What in the world did I just read? That was an INCREDIBLE read! I’m going to be honest when I say I was a little intimidated by the writing style. But I’m so glad I stuck through it. This book gave me the heebie jeebies for sure! And it’s hard to find one that will anymore! Thank you NetGalley for this amazing ARC!

Josh Malerman is a very popular author and for good reason. Although it was a bit odd for the story to be told from the eyes of an 8 year old, he did a good job. I got some nostaligia as i read a lot of haunted house books growing up and it gave me flashes back to those good times.

This book is creepy as heck. This book is also freaking fantastic.

I had a bad experience with my last Malerman book, which was Daphne. I didn’t like it at all. I ended up DNF-ing it. I ended up wanting to read this one mostly because I couldn’t stop thinking about the cover. It’s a brilliant cover that evokes these feelings of childhood, innocence, being so small around large things, being defenseless against the dark, abandonment, and of feeling isolated. I just couldn’t get it out of my head: “What is that book about?”

Well, the cover does a good job of conveying a lot of what the book’s themes are, actually (so A+ to the cover designer!). I never had a closet growing up, so I don’t know what it’s like to fear the monster in the closet, but Malerman could’ve made the “monster in the closet” any number of things and gotten the message across because the monster is just a very large metaphor (for lack of a better word right now) for the culmination of just about everything that’s happened to everyone in this book. (If I went any further it’d be Spoiler City and I don’t want to live there).

When I tell you this book is fantastic, I’m telling you I think this is the best horror novel I’ve read so far this year, and that’s saying something because it’s really been a great year for horror already. Not only does it fall outside the traditional narrative structure, which sets it apart in a unique but not-annoying way, but it’s told from the POV of a child that comes across as genuinely lost, frightened, and never comes across as precocious. A lot of the horror in this novel felt like it was being generated directly from how sad and helpless this child felt. How cruel it all felt.

It’s set at a great pace, is unbelievably suspenseful and unpredictable, and honestly left me a bit shook. I can’t recommend it enough.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Ghost Fiction/Horror/Paranormal Horror/Suspense Thriller

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for sending me an arc. All opinions are mine.

We follow Bela as she struggles with Other Mommy scaring her and asking her the same question repeatedly. Of course, that can’t be the only issue in Bela’s life. Her family is completely dysfunctional. Mom has major commitment issues and Dad just sits back and watches the show. When things start to take a turn for the worst, family life begins to crumble.

While I know this story is told from the perspective of an eight year old girl, it felt like she was a lot younger for most of the book. I found that I did not care one bit for any of the characters or what happened to them.

I wanted to love this book. I thought the premise was cool and could have several directions in which to take to make this book scary. However, it fell flat to me. The whole story was repetitive, written like a five year old was telling it, and just not my cup of tea.

I could not finish this book. The storyline was interesting but I couldn’t get past the narrator being the child. I got about 40% and couldn’t read anymore.

It feels good to be back in the Samhatten-Goblin universe, but unfortunately, I’m disappointed. Three stars for the following reasons: surprising nobody; Josh Malerman can describe a monster/ghost/demon. There were parts that, even though I was reading in broad daylight, scared me. For two days I thought I saw and heard Other Mommy everywhere. For most of the book, JM works in lessons and morals without being preachy. Daddo and the grandmother are likable. Even among the unlikely characters, they are all somewhat relatable. Why I removed two stars: it got a little preachy, tedious, and drawn out at the end. At its core, the book is about being grateful, honest, loyal, and most importantly; protective of important relationships. I got that with the name of the monster. I also don’t think the title speaks to what the book is about or even the storyline. Like “Pearl”, I think this book will be re-released with a new title. About halfway through I felt dragged along and just wanted it to end. It really reminded me of the movie “It Follows.” I’m still a JM fan, but this was not my favorite.

Incidents Around the House was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. As a Josh Malerman fan I was so excited to pick up his newest novel. I loved so much about this book and disliked so much at the same time.

