This is the first book I have read from this author.   I found it to be a very well written book. Often when a book jumps around from past to present it can be a bit confusing.  This is definitely not the case here. 

The characters are very well developed.  I especially enjoyed Molly's character.  Molly's past comes back to haunt her after she returns to her hometown.  In an effort to uncover the truth about what happened to her mother all those years ago her life becomes in danger.  I highly recommend this psychological thriller.

Nothing suspenseful or thrilling occurred during the build up of the story and it didn’t really pick up or peak my interest until I was into it over 50%. It almost lost me and I almost dnf’ed.

I would have liked this to be more twisty, thrilling and dark. Especially given its title, ‘a man downstairs.’ I kept waiting for a scary man to be downstairs, but nothing in the story correlates. (Spoiler alert)

Let me tell you, this book is creepy, disturbing, sinister!

I enjoyed the dual timelines plus the multiple POV’s, there was great character development with some who are just slightly flawed. Plus, the small town feel truly added to the mystery of it all and made it seem like everyone was truly a suspect.

Overall, 𝐴 𝑀𝑎𝑛 𝐷𝑜𝑤𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑠 was a slow burn, unpredictable psychological thriller that will leave you guessing until the very end!

I devoured this book in no time and it took me right out of a reading slump! This was a chilling psychological thriller/mystery with multiple POVs, sketchy and suspicious characters, and dual timelines. There was definitely a cup or two of messed up events and characters in the story, but what's a thriller without a little bit of twist? This story kept my attention from start to finish, without ever a dull moment throughout the 400 + pages, and an ending that did not disappoint. I do wish more questions had been answered regarding the sketchy behaviour of other supporting characters because I do feel that there were still a few loose ends.

A Man Downstairs is a story of lust, lies, control, paranoia, and of course, more than one or two cold-blooded murders.

This was the first book I've ever read by Canadian author Nicole Lundrigan and I look forward to discovering more of her books!

⚠️ Please note that there are several potential trigger warning in this book, including, but not limited to: postpartum psychosis, homicide, stalking, death of loved ones, domestic violence.

🙏 Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the gifted electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"A Man Downstairs" by Nicole Lundrigan is a gripping thriller that skillfully weaves together dual timelines and multiple perspectives to create a captivating narrative.

When Molly Wynters was three years old, she witnessed the murder of her mother. Now recently divorced and trying to start life anew, she must return to her hometown with her son to care for her father, who has recently had a stroke. A qualified therapist, Molly volunteers on the local helpline, where she begins to get threats about what she witnessed as a child in her mom's murder. The tragedy of Molly's mother, Edie, still lives on in Aymes, and as Molly's stay extends, she begins to question if she did see "a man downstairs."

The pacing keeps you hooked from start to finish, with suspense expertly maintained throughout, culminating in a satisfying climax. I found Molly'son, Alex, quite annoying due to his entitled and ungrateful behaviour. The other characters added depth to the story, and I was particularly interested in "him." I kept turning the pages to figure out who "him" was faster than I could piece things together. I particularly enjoyed Edie and Gil's story and felt extremely sad for them. Lundrigan's adept handling of suspense and pacing compels readers to keep turning the pages to unravel the mystery of 'whodunnit.'

Thank you to @thrillerbookloversthepulse for the #gifted copy.

Heart racing small town psychological thriller! I was kept constantly guessing! Molly’s return to her childhood home to take care of her father turns into her recalling her mother’s murder while at the same time dealing with her own son’s problems. What really happened the day her mother died?

Molly returns to her childhood hometown to care for her ill father. She remembers a childhood filled with love but when she volunteers for a helpline she becomes the target of someone who knows her past and how a tragedy that unfolded may be more sinister than she recalls. A gripping story about the fragility of our memories.

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for the advanced reader copy of this book.

A small-town mystery with not so perfect characters that are dealing with family secrets, neighbourhood rumours, and suppressed memories. This slow burn thriller has multiple POV, including a perverse unknown male, that take you through both the past and present as we looking into the murder of Edie Wynters. It is cleverly written in the way that the end isn’t what you would except and leave you wondering what twisty and eerie events may happen next.

Lundrigen writes about childhood memories so well to remind us that what we remember may not always be accurate, and how we perceive our parents may not be what we experienced in reality.

The characters were well developed and had that small town air in the way everyone knows your business, hears all the rumours, and has their own opinions about everyone. Alex, the FMCs son, wasn’t for me as I found him to be irresponsible and disrespectful for a good two thirds of the book.

Overall if you want a creepy psychological thriller, this is the book for you!

This was probably one of the best character driven thrillers I’ve read. Nicole really brought the depths of the characters to life & made me question so many of them.

This book definitely gave me creepy vibes & I can tell you the most shocking moment for me was….well, actually I don’t wanna spoil it. But let me tell you….you’re gonna be shocked!!!

This book has dual timelines & multiple POVs & what I like to call “Easter eggs” so…definitely pay attention to all the little details throughout the book. I made little notes with character names & things I found to be significant “clues” throughout the book. None of them prepared me for the plot twist though.

I love a good cold case & this one did not disappoint.

"A Man Downstairs," by Nicole Lundrigan is a must-read for fans of suspense fiction. It’s a riveting suspense tale that seamlessly blends character-driven drama with a gripping mystery.

