Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I'm always very happy about an ARC and being able to give it a review! <3

Can we just take a moment to appreciate this stunning cover?! Whoever designed it clearly knew exactly what they were doing.

That, plus the intriguing blurb, totally sold me on picking this one up.

Buuut… sadly, it turned out to be quite the slow burn. It took me forever to really get into the story, and I’m just not a fan of that. It definitely affected my overall reading experience.

The plot itself is interesting and will definitely captivate a lot of readers, just not me, unfortunately.

Bad Things Happened in This Room is the epitome of the unreliable narrator. It's disfragmented, but needs to be to get the story out in a way that you feel you are experiencing just what the protagonist is. I felt so much reading this book as a survivor of domestic /emotional abuse. You just honestly won't know where the story is going and I very much enjoyed that aspect.
This book was a true horror book, to me. Monsters don't scare me, humans and what can happen to their own minds? Very scary.
Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rising Action Publishing, and Marie Still for the advanced copy of this book.

This book took me a long time to finish, not because it wasn’t good or the story didn’t hold my interest, but because the subject was so heavy that I needed to take breaks.

Beautifully written, the author makes you feel like you are truly in Willows head. She had me questioning my own mind at times.

I had a sense early on of what was happening, and the ending confirmed my suspicions.

Congratulations, Marie, on writing such a dark, emotional, and beautifully written novel.

Release: September 16, 2025
Author: Marie Still
Publisher: Rising Action Publishing

Rating: 4 ★ 

Bad Things Happened In This Room is a dark, psychological horror story that follows Willow, a woman trapped in a suffocating and surreal version of her life. Under the strict control of her husband Liam and cut off from the outside world, Willow begins to question everything—her home, her memories, and even her own sanity.
Her only connection to anything beyond her isolated existence is Sarah, a mysterious young girl who appears in her garden. But when Sarah disappears, Willow is forced to confront disturbing signs that something is deeply wrong: messages hidden behind peeling wallpaper, a house that seems to breathe, and shadows from a past she can barely remember.
As the lines between reality and delusion blur, Willow must unravel the truth about what’s really happening—before she loses herself completely. This unsettling tale explores grief, mental illness, and the terrifying uncertainty of not being able to trust your own mind.
Bad Things Happen in This Room is an eerie, emotionally charged psychological horror that grips you with its slow-burning suspense and never really lets go. From the first page, it’s clear this isn’t just a creepy story—it’s an unsettling dive into grief, trauma, and the fragile line between reality and delusion.
The main character, Willow, lives a life that feels heavily controlled and disconnected from the outside world. Her days revolve around her garden and brief, strange interactions with a young girl named Sarah. But as strange things begin to happen—messages on walls, flickers of memory, and Sarah’s sudden disappearance—the question becomes whether Willow is a prisoner in her home… or in her own mind.
This book takes time to build momentum, and the slow start might be a challenge for some readers. But once it finds its rhythm, the payoff is more than worth it. The atmosphere is thick with dread, and the narration constantly makes you second-guess what’s real and what isn’t. It’s like falling into a fever dream where nothing is quite what it seems.
What sets this book apart is how deeply it explores psychological pain—especially grief and the aftermath of unimaginable loss. Willow is the ultimate unreliable narrator, and that makes the story both fascinating and disorienting. The twist at the end was completely unexpected and gave the story a powerful emotional punch.
Bad Things Happen in This Room isn’t for everyone. It’s heavy, dark, and emotionally intense—so definitely check the trigger warnings. But if you enjoy horror that leans more into the psychological than the supernatural, and stories that stay with you long after the final page, this is absolutely worth the read.

Favorite Quote:
"I laugh, and I laugh. A cackle, really. Yes, that's what I'm doing. I'm cackling hysterically because I'm hysteria. So appropriate. This is what men used to lock women away when the women no longer served their purpose. Difficult women who no longer followed the rules. Women brave enough to speak their mind and to no longer mind their speak."

