This was, hands down, the absolute creepiest book I have read. It takes a lot to scare me and I usually just roll my eyes at horror books. But this had my heart RACING. The fact that it was from a child’s point of view was so unique and made it incredibly fast paced. Easily in my top 5 favorite books.

I ended up deciding not to finish this read. I want able to look past the POV being done from a child’s eyes. I wish the best of luck to this author in their future endeavors!

This book is wild! Incidents Around the House scared the crap out of me, I'll be sleeping with the closet door closed from now on. I read Birdbox years ago and it still stands as my all time favorite horror book. I've read many books by Josh Malerman since and haven't found one that I would even compare to Birdbox until now. I've found most of them to be weird, but not really scary. Not the case with Incidents Around the House. I was looking for a good scare and it delivered. I'll remember this book for a long time. This book will be published June 25th, 2024, so check it out. Well done!
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Every author has a unique voice that is developed and becomes apparent in their works. Josh Malerman is unlike every author in that if not for his name on the books or some of the references to Goblin, Chaps etc... I would not know it was written by the same person. Every book I’ve read from him has a unique writing style that is unlike his previous works. (I guess he’s unique in that sense haha.) Incidents Around the House is no exception. A truly terrifying and chilling story from beginning to end. A complex and layered story told from a child’s perspective that showcases Josh’s talent in storytelling. There’s scenes in this book that I’m still trying to shake off. Highly recommend this book looking for a good scare.

Genuinely creepy with an interesting POV from a young narrator. Malerman doles out the scares while examining a family disintegrating in real time. Frightening imagery balanced with heartfelt sentiments make this book an engaging page turner.

This was SO good. It was creepy the whole way through and I felt uneasy while reading it. This will probably end up being my favorite book of the year.

Incidents Around the House is nothing short of horrifying. I was shocked and terrified from the first pages of this book. The whole book is told through then perspective of a child and I think Malerman nailed the fear, at fist as a reader you're almost like the parent wondering what is actually real and what's being exaggerated by the child's imagination.
As the book goes on, it just gets worse, and worse. It's so unsettling it gets in the space between your skin cells. I love Malerman's style of writing it's always a unique treat and it's especially so in this book. If you are a fan of being absolutely freaked out, read it. NOW.

Ooo this book!

I’m always looking for books about possession, but let’s be honest there are not a lot of options. The Exorcist still stands as one of my favorite books of all time and I would easily say Incidents Around the House holds a flame to it. I devoured this book.

I literally stayed up late, couldn’t put it down. The atmosphere is absolutely frightening and there were moments I had to look over my shoulder. I recall listening to all the bumps in the night and instantly thinking of this book. It’s scary, it’s creepy, it’s full of surprises. The ending was unexpected and not typical which I adored.

Written from the perspective of a child, Josh Malerman slayed. It’s like Bela is real and I could see a lot of her characteristics and interactions in my own daughters of similar age.

Characters are flawed, perfectly and the interactions between them are organic.

I don’t want to spoil too much about the “entity” so go in blind and let go of every trope you associate with possession/demon books or movies.

Incidents Around the House is a treat for us seeking books about possession and one that will shock and wow you. I expect this book to have a lot of hype and it’s well worth it.

I'll always jump on a new Malerman release as soon as I can. Malerman has a writing voice I can really grab on to, and this was no exception. even if it's different from his previous books. This one is written from the perspective of an eight-year-old girl, a POV Malerman makes very believable in its innocence and curiosity. At times, this book was genuinely frightening and had some of the best literary jumpscares I've yet read. How can you have a jumpscare in a book you read with your eyeballs? I can't tell you how it works, only that Malerman nails it.
The best horror is always about something internal, in my opinion, and Malerman carves away at the heart of what it means to be family in a way that's utterly unsettling.

“You make it sound so frightening, Mommy says.
What?
Innocence.
It is frightening, Lois says.
Because the innocent are targeted first.”

Incidents Around the House is a horror story with heart. It mortified me. I was afraid to go to the bathroom alone. Afraid to keep the lights off. But what surprised me the most was how deep this book was. I didn’t expect to be scared shitless while getting a philosophical lesson on fear and life. This was a fast read, an impactful read, and one that will stay with me for a very long time. I have goosebumps still after finishing it.

I devoured this book in one day. When I saw Josh Malerman had a new book coming out, I was so excited and this book did not disappoint. It was terrifying, thoughtful, and suspenseful. I'm scared to go down into my basement to change the laundry right now.

Incidents Around the House is an amazing and riveting work, and simply one of the greatest horror reading experiences I've had. Malerman is able to embed himself so artfully into the POV of a young girl, yet at the same time, develop characters around her. And you will be scared not only for this young girl, but for yourself. The monsters in my closet, long ago forgotten about, felt relief as I read this novel, for I believe in them again. There's a clear vintage horror influence yet a Cormac McCarthy feel. Genuine scares for those who thought they'd never be scared again. Other Mommy is such a very cool, pretty, and powerful monster who keeps the reader guessing. But as the best horror does, it's not just the monsters but the humans in our life that hurt us just the same.

Five shining stars.

