Let Him In By William Friend

Main Characters

Alfie
Cassia and Sylvie
Julia
Marian

Publisher’s Summary

William Friend’s haunting debut Let Him In is a creeping, gothic psychological suspense about a young, newly widowed father struggling to raise twin daughters obsessed with an imaginary friend.

“Daddy, there’s a man in our room…”

Alfie wakes one night to find his twin daughters at the foot of his bed, claiming there’s a shadowy figure in their bedroom. When no such thing can be found, he assumes the girls had a nightmare.

He isn’t surprised that they’re troubled. Grief has made its home at Hart House: nine months ago, the twins’ mother Pippa died unexpectedly, leaving Alfie to raise them alone. And now, when the girls mention a new imaginary friend, it seems like a harmless coping mechanism. But the situation quickly develops into something more insidious. The girls set an extra place for him at the table. They whisper to him. They say he’s going to take them away…

Alfie calls upon Julia—Pippa’s sister and a psychiatrist—to oust the malignant tenant from their lives. But as Alfie himself is haunted by visions and someone watches him at night, he begins to question the true character of the force that has poisoned his daughters’ minds, with dark and violent consequences.

Whatever this “friend” is, he doesn’t want to leave. Alfie will have to confront his own shameful secrets, the dark past of Hart House, and even the bounds of reality—or risk taking part in an unspeakable tragedy.

Recent Reviews

My Review

Having read a couple of “horror” books, I’ve come to the realization that none of them quite suited my taste. I prefer experiencing scary elements in a movie, rather than conjuring them up in my mind like scenes from a movie. It’s not that I can not imagine it; rather, I find it undesirable to generate those images myself.

This might be someone’s cup of tea but according to the book club this book fell short, it reminded us of “The Hounting of Hill House” on Netflix. The ending was also a bit confusing and wished there were certain parts that were more fleshed out.

Thrillers By The Book Cub Jax voted:
43% voted 2 stars, 29% voted 3 starts and the other 29% voted 5 stars.

PS. “The Hunting of Hill House is my favorite horrror show! “The Haunting of Blue Manor” is close to a favorite.