Normally I don't enjoy books written from a child's perspective as they seem to either be written with a mentality too young or old for the character's stated age or so horribly repetitive it's reduced to jumbled babble. I'm so happy to state this is not the case with Incidents Around the House. Not only was the narrative voice believable for the character, Bela also displays the often uncanny intuitive understanding that make young children slightly terrifying. Eerie and unsettling, the plot kept me riveted and up way past my bedtime, checking the closet occasionally to be sure the door was still closed. Malerman does an excellent job building tension and dread while crafting a stomach churning monster out of our forgotten childhood fears.

This book scares the pants off me so good job Mallerman! I highly recommend it for a suspenseful and fear inducing ride. It was thrilling with horror aspects and so interesting.

thank you to NetGalley for allowing me an early copy!! this was my first by this author & I am wanting to read more. This book was the closest I’ve ever gotten to “reading” a horror movie. I was hooked beginning to end. This book is creepy af, suspenseful, & truly horrifying.

I read this in one sitting! Its non stop from start to finish, had me on edge the whole time just waiting for that "jump scare". It has been a while since I've read a horror book that got me so hooked and gave me anxiety. The characters are amazingly developed, the main character is a 8year old named Bela and i love how she's so witty and mature and brave. The characters were so relatable from the parents relationship with their daughter Bela to their struggling marriage. The Paranormal entity called "Other Mommy" scared me so bad that i had to check my kids closet. Other mommy reminded me of the movie "MAMA" in how the entity befriends the child and becomes attached. The book was so fast paced that when i got to the end it felt like i was on a rollercoaster and then suddenly it was over and I was left thinking.....what just happened! Not everyone will like the ending but the ride is worth it. My first 5 star read of the year thank you Josh Malerman for freaking me out in the best way! PICK THIS BOOK UP!

This review is for an ARC copy received from the publisher through NetGalley.

First, I would like to preface that this review is for an ARC copy received from the publisher through NetGalley. Thank you for this opportunity!

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman is a psychological thriller that puts a unique take on the "monster in the closet" horror trope. Bela and her parents (Ursula & Russ) discover they have an entity in the house that Bela knows as "Other Mommy." As stated by Bela, this entity becomes "closer" as time goes on and "Other Mommy" becomes more and more bold in her attempts to press Bela to "let her into her heart" and help her "do carnation" by trading places. Not only do Bela and her parents have to face the obviously terrifying presence of this horrific entity in their house, but they also have to face their own secrets, pasts, and internal struggles at the same time. To some characters, it may be unknown to them at times of which struggle is more difficult to face. Will this trying time bring this family closer together or drive them apart? Will they find a way to finally bring this terrible real-life nightmare to an end?

Upon reading the synopsis, I was intrigued. I read a few reviews and was apprehensive due to the various takes on the author's approach on POV of this novel, which I understand. I do see how some may not be fans of this style, but with that said, I do personally think I enjoyed it and found it to be a fun change of pace from my normal reads. I can honestly state that I have not read a novel with the formatting and style like this one before, which is something that I give kudos to for taking risks and stepping out of the norms!

The story is told through the POV of an eight year old girl named "Bela." This child's perspective was also represented through formatting, dialogue, and style in which the narrator's inner thoughts were expressed (such as run-ons when she was particularly stressed, and the way in which the paragraphs were shorter and more separated).

To add balance to having the POV of a young child, monologues from adults in Bela's life (her parents and grandmother, for example) were the main way of delivering readers information about the other characters, adding context, as well as trying to add some depth/meaning to everything going on beyond (what we were shown through Bela's POV). I understand why this was done and found their "secrets" and confessions (most often when they thought Bela was sleeping) to be quite interesting.

With that said, there were times, especially towards the end of the novel, where those monologues were VERY long (multiple pages for one character without paragraph break). It was slightly overwhelming and I was worried I'd miss important details by trying to keep up without losing stamina or focus. However, the monologues were often when the adult characters were themselves quite stressed and mentally all-over-the-place, and the POV is a child, so this in a way conveys how the interactions between them must feel in their perspectives.

Again, this was an ARC copy and therefore an "uncorrected proof," so if there were any aspects I would potentially want to see any sort of change or improvement to, it may have been the length/structure of those previously mentioned monologues. Additionally, I am not quite sure I feel about the ending. It felt rather rushed, but perhaps that was the point and author's intention? It left me with more questions than answers, personally-- but, I do know that some readers might enjoy that as it leaves them with that feeling that I do sometimes see in horror novels and/or movies.

