Whew. I love a haunting. The subtle creep of something in the wall…the tick of noises that stop you cold…the constant feeling of chills running down your spine. Now take that and write it from the child’s perspective. Malerman has hit a mark with this one! Just when I thought I understood what was going on, Other Mommy would trick my brain and Bela and her family would be in another predicament.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing, Del Rey, and author Josh Malerman for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House for giving me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Incidents Around the House is hands down the creepiest novel I have read so far this year. Meet Bela, our very young narrator, who has a best friend. Not a friend she met at school, the park, or playing with the neighbors. This friend lives in her closet. You might need to reset your creep radar if it isn’t going off yet.

You see, Bela’s friend is named Other Mommy. Other Mommy wants nothing more than to become… I can’t go further. I don’t do spoiler reviews.

Mr. Malerman poetically weaves together a story that pulls you in, gives you a big hug, and then shatters that good feeling. My heart aches for Bela throughout the novel. The weight put on this child is so horrifying because it really plays into the struggles a lot of young families go through. Then you add Other Mommy into the mix, and holy #*#*, it’s a lot!

The ending of Incidents Around the House is the best I have read in a long time. It will be available from your favorite bookseller on June 25th, 2024.

Wow! Josh Malerman just kicked up the horror level to 11 on this one! I'm a fan of his other novels but this one just feels like he wanted to crank up the fear factor compared to his other books. I just finished reading this book and I am left with the feeling that the title doesn't seem to do this book justice in getting you to feel the horror that is contained in these pages. Would have "Other Mother" been a better name? I don't know but "Incidents Around the House" seem too casual for the horror and chaos that happen in the house. Spoiler Alert! Things happen outside the house too! So again, I think the name misses the mark. Why am I getting so caught up in this name? Because I like this story so much! Telling the story from a little girls perspective is what makes you feel the intense horror. Is it perfect, no! There were moments where I thought to myself, there is no way a little girl would use those words or know what those words mean. The "daddo" thing is kind of annoying but I was able to push that aside because the series of events that lead to an incredible ending were so good.

I like the cover art. It does seem similar to the movie "Imaginary". Not sure who came out with their art first, maybe this is just a coincidence.

I want to thank Josh Malerman, Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine, Del Rey and NetGalley for providing me with an advance digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

First off I want to say thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book! Now….Oh. My. Gosh. I absolutely devoured this book, I read it within 10 hours of receiving the digital arc copy. I absolutely could not stop, after every chapter I needed to know what happened next. This is the scariest book I’ve read yet. It takes a lot to scare me and there were several parts that made my mouth drop and scared me!!! I was walking out of my bathroom in the dark last night and my cat ran at me trying to smack my leg and I full on punched him in his head because I thought it was Other Mommy coming for me. I felt so bad!! I also made my husband get out of bed and close the closet door. When I tell you I watch scary movies and go to bed and sleep like a baby, I mean it. This book definitely got to me and I LOVED it!! I loved everything up until the last 1 or 2 chapters, which is the reason I am giving 4 stars instead of 5. I really wanted more and feel the ending was disappointing. **SPOILER** After all so many people did to protect Bela, to make sure she kept saying “no”, I just feel like everything went to waste and it disappointed me. Also the writing style of no quotation marks was a little difficult at first, I did enjoy it! This was my first Josh Malerman book and it will not be my last!!

(My rating doesn't reflect my actual thoughts on the book, but NetGalley won't allow me to post this review without it).

Unfortunately, I can't judge the story because I didn't get past the first few pages. The writing style just wasn't for me as there weren't any quotation marks around the dialogue and I hated the structure. Its so disappointing because I'd heard so many great things about this book and I was excited to read it but being able to comfortably read a story is just as important as the story itself. This isn't criticism against the story or author (some of you may be fine with that sort of writing style) but I just couldn't get past it and therefore, couldn't get into the story.

Bela, an 8 year old girl, is being visited by who she calls “Other Mommy”. At first she only came at night in Bella’s room, and every time she would ask Bela the same question over and over. Then Other Mommy starts coming during the day and outside ox the house. Always wanting an answer to her question. Soon it becomes a fight for the lives of all the people of Bella’s family.

I didn’t much like this one. I’ve never read anything from this author so maybe I just don’t know his style. It’s told from 8 year old Bela’s perspective. The dialogue was odd, the adults in the story were absolutely clueless. It was just too silly to be scary to me, I guess. It just dragged on and on. The ending didn’t do much either. Definitely not one I’ll be recommending.

This book scared me…like I couldn’t read it at night time scared me. Idk what I expected but I was SPOOOKED

It's Booga Booga Time.......

