Thank you Chris Bucci and St. Martin’s Press, #partner, for the advanced copy and finished copy of These Familiar Walls in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Published: April 14, 2026
Summary:
A spine-chilling, heart-pounding suburban horror novel at the heart of the genre, perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, Cassandra Khaw, and Catriona Ward.
In 1998, desperate loneliness pushes preteen Amber to ignore the misgivings of her family, particularly her younger sister, when she befriends the troubled new kid in the neighborhood—a boy with dead eyes, a fascination with fire, and no remorse. Their turbulent relationship is brief but creates lasting consequences.
Twenty-two years later, in 2020, he resurfaces to kill Amber’s parents, and is in turn betrayed by his accomplice and killed in Amber’s childhood home.
After the deaths, Amber inherits the house and, in an effort to save money, moves in with her husband and two children, hoping to reclaim some sense of stability in the grief and chaos surrounding her. Instead, she finds that the familiar walls are haunted by more than just bitter memories and lockdown stress. She shifts in and out of dreamlike trances, her reflection won’t blink, and a menacing voice whispers to her from the gathering shadows. Although she tried to brush off the strange happenings as stress-fueled hallucinations, Amber is soon forced to admit that something much more real—and more dangerous—haunts her family. But Amber has deadly secrets of her own, and she must resolve these long-buried truths or lose the life she’s contrived for herself.
My thoughts:
This book is the reason I have fallen in love with the horror genre. It was chilling, haunting, atmospheric, spooky and shocking in the best way possible.
What I loved:
🔥 a story centered around childhood trauma
🖤 a house that is haunted by the past
🔥 messy family dynamics
🖤 a whodunit mystery that keeps you guessing
🔥 the paranormal elements add just the right amount of spookiness to amp up the creep factor
🖤 a dual timeline narrative that builds suspense & tension
🔥 jaw-dropping twists that turn the story on its head
This story is told entirely from Amber’s point of view. Being in Amber’s mind, being privy to her inner thoughts makes this one so much more intense. And with all her rationalizations — for everything she does as well as everything that is happening — is both horrifying and unsettling. And it makes you wonder if she just might be a little unreliable at times.
This book is unsettling, it’s dark and it’s terrifying at times. But I could not get enough of it. It gets under your skin and doesn’t let up until you reach the end…and let me just say, once you get to those twists…you aren’t going to want to stop reading!
Also…can we just take a moment to appreciate this cover! It perfectly complements the book…I love it!! 🔥🖤
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