"Heart is where the home is."


After their friend Matty goes missing as teenagers, four now adult friends meet back up to remember and celebrate their friendship. Unfortunately, one of them has planned more than a reunion. The staircase is more than meets the eye - will they find their friend or be trapped forever.

Man, this book was a trip. Part spooky, part heartbreaking, this book has lot going for it! There were parts that made me gasp in fear, and parts that made me cringe. The first half of the book is slow, and none of the characters are exactly loveable, but the book is an engrossing and quick read.

Thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for an ARC. This will be published 4/29/25!

Overall, I really enjoyed The Staircase In The Woods. I enjoyed the pacing and the imagery used by the author as he described certain parts of the book. The depth of the characters and the emotions they felt is probably what resonated most with me and the author did an incredible job of telling their stories. My only critique is that there were some civic overtones that didn't resonate with me personally. It was only a minor part of the story however and as a whole I really enjoyed it. I will read more books from this author and would recommend this to my friends.

Wendig’s newest title follows a group of childhood friends up a staircase in the woods and it’s a wild ride. Along the way, each character has things to confront within themselves and with each other.

I hesitated picking this one up because I expected it to be Bible-length. It was actually normal length and I wound up hating that it ended. It was kind of the coolest haunted house story I’ve read.

It's an easy five stars for me. I'm somewhat of a slow reader - a week or two generally for a book - but I was glued to my couch with this one. It is one of the best books I've read in a long time, and loved every moment of it. It kind of reminded me a lot of vintage Stephen King. It's totally original, and equally plot driven as it is character driven. Each person you will root for one moment, and then hate them the next - they're all conflicted in compelling ways. But the story... it's not like anything I'd ever read - and the whole time I'm wondering, where is this going? How is he going to tie all this together? It's a hell of a ride, and I think the majority of readers are going to love every moment of it.

Thank you to @netgalley and Chuck Wendig for this ARC!
"The Staircase In The Woods" is the latest horror novel from Chuck Wendig.
It is about a group of friends who discover a mysterious staircase while camping.
Quick pacing and multiple POVs make this a fast and interesting read.
Are you one who likes camping?

A poor imitation of Stephen King’s IT. It unnecessary long and confusing. And worst offense, boring. Only character that was somewhat tolerable was Marty.

Thank you to the publisher and author for a ARC in exchange of an honest review.

This book left me a bit confused.

There were many parts of it I enjoyed and also kept me reading, and I found the entire story line very interesting. I found that the story got better half way through.

The beginning of the book was difficult to get through at times, I found a lot of information I was getting in the first half was not needed. I also didn’t really enjoy any of the characters. It took me some time to get through this book, as I had to push myself through some sections to get to more intriguing parts I wanted to read about.

Three stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this book. While I've definitely read books with similar premises - I don't really want to say more as I don't want to spoil anything - I found this one to be very well done. It was suspenseful & creepy without feeling repetitive or over the top.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of The Staircase in the Woods in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 1/2

Next time I see a random staircase in the woods, I’m definitely walking up them because now I just assume they’ll lead me to self-actualization and healing from past trauma.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the advanced copy and the opportunity to provide an honest review.

This book kicked ass. This is my second Wendig book, and both have been differentiated pieces of art. He’s a gifted storyteller.

The Good…
I mean, pretty much all of it. The characters, the vivid, otherworldly setting, the prose, the nostalgia, the themes… all of it, stellar.

I was invested in this story from page one, and maybe it’s my soft spot for traumatic, supernatural events reuniting a group of disbanded friends, but this hit all the right notes for me.

The Less Good…
I don’t know that I’d change much of anything in this book. It’s one of the best I’ve read this year by far.

The Conclusion…
Go read this the second it is published.

What initially drew me to this book was its eye-catching cover and the intriguing premise it offered. The story started off strong, grabbing my attention right away, but sadly, I found my interest wavering at times. There were a few too many political rants for my taste, which took away from the overall enjoyment. The pacing began well but slowed down significantly in the middle. While things picked up again in the second half, I was already finding it a bit of a struggle to stay engaged. During those slower sections, I ended up skimming a bit, and to be honest, I didn’t miss anything crucial. It felt like the book could have been a tad shorter.

On the bright side, I really enjoyed the vivid descriptions throughout the story, especially the gory ones! They definitely added an edge, but I did notice some repetition, especially since we got to hear them from the perspectives of different characters.

The characters were quite fascinating, and I loved learning about their backstories and how they became friends. However, I felt they didn’t quite develop as the plot unfolded, which was a bit disappointing.

As I approached the ending, I was excited and expecting a fantastic conclusion. Unfortunately, I was left feeling a bit let down. The ending left a lot open, which hints that there may be a sequel in the works. I really hope there is, as I have a few lingering questions!

Even with its flaws, I still think this book is a good read and would be a nice introduction for anyone looking to dive into the horror genre.

I want to thank NetGalley and the wonderful folks at Random House Worlds, Del Rey for providing me with a digital review copy (DRC) of "The Staircase In The Woods." All the thoughts I've shared here are my own, and I’m glad to be sharing them voluntarily!

This book is not for me. I will start by saying I love a Chuck Wendig book, but this one really missed the mark for me. I read about 40% before marking this as a DNF. I think the book started out fairly strong and I was interested to see where it was going. Initially I was interested in seeing where the characters were going to go and how the story was going to come together. Unfortunately, the story did not catch my attention. The staircase in the middle of the woods was a stretch for me as a means to enter another world. Overall, I did not feel connected to any of the characters and found them rather dislikeable both in the past and in the future. I would have immediately disconnected from all these characters in real life and the book did nothing to help change my opinion of them. The random things that were thrown in to add "horror" or "gore" to the story did not seem to add content at the same time so I found them also rather distracting and off-putting. I would try another Chuck Wendig book in the future, but I will be a little more cautious about reading the readers summary if this is the direction his books are going.