Omg please make this a movie because this book had me TERRIFIED.

I loved this so much. Everything about it. It was creepy and had me staring at my dark closet like 👁️👄👁️

This gave me Guillermo Del Toro’s “Mama” vibes. I totally pictured that entity as Other Mommy.

I have a feeling this is going to be the hot new book of the summer and for good reason! It’s so scary and very easy to follow. The POV from the child was unique & the short chapters kept the story flowing nicely. I’ll be thinking about this one long after reading it.

Delightfully scary and chilling, I had to read it in the daytime only. Josh Malerman is an incredible horror writer and this is one of his best.

Thank you to Josh Malerman and NetGally for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

First off, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I have always been a fan of haunted house/ghost stories and this hit every point for me!

The book is written really well with a unique perspective I've not seen done very often - written from the perspective of a child. Who is the one being haunted. I think the author did a great job in capturing the innocent way kids will view the world around them and how they will accept things most adults wouldn't - especially in the case of appearance or origin.

It was absolutely terrifying, seeing the way that Bela's innocence and naivete was manipulated and used against her throughout the book, and I cried for her when that innocence was tarnished.

Without giving too much away, I think the creepiest part of the story (besides this being something that comes from the closet because that just hits the traumatized child in us all) was the not knowing what was real and what wasn't.

If you like stories like Paranormal Activity or the Conjuring, definitely read this book!

I’ve been a huge fan of Josh Malerman‘s ever since I discovered his 2014 debut Bird Box, which as most horror fans know, went on to become a cultural phenomenon. Not only was it one of the key novels that reignited my passion for reading after many years away, but it was a fresh and unique take on one of my favorite subgenres – post-apocalyptic horror. Ever since that moment, Malerman has become an insta-buy author for me and has since gone on to explore many different types of horror. There’s the subtle horror of A House at the Bottom of the Lake, the weird western Unbury Carol, the all-out nightmare fuel of Pearl (aka On This, The Day of the Pig) and the sprawling, genre-exploding Ghoul N’ The Cape. That’s not even counting the other finished novels that Josh has finished over the years that haven’t been released to a wide audience yet.

I’ve been lucky enough to chat with Josh multiple times on the Ink Heist podcast and one thing that always jumps out at me is his infectious passion for horror and writing. I’ve always felt that carried over into his books and it’s one of the special ingredients that make his books so hard to put down. Josh’s seemingly effortless storytelling style instantly feels warm and inviting, even though you know there are untold horrors hidden waiting further in the shadows.

The other secret ingredient? Well, that’s something I’ve yet to come up with an accurate word for. It’s more of a feeling, like the same thrill you might get trading stories of the uncanny over drinks with a friend at a bar. So when I received a review copy of Incidents Around the House, it totally destroyed my TBR and shot straight to the top of the pile.

Incidents Around the House chronicles a haunting through the eyes of eight-year-old Bela, as her and her family are terrorized by a malevolent entity she has dubbed “Other Mommy”. Bela’s experiencing a turbulent time in her life when she first hears Other Mommy’s voice whisper from the dark depths of her closet “Hello, there. Who are you?” She starts to think of Other Mommy as a friend, someone who can make her laugh and keep her company. But soon Other Mommy has a request of her own for Bela and keeps repeating the same phrase night after night, “Can I go inside your heart?” She usually says no with little consequence from Other Mommy, but lately Other Mommy has been growing impatient. She’s been growing bolder, making her presence known in the house and testing the boundaries of how far she is willing to go to get Bella to say yes. As Bela and her family are plunged into a living nightmare, their love for one another will be tested and they will need to rely on each other if they have any hope for escape.

I love when writers take big swings, and Malerman definitely takes them with Incidents Around the House. It’s a risky move, building the narrative solely through Bela’s perspective and having it be rooted as closely to reality as possible. If there’s too much detail and description, the story becomes unbelievable and it’s obvious it’s an adult telling the story. If there’s not enough, it’s equally unbelievable because kids are extremely observant but just express themselves differently. I think Malerman nails this balance and his approach definitely pays off. He blends the palpable fear of being confronted with the unknown and the inherent curiosity kids have to create some truly bone-chilling scenes that will have readers screaming at Bela and her family to not just leave their home, but burn it to the ground. Also, by filtering the novel through Bela, it allows Malerman to experiment with form. He often uses short, punchy sentences and eschews traditional punctuation often in order to further add realism to the story. But it not only allows for realism, it also creates a propulsive pace that keeps readers on their toes and keeps the story from ever hitting lulls. It keeps you reading along and dropping your guard so that when Other Mommy pops up seemingly out of nowhere, you’re just as startled as Bela, Ursula and Russ. That being said, while I loved this approach, I can see the opinions over the style of Incidents Around the House being as divisive as the opinions of Kyle Edward Ball’s 2022 film Skinamarink.

