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.

I received an advanced review copy of this book from NetGalley.
Josh Malerman is one of my favorite authors and my favorite books by him are Inspection, Unbury Carol, and Bird Box.

This story captured my attention from the start and had me looking around at my closet doors and the ceilings after evenings spent reading this story. In my opinion Malerman perfectly blends telling you some details and leaving others out, which lets your mind speculate and in many cases is scarier than if he directly told you the information. One thing I would have wanted in this story was to know Bela's age. It was difficult in some scenes to paint the picture of what was happening without knowing her exact age. I also wanted to have the story continue a bit longer than where it ended. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. This review is also posted on Goodreads.

Another 5 star read from Josh Malerman! This book hooks you from the start and doesn't let you go. I read this in one day, the pages practically turned themselves! You don't want to skip out on this one!

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC of Incidents around the House by Josh Malerman.

This has to be my favorite book by him. I don’t scare easily and this book had me creeped out and I couldn’t put it down. It would make an excellent movie. I really like books that can be creepy and scary without gore and grossness. The unique writing style helped with adding a layer of suspense and tension. This is definitely a book you may need to stick in the freezer!

Bela has an apparition that visits her at night that she calls “Other Mommy.” Other Mommy asks Bela nightly if she can go into her heart to reincarnate herself. Bela both finds comfort and is scared of Other Mommy. Things begin to turn when not only does Bela start to see Other Mommy outside of her house, but the people around her start to see her as well. Now, it is a race for her parents to save themselves and their daughter from Other Mommy.

Look, if you’ve been here for more than a minute, you know that my history with Josh Malerman novels is a little rocky. But THIS BOOK! I’m not exaggerating when I say I couldn’t put it down! Even with work and sleep I managed to finish it in less than 24 hours, something I haven’t done in a *very* long time.

With light shades of Coraline, this is the story of Bela, a young girl tormented nightly by her “imaginary friend” Other Mommy, who only wants to get into Bela’s heart, and the incredible and wrenching lengths her parents go to in order to save her from the not so imaginary monster.

The entire book is written from Bela’s pov, and because of how well Malerman’s writing draws us into her childish innocence, the scares hit extra hard! More than once I accidentally gasped out loud and caught some real weird looks from my go-workers. 🤣

But it’s not just the scares that are effective (although WOW are they effective). When Bela’s parents argue, we feel her anxiety. When painful truths come to light, we hurt with her. And when Other Mommy reveals her true self, we don’t just feel her fear, we are also afraid.

O my goodness- I think this is Josh Malerman’s best story yet. I was totally glued to the pages and couldn’t put it down…except for at night because I was too creeped out to read it in the dark! A fantastic, horrifying take on a haunted house/monster story. I loved every second.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this as an ARC.

Yeesh! I wasn’t really expecting this level of creep – I should’ve known better. I’m usually not scared by ghosts or hauntings but this one got under my skin. It’s insidious and sinister and completely unlike anything I’ve read before.

Bela lives with her mommy and daddo, usually pretty happily, except for ‘other mommy’ who lives in her closet and used to be nice but now, not so much. “Other mommy’ is always asking if she can go into Bela’s heart. Bela always says no and the more she says no, the more persistant ‘other mommy’ gets.

Because this is told from Bela’s POV, it gives a uniquely terrifying perspective; Bela is limited by age in her understanding of the real world so adding in something unnatural is way outside the realm of understanding and explanation.

This is a story I won’t be forgetting anytime soon and I won’t be saying anything more about the plot. Go in as blind as possible on this one, you won’t regret it.

My thanks to Random House Publishing for this gifted DRC.

Thanks to Del Rey and NetGalley for this advanced reading copy in exchanged for my unbiased review.

I should probably acknowledge upfront that I am a big fan of horror books, movies, haunted houses at Halloween and all sorts of options for a good scare. And I have loved Josh Malerman’s books in the past. So I was looking forward to reading this book.

As I started reading this book, I was slightly taken aback, because the plot concept was so familiar. I mean Neil Gaiman’s [book:Coraline|17061] is only one of the books I can think of with the premise of a young girl who is visited by an evil entity pretending to be her parent.

Granted, the descriptions of the Other Mother were nicely understated enough to allow the reader’s imagination to effectively pump up the horror, and the plot zips along with many really spooky events. But, I still felt a bit let down by Malerman’s use of such an obvious horror trope in what felt like a storyline that I had seen too often before.

But, if it had just been another version of this somewhat stale story, I would not have given it 4 out of 5 stars (high praise for me—only a ver few all-time favorites get 5 stars). But, as the book continued on, I found that the circumstances that underlie Bela’s visitations became clearer, and at the same time they felt more emotionally truthful. By the end of the book, I was left with a completely different sense of horror; horror based mostly upon the pain that we can do to the people that we love.