Lastly, while this isn't important to the review of the story, I just wanted to add that I had lots of fun with the novel's setting (Michigan!) as I am a fellow Michigander myself, and I found it exciting to learn that this is where the author is rooted!

Overall, I did enjoy this read and found many aspects to be unique and thought-provoking. Not only was there the sense of anticipation and anxiety with the characters when things got intense, but there were also additional topics that prompted reflection about humanity and morals, as well.


(Thanks to Netgalley, Random House, & Ballantine Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!)

Seriously creepy.
Bela, a precocious eight year old starts getting visits from an entity she calls the “Other Mommy”. The visits are benign at first, and even welcomed, but eventually Other Mommy becomes more demanding, and showing herself to family and friends, much more threatening.

Highly recommended.

This book screams good 'ol fashion horror. The "terrified by what you can't see" ....
Well told from a childs perspective, naive, curious, and terrified. Brings us all back to our 8yr old selves.
As usual Malerman delivers!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I've never been disappointed in a Josh Malerman book and the streak only continues with this one!
Incidents Around the House is an exciting, chilling new take on the classic "monster in the closet" tale. Going into it, I was a bit concerned that I'd find the narration to be grating and annoying and quickly tire of it, as the entire story is told from the perspective of an eight year old girl named Bela. I adjusted to it easily though and didn't find it to be a hindrance from enjoying the story, although I do think that the addition of a chapter or two from the parents' perspectives would have been a refreshing reprieve.
"Other Mommy" was downright horrifying and I wish that the ending was slightly less rushed so that I could maybe understand a bit more about what exactly she even was and what her motives were. At the same time, that lack of knowledge also only makes the idea of her even more unsettling, so maybe the quick resolution was for the best.

I'll definitely be closing my closet door before I go to sleep for the foreseeable future!

Thanks to Netgalley, Random House, & Ballantine Books for the ARC. 📚

Incidents around my house include pretty mundane stuff: stepping in a pile of cat vomit going to the bathroom in the middle of the night, tripping on the edge of the hallway carpet for the 47th time, having to redistribute the mail to my neighbors on a weekly basis because the mail carrier has some sort of number blindness. Malerman's incidents are NOT of this annoying but innocuous nature. From the start, they are puzzling with an undertone of menace at best, and fully, terrifyingly bone-chilling at worst. Other Mommy is without question one of the most haunting visuals ever to come to life inside my head. I stayed up until 3:30 AM reading it, and my naturally noisy old house in the woods had my heart in my throat with every scritch and creak, imagining this monstrous other slithering across my bedroom floor to kill my soul.

While the story is not an entirely new concept, it's not like anything else I've read. Is it a haunting? A possession? Some ancient unknowable Eldritch being? The most disturbing horror is not knowing what this kid and the flawed, damaged family called on to fight for her are up against. I was all in on the story from the very first lines, but the writing style did give me brief pause. It's told from the POV of the young narrator and reflects the innocence and unsophistication of her age. I was worried it would be distracting, but it only took about half a page to adapt and I never thought about it again. I am still trying to wrap my head around the ending a day later. I think this story is best experienced without knowing too much, so I think that's enough said.

This review is for an ARC copy received from the publisher through NetGalley.

Eight-year-old Bela's family is threatened by the presence of Other Mommy, a sinister entity persistently asking to enter her heart. As terrifying events escalate, Bela realizes that refusing Other Mommy's request may endanger her family. When the strain on her parents' relationship grows, Bela faces a difficult choice.

This story is narrated by Bela, which I thought was unique, but it definitely shows in the writing (lacks grammar and punctuation). It’s creepy but also unbelievable… there’s no way an 8-year-old would have kept quiet about or enjoyed visits from Other Mommy, especially given what she looks like. If she presented as a child or a woman it would be more believable. Also, Bela refers to her father as “Daddo” which is rough. The ending felt abrupt but that was probably the point.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

I haven't read a book this chilling in sooo long! So good, full of the good cliches. And they start from chapter one! I thought the middle was dragging and the end was boring, but until it got dragging, I really liked it!

This story being told from a child's perspective was a CHOICE but was done perfectly, as I would have expected no less from Malerman. His work is so delightfully creepy and has the ability to immediately get under my skin but make me love it in the process. This was a wild ride and the creeping sense of dread throughout kept me hooked. Definitely recommend for lovers of Malerman's previous work!

Big thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey Publishing for my review copy!