Returning to her hometown due to her father's failing health, Molly Wynters grapples with the lingering shadows of her mother's unsolved murder from her childhood. The author masterfully employs a dual timeline narrative, alternating between past and present, which keeps readers hooked with each revelation.

The ensemble cast is richly developed, each harboring secrets and connections to Molly's past. As Molly confronts her memories and questions her own role in her mother's death, readers are treated to glimpses into the minds of other key players, including Molly's speechless father, whose perspective adds an eerie layer to the narrative.

Beyond its suspenseful core, the narrative delves into themes of marriage, trust, love, family dynamics, and grief, grounding the story in relatable human experiences.

The unpredictable twists and turns keep readers guessing until the final pages, with the author skillfully defying expectations in a satisfying conclusion.

I would like to extend my gratitude to NetGalley, Viking Publishing and Nicole Lundrigan for the Advanced Reader Copy.

Unfortunately I found this book to be a very slow burn, and not in a positive way. Very little happened for the majority of the book, and the mystery in the current timeline felt very low-stakes, as nothing actually happened to the protagonist until the very end of the book. The last 50 pages or so picked up but the climax was not worth the wait in my opinion.

This was an ok book. It seemed pretty predictable and just kind of blah for me. The author was interesting to read though and I did like how it was written.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of A Man Downstairs by Nicole Lundrigan. I really enjoyed this book. Molly returns to her family’s hometown with plans to organize her father’s home after he suffers a debilitating stroke and discovers some long lost secrets from her past. As the key witness at a young age in a her mother’s murder trial, she is now questioning her memory. Dark and suspenseful.

Lundrigan is a master of characters and scenarios. I’ve had a whole lot of luck with her books over the past few years. When I saw she had a new story on the way, I was looking to get my hands on it.

This story starts off with Molly Wynters moving back home with her son to make some hard decisions regarding her aging father. Molly has a history that is crystal clear in her mind…but can you count on the memories that come from childhood trauma?

A Man Downstairs is a story that pulled me in with the characters; it goes back and forth from multiple points of view at different times. Lundrigan did a fabulous job of developing her characters, I needed to know where the story was going to go and to really understand the truth behind Molly’s past.

Lundrigan kept some mysteries hidden in the story. Right from the start we know what happened, but the who and the why is cloaked in mystery. As the story developed, my theories shifted and adjusted accordingly.

A Man Downstairs was a great story, it will definitely keep Lundrigan as one of my go-to authors.

*4 Stars

Another great thriller! This was a wild ride of suspense. It was definitely a slow burn, but man, it kept your interest throughout. And the ending did not disappoint. I really enjoyed the audiobook of this one. The narrators were the perfect voices for this story. Highly recommend if you are looking for your next edge of your seat thriller!!


*Thank you @thrillerbookloversthepulse @nicolejlundrigan and @librofm for the #gifted egalley and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.*

Enjoyed this book, but it was a bit predictable for me. I really wanted to love it, but I ended up not liking one of the main characters. The summary of the book lays out the book pretty well. I wish there was more I could say about it, but unfortunately I was a little underwhelmed.

Molly Wynters has moved back to her small hometown to care for her father, recently felled by a stroke and no longer able to communicate. She is ready to make a fresh start with her son after her divorce, but is haunted by both old events and new realities in her childhood home.

What Molly recalls of her young life with her father is full of love and care, even though a violent trauma defined her childhood: when she was a young girl, she witnessed her mother’s murder, and her testimony—“There was a man downstairs”—sent a teenager to prison. This tragic episode is still very much alive in the culture of the town, and the more Molly remembers, the more she fears that what she said on the stand all those years ago might not have been the whole truth.

After Molly, a trained therapist, volunteers for a local helpline, the threats begin. At first they seem random, but soon Molly realizes that she is a target, and even those closest to her seem suspicious, especially as unsuspected links between them emerge. More than one life was destroyed on that horrific long-ago day, and now someone intends to hold Molly accountable.

“A Man Down Stairs” is such a slow burn and a psychological family drama/thriller that pays off with each page. I was leery of every single character, honestly, and that’s one of the things I loved about it. You didn’t know who to believe. I really enjoyed the 3 POVs with the 2 different time lines. The POV of “Him” chilled me to the bone. And this was one of the most clever “return to your hometown” tropes I’ve ever read. Unlike most thrillers, this one was not far-fetched at all, and that’s what made the story frightening and incredibly dark. Kudos to the author for repping mental health in a very respectful manner, and being a nurse myself, the medical aspects of the book were very intriguing. I do feel like the book could’ve been about 60 pages shorter, but the more I think about it, it all was building up to those twists at the end that left me more than satisfied.
4.5 ⭐️

I felt like this book had potential, but ultimately I felt let down.

I was engaged by the characters, but the way the climax come to be didn’t feel believable to me, and I found myself disappointed. The twist at end did bring me back around, but I was still so annoyed at the climax that it lost the impact for me.

There were so many moments throughout this book I was so confused in all of the best ways while listening to a thriller. I was thrown through so many loops, it shocked me and spun me back around. Lundrigan is a master of twisting and turning POV's to confuse you and keep you on the edge of your seat.

A tantalizing read with great characters and well-executed plotting. The story is told in dual timelines from the multiple POVs of a father named Gil, his daughter Molly, and a mystery POV that keeps you wondering until the very end. Each character is deep, distinctive, and flawed. Their storylines weave together masterfully as the mystery unravels and the truth of what's happening in both the past and the present is revealed.