November 20

The Man in the Wall – Emma Angstrom

Alva is a sad and lonely child. With her father locked up in prison, she moves with her mother and two older sisters to an apartment building in town. She does not like her new home. Her room is small and her sisters continue to exclude Alva from their games.

Soon a bizarre murder takes place in the building. A husband discovers his wife dead in the hall of their apartment, two weeks after she disappeared from their home.

Where had the body been hidden for two weeks? And how could the perpetrator get in and out of the apartment?

As more disturbing things start to take place, Alva is drawn into a sick and twisted game by a killer who is hiding in plain sight. But Alva is just a child and has no idea just how deadly her new friend might be…

 

My thanks to Sarah at Bloodhound Books for the chance to host the Blog Blitz

 

The Man in the Wall – I was hooked by the name and sold by the description (above). How utterly chilling, to think that whilst in the safety of your home there may be someone watching you…moving around your house, maybe even while you are sleeping. Or if your wife disappears, returning dead two whole weeks later – clearly having been killed some days earlier.

Let there be no doubt that The Man in the Wall is deeply unsettling and more than a little chilling.

Alva moves into a new home with her mother and elder sisters.  She is excluded by her siblings and seems to be having problems fitting in at school too. Alva has an unusual fascination with the occult and paranormal (unusual in one so young). She has an encyclopedia which she frequently consults and is looking for hidden messages in everyday objects, convinced her dead grandmother is trying to communicate with her. Following Alva’s story was fascinating as she was often unpredictable and made for a quirky character to keep up with.

We also get to see how the Man in the Wall is living out his days – the residents in the rooms he is watching will sometimes feel they are being watched, whirling around they look to the corners or the vents but never actually believe their home has been invaded. As a reader this was a very uncomfortable feeling, watching the watcher and almost sharing his fascination.

There was initially a bit of a slow build into the story while reading The Man in the Wall. However, once characters are established, the building introduced and the relationship between different family members are shown to be strained then the pace will pick up and the chills begin.

I like the phrase chiller/thriller for books like these – page turning tension but with a creepy edge to the action which some readers may find a bit distressing.

 

The Man in the Wall is published by Bloodhound Books and is available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Man-Wall-dark-disturbing-thriller-ebook/dp/B0777HCJ54/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1511112861&sr=1-1&keywords=the+man+in+the+wall

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