From the very start of reading this, I could tell it was something special, something that was going to really mean something to me.

I am a complete sucker for the trope where an incident implodes a tight knit friend group, scattering them to different parts of the country- just for resurfacing of that disastrous incident to be the thing that brings them all back together. It really just gives so much room to talk about what pushes people away from each other and all that you can lose in order to get that back. Wendig demonstrated this so well. You really get a sense that these are real people who really did have an entire adolescence of memories with one another.

The idea of the staircase in the woods is so fascinating to me. Structures in the middle of nowhere, where they seemingly don't belong are kind of terrifying to me. This book also incorporates another of my favorite horror concepts: the haunted house. It is a little different in this book, but it gave the same kind of feel. And it was SCARY!

This book was incredible from start to finish. Both the concepts in this book and the dynamic between the characters got into every single corner of my brain. I was consumed by this book and I highly recommend it.

Other than the Stephen King novels I've read, I'm not much of a horror person when it comes to books. Except, apparently, when it comes to Chuck Wendig - who is admittedly King-esque. I read Wanderers a few months before the IRL pandemic broke out, which was disconcerting, and I still don't look at apples the same after Black River Orchard so I can't wait to see what The Staircase in the Woods screws up for me!

But maybe it won't be anything. Because my third Wendig novel is definitely firmly in the horror genre but it's a bit different in that it's so much a band of questers (is questers a word? I'm not a gamer of any sort so apologies if it's not) looking into themselves as they fight the at turns tangible, figurative, and darkest 'bad guy.' I think it's pretty clear that sometimes the biggest, most horrifying 'bad guy' a person can face is when they face themselves and what they've done, or rather not done.

And that, at it's heart, is this story.

Lauren, Owen, Hamish, Nick, and Matty were inseparable in high school and yet they each had things they never wanted the others to know. So when one of them goes missing, on the aforementioned staircase in the woods,' rather than being pulled closer together, they drift apart.

Apart and down very different paths to very different degrees of success.

Until a bold-faced lie brings them back together years later to search for their friend and they end up trapped in a... I'll say 'plot device' so I don't spoil the story... plot device that forces them to confront the very worst in themselves and the world around them. And then they either have to defeat it or be defeated, only their high school jokes of 'all in this together' become survival instincts.

It's a fairly long novel and I read it in three days, so one of the only drawbacks is that it's just readable enough to be over too fast.

Thanks to NetGalley, DelRey, and the author for the chance to read this novel early in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and Del Rey for the pre-release copy of Chuck Wendig's latest horror novel, The Staircase in the Woods. Below you'll find my honest review.

Have you ever seen those really cool pictures people take and put on the internet of old, run down, abandoned houses? Or random parts of houses still standing when the rest is gone? This is kinda like that, but just a staircase. A staircase in the woods, leading up from the ground, leading up into nowhere, is waiting to be found. I've seen photos of random things like this found in the woods, and always thought there had to be good stories around them.

This takes that concept and give it the Wendig version of the Stephen King treatment. A group of friends, in their high school years of course, go camping in the woods one weekend. Five go in, but only four leave. One decides to go up the staircase they found in the woods, standing all on its own, and disappears, just as the staircase does a moment later, never to be seen again. Years later, they're all drawn back into the crazy when one of them leads them straight to another staircase in another forest, and this time, the hunt for their long-lost friend is on. What awaits them at the top of the staircase? Well, I have to leave that for you to read and find out. But what I can say is that this is a horror novel that lives up to the word.

I absolutely loved this one and highly recommend it to horror fans, especially if you like King-esque stories. Top notch, five stars.

I love Wendig’s writing and this is no exception. Suspenseful and mysterious, I love the mood and the relationships between the characters in the book.

Fascinating horror scenario where a mysterious staircase leads a group of friends into a house whose rooms are filled with reenactments of gruesome murders and other unhappy events, The relationships between the friends are tested as they begin to doubt themselves and each other during their seemingly endless and fruitless quest to escape. Chilling and suspenseful.

Chuck Wendig is an autobuy author for me and this book hasn't changed that one bit.

The Staircase in the Woods follows a group of friends who grew up with each other. They went through some seriously harsh times and were there for it all. One night when they went camping they encountered a random staircase near their campsite. There's always that one friend who wants to go exploring where they definitely shouldn't. It's no different here. One friend climbs to the top of the stairs and disappears. Years later, the group has coped with the fact that their friend went missing that night without any explanation.

Then they decide to go on another camping trip as adults and encounter a similar staircase. This time, they resolve to explore it together. They go to find their missing friend and end up getting significantly more than they bargained for.

This novel puts the meaning of friendship under the lens, looking at how people often grow strong bonds in their early years but as time passes and more responsibilities accumulate and interests change, those bonds deteriorate. It's just a part of life. More importantly, it highlights that no matter how good of a life somebody appears to have, we all have our own battles. This book examined all this beautifully.

