Incidents Around the House
A Novel
-
-
4.0 • 79 Ratings
-
-
- $6.99
-
- $6.99
Publisher Description
“Simply put—and I do not say this lightly—Incidents Around the House is the most purely effective horror novel I have ever read.”—Neil McRobert, Esquire (Best Horror Books of 2024, So Far)
A chilling horror novel about a haunting, told from the perspective of a young girl whose troubled family is targeted by an entity she calls “Other Mommy,” from the New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box
“This book is the monster that lives inside your closet.”—Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of How to Sell a Haunted House
To eight-year-old Bela, her family is her world. There’s Mommy, Daddo, and Grandma Ruth. But there is also Other Mommy, a malevolent entity who asks her every day: “Can I go inside your heart?”
When horrifying incidents around the house signal that Other Mommy is growing tired of asking Bela the question over and over, Bela understands that unless she says yes, her family will soon pay.
Other Mommy is getting restless, stronger, bolder. Only the bonds of family can keep Bela safe, but other incidents show cracks in her parents’ marriage. The safety Bela relies on is about to unravel.
But Other Mommy needs an answer.
Incidents Around the House is a chilling, wholly unique tale of true horror about a family as haunted as their home.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller Malerman (Bird Box) offers some predictable yet still-eerie scares in this horror novel, which is told from the perspective of eight-year-old Bela, who first introduces herself saying good night to her Daddo and Mommy, before sharing that, after they leave her bedroom, "Other Mommy" emerges from her closet. Malerman gradually reveals more about Other Mommy, a thing with eyes that migrate around her head, who repeatedly asks Bela if she can "go into her heart" and talks of what Bela understands as "carnations" and readers will quickly realize is reincarnation. Bela's parents initially treat the existence of Other Mommy as a joke, but then her father notices a foul smell around the house. As Other Mommy increases her pressure campaign on Bela and becomes more active at different times of day, and in different places, Daddo and Mommy frantically search for answers and a way to eliminate the threat, even as fissures form in their marriage. Bela's naive narrative voice is the book's best feature, freshening up the familiar story beats and enhancing the creeping sense of dread. Malerman's fans will want to check this out.
Customer Reviews
Couldn’t Put It Down
Very, very creepy and disturbing in parts. Blew through it in 2 days. Very, very well executed with surprisingly sophisticated prose, coming from the POV of a young child (which makes every page that much more unsettling)
This author must not have kids
This author must not have kids
Two things about kids.
They aren’t stupid
They don’t keep secrets
I am guessing the author either asked Chatbot to write in a kid voice or spent at about 15 minutes researching how kids talk and think because this book misses the mark badly
Is this author is actually good? Bird box was great but now not so sure this same author could have actually written that given his other books are so bad