Title: “The Stranger Upstairs”

Author: Lisa M. Matlin

Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Horror

Publication Date: September 26, 2023

Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)

“The Stranger Upstairs,” a debut novel by author Lisa M. Matlin gave me Riley Sager and Grady Hendrix vibes (in a good way) early on. It is the story of a woman who buys a murder house along with her reluctant husband in the hopes of using the planned renovation to monetize her social media accounts and blog once more. 

Sarah Slade is clearly an unreliable narrator, which makes the story all the more interesting. Her marriage is failing, her therapy business is far from thriving, and she is struggling to write a follow-up to her bestselling self-help book. The Black Wood House, where a man murdered his wife and attempted to kill his teenager daughter decades before, takes on a life of its own as soon as Sarah moves in. The house is as much a main character in the story as Sarah herself, and the story is spooky without using a lot of the horror tropes so often seen in writing by new authors hoping to break into the genre. 

There is just the right amount of mystery, dread, and suspense built throughout the story to make you care what is happening, who (or what) is behind all of the strange things occurring in this wealthy Australian suburb, and how it will all turn out. The flashes forward in time to blog posts and news stories added to the desire to figure out what was going on, rather than detracting from the story by giving too much away up front to keep readers interested. 

I read all of “The Stranger Upstairs” in one day, and am excited to see what Lisa M. Matlin comes up with next. If you are a fan of horror, mystery, and suspense, I highly recommend you grab a copy of this one when it is released in September!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.