Let Him In By William Friend is an interesting mix of supernatural & psychological horror. This novel goes back in forth in perspectives between Alfie, the father of two twin daughters, Cassia and Sylvia, months after losing their mother and his wife Pippa, and Julia, the aunt of the girls, and twin sister of Pippa. A nightmare turns into an imaginary friend, turns into a not-so-friendly imaginary friend, and pushes the boundaries leaving Alfie, Julia, and even myself as the reader questioning if he truly is imaginary or if the family is plagued by some sort of occult possibly attached to the dark history of their family home Hart House. Throughout this book these girls absolutely torture their father Alfie with the existence of this imaginary friend Black Mamba. It starts out all in good fun, Black Mamba wanting a pastry in addition to the girls, becoming a bear to be a big furry protector to the girls as they sleep. Whether it truly is a supernatural being intruding on their lives, or the girls subconsciously adjusting how he acts as a result of what they begin observing in the changing dynamic of their lives with their father, Black Mamba starts to get jealous of Alfie and start attempting to cause the girls to be removed from Alfie’s care by CPS. Overall this is a fantastic read, very well written and playing with that notion of dangers lingering in the dark.

At 10 stars, I cant imagine much could be changed to make this book better. I went back and forth on whether or not to give this 9 or 10 stars, but I think It deserves every bit of 10 stars. If not for the very brief paragraph near the end of the book briefly describing an instance of sexual intercourse I’d say this is a great horror book for all ages. That being said, it’s not gratuitous, Friend doesn’t go into extensive detail, it’s brief and tasteful for those not looking for (or actively trying to avoid) graphic sexual detail. The scene I believe is written in a way that several people I know with kids would be fine with their child reading this. I certainly would be, though I’m also a linguist and both understand and agree with most other linguists that swears and curses are bullshit, we give them power through societal beliefs. I understand a number of people would be aghast at the author’s use of “cock” a whole two times, but there’s really no reason to be. Especially because, like I said its not gratuitous.

Kinda major spoiler….. The ending, with Black Mamba having been gone a few months and then the girls saying to Julia that Alfie is the one that’s gone before jumping on the bed saying “We got you! We got you!” actually left me questioning if Black Mamba was truly imaginary and is gone, or if Alfie’s brief encounter with him in the cellar resulted in them trading places setting Black Mamba free to roam about within Alfie’s body and killing or imprisoning Alfie himself. I really wanted to mention this because I absolutely loved it. I started the final chapter somewhat disappointed feeling somewhat blasé about how suddenly everything was over. If not for that final interaction with the girls, I probably would’ve only given this an 8 or 9.