What. A. Ride.
I read this in less than 24 hours, I could not put it down. Heartbreaking, horrifying and SUCH an interesting take on Haunted Houses. The flow of this book is perfect and kept me wanting "one more chapter."
I very rarely get so emotionally invested in characters but I was tearing up at the end of this book. Not only because of the ending but because it was over.
I love being made to question the decisions I've made about characters and I did this throughout. Every time I thought I had worked out what was going on, it changed again and kept me on my toes until the very last page. It was a raw, unfiltered look on mental health, family dynamics and what "family" really means.
5 star read and can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy in September!

What an insanely unique take on a haunted house 😱
The Martins move into a new home with their biological and foster daughters. Lailah, the foster daughter, just wants to be good and loved, but she has extremely violent intrusive thoughts that seem to keep escalating. Dru, the biological daughter, is a little rebel who equally loves her family. The parents, Nathan and Alison, love both girls and can’t wait to adopt Lailah. Nathan is very patient with Lailah and her thoughts, and it is super sweet to see their dynamic. Lailah eventually starts using a worry box to write down and hide her thoughts to help. Unfortunately, the box causes a series of events to unfold that ultimately have the family bonds loosening.
I had zero idea what was actually happening the entire book, and the plot is well laid out. The writing is absorbing and kept me hooked the entire time. The whole book is just very fresh and different. If you liked The September House, The Haunting of Hill House, or Just Like Home, this book is for you.

This book will stay on my haunted house recommendations list. 🏠

Thank you NetGalley, Angry Robot, and Chris Panatier for the ARC! 🫶🏼

This book hollowed me out. It was a perfect frustrating storm that made it super believable to blame Lailah and at some point I even questioned whether all the POV's where "relieable narrators" or just someone evil trying to throw us off. I stayed up until 2am to finish the book because I was too distraught to put it down to sleep without getting everything resolved.

Worry Box by Chris Panatier is one of the most unique haunted house books I have read. The entire concept is well thought out and expertly crafted.

The Martins are certain they have found their perfect forever house. Just right for their family and in a well established neighborhood. But as it turns out, this house is different and when paired with the traumatic issues of their foster daughter they face challenges no one could have predicted. It may cost them the family they cherish above everything else.

Chris Panatier has created a solid psychological horror story that pulls the reader along and holds your attention throughout. The family dynamics are written so well, it feels more like watching a movie than reading a book. The scares are more cerebral than physical and that adds so much to the depth of the story.

I would recommend this book to not only horror fans but also dark thriller fans who enjoy the works of authors like Lucinda Berry and Riley Sager.

I want to encourage readers to check trigger warnings on this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Angry Robot for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

If you're looking for a haunted house story that starts creepy and somehow just keeps getting worse in the best way possible, “Worry Box” by Chris Panatier absolutely delivers.

The book kicks off with one heck of a prologue involving a decomposing body falling out of a ceiling, immediately letting you know this house has some serious issues. Then we meet the Martin family, who honestly might be one of the most lovable families I've read in a horror story. Nathan and Alison are trying to build a happy life with their daughter Dru and foster daughter Lailah, whom they're hoping to adopt. You can't help but root for all of them, especially Nathan who also grew up in the foster system and wants to give Lailah a loving home and become her forever family, which makes everything that follows hurt so much more.

One of my favorite parts was Lailah. She struggles with OCD and intrusive thoughts, and I thought her portrayal was handled with so much empathy and care. Her "worry box," where she writes down her intrusive thoughts to help manage them, is such a simple but powerful idea. You just want to give this kid a hug. The book also handles topics like foster care, trauma, child abuse, postpartum mental health, and grief with a surprising amount of compassion without ever losing the horror.

And then there's the house.

What makes “Worry Box” stand out from your typical haunted house novel is that the house itself gets a voice. Through chapters from the perspective of "Andy," the sentient spirit of the home, you slowly learn that the house isn't just haunted; it has its own history, its own trauma, and its own idea of what makes a family. Watching those flashbacks slowly reveal what happened to the previous owners was one of the creepiest parts of the entire book.

