J.D. Barker's Something I Keep Upstairs (audiobook) plunges listeners into a chilling tale where an inherited house on a secluded island promises a summer of freedom, but delivers a nightmare of ancient evil. Seventeen-year-old Billy Hasler and his best friend, David Spivey, envision an idyllic final summer before college at David's newly inherited home in New Castle, New Hampshire—a place free from parents, police, or responsibilities.

However, their innocent adventure quickly devolves into terror as they delve into the island's dark history, inadvertently awakening an ancient evil that has influenced generations. What begins as a dream escape morphs into a fight for survival against a malevolent force. Something I Keep Upstairs is a haunting and atmospheric exploration of friendship, sacrifice, and the sinister darkness that can lie just beyond our comprehension, making for a truly terrifying listen.

If J.D. Barker’s name is attached to a book, I’m going to see what it’s about! This time we have a haunted house on its own island in a real location called New Castle, New Hampshire. And we have YA characters too! Be sure to read the author’s note at the end of the novel. When I saw that Michael Crouch performed the narration, I just knew I had to listen to this novel. I have adored Michael Crouch in past books I have listened to: He is a perfect narrator for YA characters. And he helped to bring Billy to life telling the listener this story.

New Castle, New Hampshire is a small town and Barker really brings the reader/ listener into this world. Billy Hasler tells us this story: He and David Spivey have been friends since they were four years old. ‘Spivey’ as everyone calls him inherits his grandmother’s house that is on its own island. All the teens are ecstatic over this. But there are rules that are meant to be followed. Some of the rules are:

-Never lock the doors
-Don't answer the phone
-Anyone on the island at sunset must stay until sunrise
-No one under 16 can set foot on the island (Wait a minute, a teenage boy inherits an island with this rule!?!?)
-Don’t forget to feed Emerson.

These are some strange rules, especially for the teens. And who or what is Emerson???

What starts as adventure turns into a nightmare. Will these teens survive?

Barker did a great job with these characters. I felt like I go to know these characters over the course of the novel. We have witchcraft going on, ghosts, and plenty of supernatural. It is a character driven novel, so if you are looking for a novel to give you ‘jump scares’ this is not it. It does get creepy towards the end, but a lot of this is the journey that Billy, David, and friends go on.

I enjoyed it and thank the publisher for granting me a copy I could listen to and review.

Thank you to RBmedia, NetGalley & J.D. Barker for the audioARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5 stars.
Genre(s): horror, mystery/thriller.

Overall impression: this is by far one of my favourite horror/thriller reads to date. I could tell how much time and energy went into this novel because it was complex, completely refreshing and executed perfectly. The storyline was multi-layered and detailed, spanning multiple generations and with a wide variety of POV's showing different perspectives. The world-building was so intriguing with all of the unique paranormal elements and thorough descriptions of core locations, making the scenes easy to visualise. The characters were really interesting and had such different personalities and flaws. They developed a lot as the story progressed and made difficult choices that altered the trajectory of the story. By the end, it was positively unsettling and we were left with a open-ended happy-for-now scenario - which is my favourite type of ending for horror novels. I strongly recommend listening to the audiobook version of this story - the narrator did a great job at conveying the emotions of the characters as they were faced with injury, death and unimaginable horror. I was absolutely hooked and now need to go read all of J.D. Barker's other books!

Tropes:
➵ Childhood friends
➵ High school sweethearts
➵ Flawed characters
➵ Inherited haunted island
➵ Not everything is as it seems
➵ Witches, ghosts & demons
➵ Seance, rituals & blood pact
➵ Human sacrifice
➵ Tell anyone and 💀
➵ There's something in the basement
➵ No service/wifi
➵ Secrets & betrayal
➵ Not everyone survives
➵ Police investigation
➵ Missing person case
➵ Creepy lawyer
➵ Set in isolated location
➵ Plot twists
➵ Happy-for-now (HFN)
➵ Cliffhanger ending

⤷ Plot:
I thought I knew what was happening for the first part of the story but it quickly spiralled out of control and there were so many twists and turns that it was hard to keep up. It went at a break-neck speed with an inheritance, weird house rules, out-of-control parties, generational pacts and secrets, rituals and human sacrifice, and a final escape for your life scene. Like other great horror books the ending was unsettling and not quite a happy-ever-after. It was left open and you know that the threat still persists somewhere, even if it no longer affects a particular location.

⤷ Characters:
The main characters were a tight-knit group of high school friends. They had vastly different personalities and flaws, and underwent extensive character development as the story progressed - though not always in the right direction. This created some uncomfortable scenes as characters started pushing moral boundaries and put their friends at risk, such as demanding blood pacts and sacrifices to the evil entity in the house. I liked that Billy (the main storyteller) was partially separated from the core group so we got to see the outside world perspective too, which contrasted with the horrors happening on the island vividly.

