A Man Downstairs

Nicole Lundrigan

Mystery Thriller

What if the childhood you remember isn’t really what happened at all?

From the acclaimed author of An Unthinkable Thing and Hideaway, a breath-stopping novel of suspense about a woman tormented by memories of the past and threatened by long-held secrets in the present.

Molly Wynters has moved back to her small hometown to care for her father, recently felled by a stroke and no longer able to communicate. She is ready to make a fresh start with her son after her divorce, but is haunted by both old events and new realities in her childhood home.

What Molly recalls of her young life with her father is full of love and care, even though a violent trauma defined her when she was a young girl, she witnessed her mother’s murder, and her testimony – “There was a man downstairs” – sent a teenager to prison. This tragic episode is still very much alive in the culture of the town, and the more Molly remembers, the more she fears that what she said on the stand all those years ago might not have been the whole truth.

After Molly, a trained therapist, volunteers for a local helpline, the threats begin. At first they seem random, but soon Molly realizes that she is a target, and even those closest to her seem suspicious, especially as unsuspected links between them emerge. More than one life was destroyed on that horrific long-ago day, and now someone intends to hold Molly accountable.

With its gripping descent into the shadowy corners of the human psyche A Man Downstairs is both an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride and a masterful exploration of the fragile nature of memory.

-Excerpt taken from Goodreads.

Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.

My Opinion

(3.5 / 5) This is a tale of murder, mystery, and the enduring scars of a troubled past. Molly Wynters’ is on a journey from a traumatic childhood to being a newly divorced mother. She is also moving to care for her ailing father.

Right off, I notice the unreliable narrators which add layers of complexity. It unfolds through multiple perspectives and time periods, with Molly’s memories in the background. As secrets are unearthed and suspicions fly, the small town setting adds a layer of intrigue to the tension filling the pages.

A smaller POV from “Him” heightens the mystery. When the true culprit is finally revealed, the twists and turns didn’t stop there, which kept me guessing until the very end.

The few setbacks I found started with the title. It had me confused because I feel it didn’t reflect the story I was envisioning. The story also felt a bit longer than necessary but the mystery remained, keeping my focus.

I highly recommend this one to anyone looking for a small town tale of secrets, betrayal, and redemption.

AUDIO REVIEW: Narrated by Tyrone Savage, Amy Matysio and Wesley French which made this trio perfect for the suspense. The voices were done well with great cadence. My only complaint is that the narrator speeds varied slightly which put a very small dent in the ease of my listening.

General content summary:

F words= 62

Language 

Divorce (previous)

Parent death (murder, trial, previous, car accident into water, drowning)

Diabetes (injections, low blood sugar)

Anxiety pill 

Alcohol (some underage, multiple)

Cigarettes (some underage)

Drugs (underage, stealing prescription drugs, prescribed sedatives, some recreational drugs)

Physical violence (fist fight)

Skull washed up from a lake (few details)

Suicide death (previous, hanging, details)

Teen nude photos (no details)

Snared rabbits for food

Anxiety (sedatives)

M/F intimacy (some details, 2x, younger and older person referenced together multiple times)

Death (previous, physical violence, 2x few details, blood)

Death (parent, fall, previous)

Killing (pills, suffocation, some details, drowning)

Infidelity (few details)

Masturbation (small references)

Bullying (previous, injuries, blood)

Pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding 

Severe postpartum depression (details)

Foster care and adoption 

Thank you to Thriller Book Lovers Promotions for the digital copy and Libro.fm for the ALC!

The book releases March 5, 2024.

**As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.