This book is definitely going to stick with me. Definitely recommend. It takes a while to get into it but once you get there, you won’t want to put it down.

Did not get to read - have way too many books on the shelf. Need to clear some out. Hope to get to this one in the future though.

I have enjoyed many J D Barker books over the years and hs 4MK trilogy cannot be highly recommeneded enough.

This story has Dean Koontz and Stephen King vibes from the 90s (for me this is a very good thing). It is very difficult to review this without giving too much away but needless to say Barker creates a sense of isolation and mystery at a remote locatoiin and skillfully weaves in a compleeing narrrative of teenage life mixed with tales of the past sprinkled with the superntural. Whatever you think may happen may or may not occur, to say there are twists is a massive undestatement.

I apprecited the story when I came to the end as the sense of sadness stayed with me for a while after I had finisehed. Is this my favourite JD Barker ever, no, is it a thoroughly recommended read - very much so. 4/5

J.D. Barker’s Something I Keep Upstairs is a spine-chilling blend of coming-of-age adventure and supernatural horror, set against the eerie backdrop of a remote island off the New Hampshire coast. When seventeen-year-old Billy Hasler and his best friend David set out to enjoy one last summer of freedom, they stumble upon a legacy far darker than they ever imagined.

Barker masterfully builds suspense, combining teenage curiosity with a creeping sense of dread as the boys uncover the island’s sinister history. The novel explores deep themes of friendship, sacrifice, and the cost of confronting the unknown, all while delivering classic horror thrills.

Atmospheric, unsettling, and emotionally resonant, Something I Keep Upstairs is a chilling tale that lingers long after the final page. Perfect for fans of horror grounded in human connection and psychological depth.

I want to preface this review with the fact that I love J D Barkers other works. This just fell a bit flat to me.

From the cover I thought this would be an adult thriller with some horror elements in it, it sits a lot more in Young Adult, which is fine but was a bit of a shock. I love the main characters but I just did not get on with the pacing of this book. The first half took forever to get into and then nothing ever seemed to feel high stakes enough towards the end.

I’m not sure, I will possibly come back to this one again in the future because I was also trying to finish it whilst in a bit of a reading slump and I do think that might have impacted my enjoyment, but for now it’s a 3*

I'm a sucker for books based on real locations/stories especially if they're local to me. Something I Keep Upstairs fit both of those check boxes. I’ve been anticipating the release of this book for months, so I was extra grateful to receive a copy from the publisher through Netgalley! Throughout the book we follow the journey of a group of friends when one of them inherits his grandmother’s house on a haunted island along with the chaos that ensues around them. The story is easy to follow, but does was not so simple it was boring. The words were carefully put together and for someone who has a very hard time actually picturing the words that I am reading, I found myself fully visualizing what I was reading. This was my first JD Barker read and it will not be my last. The first line of the book captivated me and from that moment I did not want to put it down. It was the right combination of thriller meets suspend your disbelief to imagine a world beyond.

Wow, what a page-turner! I was sucked into this story from the first page! A mysterious house, a teenage group of explorers, a mysterious town history… this was such a good read. There were twists and shifts in the story that made you question so much. There were revelations and shocking truths… an otherworldly aspect, witchcraft element, generational curse… all the makings of a fantastic tale! And then to find out this place actually exists?! Check please! I need to see this location for myself! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for such an entertaining story gifted as an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

An isolated setting, one last summer together for a group of high school friends, and a haunted house. I knew this was going to be a good one. I really enjoyed how the story unfolded slowly. There were lots of little reveals that kept me interested. I didn’t know who to believe until the end. The paranormal aspect did get a little out there for me, but overall I really enjoyed this. 3.5 stars.

Wasn't sure what to expect headed into this one, and wound up finding a story that wholly commits to its supernatural spookinesss!

While there are parts of the story that felt a bit long winded and the payoff isn't totally satisfying (we never do find out just EXACTLY what the hell Emerson is), Barker's story fully delivers the ghostly goods in a way that nothing else I've read recently quite has.