Remember when you were a kid walking past a cemetery and your parents told you that the Dead can't hurt ya? It's the live ones you have to watch out for. Somehow there wasn't much solace in that. Sometimes your mind just told you.......how about a combo of all that? How 'bout that!

Young Bela, who's only eight years old, wasn't up for a tea party late at night in her room. She'd peek around the covers drawn up around her head and squeezed eyes shut. But she had company at night. Every night. Something would slink out from inside her closet and sit on the edge of her bed when Mommy and Daddo were asleep. This "something" named itself "Other Mommy". Other Mommy just wanted to be near Bela.......so near that she continuously asked to be inside of Bela's heart. A simple Yes would do. But Bela shook and replied in the negative. Every night. Every single night.

Bela never wanted to worry Mommy and Daddy. But Other Mommy decided to become a party goer one evening at Mommy and Daddy's downstairs soiree. Marcia, Mommy's friend, spotted something dark, foreboding, and hairy in the corner of the living room. Her bloodcurdling scream set off alarms throughout the house. Other Mommy was like Cinderella leaving her glass slipper behind. Bela had to confess to Mommy and Daddy about her nightly visitor.

Josh Malerman built us a terrifying haunted house without the usual flying bats and eerie echoes inside. No creaking stairs either. Terror takes up residence within us all. It finds a place inside where our thoughts hang like spider webs and crawly things scutter across our minds. And Other Mommy sits with bent elbows staring into eyes that hold her gaze.

Malerman drops this nightmare onto the table with a heavy thud. Just how do you eradicate something so elusive and so mindboggling as Other Mommy? No matter how high your IQ may be, it doesn't prepare you for the battle that has been left at your doorstep. And Malerman will pull us through craggy knot holes trying to figure this all out. What's at stake here is a precious eight year old who has locked eyes with this monster. And it ain't going away any time soon. WoWzers!

If you've met Josh Malerman in Bird Box (Book or movie), then you know Malerman always scores high on the Creep-O-Meter. Incidents Around the House lives in a continuous state of howling. It's that good. Keep your eyes off your closet door in the wee hours. A little creaking is certainly not your imagination.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Random House and to the talented Josh Malerman for the opportunity.

This story grabbed me for the very first page and is by far the best Malerman I've read. The creep factor is off the charts and the unique writing style is something I've never seen and leads to even more dread as you read it. It feels as if you are going to see it in a theater which says something about how vivid and film like the story is.

This book scared me. In the middle of the day, full sunlight, it left me feeling uneasy. It opened with a unique style of writing that piqued my interest and the storyline hooked me right away. After that it was just a battle to see what how many pages I could sneak in between my real-life obligations.

I LOVED it. So new, so different, such a refreshing take on a haunting. And so simple. It was a delight from start to finish and I am already contemplating a re-read.

Five stars. Loved every page.

Thanks Josh Malerman for another great read. You are fast becoming one of the authors that I will read anything that they write. And thank you SO much to NetGalley and Del Ray for the advanced readers copy. The publication date of the is book is set for June 25, 2024. NetGalley always asks if I would recommend or buy this book for someone. Yes, absolutely. I would give this book to every horror fan that I know, and even some non-horror readers too!

Josh Malerman's newest novel, Incidents Around the House, is a masterpiece of horror with heart. Layers and layers of meaning and themes of family, trauma, and growing up that's reminiscent of Coraline and The Shining and Room.

The odd narrative style from young Bela's perspective makes the story all the more engaging, quick to read, and TERRIFYING. It also really gets the message across: our children may have a limited understanding of what is happening around them, but that doesn't mean they aren't internalizing it all.

I can't recommend this enough, and huge thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for an e-arc to read and review!

Incidents Around the House publishes June 25, 2024

Don’t read in your room with the lights off! You’ve been warned!
Incidents around the House is probably one of the few books that has creeped me out to the point that I had to stop reading and switch to another book so I could sleep afterwards. I started reading it in my room at night!
The story is told by the POV of an 8 year old girl named Bela. She lives with her Mommy and Daddo but there is also something sinister in the house, referred to as “other mommy” that has attached itself to Bela and haunts her.
As the story develops Bela and her family struggle with trying to find ways to get rid of Other Mommy. A few family secrets are revealed throughout their ordeal and your heart just breaks for poor Bela with everything she goes through!
What I loved about this book is that it managed to scary me many times! I loved the unique idea of the story being told by the child. This would be a great book to adapt into a film as it checks all the creepy, jumps scare boxes for me!
Thank Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine. All opinions are my own.

Thank you netgally and to the publisher for this arc copy. I was super excited to get this arc.. I started reading it and I was into the book but about halfway through I was thinking nothing was really happening in the book this one was just not it for me I was bummed out. There were some creepy parts in this book and I think those were done very well I wish there were more of those in the book and I just felt like the book was going nowhere and I was confused throughout the whole thing maybe it’s something I would have to reread but I honestly don’t think I could get through it again .

