Let Him in - by William Friend

Book Synopsis

"Let Him In is a feast of a novel." -- Darcy Coates, USA Today bestselling author

An October Library Reads Pick!

"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.

A horror debut perfect for readers of Catriona Ward's The Last House on Needless Street and The Spite House by Johnny Compton, this emotional, hair-raising story will grip you from the first page, and won't let you go.

Review Quotes

"Let Him In is a feast of a novel. It takes hold in the first pages and builds into something wonderful and terrible that refuses to let go even after you close the book. This is one you won't want to miss." -- Darcy Coates, USA Today bestselling author

"Great fun... the suspense slips its slow coils around you." -- The Daily Mail

"Fans of literary horror will be absolutely captivated... I found it almost impossible to put down." -- Horror Magazine

"Mercurial, heartbreaking, and almost unbearably creepy, Let Him In is spider legs across your neck, a snake caressing your ankles, a shadow outside your bedroom at midnight. If you like the twisting, perspective-based horrors of Catriona Ward or Shirley Jackson, you'll definitely want to accept this book's invitation." -- Nat Cassidy, author of Mary: An Awakening of Terror and Nestlings

"The best writing is neither plot- nor character-driven, but propelled by emotion, and emotions flow fast and deep in William Friend's Let Him In. A haunting tale about generations of loss within a single, sinister house, Friend's exceptional debut expertly intertwines the real and the imaginary with chilling effect. The writing itself is sublime, forcing the reader not to skip a single word, even as those words slowly crystalize into an ever-increasing sense of dread. This is an emotionally raw, heart-wrenching story that will stay with me for quite some time." -- Carter Wilson, USA Today bestselling author of Mister Tender's Girl