One Year of INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE

The power of a great novel.

I read Josh Malerman’s INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE a year ago.

On January 12, 2024, I requested INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE on NetGalley. Del Rey previously approved me for DAPHNE and SPIN A BLACK YARN, but I was nervous about getting approved for INCIDENTS. For those of you who are unfamiliar, requesting ARCS on NetGalley at times feels like a weird and confusing game; some publishers accept your requests consistently (or you get the rare and coveted auto approval) while others reject you with little to no reasoning. Not wanting to risk a rejection, in a rare move for me, I decided to email a contact at Del Rey after hitting Request on NetGalley; a personal plea of “please approve me” and within minutes, I had a reply of approved. A tiny electronic miracle.

I stayed up all night reading. I was terrified and afraid to go to bed. I was heartbroken. I was…concerned for my reading goals. I knew almost immediately that I was in a reading slump -the curse of a great book like INCIDENTS. I also knew immediately that this was the book of 2024 and my top read of 2024.

When I read horror, here is what I’m primarily looking for as a reader: I want my horror to have heart, I want complex characters, I want the pacing to work, and I want to be unnerved. INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE checks those boxes. It’s terrifying; an 8-year-old explaining to you about something called Other Mommy asking to go inside their heart is unnerving and scary. INCIDENTS is smart and creative. INCIDENTS has a lot of heart; I’ve said this to Malerman before, but despite being so cold of a book, I find hope throughout INCIDENTS. And because it’s written by Malerman, it’s insanely well-written; there’s a reason that so many of us list Malerman as one of the greatest writers, and INCIDENTS demonstrates that.

INCIDENTS means so much to me. It’s difficult to explain how refreshing it is to read a character like Ursula; yes, she has flaws but so does every person you know in real life. So often in books, the matriarchal figure is either the perfect mom (she cooks every meal! she cleans! she sacrifices in every sense!) or they are horrific and/or the villain, but Ursula is that rare female character that I think, if more of us are honest with ourselves, we can relate to in some sense. She’s a human trying to navigate the complexities of being a partner and a mom and her role in the tension (and issues) in those relationships which is hard enough and then you add in Other Mommy? Can we give her a break? I’m also an only child so I see a lot of my younger self in Bela; the maturity that being an only child brings at a young age, but also the loneliness and the “I can fix it” mentality that follows you into adulthood.

INCIDENTS also changed my relationship with how I talk about books online and how I promote them. I want everyone to read this book, and so I decided to just post about it as much as I can (an apology to Josh Malerman’s notifications and mentions). The difficult part of recommending a new release to anyone is accessibility - books are expensive and libraries often have limited copies available. With a book as popular as INCIDENTS, hold times were weeks (or even months) long. So, I decided to giveaway prepaid Kindle codes, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve made because hearing from other readers about their reading experience and discussing this book is such a highlight. I’m also not sure if Novel Nightmares would exist without INCIDENTS. I wanted to talk about this book with anyone and everyone, and so why not start a virtual book club. It was truly the perfect book to kick off with.

I’m not surprised that it’s a year later and I’m still talking about INCIDENTS; I read DAPHNE in 2022 and I still consistently recommend and think about it. That’s the power of a great novel; the story never leaves you. And even though it’s been a year since I first posted about INCIDENTS, I’m going to keep talking about it and all the books I’ve love. Given the number of books that come out in a year, it’s possible to miss some amazing ones and I feel a sense of obligation as someone who talks about books online to keep championing any book that I love because I don’t want someone to miss it. I understand the importance of promoting books leading up to their pub date, but so often once a book is out in the world, it feels as though we stop talking about that book. I would urge anyone who talks about books or champions them to keep recommending and discussing books that you love no matter when you read them. And for fellow readers, seek out backlist titles from your favorite authors; Malerman is prolific and so if you love INCIDENTS there are so many amazing stories waiting for you.

I can’t end this post without taking a few words to thank Josh Malerman. I’m forever grateful for the worlds that Josh has built, not only in INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE but all his books. Beyond that, Josh is one of the kindest people I know. He is a true champion of everyone he knows, one of the rarest traits I’ve found in people, but Josh has it. He and Allison are so welcoming and so magical - being around them and knowing them sparks creativity, positivity, and they make you feel like your best self. The biggest thank you, Josh.