J.D. Barker is a gift to psychological thriller lovers! He is absolutely an auto-read for me and I have yet to be disappointed!

Billy Hasler is finally ready to share his story. It all started when his best friend, David Spivey, was willed a house from his grandmother, along with the entire island where it is located. Their group of friends starts to explore what teenage dreams are made of - but slowly they will uncover the history of the home. Of the island. A dark history that seems to repeat itself generationally. A history filled with secrets, death, and the unexplainable.

If you are looking for a surface level popcorn thriller - this is NOT it. Barker dives deep in this one and no corner is left unturned. I found this book very "King style" in the attention to detail and character and plot building. I took my time reading because I knew from the first few paragraphs this was going to be one I needed to pay full attention to. More than a story - this was a journey. So thought-provoking. One of those books you immediately are looking to discuss when you finish it.

Thanks to Netgalley, J.D. Barker, and the publisher for the ARC and chance to give my honest opinion!

Thank you for giving me the chance to review this book! I wish I had a more positive take to share, but this was a hard read to get into. It never really picked up momentum for me, and the cast of characters felt too full much of the time. I also, unfortunately had some issues with the native NetGalley reader which made it harder for me to keep my place. I loved the rules and the idea of bringing so many haunted elements into the basement, but for me, the read was too much and not enough at the same time. I made it about 65% of the way through before I decided to call it quits.

Haunted house horror can be a gamble, often teetering between spine-chilling success and lackluster letdown. This book, while slow to ignite, ultimately delivers a gripping experience worth sticking with. The first half drags, taking its time to build momentum, but patience pays off. The second half ramps up the intensity, pulling readers into a thrilling ride that keeps you guessing.
What stands out is the atmosphere—deliciously creepy and perfectly eerie, it nails the unsettling vibe essential to haunted house tales. Though it stumbles out of the gate, the story’s payoff and chilling ambiance make it a solid pick for horror fans who don’t mind a slow burn.

SOMETHING I KEEP UPSTAIRS by New York Times and internationally best-selling author, J.D. Barker. best-selling author of numerous novels, including of FORSAKEN, DRACUL and the wildly popular 4MK series.

His Standalone novels include:
Forsaken (2014)
Dracul (2018) (with Dacre Stoker)
She Has A Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be (2020)
The Coast-to-Coast Murders (2020) (with James Patterson)
A Caller's Game (2020)
The Noise (2021) (with James Patterson)
Death of the Black Widow (2021) (with James Patterson)
Behind A Closed Door (2024)
Confessions of the Dead (2024) (with James Patterson)
Heavy Are The Stones (2024) (with Christine Daigle)
We Don't Talk About Emma (2025) (with E J Findorff)
The Writer (2025) (with James Patterson)
aka The Imperfect Murder
Something I Keep Upstairs (2025)
The Lies We Tell (2025) (with Richard Bailey)
The Finer Things (2025) (with Kyle Dunn)

This is my review of Something I Keep Upstairs.

This novel takes place in New Castle, New Hampshire and centers around two childhood best friends, Billy Hasler and David Spivey. They had known each other since they were four years old, and grew up on New Castle, a small island off the coast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Billy was excellent in sports while Spivey preferred to spend most of his time alone on the rocks. From there you could see the house on a smaller island, where his grandmother lived.

But then David inherits his grandmother’s creepy old house from his grandmother when she dies. She had left Spivey Wood Island in her will. When Billy, David and their friends go to visit the island, the house is isolated and can only be accessed by boat. It seems like the perfect place to spend their final summer before heading off to college. Party time!

But soon this adventure turns into a nightmare.

This dark haunting novel will keep you on edge until the final page.

Many thanks to the author, Hampton Creek Press/Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for my digital copy.

Expected publication May 13, 2025

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.

This is a great read. Good, engrossing story with believable characters. Well paced with lots of twists and turns along the way.

“For a haunted house to be born, someone has to die.”
This book starts with Billy’s best friend, David “Spivey,” inheriting an island from his estranged grandmother. The island has strict rules that must be followed, which the teens in this book do not take seriously at first until they realize there are grave consequences for their actions.

Wow! This was my first J.D. Barker book, and it won’t be my last. I was hooked from the very beginning and flew through it to the end. I never really knew where the story was going to go, and I loved that this book used the names of real towns and buildings.

Thank you to NetGalley & Hampton Creek Press for the opportunity for providing me with an ARC of this book.

As always, J.D. Barker delivers a spine tingling story about a group of young almost - adults eager to enjoy their last summer before college. It says right there on the cover that this is a chiller, and I couldn’t agree more.

Set in the sleepy coastal town of New Castle, New Hampshire, the story follows seventeen-year-old Billy Hasler whose summer takes a terrifying turn when his best friend, David Spivey, inherits a mysterious house on a nearby island.

