Book Reviews

Incidents Around The House

Hello there, bookworms – 

If you read my last post, you’d know that it’s been quite some time since I’ve been on the blog, and even longer since I’ve shared any sort of book review. Back when I first started on Blogger and moved here to my own domain, I always wrote an original blog post while also sharing my book rating/review on Goodreads. I haven’t done either of those things in so long. Referring again to my last post, you’ll know that I’ve had a plethora of reasons. 

Between losing my dad and my job, I haven’t spent a lot of time writing, so please be gentle with me as I try to find my words and get back into a groove. 

I’ve been debating where to start since my backlog of books is immense, but in the interest of not overthinking it, I’ll start with a review of the book I read most recently and jump around from there. I will attempt to start off 2025 with a clean slate, but with a few ideas bouncing around in my head, this blog might remain a bit of a hodge podge. For now, let’s talk about Incidents Around The House by Josh Malerman.

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

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.

I went into this book with such high hopes – and I left asking myself, “what did I just read?” instead.  

Incidents gave me Blair Witch vibes.. and not in a stellar way.

Let’s start with the writing style/formatting – it drove me NUTS. Yes, there was a disclaimer about why the book was set up in such a way, and I tried my best to ignore it. It made for fast reading, but my god… it made it so choppy and broke up any terror that should’ve been lurking around the corner. Also, writing from the POV of a child is a big fat “nope” for me. I will keep this in mind for next time. Bela is supposed to be eight years old, but everything about her inner monologue and how the adults interact with her made me think she was much younger. I had to keep reminding myself that she was over the age of five. 

Almost every single character was unlikable or mildly annoying, but the Other Mommy factor was eerie enough that I kept trudging ahead. I had an overwhelming curiosity as to where she’d turn up next. Eventually, I also found myself hoping that she’d take this family out – the real mom especially. Dysfunction I can handle, (who isn’t a member of a dysfunctional family these days?) But dysfunctional and insufferable make for quite the combination. I’ll take the demon in the closet any day. 

There were parts of this story that I skimmed because they got so repetitive and long-winded. I got the gist of how it unfolded in such a weird way. It could’ve built to this terrifying crescendo, but instead wound up as a lot of “screaming”, “creaking” and alluding to the fate of our ensemble family. The last few pages are slightly abstract and you’re left to your own devices as to what you think happened to Bela and her parents. Was it real? Was it a dream? You decide.

I’m giving this book 3 out of 5 stars ONLY because I kept turning the page – I needed to find out what Other Mommy was capable of – even if deep down, I knew. I was morbidly intrigued to find out how far she/it would push to “go inside your heart”. 

I’ve been delving into the horror/thriller genre for the first time in a long time, but I have yet to find a book that fully sucks me in and leaves me feeling afraid to turn off the light. That is difficult for me to find because horror is quite formulaic which makes it predictable and less…scary. Still, I’m a spooky girl at heart so I remain in search of a bone-chilling novel. 

This book wasn’t it.