⤷ World-building:
The level of world-building was seriously impressive. I couldn't work out what was real life and what was an alternative reality where ghosts, rituals and evil beings were rife. It was positively creepy and I was really scared for the main characters the whole time they were on the island. The visual description of the house was really detailed and well done. I could picture the scenes clearly and it felt like I was there with the characters. It made the whole experience even more anxiety-inducing!

⤷ Writing:
I really enjoyed the writing style and I'll definitely pick up more of J.D. Barker's books in the future. Despite being quite complex in terms of plot and world-building, the story had a great flow and didn't feel too convoluted. It helped that multiple POVs were used to show events happening simultaneously and the POV switching back and forth during critical moments really kept me on the edge of my seat!

⤷ Everything else:
I listened to the RBmedia audiobook and thoroughly enjoyed it. The narrator sounded like the main character and conveyed the emotion of the story really well. I was able to distinguish between the different character voices without any effort, which helped me follow along even when I was busy or commuting. The world-building did well with this format too and I could vividly picture the scenes described, so it felt like I was watching a little movie in my mind. I would strongly recommend the audiobook to anyone interested in the blurb for these reasons! I'm not sure if I would have appreciated the urgency of the story or subtle emotions otherwise.

I am giving three stars because this book was really hard for me to finish because I was not actually a huge fan of the themes in the book and they were hard for me to keep up with. However, the book was amazingly written! If you are someone who is into other worldly, witchy, ghostly themes this book is perfect and easily a 4-5 star read! The other was great and I highly recommend listening to/readinf the authors notes once the book is finished! I usually do not but I am glad I did this time.

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.

J.D. Barker’s *Something I Keep Upstairs* is an atmospheric and chilling haunted house novel that delivers suspense and even makes you feel for the "bad guys."

Set on a fog-laced island off the coast of New Hampshire, the story follows seventeen-year-old Billy Hasler and his friends as they spend a summer in a mysterious Victorian house inherited by Billy’s best friend, Spivey. What starts as a carefree adventure quickly spirals into a nightmare as the group uncovers the island’s sinister past and awakens ancient, lurking evil.

Barker excels at creating a vivid sense of place—the isolated island and its foreboding mansion become characters in their own right, amplifying the creeping dread that permeates the novel. The supernatural elements are handled with a slow-burn approach, building tension and unease rather than relying on cheap thrills. The house’s strange rules and the enigmatic presence of Emerson add a whole other layer of mystery that had me continually changing my view on what was really happening.

One of the novel’s strengths is its exploration of friendship and sacrifice. The bond between Billy, Spivey, and their friends is tested as secrets unravel and the stakes rise. In my opinion, those limitations of friendship are what really add the horror and emotional weight. Themes of generational trauma, loss of innocence, and the burden of inheritance are woven seamlessly into the narrative, grounding the supernatural in relatable human experience.

I saw some reviews that said the character development could be deeper, and I do agree with that assessment. While I found some of the cast believable, others were too static. This, I feel, was the author's biggest weakness -- making some of his characters too black and white. Billy's dad, for example, was... I don't want to say he was the stereotypical finger-steepling, sharp-nosed villain. But honestly, he is kind of portrayed that way. Some of the things he did (even in hindsight when you know the whole story) are really ridiculous and unrealistic. So the story lost a star in that respect from me.

The pacing is generally strong, with short chapters and escalating suspense, though a few plot detours felt slightly extraneous. Still, these minor issues did not detract from my overall enjoyment.

My other major complaint was that at times, it felt more like a YA horror novel than a real horror novel. Part of that was likely the abundance of teenage characters, of course, but some of the actions and themes lent themselves better to YA than true horror, too.

In summary, the story is rich in atmosphere, emotionally resonant, and genuinely unsettling. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride and had no major complaints beyond the few predictable and unrealistic characters. If you’re looking for a haunting, character-driven ghost story that lingers after the final page, give this one a shot.

So… I really wanted to like Something I Keep Upstairs, but honestly, it just didn’t work for me—and the witchcraft stuff? Totally over the top.

The setup had potential: a group of teens spending the summer on an island with creepy vibes and mysterious history. But then it veered hard into this wild, over-the-top witchcraft angle that felt like it belonged in a completely different book. I’m talking ancient rituals, sudden hallucinations, people floating—it was like The Craft met Scooby-Doo, but without the charm or coherence.

Honestly, it felt like the book was trying way too hard to be edgy and supernatural, but it just came off as messy and kind of ridiculous. I kept waiting for it to settle into something compelling, but instead it just got more absurd.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC audiobook in exchange for this honest review.