The horror itself is a slow burn, but it escalates quite a bit. It starts with little unsettling moments, like objects moving on their own, strange smells, weirdly helpful supernatural events, and gradually spirals into something deeply unsettling. Every time I thought the family might finally catch a break, the book somehow managed to pull the rug right back out from under me. The tension just keeps tightening until the final act becomes genuinely nerve-wracking.

I also loved the multiple POVs. Getting inside everyone's heads, including the house's, made it impossible to know exactly what was real, who was reliable, or what was actually causing everything to unravel. It creates this constant feeling of paranoia where you're questioning everything alongside the characters.

Despite all the scares, this is really a story about family, trauma, empathy, and the ways people carry emotional wounds. Even when characters make frustrating decisions, they never feel like villains; they feel like real people under unimaginable pressure. That emotional core made the horror hit even harder.

Fair warning, though: there are some heavy content warnings here, including child abuse, animal abuse in the past, intrusive thoughts related to OCD, postpartum mental health struggles, and violence. Also, it features the “othering” of foster children, which is something that unfortunately occurs quite a bit in real life. Thankfully, for anyone who always worries about this (like me), the dog is safe.

Overall, “Worry Box” is an incredibly tense, emotional, and unique haunted house story that feels just as interested in breaking your heart as it is in scaring you. It balances supernatural horror with deeply human characters, and by the end I was completely invested in this family's survival. Creepy, heartbreaking, and impossible to put down.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc!

As a horror lover, I was super excited to get a copy of this book to read and I read this on one of the hottest days of the year so far. I ate it up in about a day or two. I really enjoyed the family and the emotional roller coaster this book put me through. I ended up feeling super invested in the characters and the events of the book (no spoilers!) gave me whiplash lol. Overall, I had a blast reading this. I've been in a horror mood lately so this definitely hit the spot for me.

Worry Box is one of the most unsettling horror novels I've read in quite some time. What begins as an intriguing story gradually spirals into something darker, stranger, and more disturbing with every chapter. I loved how unpredictable it was—I genuinely never knew where the story was heading next. One thing that made the book especially unnerving was the constant sense that something terrible might happen to the animals. Even if those fears may never fully materialize, the lingering threat creates an almost unbearable tension. Creepy, twisted, and deeply unsettling, this is a horror novel that will stay with me long after I turned the final page.

Wow! What a ride! This book gives new meaning to haunted house. I felt for Lailah and how bad she had it. Although, I think the dad was way too protective over her. I didn’t much like Alison. She was kind of whiny and annoying. A great read tho with great suspense

Holy smokes!! No pun intended. What a wild ride! Amazing twist of an ending. Heart wrenching and spooky. This was a solid four stars.

Quietly sinister and deeply unsettling, this is the kind of horror that creeps in softly before refusing to let go. The tension is constantly escalating, tightening its grip with every chapter until I found myself bracing for what was coming next. As fear, guilt, and love become impossible to separate, even the most ordinary moments feel dangerous. Equal parts family tragedy and nightmare, this is a story that burrows under your skin and stays there.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Angry Robot for providing me with a digital ARC prior to publication in exchange for an honest review.

One thing I wish I had done before diving in was check the trigger warnings. As someone with OCD and intrusive thoughts, parts of this book hit a little harder than I expected. There’s also mention of animal abuse, which is another trigger for me, so I wanted to mention that for anyone who may have those triggers as well.

Worry Box has been a unique read. I spent so much time thinking it was going to go in a different direction, but the ending was satisfying.

This one definitely got under my skin but if you’re a horror lover who enjoys eerie haunted houses, creepy kids, unsettling vibe, I’d recommend adding this to your TBR.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

The Martin family got a heck of a deal on a new home and have just moved in. They are especially pleased that the attic will make a perfect quiet place for their foster daughter, Lailah, when she needs some time to herself. She’s a great kid but suffers from instructive thoughts and needs some time to herself to clear her head most days. Both Lailah and her therapist assure the Martins that her intrusive thoughts, no matter how disturbing, are just thoughts. As long as she can learn to acknowledge them and let them go, she’ll never act on them. Initially, things are great, and the Martins are just waiting for the ok from the court to adopt Lailah. But when unsettling things start happening at their new home, the Martins begin to wonder if the move was too much for her. Is Lailah really a safe addition to the family?

