I was able to receive an ARC of this book thanks to Netgally. I have been looking for a good horror book, and this one really did not disappoint!
The format threw me off, but once I got used to it, I actually liked it. The story was unique in that it was first person POV from a child.. I can envision this being made into a movie. It was definitely scary and I am not one who gets spooked easily!

The nitty-gritty: A top notch horror story that touches on some tough themes, Incidents Around the House is a scary, emotional and uniquely told tale.

This is my first Josh Malerman book, and I have to say it was a great one to start with. Incidents Around the House is an extremely unsettling possession story, made more unusual because it’s narrated by an eight-year-old girl named Bela, the focus of the demon. It’s also much more than just a story about a possession, and this extra layer—Bela’s parents’ fracturing marriage—adds so much depth and emotion to the tale. It’s also very scary, and I have to commend the author for being able to convey terror without any extraneous descriptions. Bela tells the entire story, so her narrative, along with dialog from the other characters, drives everything.

The plot is fairly simple. Bela has a “friend” she calls Other Mommy, an entity who lives in her closet and comes out at night to talk to her. Other Mommy is nice at first, but it always asks Bela a question that makes her uncomfortable: “Can I go into your heart?” Bela always says no, because Other Mommy explains that letting her in means they will switch places: Other Mommy will be inside Bela, and Bela will go somewhere else. Lately, though, Other Mommy has been popping up in other places, even outside the house, like when Bela and Mommy go to the park. Bela is getting scared, and one day when Mommy actually sees Other Mommy, her parents realize that something is terribly wrong and they need to figure out how to get rid of it.

As the family tries to formulate a plan, the cracks in Mommy and Daddo’s marriage begin to show, and the tension mounts until the reader feels like screaming. Having Bela narrate the story was a great choice, because she’s so innocent, and yet she understands on some level exactly what is happening between Mommy and Daddo. It’s chilling how astute an eight-year-old can be, and yes, I realize it’s an adult man who wrote the story, but I believed I was experiencing it through a child’s point of view. There are so many uncomfortable and heartbreaking moments between the characters, and I was amazed at Malerman’s ability to convey these emotions so well, considering how the story is formatted.

We only get glimpses of Other Mommy’s appearance, but these were enough to give me goosebumps—seriously, sometimes less is more! This is a story filled with uncertainties. The adults are blindsided by the appearance of Other Mommy and literally don’t know what to do about it. All they know is that this entity is threatening Bela, so they must figure it out. If you’re looking for a feel-good story, or at least a story with feel-good moments, I suggest finding something else to read. Incidents Around the House will make you uncomfortable, and that’s one thing all good horror has in common. Malerman takes some risks with this story and it made me appreciate his writing skills even more.

I think the ending will be controversial for some readers, and I’m still not sure how I feel about it, but ultimately I believe the author made the right choice. Incidents Around the House is a must read for horror fans and will give readers plenty to think about.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

Josh Malerman has once again crafted a tale that leaves you feeling complete unease in the best of ways. In Incidents Around The House we are first introduced to our main character, a child who is being terrorized by her other mom who lives in her closet and wants to go into her heart. On top of having to deal with an actual monster sharing her room you find out she doesn't have the best home life to begin with creating an even more isolating situation for a child to be in.
Malerman's ability to turn a phrase keeps the dread and anticipation throughout the book as you hope that things will end okay but ultimately you know in your heart nothing will ever be okay again.

This is my first from the author after watching Bird Box. Even though I haven’t read that book at that time, the movie itself gave me nightmares so that’s why I dived in blindly and I don’t regret it.

It was told from the first person perspective of eight-year-old Bela, a girl who is being targeted by a ghost? Poltergeist or what entity I’m not sure but the presence is there. She calls it “OTHER MOMMY”. This “Other Mommy” is looking for carnation I mean I couldn’t comprehend what she’s talking about here I thought, woah does she want only a flower? But no it’s not. It’s far more dangerous thing that that. That presence need to reincarnation through Bella. She pretends to be friends with the vulnerable Bela, as she tries to manipulate her way in.

I felt the terrified and the desperation of Bella’s family and of Grandma. And wow I finished this like three a.m. I felt like I’m the Bella (internal body shudders)

Josh Malerman has always been able to nail down the creepy vibes. Several times while reading this, I got goosebumps and felt uneasy. Like I was being watched. The issue I had was pacing. I think since the story is told from the perspective of an eight-year-old girl. That could also be the reason for no quotation marks. However, that has always made things more difficult for me to read and stay engaged in the story. Also, while this story was short, it also felt like it dragged on too long.

Overall, I will always pick up books by Josh Malerman because I enjoy his stories and am always intrigued by what story he will tell next.

Incidents Around the House is a unique, chilling story told through the perspective of a vulnerable 8-year-old girl named Bela who is being haunted by an entity that calls itself “Other Mommy”.
I admit, it took a little while for me to get used to but in the end I loved that we got to experience the story entirely through Bela’s POV. It helped enhance the horror elements as you see her struggle with whether Other Mommy is truly bad. After all, she was like a friend in the beginning.

