Thank you @delreybooks @netgalley for the free book!

📖 A group of friends are on a camping trip when they stumble upon a mysterious staircase in the woods. One of them climbs it and disappears and moments later the staircase vanishes. Twenty years later the staircase appears again and this time the friends are determined to climb it and find their lost friend.

💭The premise of this book was so interesting. I loved the creepy vibes and the suspense. I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likeable, which usually turns me off of a story, but it didn’t with this one. My only complaint was the very end. I had a feeling where it was going and we were going to be left with unanswered questions and I just personally hate that. I spent all this time reading the book, I want it wrapped up! But I’m sure the ending will appeal to other readers.

📚Read this if you like…
Mysterious disappearance
Found family
Multiple POV
Paranormal elements

✍️How I rated other books by this author:
The Book of Accidents- 5⭐️

The phenomena of staircases in the woods is real and Wendig leans into what can happen when you cross one. This thriller keeps you guessing as to what will happen next as four friends attempt to find their friend who disappeared on mysterious stairs. Confronting loss, trauma, and horrors they couldn't imagine are just the beginning of what can be found at the top of the stairs.

Other than grin-and-bearing my way through that (somewhat infamous) comic by Adam Ellis, I’d never realized that hangnail-related body horror was a thing. And yet with The Staircase in the Woods, author Chuck Wendig (The Book of Accidents) has proven few things will make my entire being curl in on itself faster than gnarly descriptions of someone peeling the gnawed, bleeding skin on their fingernails. (A testament to his craft.) Eeesh. Truthfully, I’d rather read about someone being torn to shreds in gory detail. It just squicks me out, man.

But enough about me and my hangnail-related hang-ups!

In addition to all that, toxic friendships take center stage in Wendig’s new horror novel. The story drags us along on a trippy journey through the forest and a perilous descent into a haunted house of broken friendship following four estranged friends who are given the chance to potentially find a long-lost pal two decades after his tragic, eerie disappearance on a camping trip their senior year of high school. (Cue the malformed metaphors, survivor’s guilt, and long-simmering resentments.)

Chronologically, the story begins when Pennsylvania high school students Matty, Nick, Hamish, Owen, and Laur go on what’s meant to be a run-of-the-mill camping trip despite the emotional entanglements lurking just under the surface of their collective friendship (secret romances, unrequited crushes, jealousy, and painful secrets, etc.). They’re bonded by an oath — ‘the covenant’ — to protect one another, no matter what, interpersonal drama be damned. The hike up there goes well enough and the group sets up camp, but it’s not long before things take a hard left: a mysterious staircase appears in a clearing not far off from their campsite. (A staircase. To nowhere. In the middle of the woods.)

Thanks to a potent cocktail of alcohol, miscommunication, and rejection, Matty, high school golden boy and the group’s unofficial leader, decides to investigate. He goes up the stairs, takes a step off the top before anyone can grab him, and . . . disappears. Poof. And then the staircase also vanishes into thin air, leaving the remaining four to figure out what just happened, and what to do next. Everyone in town is convinced the remaining four had something to do with it, even if the police can’t prove anything. Matty is never seen again, and Nick, Owen, Laur, and Hamish struggle in vain to put the pieces of their lives back together.

Flash forward twenty years and the staircase has somehow, miraculously (or nefariously) reappeared, prompting the world’s worst high school reunion. Together they must climb the staircase, just like Matty did; they have to see what lies beyond the top stair once and for all, and bring back their missing friend.

Very cool concept, no? I was expecting something more folk horror-y. Maybe aliens? Certainly not what Wendig actually ends up revealing once the crew takes their literal leap of faith off the staircase. The story dwells in the more psychological and cerebral scares of fractured friendship and adulthood, rather than going for the jugular with straight-forward terror (for better or worse). As a result it reminds me a lot of Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay and Mister Magic by Kiersten White, with a dash of Stephen King’s It mixed in, for flavor.

There’s a ton of really interesting, cool, and decidedly freaky imagery going on here (Marshie . . . I’ll be thinking about Marshie for a long time — IYKYK) and a very unique, almost video game-inspired framing to the narrative that I liked. But something about this just didn’t click for me. (For what it’s worth, I wasn’t crazy about Horror Movie either, which you can read about here.)

Was it my lack of connection to some of the characters? Potentially. Given that the story revolves largely around the ups and downs of friendship and the lasting scars of childhood trauma, everything that ends up happening would’ve felt a lot more meaningful had I been given a better sense of the nature of their friendships earlier on. (I would have liked to see more emotional groundwork laid for Nick, Hamish, and Matty in particular.) Meltdowns over guilt, resentment, and past mistakes don’t pack the same punch when they’re delivered by a character who is essentially a stranger to me as a reader. Laur/Lore’s grating character — a capital E, capital C, capital G, Edgy Cool Girl™️ — didn’t help matters either, and neither did the dialogue. (From the MAGA rant during the car scene, to word choices like “unalived” — as in “That was, in theory, a teen girl who unalived herself” — it . . . ah, man. Nope.)