Enticed by the promise of a last carefree summer before college—no parents, no rules, no worries—the group plunges into sun-drenched adventures. But as they peel back the island’s sinister past and explore the mansion’s shadowed halls, they inadvertently stir an age-old evil. What begins as lighthearted fun quickly spirals into a nightmare where every page drips with suspense and dread.

The house itself feels like a character, surrounded by water and only accessible by boat, with its house rules and rich history.

This was definitely a chiller, but in the best way possible and I savored every minute of it.

A story set in a haunted house on a private island off the coast of a small New England town. This story sounded like something I was going to love. Unfortunately I did not love it. It did keep my attention and kept me reading to see what was going on in that house. I just feel like it was a bit of a let down and maybe too bizarre for me. This was my first book by JD Barker and I will definitely try another one of his books. This one just wasn't for me.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

There is no doubt that I'm a big fan of J.D. Barker's writing, although I admit his recent collabs have been fails for me. That's probably why I was even more excited when I heard he was going to publish another solo book... Even though I don't exactly read a lot of YA anymore, I was sold as soon as I saw that haunted house trope. And wow, did this book mess with my mind! I'm honestly still struggling to put any coherent thoughts together about Something I Keep Upstairs... And while it wasn't my favorite J.D. Barker and it did have a slow start, especially the second half was mind-boggling and seriously twisted. Even more so after reading that author's note!

Something I Keep Upstairs starts out as what seems like a YA/coming of age thriller with quite a big cast to keep apart. Sure, there are hints that there might be something more going on, but the main focus seems to be on teenage drama and giving background on the different characters in play. This ment that this story was quite slow to start, and not quite as interesting as I hoped it would be. BUT. Once Wood Island started showing its true colors, I was HOOKED. True, I often had no clue what was going on and this story made my brain hurt, but only in the best possible way.

I'm going to keep this review short to avoid spoilers, because Something I Keep Upstairs is one of those books where it's best to go in blind. The twists and reveals will simply hit so much better this way if you are (like most of the main characters) in the dark about what is really going on. What I can tell you is that it is definitely worth it to hang in there even if you aren't feeling it yet in the first half... If you like a good dose of supernatural horror that is of course. I can't believe how wrong I was about so many things!

The plot switches between the POV of Billy Hasler and Chief Whaley. While part of me liked the fact that it was mainly Billy who told the story, I do think the story could have had even more dept by adding more POVs. I'm not saying every single teenager and character in play, but at least Spivey (he is the new owner of the island after all), Alesia and maybe Matty... Marston's POV would have been fascinating as well, although the mystery surrounding his character does add more allure. I feel that some of the characters were a bit one-dimensional as a result of just Billy and Chief Whaley telling the story, and it was harder to understand their motivations.

That said, I can't deny that Something I Keep Upstairs is a story that I won't soon forget. Like I said before, that author's note put things into a whole new perspective! If you like twisty supernatural horror with a big cast of characters and don't mind a slower start, this might just be the story for you.

Something I Keep Upstairs is a chilling, atmospheric thriller that blends coming-of-age nostalgia with a creeping, supernatural dread. When Billy Hasler and his best friend David spend their last summer on a secluded island, what starts as a carefree escape quickly spirals into a terrifying brush with ancient evil.

J.D. Barker masterfully builds tension, pairing eerie suspense with heartfelt moments of friendship and sacrifice. The haunted house at the story’s center is more than just a setting—it’s a character in its own right, steeped in a dark history that refuses to stay buried.

While I really liked the premise and the story had strong moments, something about it felt just out of reach for me emotionally. I stayed interested, but I never felt fully connected to the characters or their journey, though I’m not entirely sure why. Still, it’s a solid, well-written read that horror fans will likely enjoy

This is about a haunted house on a remote island. It comes with a set of puzzling rules, and a history that goes back multiple generations. It started off innocently as a summer house for kids to have fun without adults. But mysterious things start happening, like it always does in these kind of stories.

I really enjoyed the book! It was a bit slow to start (by that I mean getting to the creepy parts), but the mystery kept me engaged. Even though there're more and more characters getting involved in the whole thing, it was still easy to follow. Highly recommend if you'd like a chill read in the summer!

Billy Halser acquires a mansion on an island in New Hampshire after his grandmother’s death. All of Billy’s friends want to cash in on a summer of adventure with his newly acquired riches . Strange things begin to happen when the teens partake in some haunted rituals in the creepy basement .

A local girl goes missing in the background of the story, having readers question the motives of the supposed “stand up” adults in the community .

Although I don’t typically like books with paranormal themes, this one did not disappoint ,

3.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC .

Anyone who loves horror will love this!

A big thanks to the author, publisher, and Netfalley for a copy of the ARC.

