First of all, thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review. I loved the cover; reminded me of Creepypasta stories which reminded me of Season 2 and 3 of Channel Zero, the Syfy horror series. The reader can expect well drawn characters with fully realized backstories. Plenty of gore and action are present. I sincerely hope this novel reaches a wide audience as it already is in the running for my favorite read of 2025. Highly highly recommended.

When five friends exploring the woods happen upon a mysterious staircase, they jump at the chance to see where it goes.... but only four of them come back down. Years later, the remaining four friends converge on the woods when one of them notices that the staircase is back.

I loved a lot about this book-- the cover is beautiful and creepy, the idea is unique and creepy, and the writing was very good. I enjoyed the characters and didn't mind the occasional political reference (though I think it may date the book badly for people reading in the future). I also really, really loved the 'It' vibes as far as a group of adults reexamining their childhood experiences.

That being said, this book would probably benefit from a different blurb, or a more specific genre call out. It was listed as General Fiction/Horror/Mystery/Thriller, and I don't know that any of them really target the correct audience. I read all of those genres every week and I don't think of them fit. It's darker and more nefarious than 'General Fiction' tends to be and it's definitely a pretty slow burn so I don't think 'thriller' really fits, either. Horror I suppose would be the closest because it does have a decent amount of gross stuff and a couple of potentially scary things but I still don't feel like that really describes it. It's hard to explain without spoilers, but from the moment they head up the staircase in the present-day story the whole thing requires the level of suspension of disbelief commanded by fantasy or sci fi. It's not to say it's not a good story, it's just so much more off the wall than I expected based on the description. I don't think I'm alone in enjoying a more grounded horror story so I think putting something in the description that hints at (for lack of a better word and avoidance of spoilers) unreality of it would help it find the right readers rather than having thriller readers crack it and be disappointed.

Bottom line I think this book hits BIG with fans of Stephen King's "It", highly recommend for those readers!

In 1998, five friends walk in to the woods and only four walk out. After a mysterious staircase appears, young Matty walks up it and never comes back down. Now, 20 years later, the friends have been tricked in to gathering around the staircase, giving them an opportunity to right their wrongs.

Crossing between reality and unreality, it can be hard to tell what’s up and what’s down in this new horror from Wendig. I was utterly hooked in the beginning but by about 40%, I was losing steam. Even though we were finally getting to the meat of the story, it dragged and felt repetitive and the characters constant bickering between each other grew tiring. It’s also difficult to read Wendig without feeling like he’s trying to push some political agenda on you; it’s a common thread through his books. However, while many people despise it, I don’t find that it bothers me, per se, but it is definitely noticeable.

Out of all of his books that I have read—Book of Accidents, Wanderers, Black River Orchard—I think this one is my least favorite. Still, The Staircase in the Woods is a really interesting take on a classic horror trope and written well in typical Wendig fashion, I think that many readers will absolutely love it.

Thank you Random House for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. Available Apr 29 2025

Five friends go into the woods. When they see something unexpected. Not all of them come back out. Now they are determined to find the one still in the woods.

A staircase in the woods. What a novel idea . . . that is, until Chuck Wendig relayed to me in his afterword that staircases in the woods are a thing. Seriously. Google it. But unlike the real staircases one might find remaining from an abandoned home in the woods, you probably won’t jump (or step) off into a supernatural hell. I assume. But maybe you don’t want to take that chance.

This is a horrifying book about getting lost—getting lost on multiple levels. And while there is nothing wrong with getting a little lost (I did it numerous times while through-hiking the Appalachian Trail causing me to have to back track), it can be life threatening if you get really lost. It helps, though, to get lost with others. Then you can work together to help rectify the situation.

And that’s the other thing this book is about—friendship and working together. And hopefully growing in the process. But, in this case, it was really, really, horrifying—monsters personal and otherworldly to battle.

Also, the characters in this novel were very real as were the personal problems they faced, which made you root for them even when you occasionally wanted to shake some sense into them.

The plot was so unexpected! I absolutely loved it! I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like this before. I need more!

