I received both audio and ebook versions of Something I Keep Upstairs by J.D Barker from netgalley. I listened to the audiobook, so that is what my review is based on.

I think the narration was so well done. I'm not sure if this book is supposed to be YA, but the narrator, characters, and story all give YA feel. HOWEVER, that's not a bad thing as I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

The characters and setting are very descriptive. There's mystery after mystery, keeping me on my toes.

Definitely recommend!

Some houses have memories. Others refuse to forget.

For seventeen-year-old Billy Hasler, one final summer of freedom should have been simple: long nights, no rules, and nothing to worry about. When his best friend Spivey inherits an old house on a remote island off the New Hampshire coast, it feels like the perfect place to escape before life moves on.

But the island has a past—and it’s not finished.

What starts as a teenage adventure soon takes a darker turn.

Told with Barker’s signature sense of creeping dread and emotional intensity, Something I Keep Upstairs is more than a haunted house story—it’s a coming-of-age tale about friendship, memory, and the invisible weight of inherited fear. As the line between reality and nightmare begins to blur, Billy must confront the cost of curiosity—and the question that haunts them all:

Once you’ve awakened something, can you ever put it back?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Creepy, Gripping, and Full of Chills

Something I Keep Upstairs is another chilling win from J.D. Barker. Right from the beginning, the atmosphere is unsettling in the best way—it creeps under your skin and keeps you on edge. Barker knows how to build suspense slowly, with just enough detail to make you feel like something is always lurking around the corner.

The storyline was original and gripping, with twists that genuinely surprised me. The psychological elements and eerie pacing gave the book a haunting quality that stayed with me even after I finished. It was one of those books I couldn’t stop thinking about while reading.

I’m giving it four stars because there were a few moments that felt a little drawn out, and I wanted just a bit more depth with some of the side characters. But overall, this was a smart, suspenseful read that thriller fans will absolutely devour.

Something I Keep Upstairs by J.D. Barker is a YA supernatural horror novel about two teenage friends, Billy and David, who spend their summer on a remote New Hampshire island. What begins as an adventure quickly turns dark as they uncover disturbing secrets tied to the island’s past.
As the boys dig deeper, the story unfolds with creeping dread, blending horror with emotional themes like friendship, loss, and the dangers of curiosity. The atmosphere is eerie, the suspense is steady, and the emotional core adds depth to the scares. It’s a compact, character-driven horror story that explores the cost of uncovering hidden truths—perfect for readers who enjoy a mix of coming-of-age and psychological tension.

Another worthy read from JD Barker! My second read will be in October because it will fit with the Halloween season and I am here for it. This is the perfect horror-type story to enjoy during the spooky season. I am a huge fan of this author and this book did not disappoint. It starts kind of slow, but the tension building is perfection and I found myself more and more on edge. I like supernatural stories and this book does it well. If you enjoy weird, strange, OTT elements in your stories, this one delivers. Happy Reading!!

This book is more towards the occult with witchcraft and sacrifice but it was a good read for being a psychologist thriller.

SOMETHING I KEEP UPSTAIRS – by J.D. Barker

‘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.’

There are some really Creepy Good scenes throughout the book, though the repetition and what feels like unnecessary filler have me skimming through several pages towards what feels like an abrupt end—one that I hope will lead to a Book Two.

I love the characters, particularly Billy, Spivey, and the intensity that is Mr. Marston—more, please!

My review is based on that of an uncorrected proof, thus my feedback may or may not align with the final printed version.

Thank you, NetGalley and Hampton Creek Press, for providing me with an eBook of SOMETHING I KEEP UPSTAIRS at the request of an honest review.

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.