I'm going to go with 4 stars on this one.

There was alot of great parts and some parts that I just wanted it to get on with it.

But all in all loved the creep factors.

A group of teenagers find a strange staircase in the woods that leads to nowhere. When Matty climbs the staircase, he disappears never to be seen again.
Years later the remaining friends reunite and find the staircase again: can they find their friend in the strange horrific world at the top of the staircase in the woods?

The Staircase In The Woods is a strange and beautiful tale that weaves through two separate timelines seamlessly. The world beyond the staircase is mysterious and horrific with incredible descriptions: a literal house of horrors. The characters are very realistic, with a great focus on mental health struggles, traumatic experiences and angst. You can feel the genuine friendships leap off of the page.
While I have read a similar story before, Chuck Wendig has a unique perspective that I really enjoyed. This is a really solid read

This book would have easily been a 4 almost 5 star book if it hadn't been filled with political bull crap. I get it, we all have an opinion one way or the other but I don't need to read about it in a book meant for enjoyment. As for the meat of the book, it was really good. The plot was original and something new. I started out hating every character and after reading about them more I started to root for them to get out alive. The descriptions of what was going on in each room was so vivid, I could actually picture each one.

Wow ok. Thank you NetGalley for giving me a chance to review and read this book. This may very well be one of my favorite books I have read in a long time. Right now I want to go find a staircase in the middle of the woods!!! I was drawn into the story and could feel what was going on in each and every room. I wanted to be in there with them!! I loved all the characters and how they interacted with each other. I am already going on my Goodreads and find another book to read. I am also going to put my review there. And to prove that it will happen. All i will say is.... The Covenant.

June 5th, 1998: 5 teenagers go into the woods. Only 4 come out.

Owen, Lore, Hamish, Nick, and Matty are camping one fateful summer evening when they find a staircase in the woods, suddenly appearing where one had never been before. Drawn to its mystery, Matty climbs the staircase and is never seen again. Fast-forward to present day and the 4 left behind have been estranged for years. However, Nick calls the group together for one last camping trip. Another staircase has been discovered, and this time they won’t leave the forest until they find out what happened to Matty.

Childhood friends reuniting as adults, tied together by a shared childhood, a tragedy, and some paranormal activity. A classic setup in the horror genre (invoking classics such as IT, or more recent reads like Small Town Horror) and for good reason. The staircase leads the friends from their world to another; a maze invoking the backrooms. It’s got a dash of humor, some unsettling scenes, and an exploration of the traumas and people we try to leave behind us, but never quite escape from.

Like all of Wendig’s work I’ve read so far, this is filled to the brim with pop culture references. This will appeal to some readers and turn some others away. For this story in particular it helps the characters (and the reader) stay moored in reality as it drifts apart around them. It also has cheeky nods to other Wendig books, with mentions of people and locations from Black River Orchard and The Book of Accidents.

This is an enjoyable read overall; like the place the staircase takes our protagonists to, it got a little meandering towards the end, but nothing to derail my enjoyment. A solid story!

Thank you Del Rey, Random House Worlds, and NetGalley for this e-arc. All opinions are my own :)

Wow. What a read! I originally heard of the staircase in the woods “myth”, “legend” — whatever you want to call it yearssss ago on a show I really loved called Channel Zero and was sooo creeped out so I love the idea of a novel centered around it. This was very “It” by Stephen King — esque with five high school friends who witness the staircase and lose a friend to the mysterious anomaly and years later must face that trauma once again.

Overall, this was a creepy, well written story. Though the writing does get repetitive at times, with the quality of the story I was able to look past it

I had to DNF this book at about 30%. The story was interesting but very very slow moving. It's about a group of friends that had gone camping as teenagers (they may have been a little younger, it may have said but I honestly can't remember) and while out in the woods, one of their friends disappeared. It's a classic trope that I normally really enjoy. I like when books have two view points, one current, one past, and this book did that about a quarter of the way through. It mainly followed the POVs of two of the friends, but the entire group are horribly unlikeable. I'm not sure if the author is making fun of the "woke culture" or is of a different generation and is just being cringy with how he thinks these people would talk. I found myself rolling my eyes at them so much that I gave up. If the story had picked up pace a bit, I still don't think I could have made it through with these people. And I'm guessing that's what happened to the missing friend, he found them so insufferable that he ran away.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC. All opinions are my own. Darn it. I had high hopes for this one but I have found for me that Chuck Wendig books are very bifurcated. I either love them or they are not for me. This one fell squarely into the not for me category. I had trouble engaging with the characters and I don't think I was prepared for a trauma read where so many awful things have happened to so many of the characters. I also got confused by the number of flashbacks. When I can't find someone to root for, I struggle to engage and invest.

I loved that the setting was taking place in the 90's with a group of 5 friends going into the woods and finding a staircase. This was so creepy, trippy and hard to put down. It did read slow but did not take away from the story. Coming together after 20 years and confronting each characters own trauma in this labyrinth. Atmospheric, and eerie make sure to pick this up on publication day!
Make sure you read the trigger warnings before going into this book.
Thank you, Random House,/Del Rey and NetGalley for the copy of this book in return for an honest review. Release date is 4/29/25.
4 star