2.75 I've been trying to find the right words for this review, as I didn't picture this read going the way it did! I loved the eerie background of the plot, the history and diverse characters.
There is mention of SA in here, as well as representations of mental illness such as anxiety, depression & OCD. I feel like the setting is definitely around this timeframe & relevant to today's society. The twists and turns???! So good! There are parts that reminded me "IT".
I do have to add, a few chapters had language was pretty vulgar & quite a bit of drug-like mentions. It read like a YA so maybe adding this in trying to make it adult? I feel like the horror aspect of it was there for sure, but it wasn't something I've read before in other horror/thriller reads. The characters' backstories were also mentioned a lot, but to the point it made it quite repetitive. If you like spooky/creepy/gory horror I feel like this would be more for you. This book does a great job at making it creepy & uncomfortable kind of like "what the!?" really into it. I however wanted more of the thriller/ mystery feel of it!

The Staircase In The Woods is a story unlike anything I’ve ever read. It’s original, well written and dark (in the best way). The phrase “Home is where the heart is” has a whole new meaning for me. If I ever come across a staircase in the woods I’ll be running in the opposite direction. It’s about the power of friendship but also about the power of fear and trauma, about getting lost (don’t we all get lost sometimes, or most of the time). It’s a powerful message packed in a terrifying story and not to spoil anything but I need more, this story has now haunted me and I need more.

I love stories that begin with a group of school age friends vowing eternal friendship and loyalty. And that's how we begin this journey. Five high school friends bound by deep friendship find a staircase in the woods. Why is it there? Where does it go? One boy decides to find out and a mystery begins. Twenty years later the high school friends reunite and the staircase appears again. And that's as far as I'll take you.

I enjoyed this book a great deal. Some readers may consider it dull in parts, but that is part of the slow build, getting you acquainted with the boys and their backgrounds, setting the stage for what happens, raising your heart rate little by little.

A staircase in the woods. What a strange and interesting thing.

This one was eerie and sad and weird. I mean why would you even climb a staircase that is just sitting in the middle of a forest... It does not even make any sense. A horror and supernatural thriller, two things I generally never pick up and it was good but just did not really work for me. The story was fine but the characters were irritating and childish, felt like reading a young adult novel with a lot of drug use and swearing... and nobody really grew up.

3 ☆
So why would you climb some random stairs in the woods? Oh, these characters thought it was a good idea. The premise is what caught my attention: "Five high school friends are bonded by an oath to protect one another no matter what. A mysterious staircase to nowhere appears. One friend walks up—and never comes back down. Then the staircase disappears. Twenty years later, the staircase has reappeared. Now the group returns to find the lost boy." Doesn't that just pull you in? Yes! Well, I really wanted to love this story, but I felt like I was confused for maybe 50% of the book. But I was just too invested and interested to know what happened. I think that's what the author wanted. Well, I hope so.
-
Thank you, Netgellay, and Random House Worlds for the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve always been fascinated with the stairs in the woods phenomenon, so I was very excited to read this book! While slow at times, it still did a great job of capturing the eerie atmosphere!

This book starts out slow while the author sets the scene and you get to know the characters, however it really picks up about half way through. I am glad I stuck with it because it got really fun and interesting. The book covers tough topics so go into it expecting that and check warnings. The ending left me wanting more resolution, but I think that it what the author was going for.

overall, I enjoyed this book. It started off really strong but got a lil wonky in the middle. I think some of the phrasing felt random and unnecessarily graphic, but I loved the premise.

"The Staircase in the Woods" is a compelling read that had me hooked from the start. It's about five high school buddies who pledge to stick together, no matter what. But when they stumble upon a creepy staircase in the middle of the forest during a camping trip, things get real strange, real fast. One of them climbs the stairs and somehow vanishes into thin air. The rest of them are left grappling with their friend's mysterious disappearance and the eerie vibes from that staircase.

Fast forward twenty years, and the stairs are back. This sparks a reunion of the remaining friends, forcing them to face their past and the haunting memory of their lost friend. The author does an excellent job of fleshing out each character. I got to know them so well that I could feel their fear and desperation seeping off the pages.

