Wow. This was a quick, creepy read. I absolutely could not put it down and if it were to be optioned for a film it would be terrifying! It was interesting reading from Bela's young point of view. Definitely made things seem scarier when you are reading through a child's eyes.

Definitely recommend checking this out when it's released. Will be one to buy for my collection.

This book had me freaked out from the beginning. Something living in the closet that comes out and talks to a child, keeps wanting to “be let into her heart”. I find the fact that the pov was that of a child made it even more disturbing. We see videos and hear stories of kids talking to people no one else sees and it’s always shrugged off at spooky but nothing. This books is a prime example of what it is when it’s not nothing. Josh Malerman has a knack for writing books that make you sit on the edge of you seat, and this book was no different. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this arc I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Wow! I have not been this thoroughly creeped out by a book in a while. I made the “mistake” of reading this at night, in the dark, on my kindle and had to make myself not think about other mommy while trying to go to sleep because I was frightened! There were some long monologues from different characters that dragged on and lost my interest at times. And it took a bit of adjustment to get into the voice of a young child but once I did it really added to the store and the creepy factor. Really enjoyed this story and would definitely recommend!

Big thanks to NetGalley and Random House for this amazing ARC!
Incidents Around the House began with a bang and had me hooked within the first couple of pages. I told a friend of mine who had just finished an ARC copy of this himself, “Well, Malerman got off to a creepy start!” And his reply was “And it doesn’t let up!” He was so right. I couldn’t put this down; I read it in two days. Two days! I don’t read books in two days! The characters were well-developed and flawed, just like I like them. And being a child of the 1980s, the character Lois Anderson looked just like Beatrice Straight from Poltergeist in my mind’s eye. The pacing was good and the tension was palpable and ever-present throughout the book. The concept of being “followed” by (insert spooky entity of choice here) has always been terrifying to me. This story grabs this concept and runs with it. Fantastic creep-factor and without spoiling anything, middle-of-the-night bathroom trips will never be the same for me. And if I ever see any skinny, hairy dogs from a distance on the beach, I’m out of there.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. This book was terrifying! It made me put on my lamp more than once to look in my closet!

This was a unique take on a haunted house/demonic possession book because it was told from the child's point of view which made in more terrifying because of the innocence of the character.

The only thing that bothered me were the parents. They were the worst but that's part of the storyline!

I recommend for a quick, spooky read. Good luck sleeping after reading this one!

I could have finished this book last night, but I had to stop because it was late at night and it was scaring the fu … uh, crap out of me. I actually did a marathon read of the remainder this morning so that I wouldn't have to read it past bedtime again. So, yeah, I guess that's pretty high praise for a horror novel? And I'm not one who usually gets super freaked out over what I read, either. It's kind of like an adult version of Coraline, except way, way scarier.

Honestly, I started out thinking that I wasn't going to like this book much. I'm not generally a huge fan of novels narrated by young children, and the narration this one just seemed extra juvenile. There's also no quotation marks around the dialogue, which is something that normally drives me bonkers. By the time I was several chapters in, however, I was completely hooked. There's just something so very, very creepy about a child casually talking about such utterly terrifying events. And somehow the lack of quotation marks just adds to the creepiness of it? I have no idea why, but it does.

And this book is definitely terrifying. I'm a middle-aged adult woman and I couldn't handle reading it in the dark. I know I've already compared it to Coraline, but it could probably be more accurately described as Coraline meets Paranormal Activity. There are short bouts of terror followed by lots of panicked “Oh, shit, what was that and what do we do about it?” And Other Mommy is just so freaking creepy – she makes the demon from Paranormal Activity look like a fluffy (but admittedly menacing) kitten.

I have to say, though, that I did kind of see the ending coming. I mean, not the exact circumstances, of course, but the last few pages of this story weren't exactly a huge surprise. That's not to say that they weren't scary, because they were. I just think it's the only way that this book could have ended, really.

My overall rating: 4.8 stars, rounded up. Incidents Around the House is perhaps one of the scariest horror novels I've read since Stephen King's The Tommyknockers in the late 80s.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.

What does scary mean to you? Is it gore, is it a phobia, is it something concocted in the depths of your psyche, to try and translate words into a mental visual?