After reading one of JD Barker’s cowritten books, I was expecting a return to one of his ‘take someone to his/her limits’ stories. This is only partially true. The first part of the book is just the seed of what’s to come in the second part, but it might be too slow to unfurl for many of his previous books readers. This last part, though, has plenty of twists and surprises to keep you hooked until the end, even if you’re a bit at a loss like the chief until almost the very end.

This is about lasting friendship, about greed and the search for the power to achieve that that you desire most, but it’s more than that, a history of a haunted house, a misterious Emerson that has to be fed, of what’s good and evil, with roots deep into the past.

2.5 stars

Billy's best friend Spivey, inherits an island with a house on it when his grandmother passes away. At first the house seems like the perfect place for a bunch of high schoolers to hang out unsupervised, but not all is what it seems on Wood island.

This book definitely has spooky, creepy vibes. J.D. Barker is an incredible writer and I have loved the past books of his that I have read. This one just misses the mark for me.

While he does capture the eerie tone throughout the story, there are a lot of questions and events that happened which left me more confused than anything. The beginning builds the plot up well (although a little slow) but the ending seemed to move so fast and was more for shock value than grounded in logic of the story that was being built up. It felt like the plot was trying to take on more than it could handle, which led to certain aspects not being as flushed out as I was hoping.

Another issue I had was the way youth were so sexualized in this book, especially at the beginning. I understand it may have tied into some of the supernatural elements involving those under 16, but in my opinion, some scenes were overly graphic and made me uncomfortable reading. I felt like the same themes could have been conveyed in a more subtle way.

I also found it hard to believe that Billy was completely unaware of what his close-knit friends were involved in.

Overall, while I appreciated the atmosphere and some of the core ideas, the execution didn’t land for me. Readers who enjoy unsettling horror with a fast pace may still find it worthwhile, but it left me with more questions than answers. I still fully intend to read the next book this author puts out.

Thank you NetGalley and Hampton Creek Press / Simon & Schuster for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Captivating and compulsively readable - I have not been so caught up in a story like this in awhile. It was chilling and unsettling in the best way.

I absolutely love a haunted house story. I was also charmed by the descriptions of teenagers in 2010 - which is when I was 15 - and found it extremely nostalgic. I haven't read a thriller/horror novel that felt so...real? Relatable? It felt like I was experiencing an urban legend, something I would have discussed with my friends at a sleepover or movie night.

The book was long, but I didn't feel the length at all. It felt so nicely laid out and seeing all the pieces fall into place was so satisfying. I absolutely loved this book and I feel like it'll live in my brain for a good long while.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I’ll be thinking about Billy for a long time. JD Barker is the closest author to match Stephen King with horror that gets under your skin, memorable characters, and outstanding writing. Something I Keep Upstairs is nothing short of a classic to add to the horror genre. Thanks for the opportunity to read in advance. I’ll be recommending this for my book club!

I often felt like I was right beside Billy going through things with him. This author never disappoints and this book is a great example of why he is a must read. The horror is well written and paced. The characters are interesting. It's completely unique in the genre which isn't easy to achieve.

David Spivey’s grandmother dies suddenly on a rare visit to the mainland. Some say it was a suicide, while others say it was just natural causes. Either way, David suddenly is the owner of a private island that everyone wants to own, even his own parents. The island comes with strict rules, no one under the age of 16 can set foot on the island and once someone visits the island they have to stay the night. So the battle begins as David is still a teenager and he has leukemia. David’s parents are trying to declare he needs to be under parental control and his best friend’s (Billy Hasler) father is trying to buy out David’s right to own the island. David decides to make a stand and live on the island and follow the islands rules. Little does he know that the rules have deadly consequences for him and his best friend. Soon what seems like a good time, turns to horror.

After finishing this book, I’m reminded just how unique JD Barker really is. Having read 4MK, I went into this one expecting a certain type of thriller—but this was something entirely different. A completely different genre, and yet I loved it just as much. Barker’s writing style pulls you in, even when the story veers into the strange and unexpected.

This book gives the reader a lot to think about. It’s packed with mystery, not in the usual twist-and-turn kind of way, but more in a slow-burn, layered sense. Every character—at any point in the plot—seems cloaked in some kind of mystery. Spivey and his entire family especially had this eerie, enigmatic presence that kept me intrigued the whole time.

I honestly wish this had been a series. There’s just so much going on, and not enough space to fully develop every storyline. Emerson, for example—his backstory is missing, and it feels like that could be an entire book on its own. Geraldine’s lineage? Still a mystery. And that ending—Keith and Whaley’s final moves didn’t line up at all with what we were led to believe. Same with Emerson’s location; it clashes with the historical facts, and I’m left wondering, why?

There are so many questions I’d love to ask, but I won’t—because I don’t want to spoil anything. Despite the confusion, I found it absolutely fascinating. I just really hope there’s a follow-up, because this world Barker built has so much more to give.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to Hampton Creek Press / Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for their generosity in allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.