This was one of my most anticipated new releases of 2025, and although it didn't quite meet my expectations, I still had a fun time reading it. Creepy and fast-paced. Lore was definitely a woman written by a man, but overall it was a nice read.

A group of fast teenage friends come across a mysterious staircase while hiking, in the the woods. Matty foolishly and impulsively walks up the staircase never to be seen again. The book begins twenty years later and the group is in the woods together, once again and come across the same staircase. Can they find their missing friend?

The idea of finding a random staircase in the woods is scary, mysterious and intriguing causing readers to turn the pages to find out just what it leads to. Even though Matty ascended the stairs and disappeared, the group goes up the staircase and find it leads to a house so they begin to explore. The house is sinister and the descriptions can be quite gory. This is a unique and interesting take on the haunted house horror story, which affected each friend differently.

And, oh the characters! None of them are likable and even though they have been tied to each irher for twenty years, the group as a whole didn’t really seem to like each other making their “covenant” to me, serm bogus,

And, this book was no place for politics which added nil to the story. In fact it may have detracted from the story.

The ending was a bit unsatisfying making me wonder if the author wanted to keep the door open for a sequel.

After the book ends, keep reading to learn there is an actual staircase in the woods in New Hampshire. The picture you can search for is truly as mysterious as is this book.

Specializing in teen angst and broken families this story is also steeped in the horrors of death in many forms. Heavy topics include drug use, suicide, murder, and bad home decor. I enjoyed the differences of the core character group and how real their individual lives felt. I could have done with less chapters as the story did start to stall out around 75%.

Creepy and twisty. Good book and keep you going to the end. Didn’t love it but enjoyed it! Love the dual storyline.

This is a horror story about a former group of high school students that have come together in a forest 20 yrs after the last time they were together .. and they find a staircase in the woods… the second one in the history of their friendship, the first time, their friend Matty climbed one and disappeared!

I've loved some of Wendig's other books, and picked this up based on that and the premise (which longtime Internet denizens will recognize as an urban legend/creepypasta trope). An abandoned staircase in the woods, which leads... where, exactly? It's a great idea, and Wendig takes it in some interesting directions.

The good: Without getting too spoilery, I loved Wendig's take on where the staircase leads and his inventive and creepy reworking of some horror tropes. I was not sure where the plot was going or if/how the characters would survive. The suspense was enjoyable with some genuine scares, and Wendig is good at maintaining a rollicking narrative pace that kept the pages turning.

The bad: I did not like these characters, and would honestly have enjoyed the book more with a different cast. While I often enjoy reading about flawed or dysfunctional people, this group of misfit friends felt more cartoonish than realistic. I also struggled to believe that they were ever truly friends as high schoolers. The dynamics felt off to me in ways I can't fully articulate. Since such a large part of the plot was the "covenant" of friendship that the characters vowed together, it made it hard for me to imagine that these particular characters actually felt the strength of that bond and would do so much to preserve it.

On the whole, I felt like this was an entertaining read but not one of Wendig's best. Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

My initial response to this book is to applaud whoever wrote the synopsis. It immediately piques your interest - a staircase just appearing in the middle of the woods? Horror fans are going to want to pick this up. BUT it does not give away the game of the book and that created just a very fun reading experience for me where I was constantly surprised and on the edge of my seat (and also saying “wtf is going on”[positive]).

So in that vein I am pretty limited in my review to not spoil the twists and turns. But STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS was what I have come to expect from Chuck. It’s a little less weird and wild than BLACK RIVIER ORCHARD but that’s a high bar.

The spirit of this book made me think of IT as we have this group of friends who fell apart coming back together and the joy and complicated emotions that come with it. These characters are not perfect and it was fascinating to go through this reunion primarily with Owen and Lore’s POV and the baggage that comes from childhood friendships.

One part that I will tag as a **spoiler*** but when it clicked into my head while reading I truly felt that Chuck must really have spent such time fleshing out this story even outside the pages. But I was just so pleased when we acknowledged these folks trapped in a murder haunted house NEEDED to rotate through some rooms to find themselves some showers and toilets. I feel like so much media be it movies, tv, or books don’t acknowledge stuff like so it felt all the more immersive and emphasized the length of time spent there.

Lots of enjoyment. I thought about this book throughout my day excited to pick it up again. Lots of CW though but most instances are brief.

The Staircase in the Woods is a horror novel about a group of friends who found a mysterious staircase in the middle of the woods as teenagers. After one of them walked up, the staircase disappeared. Now, twenty years later the staircase has reappeared and the remaining four reconnect in hopes of finding their missing friend.

I loved that the timeline alternated between the past and present. Through the flashbacks we see what happened leading up to and after Matty’s disappearance. In the present, the rest of the group has grown apart but agrees to meet up when Nick invokes the covenant - their agreement to always be there for each other. Unbeknownst to them, he has ulterior motives.