The house adds another layer of creepiness to the story. It's like another character in itself, amplifying the suspense as the friends decide to investigate the staircase once more. The chilling atmosphere of the house had me on edge, wondering what horrors awaited in the next chapter.

The story is not just a thrilling mystery, but also a deep examination of friendship and loss. As the friends dig deeper into the mystery, they discover some hard-hitting truths that they've been trying to ignore. It's an intense exploration of how far we're willing to go for our friends and what happens when we're forced to face our deepest fears.

In short, "The Staircase in the Woods" is an exhilarating blend of mystery and emotion. It's a moving tale of how our past can come back to haunt us in the most unexpected ways. It's a story that will stay with you long after you've turned the final page. Highly recommended!

This book was the first thing to truly terrify me in a long time. This book is truly phenomenal and one of the most original ideas i’ve read in so long and is one that will haunt me at night for years to come.

The Staircase in the Woods was an absolutely terrifying read! The story was completely engrossing and a total mind bend. Phenomenal horror read, I can't recommend enough!

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Worlds for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Staircase in the Woods releases April 29, 2025

In 1998, a group of five teens go camping in the woods and come across a staircase. Late in the night, Matty invokes “the covenant” for the first and last time, which forces the rest of the crew to join him in scoping out the staircase, though none of them are too enthused about it.
Curiosity gets the best of Matty, and he traverses up the staircase leading to seemingly nowhere, yet when he reaches the top, he disappears for good.

Twenty or so years later, Nick reaches out to The Covenant letting them know that he’s dying of cancer and would like for them to reunite before it’s too late. Only, he’s not actually dying of cancer…
Nick has blindsided Lore, Owen, and Hamish into camping in the woods because Nick has finally found a staircase, similar to the one Matty disappeared from when they were teens.

Without hesitancy, the four of them go up the stairs, and disappear into a musty hallway of a home with rooms and doorways that constantly shift, leading them to different time periods of places where people have died and horrible things have happened.

Will they ever find a way out? Will the rooms lead them to Matty? What happens if they get separated from each other?

This was compulsively readable. Home is where the heart is, but it’s also where horrors reside, and we certainly saw that here.
With characters who are less than perfect, and those that you love to hate, it was easy to tag along for the ride and see what played out in the simulation that Wendig created.
My only qualm is that the story felt incomplete without Matty’s pov, and it would’ve been interesting to have seen Nick’s original reaction of entering the house.

cw: self harm, r-slur

The premise of this book had me very intrigued right from the start. I love a spooky mystery. I love a group of friends and a time jump to the future. I wanted to love this book but overall I found the characters to just be so unlikable that it was a bit of a miss. Maybe they are suppose to frustrate you, it is after all a story of broken friends trying to reconnect. But at times it felt redundant and cycle through the same character emotions over and over. I think it could have balanced better with more of their childhood being told, it’s hard to get a real idea of their friendship at a young age from the little snippets. It made their adult journey seem less believable. At times they were so annoying I didn’t care if the house took them. I guess this one just wasn’t for me.

DNF at 54%

I love the lore of staircases in the woods, but this wasn't it.
My main irritation is the political aspect. And the best part? I fully agree with the stances. So for me to actually be annoyed by it? Yeah. Didn't think that'd ever happen. Lore goes on an absolute pages-long rampage for no reason and I'm just.. What?
And the second part, which WHEWWWWWW, Wendig, you kinda did yourself dirty, man. I got quite excited to see a character with they/she pronouns. And 'they' was used UNTIL IT WAS EXPLICITELY MENTIONED. After that? Lore was only refered to as 'she'. Like, bro??????

Now, having starting to irritate me, the plot was just annoying me more and more. It's so repetative. And, yes, I know, it's part of the plot. But I'm sure it could've been pulled off better.
This book has become a chore and I'm over trying it.