Horror can be hit or miss for me, and I wasn’t sure how into this one I would be. However, the characters made this novel a cut above the rest. The Martin family has a sweet dynamic, and I was really rooting for sweet Lailah, who desperately wants to be loved and accepted and find a soft landing place after all she’s been through. I especially loved her bond with her foster sister, Dru.

And, look, I get emotional when I’m up too late, and I admit I spent a sleepless night finishing this one, so I was vulnerable. But I actually found tears welling in my eyes because I felt so awful for Lailah as the family started to doubt her and she felt their trust in her faltering. All she wanted was to love them and be loved by them. I just wanted to give this poor kiddo a hug!

The horror in this story doesn’t come from things that go bump in the night, but from a child who thinks her personal demons will hurt the people she loves the most. That fear cuts much deeper than your average haunted house story.

I’m giving this a 4.5 rounded up to 5, mostly because it was such a pleasant surprise and had much more substance than I anticipated.

P.S. Not the kids calling an iPod Nano “vintage.” I feel so old my bones are crumbling to dust.

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

★★★★☆

This was such a unique read! The premise was unlike anything I’ve read before, and the storytelling kept me on my toes the entire time. I was hooked from the start and finished it in less than 24 hours because I couldn’t wait to see where it was going next.

If you’re looking for something fresh, fast-paced, and unpredictable, I’d definitely recommend giving this one a try.

Thank you to Angry Robot and NetGalley for the ARC copy, due to be published 22nd September 2026, provided in exchange for an honest review.

Described as an unsettling horror story with a mysterious twist, perfect for fans of Paul Tremblay's A Head Full of Ghosts. I enjoyed both but don’t see the comparison. I thought more like a darker, twisted Catriona Ward.

The Martin’s move to a new home with the view to set roots. They hope to offer a stable and loving environment for them and further extend the family to include their foster child Lailah. As the family settles Lailah’s looming adoption decision weighs heavily, causing her intrusive thoughts to intensify. To help regain control of her thoughts and mind, Lailah writes each intrusion down on a piece of paper and places them into her ever growing ‘worry box’.

What a great idea for a horror story! As dark as it was, I loved being in each character’s head - shifting POV and perspective each chapter. I also appreciated exploring the background stories of the people and of the house itself. The family were likeable, loving, decent and I was rooting for them the whole time.

I particularly enjoyed the 3rd element exploring foster children and those from the care experience. It was positive to explore intrusive thoughts as a lived experience, in how this is internalised and in a variety of social contexts. Other important themes were discussed such a how reliable is memory and how well do we trust our own mind.

Some of the chapters began with an intrusive thought at random, helping keep me on edge and unsettled.

What I did not enjoy were 'those' animal scenes. Please check trigger warnings before going in.

This was an enjoyable easy read with short chapters and kept me hooked for the next chapter – I read in 2 sittings.

Rated 4.25 stars (4 stars rounded down).

Thank you to Net Galley and Angry Robot for letting me read this ARC!

Wow wow wow. I don’t know what I expected going into this book but it exceeded anything and everything I thought. Every character was deep and complex, I got extremely invested in them and found myself aligning a lot with Nathan and his protectiveness over Lailah. I thought the pacing of this was perfect, I finished it feeling satisfied. The explorations of trauma and family dynamics was really well done. I was spooked, disturbed, but absolutely unable to put this one down. Every twist and turn leaves you wanting more.

This is a must read for any horror fan and I can’t wait to get myself a physical copy in September!

A quick, tense read that I ended up enjoying a lot! Nathan, Allison, their biological daughter Dru, and their foster daughter Lailah (who they hope to adopt) move into a new-to-them house that immediately feels like the perfect home. The family's comfort and joy in each other are clear from the start--which makes the sudden shift even more stark as cracks form in relationships and distrust begins to fester. Lailah struggles with violent, dark intrusive thoughts, and initially the support of her foster family seems unconditional. But as she starts to write the thoughts down and put them in a worry box in her attic space, in order to deplete their power over her, dark things begin happening around the house. For the adults there are no logical explanations--but the children are convinced it is a ghost they've experienced, who started out good but has suddenly become very, very bad.

