Riley Sager! Lisa M. Matlin might be gunning for your crown!

Decades earlier, a man murdered his wife by smashing a hammer to her head while she was in their bedroom. He then chased after his daughter, who managed to escape but was never seen from again. Finally, the man took his own life in the bathroom. No one knows what compelled the man to commit such heinous acts, but the house where these crimes took place has sat undisturbed.

Until Sarah Slade decides she is going to flip it for profit. A therapist who gained influencer status with the help of her best seller self-help book, Sarah is ready for the next great challenge. The perfect life Sarah showcases online is nothing like the one she’s actually living, though. Her marriage is falling apart, her neighbors are weirdly unwelcoming, and the more she remodels the house the more strange things start to happen. Like the freak accidents the builders are getting in, the footsteps she hears in the middle of the night, and her cat becoming suspiciously sick. It’s almost as if the house doesn’t want Sarah in it.

This book was SO CREEPY! I’m reading this in the middle of the day where the sun is shining and the birds are chirping and I’ll still checking behind my shoulder to make sure I’m safe. Most of the time I find horror books to be more disturbing than actually frightening, but this one managed to get under my skin in multiple ways.

It’s also incredibly thrilling. I swear my jaw was DROPPED the entire time I was reading. Every other page revealed more juicy secrets. I never knew what to expect and luckily the book was just like, “Buckle in, baby. It’s a wild ride, but I can handle it.”

Sarah was incredibly unhinged as a character and quite a shit person, if I’m being honest. Normally, I can’t gel with those types of protagonist and I get irritated by their ways, but whatever the hell Sarah was on I must have been on the same shit cause I was rooting for this girl the whole time. I’m a bit salty about the ending, but I can accept it.

I’m flabbergasted this is a debut and cannot WAIT to see what Matlin will write next. If it is anywhere near The Strangers Upstairs quality I will be very, very (terrified) happy!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for my copy of The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin. This one was intense! I love a good haunted house story and this one was done so well. I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a spooky read! Also would definitely check out a sequel, I have a feeling Sarah Slade has more to tell.

In 'The Stranger Upstairs,' Lisa M. Matlin masterfully crafts a tale as spellbinding as it is sinister, inviting readers into the dark corridors of Black Wood House with a narrative that is both atmospheric and chilling. Sarah Slade's journey from a hopeful renovator to a woman ensnared by the haunting legacy of her new home unfolds with a suspense that is palpable, echoing the eerie, psychological depths of classic horror. Matlin's debut is a riveting exploration of the fine line between reality and madness, where the true horror may lie not in the creaking attic above but within the human heart. This narrative, rich in psychological twists and the claustrophobic tension of a house with a morbid history, ensures that the journey through its pages is as unnerving as it is unputdownable.

4 ⭐
Authur~ Lisa Matlin
Genre ~ general fiction 9adult), psychological thriller, thriller, mystery
Setting ~ Melbourne, Australia
Publication date ~ September 12, 2023
Est page Count ~ 278
Trigger Warnings~ Murder, Mental Illness, Alcoholism, Suicide, Animal Cruelty, Infidelity

This debut writer is now on my radar thanks to The Stranger Upstairs. Lisa Matlin has found a way to keep a reader thoroughly engaged with just enough creepiness to keep the biggest scaredy cat wanting more. She might just sneak up on you with an ending you don't see coming, asking yourself "what the actual f%#k?". The mounting tension is this book is palpable with twists and turns galore.

Be sure to read the authors heartfelt note for some additional insight.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam and Netgalley for this eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

Sarah and her husband Joe think they've scored the deal of a lifetime, buying their dream home for half the price. So what if if a woman was murdered there 30 years ago by her husband? Sarah is a successful therapist, as well as best selling author, and is not afraid of a challenge. But the longer they stay in the house, Sarah goes up against neighbors who don't want them there, mysterious noises at night, frightening notes, and her cat going berserk. What secrets are hiding in this house, and what secrets hide within Sarah herself? This book was bananas. I loved how progressively scarier the book got, and just how real the fear of a house intruder is. I wish it was a little longer, but still a fun book. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 -3.0 The Stranger Upstairs

I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for the eCopy of The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin. I would like to congratulate the author on her first published book. That is quite an accomplishment. Unfortunately, I feel like I have read the "let's buy a haunted house and renovate it while creepy things happen," just so many times before. I feel the writing was juvenile and just repetitive . I think the plot, especially in the second part of the book doesn't flow very well, as the main character loses touch with reality. I don't understand why the husband character was even in the novel. The twist was obvious and I feel the author just lost control of the story-telling from there. I think some editing might have helped turn this domestic thriller into more of a horror story,

I absolutely love a gothic haunted house story and this one delivered - so twisty and turny, full of unreliable characters and an absolutely unhinged narrator, who was still super relatable? Truthfully I had no idea where it was going but I was happily along for the ride

The part of this book that hit hardest though was the author’s note at the end that touches on mental health. I won’t get into details because of potential spoilers but god, it made me cry. As someone who’s really been going through it, it was so comforting to read about another person’s struggles, and I so admire how Lisa turned her pain into art

This is the second thriller I’ve read recently that has a depression rep and I’m so just here for it ❤️

Congrats on your debut, Lisa! 👏

I was so excited about this one! Even the book itself is so beautiful!

Whomp whomp whomp…..

So, this was one of those books where I was left wondering if I read the same book as everyone else, because this just wasn't for me.