The Stranger Upstairs

A Novel

By: Lisa M. Matlin

Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham

Most people wouldn’t buy an infamous murder house to renovate for fun . . . but Sarah Slade is not most people.

“This debut novel deftly explores our shadows—the dark parts of ourselves we don’t want others to see. I couldn’t stop reading.”—Julia Bartz, New York Times bestselling author of The Writing Retreat

A POPSUGAR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

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 potent distraction from her failing marriage. Good thing nobody knows that her past is as tainted 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 would want 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 confirm for Sarah what the rest of the town already knows: 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.

Critic reviews

“A fast, fun, gasp-inducing read.”—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye

“Creepy, crafty, and packing some deliciously dark surprises, The Stranger Upstairs is a dizzying spiral into madness that kept me guessing to its final pages.”—Taylor Adams, author of The Last Word

“The ultimate spooky-season read! Lisa M. Matlin skillfully infuses every page of The Stranger Upstairs with eerie, evocative imagery, and her (anti)heroine, Sarah Slade, is just as disturbing and compelling as the murder-house setting.”—Layne Fargo, author of They Never Learn

Listened in one sitting

Super intriguing thriller story and did not at all expect the ending of the book

Creative writing about mental health

I loved this book. Creative and colorful. Deep and knowledgeable about mental health. Great book Colorful characters.

Enjoyable

I think this book was well written. I enjoyed it and the message at the end was very heart warming.

Narrator performance

I’m convinced that this book was made 100x better with the narrator’s performance. The style, writing, and direction of the book was already amazing to begin with, but the chef’s kiss was def the narration.

Left with feeling weird Vibes after finishing this book!

This book took a turn half way through that I wasn’t anticipating but then by the end it turned back around and left me with the type of ending I was hoping for! I binged listened to this book and it was quite entertaining.