This was super good! It was a fast, easy read, and Other Mommy was legitimately scary. I read and watch horror all the time and am very desensitized, but some of her scenes made me feel uneasy in my room at night while I was reading. Not an easy feat. It dragged in a few parts, and the end will probably be a little divisive, but I really liked it. I would love to see this turned into a movie. It's kind of a mix of something like The Babadook and It Follows, but very Blumhousey, in a good way. Like popcorn horror.

The premise of this story was very eye catching. Combined with the skills of the author, this book was a masterpiece!

I really enjoyed Incidents Around the House.

Loved how it was told from, Bela, a little girls, point of view. She’s so innocent and dealing with such horrible things. The dissolution of her family, secrets and a terrifying monster living in her closet.

Lots super unsettling horror. The descriptions of “Other Mommy” and her face. I’ll have some nightmares.

For me, this is really a story about family and home. What those two things mean and how they can come to bring true horror into people’s lives.

Not quite sure about the ending. Will have to sit with it for a while.

This book is absolutely chilling. It is so scary but also so deep. This book is written from the perspective of a child, which I found to add to the story. I felt completely immersed in this story as I read it. This book touches on family dysfunction, the impact of the mistakes parents make on their children, and how heavily a secret can weigh on a person. The ending absolutely gutted me. This book is so much more than it appears and I enjoyed every minute of it.

This is a great book for fans of Mama and The Babadook!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this advance copy!

This is my first book by Josh Malerman that I have read and I will have no problem picking up another.
Incidents Around the House is definitely a book to read if you want to stay up late at night wondering if those sounds you heard are just your cats and if you should close your closet door so you don't wake up to bright eyes staring back at you.

Mommy, Daddo, and Bela are not alone in their home. Other Mommy visits Bela at night. What first starts off as a "friendship" between the two, quickly turns into a scary situation as Bela keeps saying "No" when Other Mommy asks “Can I go inside your heart?” Bela soon learns that Other Mommy is not a friend and will hurt Bela's family if she does not get her way. The more Bela resists, the stronger Other Mommy gets and eventually leaves Bela's room and drags Grandma Ruth and family friends into her situation. Bela realizes that her family is not as strong as she thought and that they will just keep suffering until she does what Other Mommy wants or finds another way to stop her.

I must admit, this is my first book with no quotation marks. I understand it is a newer trend but it is hard for me to get behind. I found myself having to reread parts to try to figure out who said what and it made the book very "stop and go" instead of flowy. I also LOVED the plot and felt like the story was different and had so much potential but the end was very abrupt and left room for more questions than answers.

𝕴𝖓𝖈𝖎𝖉𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖘 𝕬𝖗𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖉 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕳𝖔𝖚𝖘𝖊
𝔟𝔶: 𝔍𝔬𝔰𝔥 𝔐𝔞𝔩𝔢𝔯𝔪𝔞𝔫

𝓐𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓽: A chilling horror novel about a haunting, told from the perspective of a young girl whose troubled family is targeted by an entity. To eight-year-old Bela, her family is her world. There’s Mommy, Daddo, and Grandma Ruth. But there is also “Other Mommy”, who asks her every day: “Can I go inside your heart?” 

𝓕𝓪𝓿𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓮𝓻: Bela. She’s so young and she’s going through so much trauma at the moment. I just want to hug her.

𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓘 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮𝓭: The creepy aspects I could totally visualize which made this a fun read for me. This book has some deep stuff going on, especially from the child’s point of view. The term “skeletons in the closet” or “we all have demons” really comes into play.

𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓘 𝓭𝓲𝓼𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮𝓭: There were some parts, just like when watching a “scary movie” where you are asking yourself “wtf are you people doing?”, I just want there to be smart moves made, that doesn’t mean it has to be a happy ending, I just want the characters to be somewhat smart in their decision making.

To sum up, I liked the book, it was an easy read and I loved that it was from the POV of a child. It honestly left me a little sad, as an emotional reader I’m feeling a slight hangover from this one. As always, read the triggers before diving in.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group, NetGalley and Josh Malerman for this ARC.

Incidents Around The House drops June 25th

Posting reviews to NetGalley, Instagram, Amazon, GoodReads and StoryGraph

This was my first Malerman novel. I saw it getting hype on Bookstagram and was excited when I got approved for the arc. The book was definitely creepy and was a fresh take on the haunted/possessed kid trope. I did not find the book to be scary, but I read a lot of horror so maybe I'm desensitized. I enjoyed the complex family dynamic. I would consider the pacing one notch under fast. I felt some parts were repetitive. Overall, I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more of the authors work.