With Wendig's previous novels, he succeeded at fleshing out the characters and making them feel three-dimensional. His dialogue is always top-notch. The characters have always felt like real individuals with their own distinct personality. I can't say that The Staircase in the Woods succeeds with that here. The friendship between everyone doesn't feel genuine. It feels forced. Shallow even. I didn't get the feeling that any of them actually considered themselves friends. More like a group of people who tolerate each other.

There's a lot more telling than showing throughout the novel that I found disappointing because Wendig's other books brilliantly leaned into showing.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy! I truly don’t know what to say about Chuck Wendig. He’s done it again! I have a staircase in my house and this book made me scared to go upstairs in my own house. This book is an excellent demonstration of how setting, place, and environment can really set a scene that is at once foreboding and enticing. I love a good haunted forest, creepy woods story, and this one pulls no punches!

I really enjoyed the premise of this book, including the ultra creepy staircase in the woods. I enjoyed the complicated and layered relationships between the characters as well as the diversity that was present throughout. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the chance to read an early copy!

"They were more than just a clique, more than just fellow wanderers. They were the crew, bound by their Covenant.”

Lore, Owen, Matty, Nick, and Hamish were BFFs in high school, until one of them went missing and changed everything forever. Now, 20 years and separate lives later, they've reunited for a weekend to rehash what happened all those years ago. Nick didn't tell them that the mysterious staircase in the woods has reappeared - which is where all their problems started.

First of all, I would NEVER. At my core, I am a scaredy cat. This book was methodical in it's reveal. It flips back and forth between present day and the past right after Matty went missing. We slowly learn each person's backstory which frames what happens when the ascend the staircase. The ever changing and seemingly unending labyrinth in which they found themselves in was terrifying. It felt like a horror take on the concept of friendship as a whole. Each room felt representative of an aspect of their past, self-reflection, and friendship as it played to each person's vulnerabilities and fears. It was sufficiently creepy while also wholesome. It's a story about what happens when grief, guilt, fear, and friendship collide together. It felt a little monotonous and repetitive in the middle. And the ending a little too ambiguous for me to love. However, if you're a fan of Stephen King's It, I think you'd be a fan of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Worlds for the advanced copy!

I received an early copy of this book so i could give my honest feedback on it and I love the premise of it and overall, it has a really good baseline to the story. A core group of friends that call themselves the "covenant" find a lone staircase to nowhere in the middle of the woods. One of them goes up the stairs only to disappear and never come down again. Years later the friends find themselves mysteriously in front of the same stairs again so this time they all go to try and find their friend.
The book started of really strong but somewhere towards the middle it started to drag in some sections, i didn't connection to the characters as much as i would have hoped to and I was a little disappointed in the ending. It was pretty abrupt and left a lot of questions unanswered.
Overall though I would still recommend the book especially if you are fans of his other books.

I really struggled to get into this book. I am not sure if it was the characters or the plot that I struggled with the most. I will return to try and retry this book in the future....HOPEFULLY right book, wrong time!

I love haunted house stories and creepy woods, so The Staircase in the Woods was right up my alley. This is definitely more horror than mystery. The characters were a bit unlikeable, and I do not enjoy the fact that there was no real resolution of the mystery of where the stairs came from or what the house was.

This is my first Chuck Wendig (adult) read. I really enjoyed his MG Horror Dust and Grim. I was intrigued and hooked from the beginning. I could not wait to discover more. The author does a fantastic job at leaving clues to keep the reader wanting more.

I am not really a fan of horror books and thought I would try this as I heard good buzz. It was ok but just not a genre I really enjoy. Good luck with the books and thanks for the read.

Though it's a fine one, this is not my favorite Wendig book.

I think that I really, really, really didn't like our characters and I didn't really care what happened to them.

As for our staircase in the woods, it was fine. It ended up being much what you expect it to be.

I will say that if I ever come across a random staircase in the woods (should I ever be in the woods, which is not likely), I will definitely not climb it. But if I did, I'd expect very much what our characters encounter here.

Not for me, but I'll happily try the next one.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Worlds for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I like to dabble in the horror genre here and there so when I was given the opportunity to read this book, I said sure. The story of four childhood friends who reunite when one of the friends calls on a long ago "covenant" between the group. The friends, who have grown apart meet up thinking that their friends is dying, but what they find is that they have been brought to a mysterious staircase in the forest. The thing is this is not the first staircase that they have encountered. The first one led to their friend, Matty, disappearing. This time, they are all climbing the staircase.

The story goes back and forth between the immediate aftermath of Matty's disappearance and their time in the house that the staircase leads them to. The friends: Nick, Owen, Lore & Hamish have all experienced demons but as children and as adults. And this adventure up the staircase causes them to confront their traumas.

I would say that this is both a horror and a psychological horror book. Chuck Wendig does not disappoint in his writing. The story may have triggers for some people. But I was fully invested. And that ending!

If you like a good horror read, pick this up.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

I received an e-ARC and am giving my honest review.

