Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

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 isthe 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.

Ooo this book!

I'm always looking for books about possession, but let's be honest there are not a lot of options. The Exorcist still stands as one of my favorite books of all time and I would easily say Incidents Around the House holds a flame to it. I devoured this book.

I literally stayed up late, couldn't put it down. The atmosphere is absolutely frightening and there were moments I had to look over my shoulder. I recall listening to all the bumps in the night and instantly thinking of this book. It's scary, it's creepy, it's full of surprises. The ending was unexpected and not typical which I adored.

Written from the perspective of a child, Josh Malerman slayed. It's like Bela is real and I could see a lot of her characteristics and interactions in my own daughters of similar age.

Characters are flawed, perfectly and the interactions between them are organic.

I don't want to spoil too much about the “entity” so go in blind and let go of every trope you associate with possession/demon books or movies.

Incidents Around the House is a treat for us seeking books about possession and one that will shock and wow you. I expect this book to have a lot of hype and it's well worth it.

A huge thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for the e-ARC! Malerman has been an auto-buy author for me since reading Bird Box and he does not disappoint!

Incidents Around the House is written entirely in the perspective of Bela, an eight-year-old that has frequent nightly visits from the Other Mommy in her closet. Unsettling, creepy, and often nauseating, the prose is somehow simplistic—as a child’s writing demands—yet surprisingly elegant and powerful. I was so impressed by the balance the author struck between the two, and it heightened my enjoyment throughout. I really found it hard to put this down (while sadly training at the new job).

Focusing heavily on what goes bump in the night, Malerman takes childhood fears and turns them into adulthood traumas. There was a single line about how Other Mommy was hiding in the dark corner, but her eyes were up near the ceiling that truly gave me chills. And that’s where this story excels, within its endless possibilities, within what it leaves unsaid. It’s childhood stories, it’s Goosebumps and Fear Street and Are You Afraid of the Dark, yet it’s deconstructed, enhanced, and rewound into an entirely unique and adult novel.

Bela’s Mommy and Daddo are great characters in their own right, but they’re also great characterizations of polar opposites in parenting. One feels trapped, ungrateful, and the bearer of bad news. The other is the optimistic, uplifting one, and Bela’s best friend. The light and the dark to their daughter. But what I enjoyed about this dynamic the most, was Malerman’s ability to showcase them so well that I stopped believing that I knew which parent was the “good” one. The rock-bottom feel of their desperation and disparity is something I would say is wholly unique and integral to the experience. And Bela is constantly drawn to the two for different reasons. And to Other Mommy too.

I also really enjoyed that the author gives us a mixture of modern things thrown in. A modern “hippie” exorcism that goes a bit wonky, a slew of cameras and alarms that could make my crew in BestGhost’s heads spin, two well behaved guard dogs that never seem to take a break, running away from home, both short and long trips, and of course, an occult specialist that’s absolutely not a sham. It kind of felt like taking absolutely everything you could do to save yourself, and finding out that all of it wasn’t the right thing.

I happened to be reading this at the same time as Baptiste Pinson Wu’s historical fantasy, Undead Samurai. The juxtaposition of zombies, swords, and action against Malerman’s slowed down, slithering, creepy-crawly horror, just really sold the experiences. And it really sold Malerman’s ability to sell an incredible story with a slower burn.

Can Other Mommy be trusted? Can she be let into Bela’s heart? Why is she named that? The absolutely unhinged act of twisting the dynamic of mother and daughter into something OTHER is truly brilliant. And gross, so gross.

Malerman is at his best, delivering readers with something to think about for years to come, especially before we turn out the lights. I genuinely feel for any reader that has a young daughter.

Lmao like half of this book is 5 stars but half of this book is 1 star. You “I was paid to write an honest review” folks need to start writing honest reviews.

There are some interesting ideas, sure. But let’s be honest here. What makes this a 5 star book? Is it original? No. Is it written exceptionally well? No. Are plot points followed completely? No. Are metaphors clear and explicit? No.

First and foremost: is the overall point of this book original in any way? Not in the slightest.

I’m just gonna skip the nitpicking and go straight into the meat. People are bad? Let’s corrupt a child because that’s how humans are. Oh wait, let’s go deeper…and then just…not? The whole book is a misogynistic exploration into wives and Malerman doesn’t even have the cojones to bring up the “b*tch wife’s” cheating when she’s “being honest”? Come on, bro…

A good 80% of the characters were antitheses of Chekov’s guns and most everything ended up going nowhere. Without spoiling, the ending was completely botched. Just like Tik Tok political discourse, I’m getting super jaded on reading reviews on here.

TL;dr turns out Josh Malerman just isn’t a very good writer

Leave it to Josh Malerman to hit it out of the park again! This book was wonderfully spooky annd atmospheric, the tension built well, and had genuinely creepy moments. The way he writes adds to the overall nightmare that builds throughout the book. Loved every minute of it, and never wanted to put it down. Highly suggest this to those who love horror, the is a fun and horrifying adventure into a families worst nightmare.