I had a hard time getting into the book at first because it’s written from a child's perspective. I found that easier to get over the more I read and got into the flow of the story. So many parts of this book genuinely scared the shit out of me. As a mother I could not imagine having my children go through the things Bela did. Other Mommy is so terrifying and was written so well I would literally get goosebumps reading about her interactions with Bela. But at the halfway point the story started to fall off for me. It became more of a family drama than a horror in the end. I do believe the final scene saved it for me but I was still left wanting a bit more. That being said it takes a lot to scare me in a book and Josh pulled it off so well I will probably never forget Other Mommy. And that is why he will continue to be a favorite author of mine.
3.5/5 Stars

Thank you so much to Delrey and Natgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book is SCARY and I don’t say that lightly.
Other Mommy is SCARY.
The book is told from the viewpoint of eight year old Bela and it is SCARY. This will probably be the scariest book you will read all year.

Malerman hits every note just right and nails it! I flew through this book, couldn’t put it down, and it was SCARY. And I don’t scare easily. I went in blind and am so glad I did. I was just as scared by the adults self-centeredness and helplessness as I was by Other Mommy. It took a minute to get used to the format, with the story coming solely from Bela’s viewpoint, but I thought the parents’ monologues to Bela worked and added to the overall tension.

I think we will be hearing and seeing a lot about this book. This was my first Malerman book and it definitely won’t be my last! Thank you to @joshmalerman @delreybooks @randomhouse and @netgalley for the eARC of this excellent book. I loved every second of it!

Incidents Around the House is a new horror book that follows a young girl who is haunted by some being called Other Mommy. This being wants to go into Bella’s heart and take her body basically.

I am definitely the minority for this one. Some many people have loved this one but unfortunately for me it fell flat.

I thought the premise was interesting and I liked how quick paced this was. There was a lot of dialogue so it made the reading go quick.

I did not like having a child narrator for an adult book. It just was disconnected for me and it just annoyed me. The “big” reveal at the end was just dumb to me and was more a family drama than anything. I don’t feel like this was particularly scary, to me at least.

I loved Malerman’s Daphne and I know a lot of people didn’t; a lot of people loved this one and I didn’t. I think I just have different horror taste than most. Don’t let my review deter you from trying this though since so many others loved it!

Thanks so much to netgalley and Random House for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Holy fuck that was the worst thing I've ever read, edging out We Can Never Leave This Place. The nausea and dread LaRocca can only create with gross-out gore was done here with terrifying pacing, the perfect narrative voice, and the regular, normal horror of bad parents fucking up their kids. The most remarkable element is that there aren't any big reveals about the supernatural or any supernatural twists, it's a totally honest book and everything spooky happening is exactly what it seems. The ghost isn't a metaphor, there's not much worldbuilding, the only shoe that drops is a real life terrible thing, and somehow both the ghost and the real life horror are equally gut wrenching. I kept thinking the climax had happened because ultimately everyone knows Bela is telling the truth and it's uncontested that there is a physical haunting, but the ghost, as scary as it is, is almost a red herring distracting you from the real misery of childhood powerlessness and the casual cruelty of selfish parents that constitute the actual narrative arc. Devastating, never want to read it again, I won't be having children, five miserable stars.

My thanks to Random House/Ballantine, Josh Malerman and Netgalley.
O.K. So, maybe now I know that Malerman and I will seldom get along. Matter of fact, I have decided that I'm totally fucking done with his stupid bullshit stories.
Since Bird box I've been reading his shit and I'm mostly disappointed. This was it for me. I'm finally done with his fucking regurgitated crap! Fuck him, and his very limited imagination.

Between 3.5-4
I was a little wary going into this because the dialogue doesn't have quotation marks, but the formatting and the narration made it work. It felt like you really were seeing things from the perspective of an 8-year-old, but in a very realistic way, which is super rare for me. I'm also not someone who scares easy, and this book had me on edge the whole time. I didn't love the ending, but I can see why it happened

Hauntings and possessions are quite honestly my most favorite horror ever, second being grief. This has a lot of the first two and a smidge of grief and has instantly become my favorite Malerman novel yet!