So, although I really appreciated what an eerie, twisty concept Chuck Wendig dreamed up for The Staircase in the Woods, this bleak horror novel didn’t pack the emotional punch I was hoping for. (Regardless, I’ll be taking the elevator over the stairs from now on, juuuust in case.)

Shout out to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was looking forward to this novel after reading the synopsis. However, I did not like this book at all.

To start with, the characters were insufferable. When you have a character driven novel, you need to have at least SOME good characters. Not the case here. Made for a very painful read.

This book DRAGGED on. So many unnecessary details. I was super bored! Not good for a horror novel. The unnecessary filler really took away from the creepy atmosphere. Found myself skimming much of the book.

Really disappointed with this one. Do not waste your time!

thank you Random House Worlds | Del Rey and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really drawn to the premise of this book. I felt that there was so much originality behind the storytelling. The rooms were present off of the staircase because the rooms retain the memory of the traumas that occurred within them. This blew my mind a bit and was extremely fascinating at the same time. I felt that the second half of the book was much better than the first, but I felt that there was a struggle because of how unlikable all of the characters were. I felt that this book needed at least one hero to really make it work. I definitely would be open to reading more from this author in the future. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

This one was not for me, while I loved the ideas and it was in vein of Stephen King's "It" something about it just fell flat for me. I think that a lot of people would love this though

*Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Worlds | Del Rey for providing me with this ebook, in exchange for an honest review*

I have to be honest. I didn't bought the thriller/horror aspect of the book. Most of the times it was way too predictable, and at some points where the plot should be thick was meh, and other times where the plot should be more to the point, it wasn't. That being said, Chuck Wendig, is a MASTER, and I can't stretch it enough, of creating characters. Every single character was so uniquely crafted that it didn't disappoint me that all of the characters were utterly cliché,

The world building would need more of care but other than that, I really loved it.

The title to this one says it all… I had to suspend a lot of belief that our characters would be naive enough to indeed follow a staircase in the woods. Didn’t give the jump scare thrilling ride I was hoping for. Thank you for this arc!

This book blends supernatural horror with emotional depth in a way that strongly echoes Stephen King. Centered on a family moving into a house with a dark past, the novel delivers eerie imagery—especially the mysterious staircase in the woods—and builds tension through character-driven storytelling. The horror spans the psychological and cosmic, with some truly unsettling moments. While the plot occasionally feels overlong and crowded, Wendig’s prose remains sharp and affecting throughout.

This is a chilling, imaginative read with heart and atmosphere—well worth it for horror fans. Loses a star for pacing.

4.5 stars!!!

This book really reminded me of the parts of House of Leaves that I loved! I felt unsettled through multiple points of this novel and I continued to think about it when I wasn't actively reading, and that's saying a lot for me, considering my track record for this year. Chuck Wendig's writing is super accessable and I absolutely fly through his books once they have their hooks in me! While this didn't give me the 5 star feeling, my complaints are practically non-exsistant. Just that I feel like they glossed over some things that really should've been actually talked about, (looking at you Owen....) but it always made sense in context of what was going on in the plot. I do really love that the synopsis of this is super vague, I didn't know what to expect from the horror and I was really pleasantly surprised! Wendig's horror simply is for me.

First I would like to thank NetGalley and and Random House Worlds for the ARC of this novel.

I went into this book almost completely blind. I knew nothing about the author or the genre and thought it was going to lead my fantasy then horror but I was pleasantly surprised by this book.

It was dark, emotional, haunting and gruesome. I enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting and I am looking forward to reading other books by this author.

I will say it was a little slow at times but overall I enjoyed it.

4/5 stars

I'm still trying to gather my thoughts on what I just read...
It's been a long time since I read a horror book with such distressingly descriptive, gross language. It made my skin crawl in the good way. I was nervous going in because this story, I assumed, was paying homage to one of the best r/nosleep stories ever written and I didn't want it to...ruin in? I guess??
This story ended up being less about the staircases in the woods and more about what's on the top of them which is something that the original nosleep didn't cover as much. That being said, I would have liked it more if the staircase was more of the focus to the story throughout rather than just bits and pieces at the beginning and end.

If you're hating everybody for the first 30%, just push through. They get somewhat better.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book!

I've not read many horror books so i didn't know what to expect going into this but I really enjoyed it. It was very dark and gruesome and haunting at times but also had a huge focus on friendship which I liked a lot.

