Book Review: Let Him In by William Friend

Let Him In
by William Friend
October 3, 2023
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
ASIN: B0BZWZQS8Z
ISBN: 9781728275185
"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.

Amazon

Nine months after the love of his life, Pippa, dies, Alfie is awakened at night by his twin daughters about a “man” in their bedroom. He does not find any person or proof of one. He assumes it is due to being troubled by the loss of their mother. Before long, he finds them happy about a newfound imaginary friend, a man who can shapeshift into a bird and other animals, all dark like the shadowy man. They call him Black Mamba, like the snake, which is also a shape he takes. When the girls set a pot at the table for him, talk to him, and even say they want to be taken away to where he comes from, Alfie calls Pippa’s twin, Julia, who works as a child psychiatrist. When he feels like someone is watching him, he begins to wonder about the friend of his daughters.

If you like ghost or demon stories, haunted houses, and even messy family situations, you will enjoy this “If Stephen King was English and wrote this” novel. It's a perfect spooky fit for fall reading.


I gave Let Him In 4 sheep.

Reviewed by Pamela K. Kinney

About the Author:
William Friend is a writer based in Hertfordshire. His debut novel, BLACK MAMBA, was published in the UK by Atlantic Books. It will be published in America on 3 October 2023, under the title LET HIM IN.