If you can imagine a tiny spider slowly climbing under your shirt and up your spine, you can imagine how I felt for massive periods of the time I spent inside this book.

"Incidents Around the House" is written from the perspective of a little girl named Bela who has a "friend" who "lives" in the closet and requests that she be referred to as "Other Mommy."

As Other Mommy's presence becomes increasingly profound in all areas of Bela and her parents' lives, we begin to learn that Other Mommy is not the ONLY cause of said "household incidents."

The haunting is perhaps related to family dynamics, growing pains, and loss of innocence.

Or maybe it's not.

I friggin LOVED IT.
Malerman had me doing the hokey pokey to shake out the heebie-jeebies with this 5-star banger!

I was looking forward to reading this book, but I found it very disappointing. I never read other reviews only the synopsis to get a general sense of what the story is about. For me, the book was never scary. The demon I have not a clue as to what it looks like other than it can shape shift into other people, that it appears to be melting, crawling or slithering along the floor or wall. The people who have physically seen it are “changed forever” by seeing it. I wanted more details of this demonic creature that wants so badly to be reincarnated.
I felt no connection to the characters. Bela is an 8 year old girl and the story is told by her. Her parents are clueless. Mom is always angry, whining about the injustice of it all, yet she is the one doing unscrupulous deeds behind her husbands back, and mistrusting. Dad, the optimist, is just that. The only character I really liked was grandma Ruth. She’s the hard truthful tell it like it is character we can all relate to.
Then there is the format of the text. I’m not sure why it was done this way, but, it feels more like a manuscript. There are also some confusing holes in the story, such as, what happened to grandmas dog? It was there when they all ran out of the house, they didn’t appear to take it with the group and yet they were gone for a couple days. I could have entirely missed that part.
All of all, this book really wasn’t for me. I wanted so much more scare.

Thank you to #netgalley and #randomhousepublishing for the ARC of Incidents Around the House

This is not a new story, but it’s deliciously scary and I was hooked from the start (even put off finishing it to savor the sublime spookiness).

I wanted to love this because I enjoyed Bird Box. I could not enjoy this at all due to the writing and the way it was told from a child's perspective. A couple of chapters once in a while of this would have been fine, but I could not stand it throughout a whole book. Sorry to say this wasn't for me.

Ugh, I wish I felt better about this book! I think the premise is interesting and I could totally see why some people would really like it because of the themes explored, but it really felt flat for me. I didn’t think it was scary at any point and not only did I end up not liking the narration taking place from a child’s POV, I don’t think the messages can be explored fully enough because it’s a child. You end up getting monologues from the adults to the child and I just didn’t like that.

One of the best horror novels of the 21st century. Josh Malerman has written an instant classic that needs to be brought to the screen. Incidents Around the House is what happens when Sara Gran's Come Closer meets <i>Poltergeist</i>. It's eerie and chilling and "Other Mommy" is unlike the typical malevolent spirits you might come across in novels of this genre.

The ending may surprise some. I was satisfied with it, though others may have expected more of a payoff after all the family goes through to save their daughter and their sanity.

It would be an injustice for this book to not top the bestseller lists this summer.

Man what a wild ride. The story is about a little girl who starts seeing someone called "Other Mommy", and the effects on herself and her parents. The writing was well done, from the viewpoint of a young child, and very compelling. So much so that I legitimately read this in a day. The character development was amazing, making it very clearly something that you could NOT put down unless you absolutely had to! I found myself sneaking off to read a few pages throughout different parts of the day, and I am sure it will be no different for anyone else. I would highly recommend this if you enjoy thrillers or horror, or any of Josh Malerman's previous books.

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Incidents Around the House is like a creeping dread that builds to a crescendo. This story follows the main character, a child named Bela who is experiencing a strange and most dreadful haunting. Bela, Mommy, Daddo, and other Mommy are the characters that make this book tick.

Who is other Mommy? And why in the name of all that is good does she keep asking Bela if she can come into her heart for Carnations? Why would Bela have Carnations inside her? Well she doesn't, but that is not what other Mommy wants, this creepy entity wants reincarnation.

As other Mommy becomes a more and more intense and horrifying presence. This story gets scarier and scarier. The family tries to outrun other Mommy but this oozing hairy weird thing won't give up.

It is an addictive read, truly terrifying and the scariness builds in layers. Will they escape other Mommy, or is it all destined to fail? A truly weird, unique, and creative haunting told from the perspective of a child.