A Man Downstairs takes you through the life of Molly Wynters who returns to her hometown after her father suffers a debilitating stroke. Her Father was a kind, and loving man, who was completely devoted to his daughter. When Molly was 4 she witness the murder of her mother and her testimony sent a young boy to prison. But as Molly returns to see her Father she begins questioning her memory when she receives threating phone calls from someone who wants her to pay.
This dark suspenseful drama will have you questioning your own sanity as you piece together what befell Edie Wynters. An intriguing and thought provoking story that will have you guessing until the very end.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Woman moves back to a small town where a grisly murder involving her family member occurred twenty years ago.

At least it isn't, group go off on a relaxing holiday only to disappear one by one.

A Man Downstairs had good characters and I enjoyed reading it enough to finish which is my baseline for thrillers these days.

Thank you to the publishers and net galley for the arc!

Molly returns to Aymes, her small hometown after her father has a stroke that leaves him unable to care for himself or communicate. Upon returning, Molly is greeted by her past. When Molly was three, her mom was tragically murdered and she was a key witness. Various twists and turns leaves this therapist questioning what happened many years ago.

This was my first book by Nicole and it didn’t disappoint. The characters were well written and I was trying to figure out the plot during the read. Some of the twists were predictable, but I feel the epilogue really helped tie the ends together.

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for an advance copy of this novel!

When Molly was only 4 years old she witnessed the murder of her mother. Her testimony of "a man downstairs" sent a local teenager to prison. Her loving father, Gil, did everything he could to make sure Molly was loved and cared for throughout her life.

Molly, now a therapist, has returned home to care for her father that suffered a debilitating stroke leaving him in need of around the clock care. The last time he called her he mentioned he had something to tell her but she never returned the call in time to find out what it was and now he is unable to speak or communicate leaving Molly to wonder.

While home she decides to volunteer for a local helpline. All is well until she starts to receive anonymous threats from a caller. Someone hasn't forgotten Molly, her mother, or her mother's murder and they want Molly to finally tell the truth of what happened all those years ago.

Having really enjoyed her 2022 novel, An Unthinkable Thing, I was excited to check out more of Lundrigan's work so I wasted no time in requesting this novel through NetGalley. The writing was as great as I remember and I was immediately enmeshed in the story. This is one shady town with a lot of shady people. I felt like anyone and everyone could be a suspect and I loved that aspect. So while we have a current timeline and a past timeline we also get chapters from an unknown to us creepy and very delusional narrator. His chapters had my skin crawling. Eek! 😳

I know I mentioned a lot of shady characters but as I read on it became very clear to me of who the guilty party was and how this was going to shake down so that was kind of a bummer.

BUT....

I did not figure out our mysterious narrator and let me tell you that was the cherry on the sundae! 🍒

And that final page. *Chefs kiss* 👌 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for my complimentary copy.

This was my first book by this author and it will not be my last. This was a great introduction to Nicole Lundrigan’s writing and I loved it!

A MAN DOWNSTAIRS was a slow burn that hit all my thriller buttons! It had one of my favorite tropes where the protagonist doesn’t really know what’s real and what’s not and if she can trust her own memory or not.

I found my foot tapping on my bed a lot while I read this book because I was so invested and on edge waiting for everything to be reveal. I’m starting to wonder if thrillers give you high blood pressure because seriously I was so tense reading this. Even as a slow burn the mystery itself was completely nail-biting tension for me.

When Molly volunteers at a local helpline, she finds herself receiving threatening calls. This person knows something about her past though, something that Molly herself can't seem to remember. Will all the calls trigger something in her mind to bring the memories back?

With a full cast audiobook, dual timelines and multiple POVs, this book will have you on the edge of your seat. While it is somewhat of a slow burn at the start, I do feel the book picks up in the second half because I then struggled to put the book down! Well written and eerie to listen to on audio, I highly recommend this book to thriller lovers.