The idea of finding a random staircase in the woods was intriguing and I was so excited to find out just what it lead to. Once the group goes up and begins exploring the house I was hooked. I really liked the claustrophobic, sinister atmosphere of the house but fair warning, the descriptions could be quite gory (make sure you check trigger warnings!). This is definitely an interesting take on a haunted house and I enjoyed seeing the way it messed with each characters head.

The plot was interesting but the characters were the problem for me. None of them were likable and while there may have been a few close friendships, the group as a whole didn’t seem to like each other much which made it hard to believe in their “covenant”.

I will say that this was a little too heavy on the politics for me. With the current political climate, I read to escape not be reminded of what’s happening in the world so it kept taking me out of the book.

I liked the reveal at the end but was unsatisfied with the ending. I have nothing against open endings but in this case, I would have preferred more of a resolution.

I really like this author, and I was pretty confident about this novel. I found what I like in his stories, horrific without being over the top, but I still regret a few lengths at times.

A staircase that leads to nowhere appears in the woods. One fateful day, five friends go up it, but only four come back down. This synopsis is sparse, mysterious and foreboding. But when it's a Chuck Wendig book, I don't need to know more than that to jump in! I LOVE his books!

This is likely the most difficult review I've ever written. Every attempt I've made to tell you about things I LOVED in this book has been rife with spoilers. So here is what I can say: I was absolutely DELIGHTED when we learned where the stairs lead to...I unexpectedly got one of my favorite horror tropes!!!! The characters are amazing. My heart broke for these characters who experienced too much trauma as teens. I was all in to see them reunite to face it and to try to mend what was broken. I was totally immersed in this story, I could vividly see it in my mind. I think Wendig did an excellent job of weaving political commentary throughout the novel. And I loved the central theme explored, how a certain place can be one of love and life or hurt and horror. 

The Staircase in the Woods is a fast-paced read. It hooked me early on and easily held my interest. Ranking it compared to other Wendig books I've read: I liked it more than Black River Orchard but not as much as The Book of Accidents (which remains one of the best books I've read in my entire life). And I can't post about Wendig and his books without mentioning how much I love his Star Wars books, they just don't factor into this ranking because they aren't horror books.

But, UGH. Wendig, I'm giving you a little bit of stink eye for that ending. I needed just a bit more.

Heads up, the book deals with a number of difficult topics such as gore and violence, drugs, sexual assault and self-harm. 

Adding this here, but not on my social media reviews because of spoilers: HOLY HAUNTED HOUSE!!!! Loooooved the house vibes. And also, obsessed with all the comparisons and references to gaming.

I truly felt like I needed to stand in one of those biohazard showers to wash away everything this book left on me. It had potential, and the description really caught my attention. I’ve spent years on the r/nosleep subreddit and was excited to see what this story might become. But ultimately, it didn’t work for me. It’s repetitive, but not in the adds to the plot kind of way. The writing jumps from basic descriptions like as red as a clown balloon to unnecessarily long, over the top descriptions. It felt like the author was trying to be clever, but ended up making the prose feel more performative than engaging. There were also political rants? Those felt very heavy handed and more of an angry lecture than meaningful commentary. The characters are shallow and about as compelling as background extras in a low budget film.

The physical and emotional trauma felt excessive, and not in a a way the served the horror effectively. It leans more into body horror than classic horror, which isn’t my thing. The disturbing imagery? No thanks. I could have gone my whole life without reading a sentence that includes the words centipede enema or stepping on puppies until the pop. The characters are incredibly unlikable, and it doesn’t even seem like they enjoy each other’s company. There’s no real chemistry or depth. Just a group of people who feel less like friends, and more like hostages of the plot. At best, they tolerate each other.

The book is packed with pop culture references. But instead of feeling natural, they come off as forced. Like the literary equivalent of someone trying too hard to seem relatable. I’ve also come to realize that trauma driven horror with gruesome shock value scenes just isn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Worlds for the ARC!

Although I hadn’t read anything by Chuck Wendig before, I was immediately drawn to the premise when browsing the ARCs available on NetGalley.

With only a premise to go on, I delved into this book completely blind and I’m so glad to have done so. I felt like I was a part of the friend group, encountering certain horrors as they did and being faced with their past traumas.

I don’t want to spoil this book for anyone who may be intrigued enough to read it themselves, so this review is going to be short and sweet. I recommend this book to fans of the horror genre, but please remember to check trigger warnings as this book deals with dark themes.

Now that is what I call a horror book! Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!

A story of grief, loss, trauma and what happens when you let that hurt fester. 5 friends walk into the woods and only 4 come out… this story was creepy and one hell of a ride from start to finish! The only part that irks me (and why I’m giving it a 4 1/5 out of 5 ⭐️) is the ending.

Make your way up the stairs and into a whole new terrifying world… if you dare.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book for my honest review - it will be published 29th April 2025 in the UK.

I have DNFed this book at 42% - I feel like nothing has happened, everything that has happened has felt really repetitive and it’s making me lose interest.

