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.

Just finished and a lot to unpack. My head is spinning. In the beginning I was not sure if this was a horror story or just plain creepy. Then it became more supernatural to me. Regardless I loved it. There were enough snippets along the way to keep me guessing what was going on and where it was going. Being from new england and loving history, I especially enjoy it when they are part of the story. The story brings in Increase Mather who is related to author Sanantha Mather. You should check out her books. The ending was not what I was expecting but made sense based on the rules.

"𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏, 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒆."

Inspired by a real haunted house and historical events, Something I keep Upstairs toes the line between what is real and what we'd rather not know. It was interesting to read the author's note at the end that gave a fascinating context to how the story came about.

This falls into the supernatural thriller genre with an urban legend vibe. It leans more towards YA than most of Barker's works but the creepy factor is definitely there. A remote island with a forever changing house, ghosts and too much silence. Initially it seems quite straightforward but the plot becomes complicated very quickly as we learn more about the island's dark history and the house's chilling and haunting background story.

The middle felt a bit muddled for me, but the growing sense of unease more than made up for it. If you like haunted houses and ancient evil or simply craving for a good spooky tale then definitely pick this up. The book published on May 13.

Thank you @simonandschuster, Hampton Creek Press @jdbarker_authorand @netgalley for the digital ARC to read and review.

I like this author! I love a good spooky island and house. I enjoyed the book but I guess I am not 100% into the occult and such. Bummer for me but a good book overall!

I love J.D Barker. Great author. For the life of me I had a really difficult time with this one. I thought I’d love it as I like most of his books. There were a lot of characters that I had a hard time keeping track of.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC

Billy Hasler opens the book with telling the reader that he is finally going to write down what happened more than 10 years ago, when he and some of his friends embarked on an adventure they later rather wished they hadn’t.

Billy’s best friend Spivey suddenly inherits a small island with a large old house on it. It belonged to his grandmother and it comes with a rather disturbing list of rules he has to keep to be able to live there, should he want so. Well, what teenager wouldn’t be over the moon? A whole island! A big house to invite your friends for the summer and have parties! However, Spivey, Billy and their other friends, among which Kira, Billy’s girlfriend and some assorted classmates, are still young teenagers and obviously they cannot fathom what could go wrong when they don’t stick to the rules.
What starts off as a bit of a strange story quickly becomes a very dark, dangerous and haunting one. Apparently the island and the house come with a dark, dark past, a past that already had its influence on the parents of Spivey, Billy and the others. Soon, things get out of hand and although Billy tries to keep his calm, events spin out of control due to the machinations of other friends.
It's pure horror at it’s best and as a good horror story it also has its sad moments, moments when you cannot think but how evil people can become when they hope to get everything they’ve always wanted without doing something for it.

Absolutely stunning and memorable, including the end!

Thanks to Hampton Creek Press and Netgalley for this review copy.

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 Hampton Creek Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Something I Keep Upstairs is a ghost story that is based on a real story. It is creepy and it kept me up late reading a few nights. However, it is missing the author’s usual gonzo uniqueness. I loved She Has a Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be, a much better horror novel by the same author. It would be hard for anyone to top the sheer weirdness of that title. Sadly, this book, while serviceable, suffers by comparison. 4 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an advanced review copy.

I really love J.D. Barker’s stories. A favorite of mine is A Callers Game! Sooo good!
Something I Keep Upstairs by J.D. Barker was soooo good!
Barker expertly builds suspense throughout the story, layering in twists and turns that leave readers questioning.
The pacing is fast, with a well-structured plot that maintains tension, making it hard to put the book down once you start.
Overall, Something I Keep Upstairs is a compelling, dark, and twist-filled thriller that fans of psychological suspense will thoroughly enjoy. It’s a gripping read that lingers long after you’ve turned the last page.

This book was creepy!!! Definitely paranormal horror as well as thriller and mystery. Although it felt really long, I enjoyed picking this one back up each time. The other painted a very eerie story that raised more questions than I could wrap my head around. Definitely recommend this!

I received this book from Hampton Street Press on NetGalley… it did not disappoint!

Creepy house, friendship, sneakiness, lies, teenage love, being closely watched by the cops, murder, ghosts - this book has it all. Based in New Castle, New Hampshire, this story follows the life of Billy Hasler. His best friend inherits a creepy island house, and that’s when strange things begin to happen for Billy and his friend group.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars because I have never read anything like it. I enjoyed not being able to predict where the story was going. I actually almost put this one in my DNF list. It took me a very long time to actually get into the story. Slows burn for me. BUT the last few chapters I felt made it completely worth it! I will absolutely be reading more books by this author.

A house that sits alone on an island off the coast of New Hampshire becomes deadly for a group of teenagers one fateful summer. An intricately woven plot elevates this from a typical haunted house story. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

I read this 2 months ago and it lives inside me now.

I’m not even going to give a synopsis because I think it undermines the creative genius that is a JD Barker novel.

Instead I’m going to use adjectives to describe this New England haunted horror…

I have had the privilege of vacationing on Peak’s Island, Maine, a few times, and the setting in this book brings me right there.

Haunting. Brooding. Dark. Sinister. Nostalgic. Comforting in the most unsettling way.

JD’s prose is like no other, the feeling he can evoke through pages is incredible. You have to use all 5 senses when you read one of his books, they are that tantalizing and raw.

