Lisa M. Matlin
When a house has secrets… but so does its owner
When we were in Florida for the holidays, my sister found a book in one of those public book-sharing boxes while out for a walk. She finished reading it in two days, then gave it to my other sister, who also finished it in two days. So inevitably, it was my turn next.
Although it took me a bit more time to finish than my speed-reader sisters, this book was definitely a page-turner. The story follows Sarah Slade, a (fake) therapist, social media influencer, and self-help author who moves into the infamous Black Wood House—a place with a tragic history and a deeply unsettling presence. Her plan? To renovate it, document the process online, and flip it for profit. But as she quickly learns, the house has no intention of letting her live there peacefully. Strange occurrences escalate, her grip on reality begins to slip, and the secrets she’s hiding start surfacing in ways she never anticipated.
I really liked how the house itself feels like a character—haunting, watching, and waiting. The creeping dread is real, and the tension builds at a steady pace, making it hard to put the book down. And Sarah perfectly compliments the house’s dark nature. If you need a likable main character to enjoy a book, you might struggle with this one. Sarah is not the easiest protagonist to root for, which initially caught me off-guard. I am so used to “siding with” the main character, but Sarah is manipulative, self-absorbed, and to be frank, quite unlikable. But it works in this case as her unreliable narration adds to the psychological suspense. Indeed, Sarah has a deeply flawed past and has her share of questionable traits. Given that the book is narrated through Sarah’s point of view, I found myself questioning what was real and what was her own paranoia, which kept me hooked.
Despite how much I liked the writing style and the plot, I really did not like the ending. After such a gripping build-up, I was expecting a payoff that would tie things together in a satisfying way, but instead, it felt a bit rushed and did not feel very plausible. The ending left me with more frustration and questions than intrigue, which was disappointing after being so invested in the story.
Overall, The Stranger Upstairs is a solid debut with an eerie, tension-filled atmosphere and a compelling psychological element. The ending was the only let-down, but who knows, maybe you will like it more than I did!
Wander & Wonder 
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