The characters are unfortunately not for me either, I find it hard to relate to any of them. I find Lore the worst of the bunch. I’m not sure how any of them were even friends in the first place as it didn’t seem like any of them had a single redeeming quality.

I’m really sad that I didn’t like this book as I was highly anticipating it, unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. I will be giving Black River Orchard a chance, maybe the premise of this story just wasn’t my vibe.

The first book I read this year was Danielewski's <i>House of Leaves</i>, and this book reminds me a lot of that one. Here we have the horror trope of the Mysterious Staircase, one that appears and leads seemingly nowhere, and five high school friends on a camping trip who come upon the staircase. Absolutely no surprise what happens next: one of the friends disappears after going up the stairs. Or what happens after that: the friends grow distant, but then come back together and go up yet another staircase and also disappear into... a house.

We spend far too much time in the house, figuring out how that particular horror works. I wasn't expecting anything new or surprising, but because that part of the book goes on . . . and on . . . just lessened any actual horror that might have been in the house. Of course the four remaining friends go through self-discovery and conflicts and figuring out how to work together again, but some of that seems to happen very quickly compared to their exploring this space in which they're trapped.

I really hope the cliffhanger at the end doesn't lead to a sequel.

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.

This is an awesome thriller. It is fun to see the characters change as they age and to see them in different timelines. It brings the best of Stand by Me and Stranger Things with a forrest setting. Wendig knows how to crawl under your skin with characters you will never forget.

THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS,, by Chuck Wendig, is the story of five friends--bound by what they termed "the Covenant"--to always have each other's backs. in 1998, while they were in high school, the dynamics changed a little (relationships and crushes always a possibility), but the five stayed close.

Until the camping trip where they discovered a staircase in the middle of the woods, and their lives were altered forever. Nick, Owen, Lore, Hamish, and Matty went in....all but Matty came out.

This is a story about the friendships that hold us together in youth, and how much those friendships impact the way we move forward. In some cases, extreme cases, people can't ever let go and move on. This early friendship pact was more than just that, they were family to each other in a way their actual families never would be.

Years later they reunite to "right a wrong", finding another staircase in another area of woods. What happens there is the base of the story.

I honestly loved getting to know each of these characters. They had such different motivations and focuses--each with their own tragic backstory, made better only when they stuck together. How do you go back to a friendship like that after decades of distance?

This was a very unique take on a haunted house tale, as well. There was a lot happening, and yet it all felt "right" in a way--that this type of "home" was exactly the way it needed to be. Relationships salvaged, strained, broken, mended, and everything in between.

Overall, this is one of the most original haunted house tales I've read in quite some time. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, and their ever-changing dynamics with each other when confronted by their own insecurities. There were twists and turns I never saw coming, and symbolism that was spot on. My only deduction was for some of the repetition--particularly in the middle of the book. While some was necessary to a degree, I think the book could easily have been cut down by 1/4-1/3, and made for an even tighter, more solid story.

Recommended.

(I received an eARC of this novel from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are uniquely my own.)

Review posted to StoryGraph and Goodreads on 3/22/25. Review will be posted to Amazon on release date.

After the disappearance of their friend in high school, the remaining four friends have been spread to the wind until one of them contacts them to meet up due to a health diagnosis. When they arrive to the site, they find out it’s actually to explore a staircase in the forest like the one their friend disappeared on. A quick decision sends them all into a journey through self and friendship that they might not escape.

This was a really fun read. I didn’t necessarily like any of the adult versions of the characters that we meet but I could see how they had become the people that they did. The pacing of this book was so spot on. If I ever thought I’d have a moment to catch my breath and adjust to where we were in the story that quickly was flipped on its head leaving me feeling as disoriented as I imagine our characters felt. The imagery in this book was just absolute horror perfection. I ultimately enjoyed this book but found I had predicted the twist midway through or else it would have been a 5 star read for me.

🌳📶🏠Home is where the hurt is🏠📶🌳

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is my second book by Chuck Wendig, and he is now a staple in my future TBR and an auto-buy author.

5 friends go camping...4 friends come back. And this turn of events unravels their tightly knit friendship apart until years later, a friend invokes the covenant. A promise must be fulfilled. A mystery, secrets, feelings, and the past come to light. If only it was *that* simple.

With the narration style, multiple pov, going between then and now, the depth that goes into the characters and their relationships as well as their complicated pasts, the lore and mystery surrounding the disappearance of their friend as well as EVERYTHING else happening this was a superb read, with being 400 pages and I inhaled this book. It was that good. With creepy pasta vibes, mystery, thriller, unnerving, and uncanny that delves into the complexity of relationships and grief.

"Hell is not a place, or a presence. Hell is an absence. Hell is the place where God will not see you....Hell is a choice"

This is a highly recommended read.

I would love to thank NetGalley, DelRey, and Chuck Wendig for allowing me to read and review this masterpiece! Can't wait for my next one!

DNF@ 46%

I liked the cover and the plot, but that's it. The book is way too long and repetitive. It's character driven and I wish it was plot driven instead, because I don't care for the characters at all.