This review will be posted to FanFiAddict.com’s FearForAll section closer to publication day (aiming for the week of June 17-21 unless a sooner time is preferred). A link to this review can be shared once live on the site.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and DelRey for the eARC!

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman is hands down the most terrifying piece of horror literature that I’ve managed to come across. To say what makes this story just so utterly petrifying is a hard topic to cover succinctly because so many topics, tropes, and themes are explored so perfectly. Malerman has always written things that strike a chord, but Incidents takes the cake.

Through Bela’s perspective, we learn she is being haunted by “Other Mommy,” an entity that looks a bit like a woman with a face that’s not quite right. She calls Bela’s closet home at the start of the book in which events escalate proving there are no confines for Other Mommy. This is one way Malerman creates this greater feeling of existential dread; there is no escape. Futhermore, Other Mommy isn’t afraid to show herself to adults. I find horror tropes tend to heavily rely on the mistrust of adults and children by having adults question and deny what their child is reportedly seeing or experiencing. Malerman takes a different path here also upping the ante given that Bela’s parents have seen Other Mommy. They understand the threat is all too real. And perhaps most frighteningly of all, no one knows how to keep Other Mommy away from Bela. As a child, what’s more terrifying than a problem your parents or even grandparents don’t know how to handle?

Of course there are scenes that are crafted so masterfully under Malerman’s hand that true jump scares are created. The pressure doesn’t ever really seem to let up since Bela is always seemingly accessible to Other Mommy. Her tell-tale signs of being close, her smell and the creaks of the spaces she occupies, are written in such a way that immense suspense and tension are impossible to ignore. My nerves have never been more strung-out than when awaiting where Other Mommy would appear next.

What really solidifies this story as the epitome of horror is the matters of the heart. Malerman broaches the topics of childhood, lost innocence, and protecting your heart. Bela’s understanding of the world is limited due to her experiences and being a young child. This is what makes her so appealing to Other Mommy in theory, yet we end up learning much more about Bela’s parents in the face of this threat. The last few pages hold some of the most interesting prose regarding what it means to grow as a person only to be followed by one last clash of horror.

It’s safe to say Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman will soon become a modern fixture in the world of horror fiction. He plays just the right notes at the right times to create tunes of utter terror and chaos giving way to the softer sounds of matters concerning the heart and childhood. This is a complex story that mirrors what it means to grow up, to accept the world around you and what it means to guard your own heart.

Incidents Around the House is Josh Malerman’s next Bird Box; a wholly original, spine-chilling horror story that oozes dread on every page. Its Insidious meets The Babadook in ways only Josh can masterfully construe. Just make sure you check the edge of your bed before you fall asleep. Early candidate for Best Horror Novel of 2024. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an ARC copy of Incidents Around the House.

THIS WAS CREEPY AF AND I LOVED IT. I did not want to put this book down and when I did I was still thinking about it. It was a great combination of pure horror but also some dark, heavy, make-you-think content. My only complaint would be the name of the book, it just doesn't feel like it fits the story. I think "Other Mommy" would have been more fitting.

5 stars from someone who is picky about horror!!

I devoured this book. I say this with every book that I read by Josh Malerman, but his books have heart and I think that is one of the reasons that they are so scary. Because you can feel the character's emotions and you can feel the terror and dread build and build. INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE is no exception - it's terrifying and yet there is so much to learn from Bela. I loved this book, but it is no surprise because Josh Malerman is one of the greats but there is something especially scary, unnerving, and moving about INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE. I still think about DAPHNE and what that book meant to me and my anxieties and I will still think about INCIDENTS too. A must read for any horror lover.