This was a fun read but my advanced copy still had so many spelling mistakes. The title revealed too much of the plot twist and made it too easy to figure out.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC of A Man Downstairs!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
👀 love multiple POVs
🤔 like unreliable narrators
⏰ enjoy past/present timelines
🤫 have ever done something unsavory

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

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.

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

This was a really interesting story with three point of views to explore the story from - Molly, the daughter of Edie, Gil, the husband of Edie, and Him, an unknown character. My favorite timeline and POV was definitely Gil, because we learned a lot more about Edie and who she really was in their marriage. Molly lost her at just three years old so her memory is severely skewed. I enjoyed getting to know the real Edie and was honestly shocked at who she was. I did guess the unknown character, and I did have my suspicions about her death, but the final reveal was definitely a shock! Overall, a really top notch thriller with a lot of backstory that makes it feel like a real crime occurred.

Molly moves back to her small hometown to care for her sick father. Recently divorced, Molly and her teenage son are looking to make a fresh start. When Molly was a young child, she witnessed the murder of her mother. Her testimony secured a teenager's prison sentence. Being back in her hometown causes Molly to question the past. Is there more to the story of the young man she sent to prison?

For me, this book really only got somewhat exciting in the last 20-25%. . Leading up to that point, I would not describe this novel as a thriller AT ALL. A drama, sure, but definitely not a thriller. Based off the description and categorization of this book, I thought it would be a lot more exciting, suspenseful, and of course, an actual thriller. Had I known, I would have not chosen this book to read.

The writing style was also really messy and difficult to follow. I did not care about any of the characters. They had zero redeeming qualities. With everyone being so unlikeable, it was difficult to get through this one. I was really bored and considered not finishing the book more than once. It dragged on and had so many unnecessary details. Again, without any suspense, it is really difficult to read a book with unnecessary details.

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada, Viking, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well-written book that unfortunately, was not for me. I think it will be hit-or-miss for most people but sadly it was a miss for me.

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a ride! This slow burn thriller is full of secrets and suspicions. It’s hard to know who to trust or which characters I’m supposed to like, as even the most seemingly innocent have secrets to hide. One thing is for sure, the questions are all answered in the end!

This is the kind of book that makes you feel like you needed to read another book to fully understand whats happened up until the point this one starts. There was immediately so much going on that I didn’t have any context for so I struggled to develop any kind of connection to the story. The multiple POVs and time jumps didn’t help matters any. What we did get in dialogue felt oversimplified and kind of robotic.

I was really into the premise of this book but the actual thing fell quite flat for me. I just can’t understand why the main character, a now licensed therapist, who should know that our brains make things up in times of great stress, is somehow shocked that she could have been misremembering something about a traumatic event that happened when she was very young. Overall, not a great read for me.

A MAN DOWNSTAIRS a twisted psychological thriller by the acclaimed author Nicole Lundrigan.

Her Novels Include:
Unraveling Arva (2003)
Thaw (2005)
The Seary Line (2008)
Glass Boys (2011)
The Widow Tree (2014)
The Substitute (2017)
Hideaway (2019)
An Unthinkable Thing (2022)
A Man Downstairs (2024)

This is my review of A Man Downstairs.

Molly Wynters, a psychologist and single mom with her teenage son, Alex have moved back to her small hometown to care for her father, Dr. Gil Wynters a retired pharmacist who recently had a massive stroke and is no longer able to communicate or look after himself. Molly is ready to make a fresh start with her son after her divorce.

Molly is haunted by her childhood memories when she had witnessed her mother’s death when she was a child, and had testified at the trial. The killer, Terry Kage, a teenager was convicted in the death of her mother, Edie Wynters.

“There was a man downstairs…”

Being back in her family home with her father brings back a flood of memories. But were Molly’s memories of the past accurate? Could her testimony on the stand might not have been the whole truth?