Barker commits here to the mixture of haunted house and ghost tropes, and while the landing may not be stuck perfectly, there are a lot of concepts here in play to like. Overall, I thought this was a sneakily scary read, even if the meat of it can sometimes be buried underneath the need to tie every character's entire life together.

Barker's 4MK trilogy absolutely blew me away. I would go as far as to say all other psychological crime thrillers cannot compete. For this reason alone his books are always an auto-read for me, I don't even read the blurb. But in this case, I wish I had.

Paranormal is not my bag, but I thought I'd persevere with this one as there seemed to be a crime element...I wish I hadn't. this was a long and drawn out story that was confusing at times and sadly fell short for me at the end.

If haunted houses are you thing, the writing style and craftmanship for creating atmosphere are here in abundance.

Remind me not to stay at a lake house, or hotel near the lake/beach anytime soon. If you want a thrilling read that hits close to home, Something I keep Upstair by JD Barker is the book to pick up.

When seventeen year old Billy Hassler’s best friend Spivey inherits a small island off the New England coast with an old house and a boat the boys think their last summer before college is made. No parents, no police, just parties and good times ahead! But the island has a dark past and comes with rules that must not be broken as the boys soon find out.

The atmosphere of the novel soon changes from summer sunshine to chilling darkness and stormy seas and the sense of evil and foreboding is palpable. What the group of teens don’t know is that the evil presence haunting the island has affected generations and is still hungry for more. JD Barker’s writing notches the eeriness and tension up to maximum but themes of friendship, loyalty and sacrifice keep it real for Billy, Spivey and their friends.

I did however, feel the book the book was overly busy with a lot of ideas, which sometimes weakened the flow and suspense, and felt it could have been a tad shorter with some of the themes more streamlined to make them stronger and even creepier. Even so, there was sufficient clever creepiness to keep me entertained and I enjoyed the way Barker worked in some local history.

You think you’ve read every haunted house story out there? Think again.

This creepy story from J.D. Barker flips the haunted house trope on its head. It’s not ghosts or demons lurking upstairs—it’s something way more personal, and way more disturbing. The main character knows exactly what’s in the attic… and he put it there.

It’s pretty fast paced and super unsettling in the best way. There’s that classic horror tension—creaky floors, a locked door, weird noises—but what makes it really stick is how much of it messes with your mind.

3.75 stars. An isolated island, a mysterious house, crazy teenagers, and an evil presence. I started out very much intrigued by this creepy, suspenseful story, but had trouble staying with it as it got more and more into supernatural horror. I have enjoyed many of J. D. Barker’s previous books, but this one wasn’t one of my favorites. I would recommend it, however, to fans who are into this genre as it is a well written, horrific thriller . . . just not my cup of tea.

Straight away the setting is creepy, an old mansion full of history on an island near the coast of New Hampshire. Billy and his friends are heading off to college and want one last summer of fun, but very quickly the atmosphere goes from drinking, partying and long summer nights to darkness, danger and having to look over their shoulder.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hampton Creek Press, Simon & Schuster for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A chilling supernatural thriller that blends psychological horror and coming-of-age story. Seventeen-year-old Billy and his friends try to uncover the dark secrets of an inherited mansion on a nearby island. An enchanted summer turns into a nightmare when they discover an ancient evil in the house.

The atmosphere is eerie and claustrophobic and has a certain gothic vibe to it. This was a gripping read and kept me on the edge of my seat until the final, chilling page.

When Billy’s best friend, David Spivey, inherits a house on a secluded island across from their sleepy town, it looks like they’re set for the perfect summer before they go off to college. But as they dig into the island’s past, they begin to become aware of an ancient malevolence that has influenced generations of their predecessors, and their perfect summer quickly descends into a terrifying nightmare.

