This was the first book I have read by Chuck Wendig and the writing style is so detailed and atmospheric. The idea of the staircase in the woods was something I haven’t heard of before so I was excited to read the book. However I really struggled with the pacing of the book. There was a lot of dialogue that I felt was unnecessary and some of the flashbacks threw me off the story. There was also the use of slurs/insensitive language throughout which is something I find quite hard to read. My rating is based upon the concept of the staircase/haunted house and the detail within the imagery.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a deeply cool concept that felt fresh and inventive. For the first time in a long time book-wise, I found myself trying to figure out the mystery alongside our unlikeable but complex characters.

Ultimately, I thought it was a bit too easily resolved. The build-up was repetitious and slower paced but the ending felt breakneck and rushed.

The writing is up to Wendig’s usual good standard (although with an abundance of insensitive language choices. Surely there are other ways of illustrating a character is a shitty person without stooping to slurs).

This story was much grislier horror than I remember Wendig’s previous books being. It has some truly terrifying imagery. There were also a lot of stomach-churning gruesome and gory descriptions, YMMV depending on how you feel about that!