The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin

Hello everyone.  I hope you are having a great day.

It is funny how every family, no matter what size, has its own communication system.  My family can speak almost exclusively in movie lines. Oh sure, you can say it is somewhat limiting and we should get a larger "vocabulary" to which I respond, "You're going to need a bigger boat!"  My husband has the luxury of being bilingual, he can converse in movies and grunts, often accompanied by just plain no response due to not hearing...more likely not LISTENING... to avoid any topic of discussion he does not approve of.  My dad, he spoke with "the look." The "don't make your mother cry or you'll be sorry" look was especially effective.  My mother could speak in thumps.  We had a family room in our basement and when she wanted your attention, she would stomp on the floor, once.  You would wonder what was going on upstairs, but if it was around dinner time, it was a widely accepted dialect for "get your butt up here, it's time for dinner."  Now if she stomped twice, look out, that was akin to be being called by your first AND middle name.

I recently read The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin.  This is Matlin's first book.  This thriller with horror thrown in, is about an Australian woman, Sarah, who buys a house she has found for a bargain.  She purchased the dwelling for a fraction of what it costs to have a house in such a posh neighborhood.  The house has been empty for quite a while, and Sarah hopes to remodel the home and make a bundle.  The problem is that it was the scene of a grisly murder, making the neighbors insist that the place should be torn down instead of rebuilt.  Sarah, presses on, and as the renovations begin so do the weird events.  Not only is it unsettling with the house being her current home and critical investment, but Sarah is a therapist and self-help book author who should be firmly planted in reality.  As the house's secrets are revealed so are Sarah's, making for an interesting yin and yang.  The story builds to a telling of everyone's truth.

This book was a fun, quick ride.  If you ever read The Amityville Horror, it will remind you of that tale.  The story is short, at under 300 pages, so tends to move along yet there were a few places where it seems like the author is marking time, postponing the next twist.  Sometimes that can be annoying and slow the plot, but anticipation is often the name of the game with building suspense.  The story is pleasant, easy to read, and the characters interesting.  This would make a great book for a spooky October and practically demands fall weather.  Fun and enjoyable.

Spooky things always remind me of Cloris Leachman's famous line, "Stay close to the candles, the staircase can be treacherous."