✨ This book hooked me right away with its Pittsburgh and Bucks County references, as I’ve lived in eastern and western Pennsylvania my whole life—so, familiar territory for me.

✨The story alternates between the present day and the late 1990s, capturing teenage nostalgia through flashbacks. The references to PBR, Yuengling, Boone’s Farm, camping in the woods, and bonfire parties transported me straight back to high school.

✨ The premise—a group of estranged high school friends reuniting decades after the mysterious death of their friend Matty—is a gripping setup. Brought together by Nick, who has terminal cancer, the group must confront unresolved trauma tied to eerie legends of staircases in the woods.

✨The characters feel authentic. They’re flawed, often unlikable, and carry the weight of personal growth—or lack thereof. (The former stoner-turned-Trumper was a particularly sharp detail.) Their dynamic adds layers of tension and drama to the already suspenseful plot.

✨I loved how the story balanced past and present timelines to build mystery and unease. And wow, it gets creepy. Fans of supernatural thrillers and otherworldly horror will appreciate the unsettling direction the book takes. Gamers, in particular, might find some exciting connections—but I won’t spoil why.

✨ This is a compelling, hard-to-put-down read, but be warned: the horror elements are intense. Trigger warnings include gore, violence, self-harm, suicide, child abuse, and graphic content. If you enjoy dark, supernatural mysteries with strong horror themes, this one delivers.

Read this if you like:
✨Creepy, otherworldly horror
✨Supernatural mysteries
✨Friend group drama
✨Nostalgic flashbacks to the late ’90s
✨Video or RPG games

From the beginning, I was hooked. What is this staircase? Where does it lead? Soon enough we find out and I couldn't stop reading until the end. Staircase in the Woods is reminiscent of peak Stephen King - thrilling, creepy, and page turning.

Chuck Wendig never disappoints! I devoured this book within days and couldn’t get enough. This one was a mix of House of Leaves & House at the bottom of a Lake. It felt like one long, continuous fever dream and while all of the characters were so unlikable you felt yourself rooting for them anyway!

A solid read to add to the Chuck Wendig library. Mr. Wendig is one of my favorite authors, I've read nearly all of his books and enjoyed all that I have read. This book finds it's self in the same vein as some of his latest works like, The Book of Accidents and Black River Orchard. This book is about 100 pages shorter than those two reads, but I felt like the story was a bit too long. My main complaint with this read was I felt that at times the book seemed to be repetitive and drawn out. I do love the voice that Chuck uses in his writings, it very much is familiar and easy for me to fall into and feel like I'm actually in his worlds where he is writing and existing. This book takes place with the premise of, what if "when a house becomes a home, it becomes imbued with life. Alive in an almost literal way- and certainly aware. If a house becomes haunted, it is not haunted by ghosts of its inhabitants but rather by the memories of those inhabitants."
In this story four friends encounter a staircase that transports them to a haunted house where they have to work together to find their way out and save one another or work apart and never escape the endless nightmare of the house and it's evil. At first I loved the way the story built on it's self and evolved and we watched the characters grow. But at a certain point in the book we seemed to stall out and repeat the previous events and the character's certain standing within the house and what needed to happen to escape over and over and over again. This became rather tiresome and boring and I felt with a little extra trimming he could have made a snappier story, with fast and exciting energy.
Still a good book, Chuck Wendig on a bad day is better than most on their finest day.

“THIS PLACE HATES YOU.”

Five troubled high school friends find an abandoned staircase in the woods. One of them runs up the stairs and never returns. What happened to Matty? When Nick lures the remaining friends Hamish, Lore, and Owen to the staircase in the woods twenty years later in the hopes of finding Matty, they must choose between friendship and the unknown.

The Staircase in the Woods can best be described as The Breakfast Club meets The Matrix and is littered with so many deal breakers for me.

1. Political agenda
2. Several plot holes
3. Confusing and not in a good way
4. Very slow pacing
5. Open ending

The book includes very dark issues (see trigger warnings) and centers around themes of friendship, abandonment, fear, and PTSD. It also confirms for me that nail biting is an absolutely disgusting habit. Owen’s nail biting bothered me more than the parts that were supposed to be nauseating.

