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bookly68's review against another edition
5.0
What an eerie, scary and sad story. I really didn’t care for the characters, but the story grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. It is definitely a thriller with surprises, horrors and it’s hard to put down!!!
kwib13's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
susan_s's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
treytreyy's review against another edition
3.0
Sarah is a social media influencer who buys a murder house to fix up. She wants to use the house for social media engagement and hopes to turn a large profit after it’s renovated. From the beginning, there are creepy spooky gothic vibes all around.
There is pushback from the community over her buying the house, unexplained things start to happen, her husband is always absent, she receives mysterious notes, and secrets start to slowly unravel.
This was a fun haunted house story. It was well paced with a good ending.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam for an eArc in exchange for an honest review.
There is pushback from the community over her buying the house, unexplained things start to happen, her husband is always absent, she receives mysterious notes, and secrets start to slowly unravel.
This was a fun haunted house story. It was well paced with a good ending.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam for an eArc in exchange for an honest review.
ajstat's review against another edition
3.0
I just finally read this book
I did like there were some plot twists, however they felt more like plot holes.
Given that this book is a debut I’m rounding it up a star.
.5 for having a cat
Speaking of the cat was my favorite character
There was definitely 4 star potential, however character relationships and background didn’t feel very developed to me. There was a lot of important details missing by leaving the background out and some other major details
If you are looking for a fast but slightly frustrating psych/mystery thrilller with a semi-gothic house than I suggest diving in.
3.25
Thanks NetGalley!
I did like there were some plot twists, however they felt more like plot holes.
Given that this book is a debut I’m rounding it up a star.
.5 for having a cat
Speaking of the cat was my favorite character
There was definitely 4 star potential, however character relationships and background didn’t feel very developed to me. There was a lot of important details missing by leaving the background out and some other major details
If you are looking for a fast but slightly frustrating psych/mystery thrilller with a semi-gothic house than I suggest diving in.
3.25
Thanks NetGalley!
mcpingeton's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicide and Violence
jenpaul13's review against another edition
3.0
A couple with a secret past binding them together buys a murder house to renovate but as they make their attempts the house seems to be fighting them, when they aren’t fighting themselves, in The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Starting over isn’t unfamiliar to Sarah Slade, but this time as the social media influencer and therapist begins renovations on an infamous murder house, Black Wood House, she’s posting updates on her lifestyle blog so there’s greater scrutiny on the façade of a life she’s built to hide her secrets, including the deterioration of her marriage. With hopes that fixing up the house to make a tidy profit may help improve things between her and her reserved husband Joe, Sarah’s stress and anxiety levels ratchet up, making it easier to attribute some strange things happening in the house to that, but as sounds, like footsteps in the attic, suddenly slamming doors, and mysteriously menacing notes appear, Sarah is convinced that someone in the tightly knit community of Beacon is trying to intimidate her to leave. When Sarah tries to get to the bottom of who could be harassing her, she uncovers the mystery of Amanda, the woman who purchased the house before her who disappeared, sending her in a spiral that she could be next, especially if the truth about her were revealed.
With a house presented as an intriguingly ominous and haunting entity, the scenes that take place within the confines of those walls have an eerie feel to them to drive readers to question just what the reality of the situation unfolding is. While there were unnerving things happening in the house to build up suspense within the narrative the pace moved slowly until events reached a sudden boiling point and began to happen in a quickfire manner; the secret binding Sarah and Joe together, while terrible, was built up to be much more dire, causing the truth of it to feel overblown, especially with Joe’s lack of presence during the story. Sarah is yet another depiction of a woman with mental illness struggling to cope while using alcohol and being presented as unreliable as a result, which is disappointing because her mimicking ability and tendency was fascinating but generally underutilized and could have helped to set her character apart from others of her ilk in such a familiar story. Though the inclusion of blog posts and new stories varied the format of the text, there was a lack of emphasis on the touted social media element of Sarah’s character and the insertion of another character’s perspective for a couple chapters, though providing a level of rationality to balance the delusions seizing Sarah, felt disjointed in their incorporation, taking away from focus on how Sarah’s mental state changed.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Starting over isn’t unfamiliar to Sarah Slade, but this time as the social media influencer and therapist begins renovations on an infamous murder house, Black Wood House, she’s posting updates on her lifestyle blog so there’s greater scrutiny on the façade of a life she’s built to hide her secrets, including the deterioration of her marriage. With hopes that fixing up the house to make a tidy profit may help improve things between her and her reserved husband Joe, Sarah’s stress and anxiety levels ratchet up, making it easier to attribute some strange things happening in the house to that, but as sounds, like footsteps in the attic, suddenly slamming doors, and mysteriously menacing notes appear, Sarah is convinced that someone in the tightly knit community of Beacon is trying to intimidate her to leave. When Sarah tries to get to the bottom of who could be harassing her, she uncovers the mystery of Amanda, the woman who purchased the house before her who disappeared, sending her in a spiral that she could be next, especially if the truth about her were revealed.
With a house presented as an intriguingly ominous and haunting entity, the scenes that take place within the confines of those walls have an eerie feel to them to drive readers to question just what the reality of the situation unfolding is. While there were unnerving things happening in the house to build up suspense within the narrative the pace moved slowly until events reached a sudden boiling point and began to happen in a quickfire manner; the secret binding Sarah and Joe together, while terrible, was built up to be much more dire, causing the truth of it to feel overblown, especially with Joe’s lack of presence during the story. Sarah is yet another depiction of a woman with mental illness struggling to cope while using alcohol and being presented as unreliable as a result, which is disappointing because her mimicking ability and tendency was fascinating but generally underutilized and could have helped to set her character apart from others of her ilk in such a familiar story. Though the inclusion of blog posts and new stories varied the format of the text, there was a lack of emphasis on the touted social media element of Sarah’s character and the insertion of another character’s perspective for a couple chapters, though providing a level of rationality to balance the delusions seizing Sarah, felt disjointed in their incorporation, taking away from focus on how Sarah’s mental state changed.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
lorig_lpc's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
*spoilers ahead* I really enjoyed this and was hooked. Until the end. I definitely felt Sarah/Lizzy had something more than carbon dioxide poisoning going on, and while she clearly has MH issues, I felt they were mishandled in some way. She goes on to take on yet someone else’s personality and the “resolution” mentioned in the author’s note never happens for Sarah/Lizzy; the protagonist felt like her own antagonist in a very uncomfortable way. Or maybe I’m just bitter my prediction was wrong. I also felt the epilogue could have been cut. I was a strong 5 but the ending + epilogue got a serious downgrade.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, and Suicide
nnendi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0