Being a mother to a toddler who recently went through a phase where he said he saw “boos” in our house and was genuinely scared, this definitely creeped me out.
Other Mommy could be truly terrifying at times and you can feel the desperation of Bela’s parents as they try to protect their daughter. While they search for someone to help them, they also have to confront secrets they’ve been keeping for far too long. The family drama added another layer to the story that kept me turning the pages.

The ending did leave me with some questions but I feel like that was intended as it's sure to keep you thinking about it long after you've finished.
If you love supernatural horror or enjoyed the Insidious movies, you should definitely pick this up!

A new book from the author of Bird Box about a young girl and an entity she calls Other Mommy.

I thought this was an interesting premise but having an eight year old narrator voice didn’t work for me.

Eight-year-old Bela lives with her Mommy, Daddo, and the thing in her closet called Other Mommy. She keeps asking to go into Bela's heart.

Anyone who has been scared of the monster in the closet or under the bed will appreciate how terrifying this novel is. A child in danger ramps up the scariness as well. The storytelling style is very unique being told from a young child's point of view. Seeing Bela's perspective of the actions of Other Mommy, and things going on between her parents is really interesting. There are a few truly scary scenes that get under the skin and linger. I highly recommend this novel for fans of the spooky.

Incidents around the house by Josh Malerman

This book is about a family who is targeted by an entity who keeps asking the child is she can go into her heart. The child Bela is experiencing this thing called other mommy and the story is just absolutely horrifying! As the family tries to find a way to be rid of this dark force they face many obstacles and hardships… I mean it’s not like you can just look up in the yellow pages how to get rid of this ‘thing’ it’s not really clear what it is but it starts to tire of asking a child to go into its heart. Making it difficult for the family to function. This book was an absolute page turner and honestly I had to put it down in absolute fear a few times! It was a very good read!

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. I have read most of this authors works, to me he is hot or miss. This book is a "HIT" with caveats, which I may as well mention right now. I am not a fan of the writing style of this book, though I still read it and it keeps my attention most of the time. Secondly, the book is too long, as toward about 2/3 of the book I was losing interest. On the good side, haunting books are hit or miss as well, with many (most), falling into the mediocre range. This one mostly kept my attention so it got scored about mediocre. If you like this author, or if you like haunted house books, certainly give this book a read.

4 Stars

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman is a creep fest!! This would make a great read around Halloween spooky season, but of course we can read creepy any time of year. Books with little kids and weird stuff happening is right up my alley and I enjoyed this so much. Everyone else gave the synopsis so I won’t rehash. Just go in blind and enjoy the ride. Oh, and sleep with the lights on! Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing- Ballantine for the early and scary read!

Thank you Netgalley, Josh Malerman and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine for the ebook. Wow!!! Must read with the lights on! I'm always skeptical for ghost story like books because I love a good horror but it takes a lot to scare me. Let me tell you this was not fun but fun to read in the middle of the night!! A fast paced horror that will have you shaking!!

Eight year old Bela lives wth her parents, and “Other Mommy”. Other Mommy has always been friendly but lately she won’t stop asking “can I go inside your heart?” Bela keeps saying no but Other Mommy is restless and won’t stop until she gets a yes.

This is my favorite type horror and I was hooked from the very first page. I love horror stories with entities and even better when a child is narrating. This one gets absolutely creepier and creepier as time goes by. The ending was shocking and left me reeling ; similar to how I felt at the end of Paranormal Activity.

“She used to just stand in the closet and stare at me. Then she came out. Then she started talking. Then she started asking.”

Incidents Around the House comes out 6/25.

This story started off great. I loved that the story was told from the POV of an eight year old. It really read like it was coming from a child and the author did a good job of making the overall story feel like it was for adults. I thought other mommy was very creepy and the descriptions of them and how they would appear in different forms added to the overall dread of the story. However, the pacing for the second half of the story was slow. The end felt like it was really dragging and I felt like I wanted the story to hurry and wrap up. I did like the overall conclusion but it felt like it took a long time to get there. This was my first book by this author and although this didn’t complexly blow me away, I will try more!

Thank you Netgalley, Del Rey Random House, and Josh Mailerman for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Ok....
So...
All the dark spaces in my house suddenly feel much less empty..... And I'm truly not being hyperbolic here.

I finished the book.... and on this night, I'm a 41 YEAR OLD man, living alone, and I'm so unnerved by walking down the dark hall of my home, and passing the curtain-free backdoor.

Trust and believe, this is truly terrifying stuff.

It's kinda like a darker version of Coraline meets a more cohesive version of Skinamarink..... With a sprinkling of Guillermo del Toro's Mama.... While being wholly its own thing.

Our imagination is left to fill in certain things, because it's from the POV of a child, but that just made it scarier...