The Staircase in the Woods
By Chuck Wendig, Release date April 2025.
They say home is where the heart is .... well not here it isint.
The Staircase in the Woods is an imersive experience which explores friendship, loss, self harm, mental health, abuse and grief along with so much much more.
I can't even begin to explain how imaginative this concept is so I just hope people pick it up when they can.

The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig is very appropriately about a staircase in the woods. Found by a group of friends in their teens one camping trip, they seem to lead no where. That is until one member of the group climbs them and prompts vanishes…as soon do the stairs. The missing friend is presumed dead and the group don’t meet again for decades. These are the two timelines in which the book is told.

First impressions had me hooked. This was very much a book for me. For the first third, it was engaging, original, sharp, fast paced and atmospheric. Who doesn’t love reading about a camping trip gone wrong in the woods! The characters very quickly felt vivid and personable. The concept was utterly intriguing. The two timelines were being effortlessly woven together, expertly delivered and I was enjoying both equally. The pacing was perfect! The chapter names were also interesting and endearing which was a fun added bonus. Unfortunately after starting out so strong, the story began a steady decline after the first third for me.

As soon as the ‘thing’ happened, the plot point the beginning had been leading up to, the book became repetitive, overly descriptive and felt like it lost its footing and momentum. There were just so many detailed descriptions that they all blurred together and became devoid of meaning, causing my interest to wane. I did start to gain slight* interest back at the 75% mark, but nothing like the excitement and anticipation that Wendig created at the beginning of the novel. The ending was very mediocre for me, but I think if the mid section had been as engaging as the beginning, the ending would’ve worked, but by that point I just wanted it over.

I really wanted to love this book. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Worlds for my Advanced Reader Copy.

Thank you for the advance copy of this book. I found the storyline very intriguing but did not realize this had some horror elements as well. That is not my typical genre but I did not deduct a star for it since it was not a flaw of the author but my own preference. I really liked the idea of the book and the overall execution. The ending and backstory of the house fell short for me and that is why I deducted one star. Still, I would recommend to anyone looking for a horror book.

I tried so hard to get through this book. I made it almost half way through and decided it was a dnf for me. I couldn’t get into the story, the characters were just blah for me.

If you’ve ever read Chuck Wendig before, you know exactly what you’re signing up for: eerie settings, whip-smart dialogue, and moments so bizarre you can’t help but mutter “What the actual…” under your breath. The Staircase in the Woods delivers all of this in spades, even if it doesn’t quite hit the heights of some of Wendig’s best work.

The premise—a mysterious staircase in the woods, a friend who vanished, and a decades-long obsession—has all the makings of a classic horror setup. And, true to form, Wendig doesn’t shy away from diving headfirst into the unsettling and uncanny. The atmosphere is thick with unease, and the dialogue crackles with Wendig’s signature sharpness, grounding the supernatural in the banter and bickering of old friends who have all grown into versions of themselves they’re not entirely comfortable with.

Thematically, this isn’t breaking new ground. You’ve got your usual suspects—trauma, guilt, the past haunting the present—but it’s the way Wendig unpacks these ideas that makes it so engaging. Subtlety isn’t his strong suit (and honestly, would we want it to be?), but there’s something undeniably satisfying about the blunt-force way he tackles these well-worn themes. It’s loud, it’s messy, and it’s a lot of fun.

The pacing occasionally wobbles, and while the twists and turns are thrilling, not all of them land with the same impact. But even when the story stumbles, it never loses its grip. You’re pulled along, willingly or not, toward the final reveal, which, in true Wendig fashion, leaves you unsettled in the best way.

Bottom line, if you’re a fan, you’ll likely love it. If you’re new to his work, this is a solid introduction to the wild and weird world of Chuck Wendig.

5 kids who reunited after several years to work together to confront a monster...who doesn't love an "It" storyline! Each of them are now adults who have been affected by the trauma in their youth in their own individual ways. I enjoyed the characters and I really enjoyed the pacing of the books and all the twists and turn the storyline took. Loving reading this during the fall months for the chilling atmosphere!