Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

J.D. Barker’s “Something I Keep Upstairs” is a haunting and tightly-wound psychological thriller that deftly blends horror with domestic suspense, creating a chilling atmosphere that lingers long after the final page. Known for his ability to merge supernatural elements with grounded emotional stakes, Barker delivers a novel that feels both intimate and unsettling.

The story centers on a couple whose seemingly idyllic home becomes the site of increasingly bizarre and terrifying occurrences. At the heart of the novel is the titular “something” kept upstairs—a mystery that unspools gradually, drawing readers deeper into a web of memory, trauma, and paranoia. Barker excels at crafting suspense, using shifting perspectives and a slow drip of information to keep tension high. The house itself becomes a character: claustrophobic, sentient, and full of secrets.

What elevates the novel beyond a standard haunted house story is its psychological depth. Themes of grief, trust, and the unreliability of perception are skillfully handled. The protagonist’s unraveling mind mirrors the disintegration of the domestic space, blurring the line between internal and external horrors. Barker’s prose is sharp and cinematic, well-suited for the book’s creeping dread.

However, the pacing occasionally falters. Some mid-novel chapters feel repetitive, and a few twists are telegraphed early on. While the climax is satisfyingly disturbing, it leans into familiar tropes that slightly diminish the originality of the premise. Still, these are minor quibbles in an otherwise gripping and immersive read.

Overall, “Something I Keep Upstairs” is a compelling entry in Barker’s growing body of work—moody, atmospheric, and emotionally resonant. Fans of gothic thrillers and psychological horror will find plenty to admire in this eerie exploration of the things we bury—both in our homes and our minds.

If you like sacrifice, witchcraft, spirit conjuring…read the book. That subject matter is not of interest to me, so my review is biased I suppose.
The writing is good, but overly detailed and that made the book way longer than it should’ve been. I did care for the characters and wanted to know of their outcome (except Emerson of course lol).

I can always rely on JD Barker to give me a story that translates very well into a movie in my head. There is always a great plot twist that provides the shock factor i look for in my reading.

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.