(We even take a trip around a well known and loved Mailerman-town.)

This is a hell of a book.
Scariest I've read this year.
I've been left with a sense of unease....

I didn't know a book this heavy with horror could also be this heavy with heart.

You got me good, Josh...

5/5
(June 25)

#netgalley #delrey #incidentsaroundthehouse #joshmailerman

Review✨

Me: There is no way Josh Malerman can make a book scary when told through a child's eyes. 


Boy was I wrong. If you enjoy Josh Malerman's other works you will love this. And if you have never read a book by him...read this!! Incidents around the house made me scared to go into my closet 😂. The fact that it's told by a child makes it creepier.  This may be the best horror book of 2024. The fearfulness just builds and builds and builds. Out 6.25.24!


Read this if you like:

-Bird Box or any other of his books

-Supernatural Horror

-A book that will keep you up at night


Thank you #netgalley and @randomhouse for the ARC of this title for my honest review! I loved it and give it 5 🌟

Josh Malerman's Incidents Around the House is a chilling horror novel centered on eight-year-old Bela, who is tormented by a malevolent entity called Other Mommy. As unsettling incidents around her home intensify, Bela realizes her family's safety hinges on her decision to let Other Mommy into her heart. The tension escalates with the cracks in her parents' marriage, adding to the sense of impending doom. Malerman's skillful blend of psychological and supernatural horror creates a haunting and unforgettable tale about a family's struggle against an unrelenting evil.

Title: Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman
Publication Date- 06/25/24
Publisher- Del Rey- PRH
Overall Rating- 4.75 out of 5 stars

Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not sure I’ve ever given a 4.75 rating, let me explain. Incidents Around the House is a book that’s so different from anything I’ve ever read. I want to be very careful what I say about the synopsis as there aren’t a lot of reveals so really you should go in knowing as little as possible. This is the story of a family falling apart, the child in the middle of it all and how our parents contribute to and take away our innocence. Almost the whole story is told from the perspective of the child, Bela.

Some warnings for you. This is a horror, some scenes are rather creepy mostly because of the descriptions of how things move and how the entity interacts with the child. She wants to go inside Bela’s heart….. I think not. Anyway, it’s creepy, however, it is VERY slow. This is a slow burn, family story. Everything is predictable, there are not really any twists or turns. Now, here’s the thing, this worked for this story. I really felt seen, none of us have normal families and rather you can relate to this exact experience or not, there will be pieces you feel seen in. Because of the nature of the content and it coming from the child’s perspective it can feel really sad at times so just prepare yourself for this. This isn’t a story you read for the thrill, you read it for the heart and it has a lot of it. There were so many quotes I wrote down and a lot of heartfelt words of wisdom.

The reason I didn’t give this 5 stars is because I wish the child’s perspective was used more intermittently. It was very unique and for the most part, I was fine with it. I just think it would have been a five star for me if there was just a little less. One plus about this book as a whole, is that it is exactly what it says it’s going to be, no more and no less and that’s a bleeping win if you ask me.

All in all I would recommend this book if you like the things I talked about in this review. I am looking forward to reading more from this author and probably will reread this in the future.

I absolutely loved this! I love when horror books follow kids and having the book narrated by the book made this even better. I find Josh Malerman to be hit or miss for me but this one was definitely a hit!

Incidents around the house by Josh Malerman is about a little girl named Bella it’s my best guesstimation she is around seven and lives with her mom and dad who she calls the dumbest name ever “daddo.” For years now little Bella has had a woman who comes out of her closet who she calls other mommy and that first other mommy was friendly made her laugh played games but now she wants something from Bella but the little girl cannot make sense of it and that scares her. It seems the more Bella refuses to do this one request the stronger other mommy gets and eventually she will be seen by others. When this happens mommy and Daddo have no idea what to do… I mean who would? The mom is a mess both parents drink too much they smoke pot in front of their daughter they have wild parties where they get so drunk they now hire Calvin a teenager to babysit little Bella who is the only child at the party and who they get to dance to entertain their friends. It is wind Bella‘s mom sees other mommy that they leave the home and unintentionally ruin friendships in an effort to try and figure out what to do. They should’ve listen to grandma from the beginning. This book was OK it wasn’t scary the ending was a letdown in my opinion but for a book whose main character is a little girl I think the author did a pretty good job I didn’t get all the heart the heart and expounding of such deep life contemplating situational talks with Bella by mainly her dad but seemingly every adult in her life and they were a lot of them but I would be lying if I said the book didn’t keep me interested because the dead head I known it was going to end like that I probably would’ve given it a miss because I have so many other great books with awesome endings I just felt like the ending was a total letdown. I would still recommend the book because as I said it is definitely an interesting read and one eye initially didn’t know how the author was going to keep up the momentum with the child as the narrator but he certainly did. If not for that ending I probably would’ve given it five stars. I want to thank random house Valentine for my free Ark copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.