In service of not spoiling things, I don’t want to say anything more, except that this book has left me feeling some major feelings that are quite different than my usual experience at the end of a horror novel. And for me, that is a very good thing.

I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.

Josh Malerman has outdone himself!

This story is about Bela, a little girl whose family turmoil often pushes her into the arms of Other Mother, the creature from her closet. Will Bela let Other Mother into her heart, or will she work with her family to rid themselves of this monster once and for all?

Malerman's mention of Goblin, Michigan, and the characters from some of his other works is reminiscent of Stephen King's Castle Rock character cameos.

Malerman has just done for closets what King did for clowns. I read this in one sitting, because I just couldn’t pry myself away. Unrelenting tension and dread, interrupted only by moments of terror.

This book is utterly terrifying in the very best way! Every time I picked it up a feeling of dread crept into me. Having Bela, a young child, narrate the events in the story creates a unique and unsettling experience for the reader. This is definitely my favorite Josh Malerman book and reminds me a bit of “Half theHouse is Haunted” in his short story collection “Spin a Black Yarn. Highly recommend this book for a spine tingling, shivering and unputdownable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

8 year old Bela has a friend who lives in her closet, whom she calls Other Mommy. Every day Other Mommy asks Bela, "Can I go inside your heart?" Other Mommy wants an answer.

This book was really creepy and very hard to put down. I had to know what crazy thing was going to happen next.

Yup. That did it. I'm sufficiently creeped out. Thanks book, I don't know if I'll be sleeping tonight. Thank you to NetGalley for the early copy.

This book got to me. Got inside me, my brain, my heart. I went in fairly blind and I think that’s the best way to go into this book. It is haunting. It is heart wrenching. It is terrifying to the point of dreading every dark corner, every shadow in the furthest limits of your peripheral vision. The narrator of this book couldn’t have been written any better. I was absolutely mesmerized and captivated. So realistic was this book that I felt I knew the characters, hell, I cared for the characters, but sometimes hated them, but quickly warmed up to them, and so on, and so forth… amazing characterization throughout this one. And the incidents around the house? I won’t soon forget them. Reading them in my brain felt like an incantation to produce a visual of absolutely every detail, as that’s how well written they are. And six little words will forever flash into my brain in moments of peace, because they are burned into my memory from fear and from great waves of sad. I know this would make an excellent film.

Wow! Another home run by Josh Malerman. Incidents Around The House is a creepy and unsettling book that will have you looking over your shoulder and checking your doors, especially those darn closet doors, while you are reading this.

8 year old Bella lives with her mother and father in the perfect home in the perfect middle class neighborhood, in what appears to be the perfect place to bring up a smart, innocent child in the perfect family. But it's it?
Well Mommy and Daddo don't appear to have the perfect marriage that people think they do, and that they show to the world outside while trying to tell themselves it's all good. There are many secrets to be discovered by everyone in the family,and the number one secret is Bela's "imaginary friend" Other Momma.

Other Momma starts off as such a good friend to Bela, being her confidant and making her laugh. But one day Other Momma asks "Can I get inside your heart"? A question that even little Bela understands is one that can't be answered so easily.
What transpires from here on is a terrifying look at the modern family and what goes on behind closed doors while the outside world goes on around them not noticing the cracks that have appeared in their perfect family. And, then, what each person in the family needs to do to keep this family together.

Malerman knows how to keep things moving, keep things seemingly normal, while at the same time,making the hair stand up on the back of your neck, and making you hear things while you are reading that you need to investigate in your own house before you can continue.
This is a short book that keeps you razor focused and leads you on a fun, scary ride! If you think a book can't scare you, or at least make you feel ill at ease, give this a try. It's proper Malerman, extremely well written and yet very easy to read! I really enjoyed this book.

Josh Malerman continues to be my favorite horror author. Everything he writes is absolutely terrifying, I still can’t get the description of other mother hiding in the little girl’s closet (premise of the story) or the last page of the book out of my head. Still within all this tense uncertainty, there is so much heart.

This book had a really strong, scary spooky start that hooked me in immediately. After a while, it just turned into a lot of driving around and life lessons from the parents and other adults in the story. I started to lose interest and then the ending was abrupt after so much ongoing storyline.

Well. This book was amazing. Other Mommy was so creepy. I actually texted a friend who read this a couple of weeks ago that I had to stop reading the book at night cause I would get scared anytime I heard a sound. The point of view from Bela's point of view was so unique and interesting. Reading her inner dialogue about everything happening was so fascinating and at times I would be like awhhh poor sweet girl. I hated the mom but Daddo was a great father. I loved every minute of it and will always be a Malerman fan. Everything he writes is just pure gold. Will be recommending this to all my friends! Thank you for the digital copy!