I’ve read and enjoyed a few of J.D. Barker’s books before, and this one did not disappoint. Something I Keep Upstairs is atmospheric, creepy and very well-written, with an original and well-rounded plot. The story is based on a real island, with a true mysterious history (though perhaps not quite as menacing as the one Barker has created here) and I think that really helped to anchor the story in reality. Despite revolving around a malicious entity, spirits and ghosts, something about it felt very real.

The only area I couldn’t entirely get on board with was the motives behind some of the characters’ decisions. Alesia and Matty were driven by pure greed – I get that – and I could understand Spivey’s motivations, even Kira’s to some extent when things had progressed out of her control. What I couldn’t understand was why Izzie, Chloe and Kira got involved to the point of no return, when there didn’t seem to be much reason or benefit for them to. They obviously agreed to do some really dark things pretty early on, and I couldn’t really get to grips with that. My assumption is that their history with the island made them somehow predisposed to make they decisions they made, but I found it frustrating.

On the whole, this is a really eerie and intricate horror story, well worth a read for fans of mysteries and paranormal horrors.

EXCERPT: My name is Billy Hasler.
When I was a kid, my best friend's name was David Spivey. I haven't said that name aloud in nearly eleven years. It's been at least nine since I'd last written it down, and I have mixed feelings about putting it on paper here. I've been told I should though, so there's that. They tell me it will be good for me, but I can't help but wonder if they really mean it will be good for them.
A lot of people want some kind of closure from me. Honestly, that's a big ask. I'm still waiting for my own closure to come.
I've been told that if I continue to keep all this to myself, bottled up inside, the pressure will build and one of these days I might just . . .
Kablooey!
Okay, that's silly. But that's what the doctors tell me.
That's what my mom tells me.
That's what my remaining friends tell me.
Most certainly the police. Their visits aren't as frequent as they used to be, but they still come around. Mundie gave up. Sandy Lomax has long since retired, but that's never stopped the latest fresh-faced officers on our small force from knocking on my door.
'Hey, I read the file and I was wondering if you could spare a few minutes to talk about Chief Whaley, those kids . . . '
I tell them enough to make them go away.
Just enough to make them understand that the sponge has been squeezed dry by many hands before them, and I have nothing left to give.

ABOUT 'SOMETHING I KEEP IN THE ATTIC': For a haunted house to be born, somebody has to die.

In the sleepy coastal town of New Castle, New Hampshire, seventeen-year-old Billy Hasler's life is about to take a terrifying turn. When his best friend David Spivey inherits a mysterious house on a nearby island, it seems like the perfect place to spend their final summer before heading off to college. No parents. No police. No responsibilities.

As they dig into the island's dark past, they awaken an ancient evil that has influenced generations. What begins as an innocent summer adventure quickly descends into a nightmare.

MY THOUGHTS: Do the dead know they're dead?

That question is doing my head in, but it is an important question in the context of Something I Keep Upstairs by J.D. Barker.

The more I think about this read, the more I find to like about it. Initially I had trouble connecting with both the storyline and the characters - there's a very YA feel to it. The main characters are sixteen and seventeen years old - that's a long way back in my rear-view mirror. And not a lot happened in the first half of the book. I wasn't getting chills or tingles in my spine and, to be quite honest, I was feeling quite disappointed.

But after the halfway point, the tension ramps up quite considerably. I still didn't get the tingles and the hairs on the back of my neck were resolutely flat-lining, but it certainly became a whole lot more interesting. I knew that no matter how it ended, it wasn't going to be good (for the characters).

There are still some things I don't understand, and I am tempted, at some near point in the future, to give this a second read. Knowing what I now know, I think I will get a lot more out of this read and I will probably find the answers to those questions. This is also one of those very rare instances where I think I would have benefited from reading the author's note BEFORE I read the book.

I was extremely blessed to be able to combine reading with listening to Something I Keep Upstairs and I definitely preferred reading Something I Keep Upstairs to listening to it. This is no reflection on the narrator. Michael Crouch does a superb job of the narration, and I have no complaints on that front. I just think that more of the creep factor came through the written words.