The premise of book completely hooked me, even the cover had me pulled right in and dying to know more - what bad things, where??

I absolutely enjoyed this story but it did take me time to get into it. there were moments when I felt like I was losing my mind, which honestly may be the intention of the author to make you second guess yourself, everything really - which adds the the mystique and allows for an ambiance.

I feel like if I’d had time to do this as a single sitting read instead of spread out over multiple days it would’ve hit my even harder.

This book might be one of a hard read for me bcs it is out of my comfort genre.

Anyway, the story overall good and its kinda dark in some depressed way and cryptic. At some point in the book i dont know which one reality or not.

The ending got me kinda thinking a lot that I get headaches. Well if youre a fan of thriller horror (not ghostly horror) this one might be for you.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The synopsis is actually what drew me in, “Trapped in a house where the walls whisper?”

What the hell does that mean? Ill tell you what, something super fucked up and I need to know what it is.

We start out with Willow, who we aren't quite sure what is going on. She has a sad, confusing life or so it seems, trapped in a hell with a husband with an iron will, or is she?


But she has Sarah, who starts visiting her garden, and that seems exciting, until it isn't.
Sarah goes missing, and Willow has to find her, or find out what happened to her at least.

But she finds out more than what she wanted and her carefully crafted world starts to fall apart and I felt myself breathing hard.

I myself have a huge huge obsession with the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” every college paper I could, I used that as my subject, so you might see where I am going with this one, who knows what's happening in this book, is Willow real, is Sarah real, hell is any of this real?

Is this the sad, horrible story of a woman, beaten down and broken by a terrible husband, this whole book was a fever dream that kept me on the edge thinking, oh my god, what am I going to find out next, with Willow or about her…

This story is dark, and haunting and so well done.

Don't give up, its worth the chaos, and think, isn't this how you think Willow is feeling too, as you turn each page, frustrated, and a little panicked..

This was my first read by this author and getting a 5 Star is easy.

**DNF**
While the premise and cover were captivating, I was only able to get through the first few chapters of this book.
What I did read seemed like vivid, descriptive reading.
However, the formatting was completely off in the E-Arc and unreadable. It is mentioned in the ARC acceptance email that you not mention any typos in your review....and while I don't think it was typos (I'm pretty sure it was intentional formatting) it is unreadable for me :(
Because I wasn't able to give this a full read, I will not be sharing this review elsewhere besides NetGalley.

Thank you, NetGalley & Rising Action Publishing Co., for the eARC of Bad Things Happened in This Room by Marie Still! 🪲🐛🔪🩸

2 words: Holy CRAP.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

I don’t know what I expected but it wasn’t that.

This book is going to stick with me forever. I am floored. I’ve been looking for a book that can ACTUALLY spook me, and this one did just that! Several times! I was freaked OUT! 😮‍💨

I felt like I was teetering between possible reality and a fever dream and it had me questioning EVERYTHING. Some parts felt bizarre and sometimes a little confusing but I promise, it’s absolutely worth it to keep reading. I thought it was a little hard to keep up with but I think that’s the whole point. This tragic and maddening story was written so amazingly well. Ugh, I can’t get over it! 🫨 <- that’s me while reading this btw.

The ending blew me away. This is such a heart-breaking and haunting story, that when the bombshells dropped, they hit me like a train! I was too busy feeling emotional that I didn’t see any of it coming. If you think you know what’s going to happen, you are WRONG! And it’s not some cheap plot twists either. It actually astounded me multiple times and I am STILL sweating.

This is the PERFECT read if you’re looking for a horror novel that will mess with the reader (yes, you!) psychologically. 10/10 will probably read again when the physical copies are released! 🤩

Thanks Rising Action Publishing Co. and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC

First of all I think if I enjoyed thrillers as a genre just a bit more i would have rated this a bit higher. Or if i Liked the style of the novel more.

That being said Though the style really suited the story.

I felt like i was having a fever dream tjat was plagued by almost nightmare.

Unsettling and confusing i was on edge the whole time reading.