The concept behind the book and the way the house was explored was really interesting and kept me reading. I also really enjoyed the writing style and how fleshed out the characters were. I feel like it made everything even more intense.

I went into this book almost completely blind. I knew what the title was and I had a general sense of the premise, but oh boy, I wasn't quite prepared for this book. At its heart (ha ha - those who have finished will know), it's a story about people's private pain. A group of friends find a staircase in the woods. One goes up the stairs and vanishes. Years later, they come together and head back up the staircase in an attempt to recover him.

I said this about Black River Orchard, and I'll say it about this one too: it is my personal opinion that Wendig is Stephen King's spiritual successor. There are tropes in this that harken back to some of King's greatest works, but it is my personal opinion that in some ways, Wendig surpasses him. For example, Wendig is a deft touch at his characters. While I may not like them, I completely sympathize with them and their plight, and more importantly, I understand them. I never find myself annoyed with the choices they make - and anyone who has consumed enough horror media will know that is high praise indeed.

My one slight complaint with this book was that it took a long time to get to the action, but in hindsight, I don't know that the rest of the book would have had the impact it did without that slow, steady introduction to our cast. Similarly, I felt that the ending was a little abrupt, but in all honesty, horror endings are often nebulous and polarizing, so this isn't an uncommon opinion. Better too short than dragging, especially since the pace picked up towards the end.

All in all, this was only my second Wendig book, but it will most likely not be my last. I think he is a master at characterization, and also at taking seemingly mundane things and twisting them, but this one wasn't a solid 5/5 for me. 4.5/5 for sure.

This was interesting although a little out there. This story follows five friends into an ever-changing house that shows them worst moments in their lives. They have to learn to deal with their trauma while trying to escape the house.

I rarely seek out multiple forums on which to post reviews, but I enjoyed Mr. Wendig's latest offering so much that I felt like shouting my elation. I devoured The Staircase in the Woods. And like excellent horror literature should, it offers more than just a fine scare that stays with readers long after the last page. His polished use of organic prose to imitate the mood and his diverse characters' truly poignant interior monologues make for a fascinating, thoughtful read start to finish. If you read one horror/thriller this season, make it The Staircase in the Woods. I think it's Mr. Wendig's best one yet. I finished in two sittings as I couldn't stand to put it down. But as I also couldn't stop thinking about it in the days that followed, I just started reading it a second time so that I can savor and further contemplate this truly brilliant, thematically layered writing

Special thank you to #NetGalley and Del Rey for their eARC.

Solid novel and effort by Wendig about a group of friends confronting a random (maybe not) staircase in the woods. A virtually identical staircase changed their lives in their youth, and with one of their mates afflicted with cancer, they invoke their bond to solve the mystery of these forested oddities and hopefully of also what happened way back when.

Although the title features its kooky phenomenon, the real stars of the novel are The Covenant themselves, our quartet of heroes Owen, Lore, Nick & Hamish. Like a role playing team, be it table top, video games, etc. they each come with their own set of personalities, strength, weaknesses, etc. but a key part of the experience when you start to tire of their attitudes, vulgarities and constant in-clashing, is that our band of heroes also come with their own traumas and the ballet Wendig displays in keeping in tune with our characters and understanding them is a feat expertly on display as you might feel the need to strangle one or two of them at different points throughout the novel.

And that leads up back to our staircase itself. No spoilers here in this review, as the book has a deep and fascinating origin story for our staircase (fully explained too!), but let’s just say here and now that this is a HORROR NOVEL. Whatever cosmic fuzzies one may get about the staircase are thrown out the window the moment The Covenant confront it, and for the reader? The name Marshie will help you decide whether you’re all in or not.

But in the end THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS is an entertaining and rewarding horror novel about a group of friends confronting their traumas. The Covenant’s grating behaviours and in-fighting will open up when you understand them more and Wendig gets two thumbs up for weaving a deep and intriguing tale as you flip the pages madly wondering who survives.

I love a good Chuck Wendig book and this one was really good. The premise itself is chillingly simple: strange, often impossible staircases appear in the wilderness, leading to... nowhere. Or, perhaps, somewhere far worse. Loved the story.

Wow. Chuck wendig can’t do any wrong. This story will stick with me. I don’t want to say anything more about it because it feel going in blind is so much better. When you think you know what’s going on, you don’t. So good.

This was my first Chuck Wendig book, but will definitely not be my last. This gripped me very early on and I simply could not put it down. The Staircase in the Woods hit me in a very psychological way, while still including light body horror to turn your stomach. Throughout the novel I couldn't stop thinking about what a great film this would make. My only point of contention is that I found the characters a little hard to connect with and root for during their escapades. The ending was a little convoluted and flat for how great the climax was, but overall this was a fantastic book.