It takes a while to adjust to the writing format on this one, but after I got used to it, I couldn’t peel myself away from it. It’s the perfect read for nighttime after it’s all quiet and settled in your home, if you’re a weirdo like me. The ending on this one is pretty sad, with the loss of a child’s innocence breaking my heart. It definitely had my heart racing at times. I think it would do well as a movie too, so fingers crossed on that aspect. Many thanks to Random House, Ballantine and Del Rey for my eARC. Incidents Around the House publishes 6/25 and is a must read in my humble opinion.

I love horror novels, but the format generally struggles to generate fear at a level equal to film. Sure, authors can conjure up enough suspense to keep readers turning pages well into the night, but rarely are they able to actually scare anyone. Instead, the genre often resorts to extreme violence or other shocking imagery to elicit a reaction, a problem that can also plague horror movies but seems to be more easily avoided there. So, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the latest from Bird Box author Josh Malerman, Incidents Around the House, uses a clever conceit to create a compellingly creepy atmosphere that completely avoids blood and gore.

The story is told from the perspective of an eight-year-old girl named Bela who has begun seeing a figure she refers to as Second Mommy in her closet at night. Her real Mommy and Daddo (as she calls them) have a relationship that oscillates between happily adoring and severely strained, the latter of which they incorrectly think Bela doesn’t notice.

Bela doesn’t have many friends and so she is at first happy to talk to Second Mommy despite her unusual features. As Second Mommy begins asking Bela to let her “into her heart” and appearing in more and more places, Bela finds herself becoming fearful of her and finally decides to tell her parents. Mommy and Daddo are of course skeptical about Second Mommy’s existence, until the being, whatever she is, begins to more forcefully insert herself into Bela’s life and ultimately becomes undeniably real, at which point they resolve to protect their daughter by any means necessary.

Telling the story from the perspective of someone so ostensibly innocent and naive to the ways of the adult world as they struggle to make sense of the events around them, both of the domestic and supernatural variety, is a genius move. It really helps the reader to build up preternaturally high levels of sympathy for the main character and therefore care very deeply for their well-being and better understand the reasoning behind some of her more questionable decisions. Equally smart was the decision to avoid describing Other Mommy in much detail. Some elements of the entity’s appearance are doled out gradually throughout the novel at key moments, but even then, much of Other Mommy is left to our imaginations, allowing us to insert our own worst nightmares upon her.

This book had me legitimately frightened several times as I tore through its pages well into the night. It should newly refresh a fear of the dark for many readers and will likely have them looking askance at their closets and jumping at minor sounds as well. Incidents Around the House is easily the scariest book I’ve read in years, and with its deeper conversations around growing up, innocence, and the very nature of fear, it’s also one of 2024’s better novels in any genre.

Written for AFPLJournal.com

I was so excited to read this story and it did not disappoint! It was such a unique take on a horror story, it was the first I've read from the perspective of the child. The whole story was creepy and this was due to supernatural elements and domestic, personally I find domestic plot points just as terrifying as the supernatural so this story really held the creep factor throughout the entire novel. My only issue with this story was that the girl, Bela, was 8 but she didn't seem to be an 8 year old, with her mannerisms and the way she spoke or thought she came across to me as much younger. Other than that I really enjoyed the story, and I would recommend.

this book was SO creepy! i would highly recommend this horror novel. i had the bad idea of reading this at night and home alone. as was the case with Bird Box, Malerman did an excellent job creating a sense of dread in this book. that feeling, along with the scary images, make this a successful horror novel. i can see this being made into a movie! Other Mommy on the big screen would have me covering my eyes.