For me the children were better drawn characters than the adults in some ways, although I liked Nathan's extreme dedication to fostering and adopting, stemming from his own rough childhood experiences. The family really read as a true family to me, with each member having their own personality that meshed into the whole. I also found it interesting to explore how they all responded to things like trauma, sleep deprivation, and senseless events--some placed blame immediately, some worked to find a logical solution, and others started to distrust themselves. Several of the twists towards the end brought new emotional weight to the story, and thankfully we didn't get a sweet sappy ending where all issues are resolved, because that's not how real things or real families work. I'll keep an eye out for future releases from this author for sure!

I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a thriller.

A young girl waits impatiently to hear the news of her impending adoption being approved, or the devastating dread of going back to live with her indifferent aunt and uncle. She has intrusive thoughts and writes them down and puts them in a Worry Box in order to stop thinking about them. In my opinion, she should have shredded or burned them, because anyone and anything, can read them.

Thank you to angry robot publishing and Chris Panatier for this ARC .
I loved this book. Wondering what was going to happen next kept me hooked! The action pops off from the opening chapter and keeps going .

This could be a ghost story or a haunted house story. Lailah is the troubled foster child of a wonderful family in the suburbs. The house they move into is sentient and is aware of Lailah’s intrusive thoughts. You see where this is going. This is a story of a family losing control. I guess there’s a ghost but the ghost has borderline personality disorder. Highly recommended.

Thank you Angry Robot for my free ARC of Worry Box by Chris Panatier — out Sep 22!

» READ IF YOU «
🗳️ ever act on your intrusive thoughts, just a teeny bit
🏡 think houses have memories
👻 want to root for every single character (except the Ragsdales, ugh)

» SYNOPSIS «
The Martins just bought their dream home in Tumbling Hills and are settling in. Alison, Nathan, and their daughter Dru are especially looking forward to foster daughter Lailah’s adoption being finalized. But the move seems to have shaken the girls a little—Dru insists there’s paranormal activity in the house, while Lailah’s intrusive thoughts are getting worse and more violent with each passing day. And…they’re coming true? Is Lailah losing control?

» REVIEW «
Whew, what a book. If you know Chris’s work, you’ll know already that he has a talent for bringing intense emotion to his horror stories, and this one is certainly no exception! I truly didn’t expect to like and root for every single character in this story (with the notable exception of the house’s previous family) but alas, here they all are just trying to do the best they can for each other.

This is my favorite kind of horror story, because it has so much heart. But it’s still firmly horrific! A few times, I physically had to put the book down because what was happening was just…too much. I love when an author can take two seemingly opposed states, like love and terror, and meld them together into a story that’s got real staying power. Chris is great at it.

No spoilers here, I think you should go into it as blind as possible, but Worry Box will definitely make you sweat—the characters are under palpable stress, which is what got me more than once, since I genuinely cared about them. Chris, you know what you did in that one part, with the yeeting—hot damn. Anyway, be mindful if you’re sensitive to animal death, as it’s all technically off-page, but still reeeeally visceral and tough to read. And, who knew molasses could make you shudder?

Do not miss this book in September; grab a copy and head up into a cozy attic to read it, if you’ve got one…

necessary to the story.

What maybe many places don’t consider about houses is how they hold the energy of all the trauma that took place there. They are silent witnesses to anger, fear, pain… to family triumphs and tragedies and everything in between. So, what happens when a house has had enough?

The family at the heart of this story is slightly less traditional, with a dad who grew up in foster care, his wife and kid and a current foster kid. Dad and foster daughter are both dealing with their own personal demons from childhoods in less than stellar circumstances and when the whole family finds their dream home, it seems like things couldn’t get better. But their dream home has been through some trauma himself.

This is a great creepy, makes-the-hairs-stand-up, thrilling horror tale. The characters- including the house! - are thoughtfully and lovingly portrayed in all their PTSD bound glory. The story had me on the edge of my seat figuratively and literally. I just spent the last twenty minutes bouncing on the edge of the sofa as I got through the ending. When they call books pulse pounding? Yeah, this is why. Highly recommend to fans of horror and thriller fiction!

