Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Stranger Upstairs: A Novel

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Stranger Upstairs: A Novel by Lisa M. Matlin

54 reviews

cyndi1966's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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kbeucler's review against another edition

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2.5

This was my Book of the Month for September and I must say I was disappointed. I’m in general not much of a thriller reader but I thought I’d try it. It sounded spooky and fun for autumn. It was not really that spooky and not really fun. I also wouldn’t say I found myself ‘thrilled.’ Sarah Slade and her husband move into a spooky murder house with the intention of fixing it up and selling it. But Sarah’s Instagram perfect life isn’t perfect IRL. Her marriage is failing and it seems like the house doesn’t want to be fixed. The main character is really unlikable, and while I don’t think that’s a problem in and of itself (see June from Yellowface above), I didn’t find the main character compelling in any way. I didn’t care if she lived or died. I didn’t care if anyone in the story lived or died (except for the cat! I was concerned when the cat almost died). One more complaint which is a spoiler:

I also didn’t feel like Matlin actually decided what the deal with the house was. Was the house actually alive and driving people crazy? Or was it just carbon monoxide poisoning? Instead of the ending feeling ambiguous and open for the reader, it just felt like Matlin didn’t make a decision.

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katyannreads's review against another edition

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4.0

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star_maps's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I had seen people talking about this book, and I decided to pick it up as one of my Book of the Month selections.
"The Stranger Upstairs" is a haunted house story that follows Sarah Slade. Looking for a fresh start, Sarah and her husband buy the infamous Black Wood House, a home in which a grizzly murder-suicide took place decades before. None of the neighbors seem to want the Saldes there, and the house also seems to be resisting them. But Sarah is determined to make this investment work. Unfortunately, something sinister is interfering with her plans, and she might not actually make it out alive.
I was slightly disappointed in this story. At the beginning I was really hooked, and I was invested in Sarah's story as well as what was happening in the house. However, as the story progressed, and more was revealed, I got bored with the story. I did ultimately appreciate the ending, but it was not an impressive enough twist for me that it completely saved my reading experience.

Sarah is a morally gray, very complex character that I found to be quite interesting to read from. I think from very early on it is evident that there is something off about her, but as the story progressed it was wild to see just how unstable she really was. She went from being arrogantly annoying to concerningly detached from reality. One thing I did not understand about her character was the fact that she was a social media influencer. She set out to document her renovation process online, as well as share bits about her life, but she did not really keep up with it in the book. I think with the plot twist of her "slipping into other people's skins" it makes sense that she would want the validation from people online, and this idea of her being an influencer could have been a really interesting plot point. Unfortunately, she has a fulltime job as a therapist that we hear far more about.
The ultimate reveal that the house was emitting carbon monoxide was really clever and very well done. I did not see that coming until right before it was revealed to us. Sarah's descent into madness and symptoms from the carbon monoxide poisoning were so easily explained by other things in her life.
The idea that the house is actually haunted was a little under whelming and I felt like it was not fleshed out enough to be a plausible excuse for what was happening. This could have been a really interesting twist to the story, that the house is poisoning its residents because it does not want new owners, but the author did not do enough with it. All that is really touched upon is that when people enter the house, they feel that the house does not want them there.

Overall, this was a fine book, and I would recommend reading it during spooky season. I do think it is executed amateurly, but I am still interested to see what Lisa M. Matlin writes next.

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d0505's review against another edition

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dark 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

2.25

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walenchao's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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beckyremillard's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-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

Content Warnings

tspice24's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

book2kel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

if you love a book that causes you to constantly make predictions, I think you’ll enjoy this one!

My book theme for this October is anything that involves a haunted house. This was my BOTM for September so It obviously made the list. I’m currently on Pg.183 and making my way through the last 100. so far i’ll say this has been an enjoyably fast past read and has kept me entertained all day. I did find the main character a annoying and It’s not as spooky as I’d hoped it would be when diving in (so the “haunted”house theme took the back burner with this *for me*). I made an annotation in the beginning of the book that stated and I quote “not here for the marriage problems (don’t care) only the haunted house” but the mystery around Sarah, the house, (and its occupants) has kept me reading and guessing (I found myself having so many different “OMG! I got it! It’s ___,” moments. The constant mentioning of the birds (not wallpaper) felt out of place at times every time they’ve been mentioned I’ve been like “okay…”

(Cont.) finished the book and really enjoyed the last 50-85 pages.

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