When one thing leaves your house or heart, it makes room for another to take its place. This is why it’s unwise to make solid statues inside. A statue takes up space without moving, without flowing, without growing.

PLOT SUMMARY:

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.

GRADE: B-

REVIEW:

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman is a chilling novel that delivers a claustrophobic, psychological horror grounded in the mundane. Told from the perspective of young Bela, the story captures the eerie atmosphere of a home slowly being overtaken by an unseen presence. The “creepy entity” that Bela sees—and her parents do not—lurks at the edges of their house, at first ambiguous and unsettling, then increasingly menacing. Malerman plays expertly with perspective, making readers question what is real and what is imagined.

The novel excels in tone and mood. The tension is slow-building, and the child’s voice is authentically rendered, adding a layer of vulnerability. The idea of a malevolent figure quietly “moving in” is deeply unnerving, made worse by the adults’ dismissal of Bela’s warnings.

However, while the setup is gripping, the middle portion becomes repetitive. The narrative relies on similar beats—Bela sees the entity, her parents so see the entity and continue trying to escape it—which dilutes the suspense over time. The lack of escalation or variety in how the threat manifests causes the tension to plateau before the conclusion. Still, Incidents Around the House is a creepy, well-written tale, just one that might have benefitted from tighter pacing or a bit more narrative progression.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley & Del Rey for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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