Goals:

Books: 87/130
Horror: 7/20

Worry Box by Chris Panatier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I recently read Worry Box by Chris Panatier, thanks to the eARC I got from Angry Robot Books via #NetGalley, and let me tell you this is a killer story! The prologue alone is enough to make you say "WTF!"

As the story unfolds we meet the Martins, parents Nathan and Alison, their 9 year old daughter Dru and 11 year old foster daughter Lailah. The Martins hope to adopt Lailah, even as they help her cope with her intrusive thoughts, which often encourage her to commit dangerous or violent acts.

It's not long after they move into the perfect home in a desirable neighborhood that... unusual... events begin to happen. These inexplicable occurrences seem welcoming and even helpful at first, but soon take on a darker tone. The girls believe a ghost is responsible, while the parents feel one, or both, of the girls are involved, playing pranks that get out of hand. Both girls deny any involvement even as events escalate, and Lailah comes under extra scrutiny because of her intrusive thoughts.

Each of the chapters is written from a different character's perspective, so we get to experience each one's hopes, dreams, worries and fears. This shifting perspective highlights the Martin's confusion, concern, panic and horror, as weird events continue to occur within the house.

Worry Box is a master class in building tension and terror amid shifting family dynamics. As events spiraled out of control I found it more difficult to put the book down, and raced through the final third of the book to find out what happened and who was responsible.

Worry Box publishes September 22, 2026.

The best horror stories are never just about ghosts, and Worry Box proves exactly that. What starts as a haunted house story quickly becomes something much deeper, blending family drama, trauma, and psychological horror into an unsettling and emotional read. The atmosphere builds slowly but never loses its grip, with a constant sense that something is terribly wrong.

Lailah was easily the standout character for me. Her struggle with intrusive thoughts was portrayed with empathy, making her impossible not to root for. The family dynamics felt authentic, and I loved that the emotional relationships were just as important as the supernatural mystery. The haunted house itself felt like a character, adding a fresh twist to a familiar trope.

The pacing leans toward a slow burn, but the tension steadily escalates until the final act, where everything comes together in a satisfying and emotional conclusion. If you enjoy horror that focuses as much on its characters as its scares, this one is absolutely worth picking up

Chris Panatier has a talent for taking unusual ideas and making them feel surprisingly heartfelt, and Worry Box looks to continue that trend. Blending speculative fiction with horror and humor, the story leans into its strange premise while keeping the focus on the people at its center.
What stood out to me most was how approachable it felt. Even with its offbeat concept, the story never loses its emotional core, making it an easy book to get invested in. It's the kind of genre mashup that reminds me why I enjoy Panatier's work so much.
Read if you like: speculative horror, quirky sci-fi, dark humor, and character-driven stories with big, imaginative ideas.

Worry Box authored by Chris Panatier
Published by Angry Robot

Chris Panatier is a chameleon. I amazes me how fluidly he can switch between genres. Worry Box is like nothing of his I’ve read before and I love it! It has the weirdness of Shitshow (toned down a bit) and the heart of The Redemption of Morgan Bright.

The story begins with some truly horrific scenes that grossed me out (no mean feat as I am a diehard King fan and adore LaRocca). It then switches the focus to a young family and the incredible trials they face that threaten to tear them apart and the spectrum in machina who plays god. It is very well-written crazy-ass story that continues to get weirder by the page. A must read for those who already love or want to fall in love with Panatier’s writing.

My thanks to Angry Robot for allowing me the pleasure of reading this ARC.

I absolutely loved this book! One of my favorite types of haunted house books are where the house itself is a character. Reminiscent of The Haunting of Hill House. This is one of those with the best possible plot. Deeply unsettling and as afraid to turn the pages as I was, I just couldn’t stop. Chris Panatier hits all the right notes with Worry Box. If you like books with haunted houses, kids in perilous situations and genuinely being creeped out by a book, this one is for you. Definitely the most unnerved I have been by a book this year.

Thank you to Angry Robot and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I truly believe this is one of those books where the less you know about the plot, the better. I loved every POV of this story, and how it always switched to one another in the perfect moment. The book was playing like a horror movie in my mind, like crystal clear, and omg the story had me in a chokehold. It was truly haunting, creepy and with a totally unique plot. I’ve really enjoyed it and will be recommending this to anyone who loves haunted house horror books!