A social media influencer with a secret past buys a murder house to renovate, but finds more than she bargained for behind the peeling wallpaper in this gothic psychological debut.
Sarah Slade is starting over. As the new owner of the infamous Black Wood House—the scene of a grisly murder-suicide—she’s determined that the fixer-upper will help reach a new audience on her successful lifestyle blog, and distract her from her failing marriage.
But as Sarah paints over the house’s horrifying past, she knows better than anyone that a new façade can’t conceal every secret. Then the builders start acting erratically and experiencing bizarre accidents—and Sarah knows there’s only so long she can continue to sleep in the bedroom with the bloodstained floor and suffer the mysterious footsteps she hears from the attic.
When menacing notes start appearing everywhere, Sarah becomes convinced that someone or something is out to kill her—her husband, her neighbors, maybe even the house itself. The more she remodels Black Wood House, the angrier it seems to become.
With every passing moment, Sarah’s life spirals further out of control—and with it, her sense of reality. Though she desperately clings to the lies she’s crafted to conceal her own secrets, Sarah Slade must wonder . . . was it all worth it? Or will this house be her final unraveling?
THE STRANGER UPSTAIRS
Lisa M Matlin
Welcome to Black Wood House!
Black Wood House is a murder house and social media influencer and blogger Sarah Slade has just bought it for way too much money. She has unknowingly bought a nightmare and renovating it will cost much more than she has and much more than she bargained for.
Sarah is a therapist with a few issues of her own. Her marriage might be over. And she might have just landed herself in the middle of a decades-old murder mystery.
What else can she take? Read the book to see.
I liked this one enough. It was right in the middle of the road for me. I appreciated the concept but felt it had been done before and done better.
The storyline followed a well-known path and there weren’t a lot of surprises. If you’re new to the thriller genre or the concept of a murder house then I do recommend this one. Otherwise, I could safely say this one is skippable.
Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Random House Audio, and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, and Bantam for the advanced copies!
THE STRANGER UPSTAIRS…⭐️⭐️⭐️
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