But when Molly, a trained therapist, volunteers for a local helpline, she starts to receive personal threats. Now Molly is a target and someone wants to hold Molly accountable for her actions in the past.

This is a well written novel with well-developed characters told in multiple POVs, and in different timelines. This twisty novel will keep you guessing until the very end. A great read!

Many thanks to the author, Penguin Random House Canada and Netgalley for my digital copy.

A Man Downstairs by Nicole Lundrigan is a slow burn mystery that ratchets up the suspense little by little. The premise is eye grabbing and Lundrigan weaves a fascinating tale around it and creates a world that is impossible to put down. Thank you @thrillerbookloverspromotions for my copy.

"𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒍𝒖𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒚 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅, "𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒔.""

This one gave me the spine tingling creeps. In a good way!

It was very suspenseful. Each chapter kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved the dual timelines and multiple povs - those are always a big hit with me.
THAT ENDING!!!!!!🤯🤯🤯🤯
The ending put my jaw on the floor. Didn't expect the 'true story' to come out that way. I definitely had an idea of "the man downstairs," but I was not correct - AT ALL!

This was a very well written thriller and i cant wait to read more from this author. I highly recommend this one!

Molly Winters and her son return to Molly’s hometown to help to care for her father who recently had a terrible stroke. This hometown holds secrets. Specifically, the unsolved murder of Molly’s mother, Edie. Molly was put on the stand to give testimony against someone when she was 4 years old. Do Molly’s memories and the truth align? Written in two time lines, the story comes alive page after page. This allows the reader to form their own theories and look for their own clues – odds are you will be wrong. You do not know who to like, dislike and/or cheer on. What aged 4 Molly doesn’t know is that her mother had enemies and who she truly was.

A Man Upstairs is a slow burn immersive thriller. Told in multiple POVs and alternative timelines, the story slowly unfolded, keeping me interested every step of the way.

This is a character driven novel, centered around Molly and her dad. I loved her dad Gil in the flashbacks. He was an incredible father, and his family first parenting transferred to Molly in how she raised her son.

The characters truly make this book. Some are wonderful, some are awful, dark and dirty. It was a perfect balance.

A Man Downstairs.

Yall, let’s go ahead and ask the question:
𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗣𝗨𝗧𝗦 𝗔 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗬 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗔 𝗠𝗨𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗥?!?!

Now that I’ve got that out of my system.
Molly has headed back to her hometown to help get her fothers affirs in order after a massive stroke. Bringing her suliking teenage son along with her, and lets be real, as teens when our parents even thought of moving towns/cities we all saw red.
Not wanting to live in the house where as a child she saw her mother be murdered, Molly moves into a split condo with someone from her fathers past.
Small towns remember everything and so does the over look.

The whole vibe of this book was going from past to present. BBBUUTTT also delves into the mind of the murderer. So essentially three POVs spread through different times.

Something to keep in mind with this book. Parents will do whatever it takes to protect their children.

A Man Downstairs was in intricately layered slow burn suspenseful mystery that was a pleasure to read. I love dual time lines coupled with a decades old murder and having to piece everything together while relying on unreliable childhood memories. The added narration from “Him” really threw me for a creepy loop that I was a big fan of. Small town setting, plenty of secrets and suspicions, this book had it all. I had the pleasure of reading An Unthinkable Thing by her and it was one of my favorite books from last year so if you haven’t read her yet, please do. 3.75⭐️

I have been in a thriller mode lately but this did not fit the bill. There was a little suspense at various points, especially toward the end, but it became mired down in dual time lines that went back and forth and changes in perspective that made the book difficult to follow. Even at the end, I am not totally sure what happened--I generally understand but am still a little confused. Everyone is different but when I read a thriller or suspense novel, I want something that is not hard to follow and to much work to read. This one was just too much work for me. I also found it hard to get a good handle on the characters, especially the main character, who seemed a bit flat.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for providing me with a copy of the book.