Josh Malerman, with his newest novel Incidents Around the House, does his best to show us what he thinks is scary, and without spoiling anything, he’s crafted one of the most genuinely unsettling novels I’ve read in recent memory. Tackling a novel from the perspective of a child is a bold strategy, as seen with the polarizing Room by Emma Donoghue, a book that was brought down by an insufferable 5 year old narrator. With this novel, Malerman utilizes the experiences and life from the perspective of a slightly older girl, by the name of Bela. What is it that Bela lets us readers in on? Just a little secret that she’s being visited by an “entity” known solely as “Other Mommy,” who simply wants to know if Bela will let her into her heart.

Only, before long, it’s not just Bela that finds herself haunted, it’s those around Bela. Malerman, in creating Other Mommy, has done what few are capable of doing in mainstream horror, and that’s taking something as simple as an unwanted entity and making every occurrence a genuine horror show, from his descriptions of her appearance, to her actions, to the very places she ends up making an appearance. He allows our imaginations to run wild with thoughts of how Other Mommy looks, how we would approach situations that occur in the book, questions of innocence and evil, a veritable bevy of emotions that flow from the reader as the book gets more and more intense the longer it goes. And by the end of it, as readers, we are jumping at every creak, every sound that seems out of place, uneasy just based on this fictional entity because Malerman has given us this horror from the perspective of an innocent child, who tells us, in real time, how her life, and the lives of her family, are changing with this invasion.

It’s rare that a horror novel can prove to be unsettling to the point of genuine terror at times, what with everyday horrors experienced and the sheer volume of horror novels published up to this point. But, in brilliant fashion, Josh Malerman, with Incidents Around the House, has shown that an idea doesn’t have to be new or never experienced to be scary: it just needs to be done the right way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC of Incidents Around the House!

Definitely a 4.5 for me!! This book gripped me from the start and never let go! The story is told from a child’s POV, which at times is hard to follow, but other times it's so terrifyingly good! I had to read with the lights on, as Other Mommy scared the beejezus out of me! Definite must read for spooky fans! Think haunting/demonic possession meets child narrator! So good!

Thank you Net Gallry for this ARC!

I’m afraid I might say yes.

I’m afraid that one day I’ll be reading a book by Josh Malerman and the words on the page will be interrupted by a voice asking me

“Can I come into your heart?”

I’m afraid I’ll say yes.

Afraid.

After all, that’s where they live. Why not let them in when they ask? They’ll only come a knockin’ again and again, knocking so many times they wear down the surface until eventually a crack becomes a tear becomes a hole becomes an entrance. 

There’s no keeping stories out. Our hearts are their homes. 

Is that good? Or, bad?

Who’s to say?

But

It’s how it is, how it’s always been, and how it always will be. 

Stories help us survive. They make us stronger and, hopefully, kinder. And there’s none more important than holding onto kindness and giving it, freely, to others, to the world. 

Malerman, again and again and again, shows us the love amidst the horror.

Incidents Around the House is a story about the incidents around all our houses and in all our homes. 

It’s sometimes scary, sometimes anxious, sometimes panicked, sometimes fearful, sometimes horrified, and sometimes beautiful and full of wondrous love and kindness. 

And so I let it into my heart, where it can freely stay.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the advanced copy of Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman. Bella is a young girl who is visited by a ghost/creature who says her name is Other Mommy and that she wants Bella to reincarnate her. When I started the book it intrigued me and I wanted to read more. It was a bit repetitive in the middle and the ending fell flat to me. Having the story told from the child’s perspective was great and made the story much scarier.

This book was absolutely batshit crazy. Your standard haunted house/demonic possession book but told from the child's point of view. I was terrified the entire time.

The only reason I didn't rate higher was the child's parents drove me insane. They were the worst and I honestly didn't care if they survived.

I recommend for a quick, spooky read👹

Read if you love:
✔️Haunted house/possession
✔️A child's POV
✔️Paranormal Activity vibes
✔️Creepy creepy horrible things
✔️"Other Mommy"

This. THIS is the standard that every horror novel should follow. This is EXACTLY what I would want and expect a horror novel to be. Because horror novels this scary is an anomaly rather than the norm, I want to give this book to everyone who writes/wants to write horror novels and say, THIS IS THE STANDARD THAT WE WANT! MORE BOOKS LIKE THIS PLEASE!

I don’t think I have ever had this much fun reading a horror novel, consistently from start to end. Sure, I’ve read horror that’s been ehhhh at the beginning and middle but was unputdownable at the end. But never before have I read a horror novel that was consistently scary and unputdownable from page one. I can’t get over how good this was.