something else that was unique about this book was that it was written from the perspective of a child. this was also done very well and worked for this book. it didn't get in the way of the story in my opinion. Malerman does a great job establishing and fleshing out the family dynamics in this book, as one of the main themes is the baggage we bring with us from childhood to adulthood. in my college classes, we talked a lot about Aristotle's framework for a tragic hero: that they must have a fatal flaw and discover a terrible truth. i believe Bela fits this mold; she is too young to understand she is being manipulated by the supernatural force that clings itself to her, and she ultimately learns information she refuses to believe, maybe because she's too young to be able to process it. i actually felt really bad for Bela. also, the mom was awful...what was wrong with her?? however i loved the relationship that Bela had with her dad.

i don't have many critiques, but one would be that while i was turning the pages and finished this in just a couple of days, the middle wasn't as interesting to me. i understood why the story played out this way but didn't find it as engaging as the beginning or end. this is super nitpicky, but i also thought some things were over-explained just a tad (which is kind of ironic since one of my very few critiques of Bird Box is the lack of explanation the reader is left with). again, i get that it's a child's POV so some things had to be stated plainly. to be fair, we don't get answers for absolutely everything in this book.

this is definitely on track to be one of my favorite horror books of the year! i would highly recommend this if you like:
- being creeped out
- short horror books
- complex family dynamics
- reading from a child's POV

Incidents Around the House is out June 25, 2024. thank you so much to Josh Malerman, Netgalley, and Del Rey for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Well, wow.

If poltergeist and the conjuring had a baby, it would be this book. Well, the second Conjuring.

At first, I was not liking this book. It seemed simple and childish. Well, duh, it’s supposed to be. We are reading from the point of view of a child who is being haunted!

This poor child made friends with a possessive spirit called “other mommy”. Her parents are train wrecks, especially the mom.

You read from her perspective how her whole story unfolds. Her innocent point of view. The journey of many trials and the this spirit all while hoping that her parents will just get it together.

Gripping and intoxicating, I did not want to put it down. Worth the read. It’s one of your favorite fun horror movies with different twists that I did not predict!

Thank you Netgallery and the publisher for letting me read this. Will post on Goodreads!

DNF @ 36%

I gave it a fair shot, but I just couldn’t push through anymore. The narrative felt clunky and it was just not scary overall. The adults were all annoying and my interest was never peaked.

8-year-old Bela lives at home with her Mommy and Daddo. Grandma Ruth lives nearby. But there is also Other Mommy, who lives in her wardrobe and comes out to ask Bela "Can I go inside your heart?" So far, Bela has always said no, but Other Mommy is getting frustrated and is moving outside Bela's room. In order to protect her family, will Bela have to give her what she wants?

Let me tell you. Let me just tell you. This is creepy and weird and scary and all of the things. You will want to board up your closet, You will want to never be around small children. Told from Bela's point of view, this proves that everything is scarier when told by an 8-year-old. This is a good old-fashioned horror story and believe me, you will be creeped out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Available June 25, 2024.

After being incredibly terrified by Daphne and then literally jumping & wanting to scream out loud while listening to It Waits in the Woods, Josh Malerman was starting to become my go to horror author. Well his new novel, Incidents Around the House just solidified this and makes me want to get my hands on EVERYTHING in his backlist.

This book was creepy! Especially on audio - thanks to Netgalley & Penguin Random House Audio - the narrator really brought the 8 year old main character to life, Bella while seamlessly transitioning back and forth to our other characters - Mommy, Daddo & Grandma. But it was her calm, creepy, unsettling tone of voice that she used for "Other Mommy" that really had me not wanting to listen to this one too late at night, but at the same time, not being able to stop because I just HAD to find out what was going to happen.

This book was unnerving in all the best ways - Malerman is so good creating an atmosphere that the reader gets immersed in with a story that is interesting and propulsive - while also making the reader want to sleep with one eye open!

I loved every minute of this book - Malerman is truly MY kind of horror writer. It takes a lot to scare me - but I can always count on his books to make me feel unsettled, which is the best kind of scare for me!