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A review by adriannasophiabookss
The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin
4.0
This was one of my most anticipated reads for October 2023 and is also this month’s pick for The Book Troop book club hosted by Gabbyreads on YouTube so I was excited to dive in.
This is a horror/thriller/mystery following Sarah, an instagram influencer who has bought a murder house with her distant husband and plans on renovating it to then sell. Back in the 80’s Bill Campbell killed his wife with a hammer, attempted to kill their seventeen year old daughter and then killed himself in the bathroom. Soon after Sarah moves in bizarre incidents start occurring and none of the neighbours will talk to her. Does Black Wood house really make people crazy?
So this has had very mixed reviews from people I follow but I personally really enjoyed it. Sarah was extremely unlikeable but in a fun way and her personality made her all the more unreliable as a narrator. This book gave me Riley Sager vibes in the sense that throughout the book you’re wondering if the things happening to Sarah are indeed supernatural or if they have a rational explanation. There was a decent amount of suspense and I read this book in 2 sittings.
The only reason this wasn’t a five star for me was I felt that some things weren’t entirely wrapped up. Like what happened to Janet? Is the house actually haunted? Etc. Apart from that this was a good creepy read for the Halloween season!
This is a horror/thriller/mystery following Sarah, an instagram influencer who has bought a murder house with her distant husband and plans on renovating it to then sell. Back in the 80’s Bill Campbell killed his wife with a hammer, attempted to kill their seventeen year old daughter and then killed himself in the bathroom. Soon after Sarah moves in bizarre incidents start occurring and none of the neighbours will talk to her. Does Black Wood house really make people crazy?
So this has had very mixed reviews from people I follow but I personally really enjoyed it. Sarah was extremely unlikeable but in a fun way and her personality made her all the more unreliable as a narrator. This book gave me Riley Sager vibes in the sense that throughout the book you’re wondering if the things happening to Sarah are indeed supernatural or if they have a rational explanation. There was a decent amount of suspense and I read this book in 2 sittings.
The only reason this wasn’t a five star for me was I felt that some things weren’t entirely wrapped up. Like what happened to Janet? Is the house actually haunted? Etc. Apart from that this was a good creepy read for the Halloween season!