The very clever chapter titles made me chuckle and I enjoyed a nostalgic nod to Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress (whether or not it was intentional). And…I did make it to the end.

I will leave you with a quote from the book that explains how I felt about these characters:

“God, for a bunch of smart people you’re a little fucking stupid.”

Unfortunately, The Staircase in the Woods did not work for me. Many others have really enjoyed it, so please check out their reviews as well.

Trigger warnings: suicide, cutting, sexual abuse, and racism

2.5/5 stars rounded up

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey publishing for the ARC of The Staircase in the Woods in exchange for an honest review.

The captivating cover pulled me into selecting this book & the concept of the plot from the description, a looming staircase in the woods, sure lets do it. Not what I expected at all. It's a trauma horror book of friends in the past to gathering them in present day. Yes, there's a staircase in the woods but it has a then & now. The now, the staircase takes them to a horror house that's essentially an escape room, which pulls from pain and individual trauma. It was slow to start, so much of the back story I glazed over, as I was more interested in the where does the staircase lead & how do these people escape. There isn't any kind of trigger warning from the author but there's definitely some dark traumatic themes woven throughout. It was different so refreshing but I didn't love it. Maybe would recommend to those who enjoy reading 'light horror' if that's a subgenre? After the book's done, there was an authors note about the house and perspective it gives. That was probably the most interesting part to me.

This story pulled me in from the very first sentence and kept me until the last. The author writing style is extremely engaging as well as descriptive. I felt like I was watching a movie. Also the character development was top-notch. One of my favorite quotes is "but only if you tear it all down and start again."

Loved "It" and wondering what it would look like if it was happening today?

Loved "Stranger Things" and its Stephen King atmosphere, teen friendship, messed-up human psyche... and looking for something in that vibe?

Then pick up The Staircase in the Woods, I couldn't help being thrown back in history feeling that same sense of creepiness and horror and disgust as it unfurled the nasty reality of what happens behind some closed doors - that same sense of grown-up evils and all the way they can destroy the next generation.

This was my first Chuck Wendig book but it won't be my last. I loved this scary, dark, chilling and all around creepy story. It had Stephen King vibes and perfectly captured the group of old friends reunite as adults to right a childhood wrong trope. All of the characters were interested, had depth and I felt invested in. Just the idea of a staircase in woods evokes all sorts of chilling imagery and I just had to know what mysterious events would unfold for our group as they climbed. There was a good mixture of suspense, horror, drama and mystery and some twists and turns that kept me turning pages well into the night. I plan to read The Book of Accidents next by this author as I've heard great things about it. Certainly an author to keep an eye out for if you love the horror genre.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book. Review is posted on Goodreads and will be posted on Amazon on release day.

I’m so conflicted about this book. It wants to say some really great things about friendship, overcoming trauma and the power of videogames. I appreciate how important the games aspect was to the story, especially, and the fact that one of the main characters was not only a successful woman in the industry, but that time was taken to address the struggles someone like that faces in real life.

The trouble was that I couldn’t connect to these characters, which was maybe just a “me” problem. They were crafted well enough that I could tell them apart easily, identify their distinct personalities and behaviors and even their speech patterns. But I wasn’t partial to them or invested in what was going to happen. The only person in this group that I came close to identifying with was Owen, and he was also the most likable by far. *They all have valid reasons for why they act the way they do,* and Wendig is skilled at creating complex people in his stories, characters that he clearly cares deeply about, but I still felt disconnected.

Going back to Lore, the gamer character for a moment, this was a great opportunity to have a strong protagonist. But she was sadly just so irritating. Pretty bold to make one of your characters identify as Queer, Pansexual and Aromantic and then make her very difficult to get along with. But she at least had a brain in her head. Nick was just an abrasive asshole for most of the book. (I will say that his character eventually became more clarified for me, but he was my least favorite from beginning to end.) And it bothered me that none of these former Besties could fathom why Hamish had changed into a “completely different person” after becoming an adult and having kids. That should’ve been common sense.

