The Girl Downstairs by Iain Maitland

Release: 21st November 2021
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Inkubator Books
Source: Zooloos Book Tours
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon UK, Amazon US

Rosie is homeless and winter is closing in. So she can’t believe her luck when a total stranger, Mr. Adams, invites her to stay.

But Mr. Adams has a secret. He has chosen Rosie because she reminds him of someone very special from long ago. Maybe she can even help him recapture that distant happiness.

Of course, she might need a little encouragement, but that’s fine…

What he doesn’t realise is that Rosie has a secret too, a secret that will have horrifying consequences for them both.

So instead of the heaven he had hoped to find, Mr. Adams finds himself fighting to escape the special kind of hell created by… the girl downstairs.

The Girl Downstairs – the stunning psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Mark Edwards, K. L. Slater, Miranda Rijks.

About the Author:

Iain Maitland is the author of three previous psych thrillers, The Scribbler (2020), Mr Todd’s Reckoning (2019) and Sweet William (2017), all published by Contraband, an imprint of Saraband. Mr Todd’s Reckoning is coming to the big screen in 2023.

Iain is also the author of two memoirs, Dear Michael, Love Dad (Hodder, 2016), a book of letters written to his eldest son who experienced depression and anorexia, and (co-authored with Michael) Out Of The Madhouse (Jessica Kingsley, 2018).

He is also an Ambassador for Stem4, the teenage mental health charity. He talks regularly about mental health issues in schools and colleges and workplaces.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

The Girl Downstairs Review:

The first aspect of the story that struck me was how disturbing the main character, Mr. Adams is. The author describes him in such an eerie manner some of his thoughts unnerved me. Mr. Adams seems to have a violent streak when you notice his strange dreams and how he feels like attacking his neighbors, aka “The Lumps.” At a certain point, even Mr. Adams cannot feel like he cannot trust his thoughts. I thought the author did a brilliant job depicting the psychology of this volatile character, especially when he obsesses his feelings for Rosie. I was also curious to know more about Mr. Adams’s wife and daughter on what happened to them.

However, while I enjoyed the story, I thought the author could have paced it faster, especially in the first half. The pacing meanders in the first half, taking some time for our characters to interact with Rosie.
The story gets intense in the second half once Andrew Lumb gets more prominent. From then on, I could not put the book down and wondered how our lead character would cover his tracks. On a side note, I also liked Widow Woman and how she somewhat becomes a pivotal character in the second half. Yet, the ending also felt a bit rushed. Had the book been more polished, this would have been amazing!

Nevertheless, I think this is a great book to pick up if you are in the mood for a slow-burn mystery and love detailed visualizations of the characters and their persona. I still enjoyed reading it mainly because the author portrayed Mr. Adams and kept you guessing his intentions.

Overall, “The Girl Downstairs” is a creepy book that might only please a specific audience as it is unique for its narration style.