This is hands down the best horror novel I’ve ever read. No surprise, given it was written by Chuck Wendig, but holy hell. This was phenomenal. I went into this with a lot of excitement. I spent a lot of hours traversing Reddit and creepypastas about staircases in the woods as a kid/teen, and an entire book about it seemed right up my alley. Not to mention it being written by one of my favorite authors? i was sat.
Wendig always does a phenomenal job of writing a group of dysfunctional but extremely close people. The Book of Accidents was my introduction to his writing, something I still find myself thinking of often. And this was another phenomenal example of how well he writes relationships.

Each character had very specific and certain circumstances that is slowly revealed through the book. Starting off, we learn of Matty, their Golden-Boy friend who had disappeared after climbing a staircase they had found in the woods one night. Now, years later, they learn one of their friends has cancer, and has requested one thing: to meet again and camp in the woods of the staircase that took their friend, then disappeared. With a lot of reluctancy, they agree.

Every single horrific aspect of this book is a type of horror that I adore. The unknowing of the stairs that no one knows where they lead to, the house in which they find themselves after climbing the stairs and the horror it is filled with. The unending and somehow changing labyrinth of rooms and every terrifying thing they contain. The fact there is no escape from this strange place they've found themselves. I read a couple dozen pages in one sitting and once I got to the point of them climbing the staircase, it was next to impossible to put it down. I found myself writing things down, notes on what they know and what was happening, theories I had. I was absolutely engrossed in this book, gripped by the visceral terrors each room had. That each character carried with them. The humor that Wendig threads into his books is brilliant as well, somehow not letting the reader have a moment of escapism from the horror they're reading, but instead giving something of a moment to breathe and chuckle.

The twists in this book were written beautifully. Not totally out of left field, but not easily guessable either. Some of the imagery the words provided were just insanely cool. I can't stop thinking about them, of how I would create art of it. At times, it reminded me, eerily, of the Severance intro. The weird, trippy animation. I mean this in a wholly positive way, that weird, subliminal feeling is exactly what I had expected and hoped for when starting this.

This was a truly fantastical, horrific journey through the depths of human despair and the feeling of being "lost." Perfect for fans of Monster House, IT, (the creepiness of) Adventure Time.

House of Leave meets Cube in this gripping and heart racing horror!
Look, it took a while to get going. We start by meeting the crew of friends that were once close in high school. Years after their friend went missing, and they grew apart, they come together one final time in the hopes of finding him.
When a staircase to nowhere reappears in a forest, the four friends know they need to go up and try to find Matty. But what else will they find on the other side?

The first thing I will say is that I have not read a proper horror that actually made me feel things until I read this book. Chuck is incredible at using description and dialogue that is perfectly timed to create both a sense of tension and horror. There was also a sense of mystery and thoughts of “what is happening here?” (in a good way).
What I didn't like was how long it took to actually get up the staircase. I wanted the horror to start far sooner that 30-35%. The backstory of what happened to Matty got muddled up with the interactions of the friends. The dual timeline placed at that point didn’t work for me. It could have been better placed as we found out more about what was at the top of the staircase (so to speak). I also got confused a fair bit when all four characters were having a dialogue at points in the story. I loved it when they split up into groups of two, because then I knew who was talking.

This was a unique horror story, playing on accounts of real ‘staircases in the woods’. The inspiration of that, mixed with the House of Leaves/Cube vibes made for an ultimately enjoyable and unique read.

I would recommend this to any horror fans, whether they are new to the genre, or are veterans. Anyone who has read or seen the above book and movie will appreciate why I have said these as they go through the book.

This was a great time, and I look forward to reading more from this author. 4⭐
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House | Del Rey for the Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC) of this book. All opinions are my own.

I have somewhat mixed feelings about this book. I greatly enjoyed the myths such as the staircase in the woods which was a big thing on Internet forums, and the mention of creepypasta as it brought me this nostalgic feeling since I was a big reader of them, but I just found myself not interested in the characters at all. There were also some elements of the friend group that I just didn’t like and couldn’t connect to. Overall I did really enjoy the plot but the characters kind of ruined it for me.

I absolutely love chuck wendigo and his books. I met him during his last book tour and he is hilarious. It doesn't hurt that he is also local to where I live in Pennsylvania.

This book is gruesome, in the best way possible. There are so many times I read something an shivered because it was grotesque, but written in a way that felt real.

This story is about a group of 5 high school friends who find a staircase in the woods. One goes up, and never returns. Almost 30 years later one of them is dying and he asks them to meet. Instead of a hotel, he takes them into the woods, where another staircase waits for them.
The 4 remaining friends decide it's time to find Their missing friend. They climb the stairs only to find chaos, murder, blood and horror behind every door.

They must figure out how to escape the house and save themselves and their missing friend.

I would have given this book a 5 out of 5, but the ending left me wanting a definitive clear and concise ending. I hate cliff hangers!

Regardless, Chuck's writing style draws me in every time. He is to Bucks County, what Stephen King is to Maine.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.