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A review by justinkhchen
The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin
4.0
A relentless page-turner, The Stranger Upstairs doesn't break new ground, but the packages as a whole offers countless deranged thriller fun, making it an excellent binge read—just remember to leave your thinking hat out of this one.
The female protagonist of The Stranger Upstairs is such a chaotic mess, author Lisa Matlin does an excellent job introducing this anti-heroine; the amount of red herrings revealed about her in the first couple chapters have me fully hooked—it is this character's nastiness that brings me majority of the reading dopamine—a train wreck one simply can't look away. If you're looking for twists, The Stranger Upstairs definitely packs them—certain sections give me The Last House on Needless Street vibe (but way less somber and more camp); even though my reaction to the ultimate reveal was an immediate 'WTF', and felt like it was a complete cop-out, the sinister epilogue did salvage the situation somewhat. I also don't think many of its narrative choices would hold up under scrutiny, so it is definitely one of those 'just live in the moment' type of storytelling.
The absence of expectation plays a critical role in elevating my experience with The Stranger Upstairs, I was pleasantly surprised by the emotionally-raw writing, and the onslaught of visceral moments in this debut (the author's notes proves it further—I can see how this was quite a cathartic project for her). The tropes and scenarios are by no means original, and I wouldn't label this as a story with depth, but the thrill is delivered with such a punch, that it remains a great time nevertheless.
**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**
The female protagonist of The Stranger Upstairs is such a chaotic mess, author Lisa Matlin does an excellent job introducing this anti-heroine; the amount of red herrings revealed about her in the first couple chapters have me fully hooked—it is this character's nastiness that brings me majority of the reading dopamine—a train wreck one simply can't look away. If you're looking for twists, The Stranger Upstairs definitely packs them—certain sections give me The Last House on Needless Street vibe (but way less somber and more camp); even though my reaction to the ultimate reveal was an immediate 'WTF', and felt like it was a complete cop-out, the sinister epilogue did salvage the situation somewhat. I also don't think many of its narrative choices would hold up under scrutiny, so it is definitely one of those 'just live in the moment' type of storytelling.
The absence of expectation plays a critical role in elevating my experience with The Stranger Upstairs, I was pleasantly surprised by the emotionally-raw writing, and the onslaught of visceral moments in this debut (the author's notes proves it further—I can see how this was quite a cathartic project for her). The tropes and scenarios are by no means original, and I wouldn't label this as a story with depth, but the thrill is delivered with such a punch, that it remains a great time nevertheless.
**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**