I will recommend this to everyone I know. I might even stand outside bookstores and shout at people to read it like an uninvited panhandler.

It’s that good.

I thought this book was creepy, compelling, but not quite unforgettable and a little confusing at times.

As a fan of psychological thrillers and a little supernatural horror, Something I Keep Upstairs scratched a lot of the right itches. Barker kicks things off with a super eerie premise—there’s something upstairs, and whatever it is, it’s messing with more than just the lights. The suspense builds in all the right places, and the first half had me totally hooked.

Think classic haunted-house dread meets psychological unraveling. Barker does a great job blurring the lines between mental breakdown and real danger, and I loved that I never felt totally sure what was real. Sometimes I was a little confused trying to keep it all straight.

That said, the second half loses a bit of steam. Some twists felt a little too out-there, and the ending was more “huh?” than “holy crap!” Still, the ride was fun, the atmosphere was thick with tension, and there are a few genuinely chilling moments that stuck with me. I couldn't read the end fast enough but beware, there are authors notes, and I thought that was where it ended, thank goodness it wasn't. There is another chapter that helped wrap it up.

If you're into horror that messes with your head more than splashes blood on the walls, this is worth a read—even if it doesn’t hit as hard as Barker’s best which was The Forth Monkey for me!

Thank you Netgalley for my advance copy of this book for my honest reveiw.

This was my first foray into the works of J.D. Barker and I found the story to be an exhilarating and enjoyable horror read blending well with the aspect of the mystery within the plot as a whole. The characters were all well fleshed out, a nice eerie unsettling setting and atmosphere and a break neck plot that had me intrigued from start to finish.
I would like to thank both Net galley as well as Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read the ARC of this book.

I love a good house haunting!
The characters are young..just 17...so that can take a book into YA territory or if done well, it can stand as an adult book. We're on the edge of YA here. I think the author has done a good job in giving the boys some maturity and strength of character. All of that added to the tension as we watched the friends really go through it in the last half of the book. The first half was a bit of a slog.
The house is super evil, which I love, and it created great moments of true page turning anxiety as we got nearer the ending.
As others have said...please read the authors note at the end as it brings a lot to the story.

Thank you to the author J.D. Barker, the publisher Hampton Creek Press / Simon & Schuster and #NetGalley for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts are my own.

I'm a J.D. Barker fan and I think I've read the majority of his books (and I hope there will be many, many more!). When I saw this one was coming out I had to have it. I have read reviews comparing Barker to Stephen King, and many of his books do have a similar feel, but Barker is penning his own style. I enjoy the books Barker does on his own the most, but the ones he has co-authored with James Patterson are really good too.

Description:
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.

"Something I Keep Upstairs" is a haunting exploration of friendship, sacrifice, and the darkness lurking just beyond our understanding. It will keep you on edge until the final, chilling page.

My Thoughts:
Great plot with lots of action and history in a New England setting. I found it surprising that Barker set this story where he lives. Many of the historical events in the story are real. The book is full of dark evil and will give you nightmares (at least it did me!). Lots of surprising twists and shockers with a stormy backdrop and a haunted house. The characters were perfect. That whole island is full of evil, an evil that never ends. Thriller enthusiasts will love it! I am having trouble making the title fit the book though.

Thanks to Hampton Creek Press / Simon & Schuster through Netgalley for an advance copy.

This started so slowly that I almost put it down but buddy when it HIT!!! I was desperate to know what was going on and every layer of the mystery that was unveiled left me with new questions.

I was on the edge of my seat figuring out the mystery of the island. The final twists were beautiful but what absolutely sent this to the next level was that final chapter... I will be thinking of that for a long time, I think. Praise Emerson.

Something I Keep Upstairs by J.D. Barker and narrated by Michael Crouch was a spooky scary tale and dark in some places. I loved it! I love the twist and turns within this book, especially as it keeps you on your toes. . . . . .

This book is set in a sleepy coastal town of New Castle, in New England, where a seventeen year old Billy Hasler life is about to take a terrifying turn. When, his best friend David Spivey inherits a mysterious house on a nearby island. . . This seems to be a perfect place to spend their final summer before heading off to college. Especially as there are No parents. No police. and above all, No responsibilities. What could possibly go wrong?

But, as they start to explore the area and its 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.

Will they survive their final summer? or will it be their last?

Wow! This audiobook is excellent and the narrator Michael Crouch was excellent.

I highly recommend Something I keep upstairs, but don;t read or listen to it at night!!!!! There maybe something hidden upstairs!

I’d been craving something spooky to read, and I found this novel perfectly suited my mood. While it didn’t leave me sleepless, its chilling, unsettling moments hooked me from start to finish.

The story follows a group of teens who decide to spend their summer on this weird, haunted island after one of them inherits a super mysterious house. Of course, there are a bunch of rules they break (classic), and everything starts to spiral from there. It has ghosts, witchy stuff, and a house that sort of shifts through time, which was a cool twist I wasn’t expecting.

My main critique is the pacing… some sections dragged, making the book feel a bit too long. And, certain backstory elements felt repetitive, pulling me out of the tension.

Still, this was a fun, eerie read with a strong haunted house setup. It wasn’t nightmare fuel, but it hit the spot and now I’m curious to check out more from J.D. Barker.