NetGalley ARC | Let Him In

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐

That cover though!

Alfie's wife has recently died, leaving him to raise their twin daughters on his own. When their imaginary friend makes his first appearance, Alfie writes it off as a combination of their grief, a nightmare and their imaginations. A search of their room turns up no shadowy figure, and that's that.

Things quickly take a turn for the unexpected though, when the girls begin whispering to their new friend all the time; they can see and hear him when no one else can. They set a place for him at the dinner table and announce that he's going to take them away.

Alfie turns to Julia, his wife's sister, for help. She is a psychiatrist and begins working with the girls, to better understand what is going on. Even then, Alfie begins experiencing things as well - startling visions and the feeling of being watched.

All of this combined with the dark history of their home sets the stage for a fantastic story, but it just does not quite meet my expectations.

There are a couple reasons for this, the main one being the ending. I can't tell if I missed something, or that was the author's intention. I felt like this was a solid four up until that. I even looked at others' reviews (something I do not normally do until I am done with my own) and found I was not the only one who still had questions. Yet others said it wrapped up enough for them. So, this may just be individual to each reader.

The author created a delicisouly creepy atmosphere, revolving around the not-so-imaginary friend and the house itself. I would've loved to know more about the history of the house and see how that played into what was happeing.

Overall, it's not the creepiest story I've ever read. However, if an ambiguous ending doesn't bother you, then I would still recommend it.