Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

*I re-read this book via audio from the library. This is one of those cases where the audio might be better than reading. The narrator, Delanie Nicole Gill was phenomenal. Being that this book is from the POV of a young girl, I wondered how the well the narrator would do. I needn't have worried, Ms. Gill kicked all kinds of ass in her performance. Bravo! Sometimes when I re-read a book my rating changes. My rating is already at 5, but if I could, I'd rate the audio a 10. Thank you to my local library for the free audio download. Libraries RULE!

ORIGINAL REVIEW

What a great year for horror fans everywhere! Why? There have already been a few books released this year that surely will be contenders for my Best Horror of 2024 list, and now I have added INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE.

Young Bela has mentioned "Other Mommy" several times to her family, but no one seemed to be listening. Other Mommy lives in Bela's closet, or at least she used to. She used to be confined to Bela's room, but now she seems to be following Bela, even on a trip to the playground. No one is really paying attention though, until finally Bela's real mommy gets a glimpse of her. From that moment on the tension steadily hums as the scares get darker and more frequent. As Bela's parents search for answers, the only answer that they come up with is to tell Bela to continue saying "No" when Other Mommy asks her if she can come in to Bela's heart. What is Other mommy trying to accomplish? Why has she attached herself to Bela? You'll have to read this to find out!

Nearly 400 pages flew by in what seemed like seconds to me. I was so engaged with this severely dysfunctional family, I did not want to put this book down. The mystery of Other Mommy was intriguing as was the family's hunt for someone that could help them. Aside from all this, there were other family dramas occurring and all of that just added to the realistic feeling of this fast paced familial nightmare.

As a seasoned horror reader of 40 some odd years, rarely does a book actually scare me. I must admit though, that at times, this one did. The visual of Other Mommy as drawn by Malerman's incredible imagination is going to haunt me for a long, long time.

I say, BRAVO! My highest recommendation!

*ARC from publisher.*