I will definitely recommend to my thriller friends

Wow, this psychological horror had me wondering if I was losing my mind. Bad Things Happened in This Room is about Willow, who is lost in her days and believes she is being held captive by her husband. She becomes friends with Sarah, a little girl who comes to visit her in her garden. When Sarah disappears, Willow’s already shattered mind becomes even more fragmented.

I was convinced Willow was a victim of amnesia/abduction in the beginning but as the story unraveled, I didn't know what to believe! Marie Still did an amazing job conveying despair, grief, and emotion. I felt like I was experiencing this with Willow, unsure who to trust and if I can even trust myself. The ending had a great twist and explained Willow’s descend to insanity. I definitely recommend it if you like dark psychological horror. Read for triggers.

A chilling psychological horror that descends into madness where the walls whisper and secrets are buried in the garden. A story exploring motherhood, grief, and the thin line between reality and delusion. An unhinged, dark, and twisted story.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨. | 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐚𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐛𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥

i totally had willow pegged as the victim from the start. i was completely misled. for my first marie still book, this did not disappoint. the writing flowed so easily, that i blinked and i was already halfway through (oops). the vivid detail and imagination in this story blew me away. it explores a side of motherhood we don’t want to think about. the kind that tells uncomfortable truths we can’t always imagine. and liam? that was such an unexpected angle. we rarely see fatherhood portrayed like that. this had me hooked the entire time, and when the truth finally came out… MY JAW DROPPED.

This was not for me. I powered through to finish it, to see what was really happening, and was left unsatisfied. It meandered and repeated so much that it was hard for me to focus on. And subject matter was not my fav, that is mentioned in the trigger warning section at the beginning of the story - so it’s my fault for not heeding the warnings!

I enjoyed this story and I actually liked the fact that the whole time it kept me guessing what was real or not. I was also glad we got some answers in the end and could then take that and piece together everything I previously read! Definitely a creepy vibe and sad overall but I really enjoyed the way it was written.

This was honestly heartbreaking as hell. Our narrator, Willow, is very unreliable and goes through SO MUCH in this whole book. The entire time you have no idea what’s real, what’s fake, who’s real, who’s fake.
It’s a hard novel to follow but like, it's supposed to be that way and it makes perfect sense? It is a book that you’re going to want to read in one sitting, it grips you and leaves your brain reeling at every page flip.
I was unable to guess anything that happened, the moment I had any form of inkling it would just be ripped away due to the unreliable narration. How everything came together was absolutely mindblowing and literally shattered my heart into a million little pieces.
Marie Still does a phenomenal job writing this novel, the emotions of it all just seep through the book and grip you. Also, the imagery?! Still seriously wrote everything so well, I could picture it all perfectly, the horror aspects of the scenes, the psychological parts of the scenes. It just all came to life in her writing. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.
READ THIS BOOK

A psychological horror that grips you from the floral-patterned walls to the whispering garden. Willow’s life unravels in a fever dream: the wallpaper bleeds secrets, her husband’s control suffocates, and a little girl’s disappearance shatters what’s left of her reality .

Think domestic nightmare meets Gothic thriller—this one’ll have you second‑guessing every creak in the night. It’s disturbing, lyrical, and lingers long after the last page.

Tension? Thick enough to suffocate.
Marie Still delivers a deliciously claustrophobic thriller that had me checking the locks at 2 a.m. Think locked-room mystery meets modern domestic noir. It’s eerie, it’s anxious, and it absolutely knows what it's doing.

Unreliable narrator? Check. Twists? So many you’ll think your neck snapped.
And the title? Not lying.

3.5 stars.
That was a very sad story, told in a very beautiful way.
The writing style makes the vibes feel claustrophobic, it felt tight and stressful. The descriptions were so beautifully descriptive that i could easily put myself in the MCs shoes.

I loved this book so much! The lucid dream like state writing and the unreliable narrator made me keep turning the pages!
The ending was probably one of my favorite endings ever.
Thank you Rising Action and NetGalley for this ARC.