1 of 1 copy available
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.
-
Creators
-
Publisher
-
Release date
June 25, 2024 -
Formats
-
OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593907184
- File size: 241906 KB
- Duration: 08:23:57
-
-
Languages
- English
-
Reviews
-
March 25, 2024
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. -
September 13, 2024
This terrifying tale of a family's haunting is told to readers by an eight-year-old girl. Bela lives with her Mommy and Daddo, who both love her but don't seem to love each other. At night, Bela is visited by an entity known as Other Mommy. She starts off as a friend, but Other Mommy begins to scare Bela, especially when she asks little Bela if she can go inside her heart. Other Mommy soon starts tormenting the entire family. As their family begins to fracture under the pressure, Bela considers saying yes to Other Mommy. When building this haunted house, Malerman (Spin a Black Yarn) hooks listeners, then tightens the emotional screws with his sympathetic yet flawed characters. Delanie Nicole Gill's stellar narration makes Bela seem young and full of roiling emotions, especially fear. Gill spends most of the novel portraying young (and mostly terrified) narrator Bela but switches seamlessly into voicing adult characters. VERDICT Fans of the movie Poltergeist (or fans of horror featuring child protagonists) will be sucked into Bela's story, wondering if she makes it through with her heart intact. For fans of Zoje Stage's Baby Teeth.--James Gardner
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
-
A girl's innocence is threatened, along with her and her parents' lives, by a mysterious woman living in her closet. This story is brought to life in an unnerving performance by narrator Delanie Nicole Gill. Gill conjures young Bella's childish but unexpectedly confident and edgy tone. Her interpretations of Bella's parents are equally believable. The realism in Gill's delivery makes the chilling plot all the more disturbing and immediate. As Bella's "Other Mommy," the woman in the closet, steadily makes her presence more prominent, the story becomes a compulsive listen that pulls listeners into a harrowing nightmare. L.B. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
-