For the longest time I thought On This, The Day of the Pig was the undisputed, most terrifying novel of Malerman’s career, carrying the burning spirit of vintage horror paperbacks and using it to inflict nightmarish visions on unsuspecting readers. That was until I met Other Mommy and I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before Other Mommy pops up in my nightmares. I don’t want to spoil what Other Mommy looks like or what it’s capable of because those moments of discovery are best experienced with as little warning as possible. One thing I can guarantee is that each interaction between the characters and Other Mommy will make your skin-crawl. The reason I think Other Mommy is so effective as an antagonist is that through Bela’s childhood innocence, we are given just enough information to paint a vague picture of what this entity might look like. After that, Malerman uses a series of actions to present the dangers facing Bela and her family, but the reader is also able to fill in the blanks of Other Mommy’s appearance and abilities with their own imagination.

I think that is one of the things that made this novel particularly terrifying for me, that it not only engaged my imagination, but also dredged up memories from my own childhood. To keep a long story short, growing up I lived with my mom and stepdad in a very old house, one that sat directly next door to the restaurant my mom worked at. I can’t tell you the exact year the house was built, only that it was around the same time as the restaurant, which famously housed George Washington for a night or two. Years later, my step dad would tell me stories of how he would be woken up from a dead sleep when doors separating the rooms would slam shut, despite all of the windows being closed. The restaurant also boasted its share of ghost stories. How do all of these things tie into Incidents Around the House? Well, that house is where I had not one, but two, imaginary friends. A man and a woman. I don’t remember anything about them other than their names and sure, on the surface, it seems innocent enough. A young kid creating imaginary friends is almost a rite of passage. Any memories I had of them have been eroded by time, but when I look back and think of those stories and the fact they only resided in that house…I can’t help but wonder if I narrowly escaped my own Other Mommy situation.

I had an absolute blast with Incidents Around the House and it’s definitely in the running for not just the scariest Malerman book, but also my personal favorite. As you venture into the darkness that lurks within these pages and you hear the creaking of your house or get a sense of unease when you glance at the darkness of a closet or room, ask yourself – is it just a trick of your imagination or is it an entity of your own, coming to ask you, “Can I come into your heart?”

I'm incredibly grateful to Del Rey Books, Josh Malerman, and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC. This story is told from the viewpoint of eight-year-old Bela, the story unfolds as she discovers her room is haunted by an entity known as Other Mommy, who desires to possess her. Bela's parents begin to notice her distress, but initially, they dismiss it as a product of her imagination. However, when they witness Other Mommy themselves, they flee the house, seeking spiritual help to rid Bela of this haunting presence. Despite their efforts, Other Mommy remains steadfastly attached to Bela. Will Bela succumb to her, or will she find the strength to resist? I was engrossed by the supernatural elements of the story, and the perspective of the preteen protagonist brought depth to the complex family dynamics. I devoured this book and had so much fun with it!

EASY 5 STARS. I wish I could give this one more.
I am SOOOOOO thankful to Del Rey Books, Josh Malerman, and Netgalley for granting me advanced digital access to this haunted house story before it hits shelves on June 25, 2024.

Told from the POV of an eight-year-old girl, Bela, she finds that her house, specifically her room, is haunted by an entity called Other Mommy. Yikes. Other Mommy wants to enter Bela's heart or, plainly speaking, to and possess her.

Bela's real Mommy and Daddo start to notice that something is up with their kiddo. After discovering Other Mommy, they hesitate to believe their daughter's explanations are anything more than a creative imagination. When Mommy sees Other Mommy in the "flesh" one evening, they flee the house and commit to being on the run from this spectral presence, seeking help from any spiritual guidance they can find. This is obviously few and far between as far as numbers go, and it's not long before they nab some help from a local mystic who does her best to perform an exorcising of sorts to rid Bela of this tormenting.

Other Mommy is LATCHED on, and there's no escaping her grasp. Will Bela let her in, or stand strong to fight her/it off?

I loved the supernatural spookiness of this book, and I feel like the preteen perspective helped to animate the complex and broken family dynamic that we see amongst Grandma Ruth, Daddo, Mommy, Bela, and of course, Other Mommy. I don't think I've ever read a book so fast. Bravo.

In "Incidents Around the House," Josh Malerman skillfully crafts a narrative that delves into the depths of human fear and the unknown. Through vivid descriptions and meticulously constructed scenes, Malerman creates an atmosphere of palpable tension that permeates every page of the book.

The characters are not just archetypes, but fully realized individuals with their own fears, motivations, and secrets. As the story unfolds, readers are drawn deeper into their lives, rooting for them to overcome the mounting obstacles they face.

What sets Malerman's work apart is his ability to blend elements of horror with psychological suspense. Each incident in the house serves as a catalyst for exploring the characters' innermost fears and desires, leading to unexpected twists and turns that keep readers guessing until the very end.

Moreover, Malerman's prose is as haunting as it is beautiful, drawing readers into the world he has created with lyrical precision. From the eerie whispers of the wind to the unsettling silence of the deserted house, every detail is meticulously rendered, immersing readers in a world that is both familiar and terrifyingly unknown.

Overall, "Incidents Around the House" is a testament to Malerman's mastery of the genre and a thrilling read for anyone who enjoys a good scare. It's a book that lingers in the mind long after the final page is turned, leaving readers eagerly awaiting Malerman's next chilling tale.

3/5 Stars, thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced copy to review.