ARC Review - Publish Date September 26, 2023
Author: Lisa M. Matlin
Series: Stand Alone
Category: Thriller
Spice: 🌶️
"Most people sweep monsters under the bed. I pull the covers back and let them crawl in." - Sarah
Reading The Stranger Upstairs was like watching a slow-moving train wreck of destruction - oh how I wanted to look away but I was fascinated by the flames! Black Wood House was the perfect creepy setting for the plot, with the added delight of a town deeply set in its ways and steeped in old money.
Sarah may be the most morally corrupt main character I've read in quite a while. Her narcissism and foulness were downright captivating. She held my attention from page one and the more I learned about her past, the more I questioned who I was rooting for in the end, Sarah? Or the house?
"Truthfully, I wanted Black Wood House the second I saw it. When I want something, it consumes me. My wants have always straddled the unhealthy-obsession line." - Sarah
Joe was a hard character to understand, especially because we only saw him through Sarah's eyes which were unreliable at best. Their relationship was rocky from the start and it doesn't look like anyone is innocent in their marriage.
"People wonder why we're together. Joe, the nerdy bartender. And me, the Instagram whore. But the truth is that, underneath all Joe's beauty, he's every bit as ugly as me. I love him for that. Trust me, my husband is not so perfect. He has more secrets to hide than I do." - Sarah
Social media and its role in self-esteem added a deeper layer to the plot that I wasn't expecting. Sarah was admittedly dependent on validation from strangers to justify her self-worth and normalcy. Her character stands as a stark warning sign that we never truly know the true lies that hide behind curated content.
"I love the little likes, heart emojis, and congratulations. I feed off that puerile bullshit. Without it, I starve." - Sarah
None of the characters in the book seemed to be able to move on from their past mistakes. They all were so wrapped up in the past that they continued to dig their own graves until they dropped right in.
Lisa M. Matlin proved herself to be an enchanting storyteller. Despite her awfulness, even I found myself flip-flopping between feeling sorry for Sarah and wishing she got what she deserved, holding my breath to the end. There were so many twists and unsettling turns, I was always questioning what was fact or fiction.
I’m still not sure what to think about Black Wood House, the town of Beacon, or especially Sarah herself. Who was the stranger upstairs? Did Black Wood drive Sarah to madness or was she in the grips of insanity all along? Grab this book as soon as it comes out, you won't be disappointed.
"I don't know how to tell him the truth, because it's strange even to me. I didn't choose that room. It chose me. Just like the house." - Sarah
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Tropes: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Small Town.
Blurb
Most people wouldn’t buy an infamous murder house to renovate for fun.
But Sarah Slade is not most people.
A therapist and self-help writer with all the answers, Sarah has just bought a gorgeous Victorian in the community of her dreams. Turns out, you can get a killer deal on a house where someone was murdered. Plus, renovating Black Wood House makes for great blog content and a decent distraction from her failing marriage. Good thing nobody knows that her past is just as filthy as the bloodstain on her bedroom floor.
But the renovations are fast becoming a nightmare. Sarah imagined custom avocado wallpaper, massive profits, and an appreciative husband who wants to share her bed again. Instead, the neighbors hate her guts and her husband still sleeps on the couch. And though the builders attempt to cover up Black Wood’s horrifying past, a series of bizarre accidents, threatening notes, and unexplained footsteps in the attic only confirms for Sarah what the rest of the town already knew: Something is very wrong in that house.
With every passing moment, Sarah’s life spirals further out of control—and with it, her sense of reality. But as she peels back the curling wallpaper and discovers the house’s secrets, she realizes that the deadly legacy of Black Wood House has only just begun.
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