Book Review - Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

Title: Incidents Around the House
Author: Josh Malerman
Genre: Horror
Published: 2024
 
Description: To eight-year-old Bela, her family is her world. There’s Mommy, Daddo and Grandma. 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 same question, over and over… Bela understands that unless she says yes, soon her family must pay.
 
Other Mommy is getting restless, stronger, bolder. Only the bonds of family can keep bela safe but other incidents show cracks in her parent’s marriage. The safety bela relies on is on the brink of unraveling. But Other Mommy needs and answer.
 
Review: Sometimes you read a book, that haunts you and really scares you. “Incidents Around the House” by Josh Malerman is one of those books.
 
The story is told from the point of view of eight-year-old Bela. She lives together with her parents, but also with someone she calls Other Mommy. A mysterious entity living in her closet, that asks her every day if she can go inside Bela’s heart. Where Bela’s parents believe that she has an imaginary friend, and Bela calls Other Mommy her friend at first, the entity becomes stronger and more restless.
 
The story of a scary entity in a house that wants to possess a child is certainly nothing new. But Malerman tells it from the perspective of the little girl. And this will either make of break this book for you. It’s a bold choice and in my opinion, that’s the power of the story. It actually adds to the scare factor. Especially if you listen to the audiobook, which is voiced by an adult in a child’s voice. Super creepy.
 
Other then Bella and her grandma, I didn’t really care for the characters though. Although the mother does have a backstory, I never sympathized with her. And the dad was pretty one-dimensional.
 
Aside from that, “Incidents Around the House” is a very good book. I expected the ending, but I did like it. When a horror book truly scares you, it’s done its job.
 
Rating: 4/ 5