Something I Keep Upstairs by J.D. Barker is the perfect summer read: gripping, atmospheric, and impossible to put down! From the very first page, the story pulled me in with its chilling premise and masterful suspense. Barker’s writing is sharp and immersive, making it easy to lose yourself in the twists and turns of this psychological thriller.

The book’s description hints at secrets lurking just out of sight, and Barker delivers on that promise tenfold. The tension builds steadily, leaving you guessing until the very end. The characters are richly drawn, and the pacing is flawless, making it one of those rare books you’ll want to devour in a single sitting.

If you’re looking for a thriller that’s equal parts spine-tingling and addictive, this is it. Something I Keep Upstairs is a standout in the genre, and I highly recommend it for your summer reading list.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this fantastic book in exchange for an honest review.

There is a lot of elements to this story. It’s reads like an 80s horror film. There’s horny teens, an inherited party house, occult activity. A group of seniors, in a small town find out one of them just inherited a house. The house comes with rules that you must follow. When strange things start to happen a couple of the kids start asking questions. I did enjoy the small town elements that help the story and the ending made it worth the wait. I listened to it as an audiobook. When it was about halfway through I thought the story was wrapping up only to find out we still had 7 hours left to go. I gave it 3 stars because I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it.

It appears that other than the 4MK Thriller series (which I loved and devoured), I have a hard time connecting with Barker's books. I had high hopes for this one from reading the synopsis alone. However, once I started it I realized it was going to be a completely different reading experience than anticipated. I had a very difficult time connecting with any of the many characters in the story due to how incredibly unlikable they all are. I think whereas Barker was going for suspense and horror, it was just too convoluted leaving me confused and frustrated. Not my favorite.

I enjoyed so many parts of this book. I loved the small town/isolated island setting. The haunted house/atmosphere. The coming-of-age horror.

I liked most of the characters, especially our protagonist, Billy. The antagonist, the mysterious entity named Emmerson, was terrifying. We never learned quite what this thing is; a house, a demon, a monster. There was one character that I absolutely detested and I had to read fast through the toxic masculinity. One of the supposed friends of all the kids on the island. He had no redeeming qualities and his dialogue made me want to skip ahead so I didn’t have to listen.

The narration was very good. It was a longer audiobook but didn’t feel like a chore to get through. Great story; witchcraft and mystery.

Want a quick creepy thriller that keeps you thinking after you’ve finished? Yup, this will be that book! Kept me sucked in the whole time definitely recommending this read to friends!

Normally, I love Barker books but this one was missing something, while having way too much of others. Too many characters, yet none of them likable. Too much going on so I couldn’t seem to engage with the story. And it was just too long, I was done way before the book was. It definitely has a creepy atmosphere and the narrator of the audiobook did a great job, it just didn’t hold my interest. My thanks to RBmedia for providing an audio review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

There was a lot going on in this audiobook, in a good way. There was the mystery and the horror and the relationships between the kids that felt so nostalgic. The switches between time periods were well done, and I realized it was long only because it was taking me so long to get through. I liked the narrator too, and thought the presentation was great.

A high school kid inherits a house on an island from his grandmother but it comes with a bunch of rules. A high school girl goes missing. Something evil from the past is awakened that has been haunting the island for generations. The local Sheriff starts to unravel it but the more he tries to figure it out the more confusing it gets.

I listened to this on audio and maybe that was my problem. Because I really REALLY wanted to love this thriller and I didn’t. At first I thought it was because the narrator sounded kinda whiney but nope, it really was the story. I don’t know if the author was going for super suspenseful but he ended up just going for super confusing. It took forever for the story to really get going and once it did, it just stayed kinda flat.

Unfortunately, I will be DNFing this one... I'm having a very hard time connecting to the characters which makes it a little too hard to really get into the story for me.

I have loved J.D. Barker for a while now and when I tell you "Something I Keep Upstairs" is one of his best, it's the truth! Great book and narrator was awesome.

A great mystery with suspense and an unreliable narrator that keeps us on our toes, so well done! A great blend of some things seeming as simple as they appear while others being a jaw dropping surprise.

J.D. Barker has once again written a nail biting, edge of my seat, thriller! It is full of lies, evil, and secrets. Finding out the truth can could destroy everything.

This was a solid, unsettling haunted house story. It was a bit slow at the beginning but it picked up about ⅓ of the way in and really kept my attention from then on. I went in to this book completely blind, so I will admit it was not what I was expecting at all. I don’t typically gravitate toward supernatural books, but I didn’t dislike it at all! The author’s note at the end was also excellent and really added to the story! I’ve read multiple J.D. Barker books and definitely look forward to reading anything he writes in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!