As an aside, the next pet I get, I am going to name Emmerson, and there will be a note on my fridge which readsDon't forget to feed Emmerson.

⭐⭐⭐.7

#SomethingIKeepUpstairs #NetGalley

MEET THE AUTHOR: As a child I was always told the dark could not hurt me, that the shadows creeping in the corners of my room were nothing more than just that, shadows. The sounds nothing more than the settling of our old home, creaking as it found comfort in the earth only to move again when it became restless, if ever so slightly. I would never sleep without closing the closet door, oh no; the door had to be shut tight. The darkness lurking inside needed to be held at bay, the whispers silenced. Rest would only come after I checked under the bed at least twice and quickly wrapped myself in the safety of the sheets (which no monster could penetrate), pulling them tight over my head.

I would never go down to the basement.

Never.

I had seen enough movies to know better, I had read enough stories to know what happens to little boys who wandered off into dark, dismal places alone. And there were stories, so many stories.

Reading was my sanctuary, a place where I could disappear for hours at a time, lost in the pages of a good book. It didn’t take long before I felt the urge to create my own.

I first began to write as a child, spinning tales of ghosts and gremlins, mystical places and people. For most of us, that’s where it begins—as children we have such wonderful imaginations, some of us have simply found it hard to grow up. I’ve spent countless hours trying to explain to friends and family why I enjoy it, why I would rather lock myself in a quiet little room and put pen to paper for hours at a time than throw around a baseball or simply watch television. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I want to do just that, sometimes I wish for it, but even then the need to write is always there in the back of my mind, the characters are impatiently tapping their feet, waiting their turn, wanting to be heard. I wake in the middle of the night and reach for the pad beside my bed, sometimes scrawling page after page of their words, their lives. Then they’re quiet, if only for a little while. To stop would mean madness, or even worse—the calm, numbing sanity I see in others as they slip through the day without purpose. They don’t know what it’s like, they don’t understand. Something as simple as a pencil can open the door to a new world, can create life or experience death. Writing can take you to places you’ve never been, introduce you to people you’ve never met, take you back to when you first saw those shadows in your room, when you first heard the sounds mumbling ever so softly from your closet, and it can show you what uttered them. It can scare the hell out of you, and that’s when you know it’s good.

Barker resides in coastal New Hampshire with his wife, Dayna, and their daughter, Ember.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Hampton Creek Press, Simon & Schuster for providing an e-ARC and RB Media for providing an audio ARC of Behind A Closed Door by J.D. Barker for review. Both formats were delivered via NetGalley. The audiobook is well-narrated by Michael Crouch. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Such a different take on the haunted house trope. I was completely unsettled while reading this book. There was so much pain in this book caused by Emerson. This Emerson was not even a person, just an entity that was old as time. Yet the power he offered was so strong that people were willing to do whatever requested of them. So many ‘tokens’ were given to the island some knowingly others without knowing the consequences of their actions. This story was really horrific. The cycling of the house would be unbelievable by anyone who had not been exposed to the house. Once exposed , there was no turning back. Billy had things the worst. Because he was kept out of the pact made by his friends Billy would soon be placed in a situation where nobody would believe his story. The end leaves us wondering if Billy chooses the offer.

Something I Keep Upstairs starts with an intriguing setup — an isolated island, a mysterious house, and a group of teens spending one final summer together before everything changes. The eerie atmosphere and slow-build suspense were definitely strong points, and I was drawn in by the promise of uncovering something dark and otherworldly.

That said, I found it difficult to stay fully immersed. There were quite a few characters introduced early on, and I struggled to keep track of who was who. On top of that, many of them felt a bit flat or unlikable, which made it hard to really connect or care about what happened to them.

Still, the setting was evocative and the premise held my interest enough to keep me reading. It’s a solid read for fans of supernatural thrillers with a nostalgic, summer horror vibe.

Thanks to Hampton Creek Press and NetGalley for this ARC.