This book reads almost like a movie. To me, watching a horror movie feels really different from reading a horror novel. And can we all agree that horror movies are always scarier than horror novels? With this, you know you’re reading a book but it feels the same way you feel when you’re watching a horror movie. This is the closest to the same level of scary from a horror movie that I have ever read in a book.

Having this book be narrated by a child is genius. Because of that change, I’ve never read a horror novel like this one. It adds a layer of innocence to a terrifying situation, where the reader can see that things are very much not okay, but the childlike innocence of Bela makes her so nonchalant about all of the terrifying things that happen. This child sees the other mother poke her eye through a hole in the ceiling to stare at her, then goes into her room right after, where she knows the other mother is waiting. Bela also mentions how before it started to get creepy, she used to play fun games with the other mom, such as “staring contests”. Yes, an entity with eyes at the bottom of its face having a staring contest with you sounds like great fun. Oh the innocence of children.

“Weren’t we friends before? I think we used to laugh together. But now I don’t know if I’m remembering that right. Maybe it was just me who used to laugh. And Other Mommy just watched.”

Another thing I love is that this takes place is the same universe as Malerman’s other books. They even visit Goblin and a small part of the story takes place there!

This comes out in June. Plan to get your book club together and read it together! I always prefer reading on my own, but I prefer watching horror movies with a friend or two. Since this book is the closest standard of scares to an actual horror movie that any book has ever met, this book would be perfect for a group reading it together during a cozy evening get together or sleepover. Also, I’m gonna need a follow up or epilogue to this. Surely it can’t just end like that?

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

Wow. This book was absolutely wild and creepy. A haunted house/demon possession story told from a child's perspective was a terrifying way to go. I found the writing style was a bit difficult to read at first but it got easier to understand. This one didn't blow me away but it was a fun, creepy read,

I devoured this book. It had me hooked from the beginning. The story was creepy and the author brought to life the fear and helplessness of the family as they struggled to rid their lives of the monster. The child’s POV was well done and it made for a fast read. I was disappointed in the ending although I expected, but still was hoping for something else. Thank you NetGalley.

It has been a long time since I've been legitimately scared while reading a book, but this novel definitely had me spooked multiple times. So, so good.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-copy.

4.5/5 Incidents Around The House

Bela has a friend, her "Other Mother" who lives in her closet, makes her laugh, and says she can fix Bela's parents' tumultuous relationship - but Other Mother wants more than friendship, she wants it all. She wants INSIDE of Bela's heart.

This book had some legitimately terrifying moments where I found myself reading in the dark having to turn on my lamp just so I could see things in the corner of my room. This author owes me a nightlight because I'm not sleeping in complete darkness for at least a week.

I don't usually like to read stories from a child's perspective. The writing tends to be awkward and clunky when adult writers try to write in a child's tone of voice, but Josh Malerman did an excellent job. The vocabulary wasn't too childish, which I appreciated, and we got enough dialogue from the adults in and around Bela's life that the story remained fairly grounded and easy to follow.

Overall, I highly recommend Incidents Around The House and will be looking forward to picking up a physical copy upon its release.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers, Random House and Del Rey, for allowing me to read an ARC copy of this novel before its publication date.

I absolutely loved this book! The author was spot on with the innocence of the child. The entity is creepy as hell. Another great one from a horror master. Thanks netgalley and the author.

Thank you Netgalley. This book was creepy excellence!! I will admit it tooke a few chapters to get into the writing style but once I did...WOW!! I have never been scared by a book l, until now. Highly recommend!!

Thank you for the opportunity to preview incidents Around The House. Josh Mallerman is a master of horror. He writes books that truly scare you. This new novel was so scary and I could not stop reading this book.
Bela is a young girl who lives with her parents. Mommy and Daddo love her and she loves them. Bela has a secret. She has ‘Other Mommy’ who lives in her closet. Other Mommy is Bella’s friend. They talk and share stories. At least Bela does. But lately Other Mommy asks Bela a question and it is the same question over and over.
She asks Bela - can I go in your heart? And Bela says no time and again. But things are changing and soon Other Mommy is getting impatient.
And now Bela is really scared.
5 stars. This is a good one!!!!!

This is the SCARIEST book I have ever read, I did not think it was possible to be this scared by a book. I did not want to put it down, but had to so I could sleep at night. Quick chapters, great relatable characters, and very atmospheric. Perfect book if you want to have nightmares.