I feel like maybe if I had believed more in the core friendship between the characters, it would have strengthened the plot. These people aren’t BFF’s. They kind of hate each other. I didn’t buy the concept of the “covenant” for one second. You could say, “Well, they haven’t seen each other in years. They’ve all been through things, and currently they’re in a situation that’s affecting their behavior and their mentality.” Right, but even in the flashbacks they didn’t seem to be that enamored with each other, either.

This was so different from the other Wendig I’ve read, (“The Book of Accidents”), that it feels like the work of two different authors. That book is a favorite of mine. I was blown away by it. This one isn’t bad, it’s just not the level of amazing that the other book was.

Minor nitpick, but the way that Owen is constantly ripping his nails off with his teeth, you would think he has eight hands. That shit needs time to grow back in order for him to be able to do it THAT often.

I know this review has mostly been negative, but there were things about the novel that I liked. I don’t want to be too specific about the plot, but I liked the whole idea of where the staircase goes, and how much it all resembles a dream. (Or a nightmare.) The visual layout of this environment was interesting and fun, in a fucked up way.

Don’t be fooled by the innocent looking cover. This story gets extremely dark. Just look at the list of trigger warnings! It actually surprised me with how twisted some of the imagery was. I didn’t expect the book to touch upon the themes and topics that it did. It’s a big bubbling stew of trauma, violence and pain. Admittedly, there were moments that bordered on “edgy” for me, as in “this seems a bit much for the sake of being a bit much.” Like I said, it’s incredibly different from “The Book of Accidents.” But there were nice concepts here, like houses as metaphors for friendship and using gaming strategies to work through real-life problems.

I just wish I could have believed in the power of The Covenant.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.


Biggest TW: Hate speech, Self-harm, Suicide, Bullying, Sexual Assault, Substance abuse, Domestic abuse, Animal harm/death, Child death, Chronic illness

Chuck Wendig did it again, another fantastic book. This one will haunt me for awhile. I really enjoy his writing style and I loved everything I've read so far and will continue to read anything he writes! I wasn't really sure what to expect going in but just knowing that it sounded creepy was enough for me and he definitely delivered.

Five friends went into the woods to camp junior year of high school but only four made it back. A staircase appeared in the middle of the woods and only one went up and never came back. 20 years later the staircase is back and they all go up the stairs this time in hopes of finding their friend but may have wished they have just let the past go.

"The Staircase in the Woods" by Chuck Wendig is a chilling horror novel that takes readers on a suspenseful journey into the unknown. The story follows four childhood friends who, twenty years after a mysterious camping trip, reunite to unravel the secrets of a strange staircase in the woods. Now, with its reappearance, they are determined to uncover the truth and face whatever lies beyond it.

The book starts off slowly but quickly builds into a suspenseful and eerie tale. Wendig masterfully blends nostalgia, terror, and deep emotional trauma as the group delves into the mystery, navigating flashbacks that explore their childhood dynamics and contrasting adult lives. Each character—Nick, Owen, Hamish, and Lore—and the bond they share and the loyalty to their lost friend drive the story forward, creating emotional stakes that resonate.

While the plot is gripping and atmospheric, some readers, myself included, might find the repetitiveness of the writing a bit distracting. However, this minor flaw doesn’t detract from the overall impact of the story.

Reminiscent of Stephen King’s "It", the novel explores themes of friendship, loss, and confronting past traumas, all while delivering a spine-tingling horror experience. It’s both terrifying and profoundly sad at times, as it touches on sensitive topics in a way that can be uncomfortable but necessary for the story.

I didn’t expect to enjoy this book as much as I did, but it left a lasting impression. Gripping and eerie, "The Staircase in the Woods" is a must-read for fans of horror and mystery. Highly recommended!

Well this was wonderfully different than your average thriller. It was done so eloquently I highly recommend!

A big thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!! This book was insanely creepy and tense and I loved every second reading it!! I felt like one of the characters I could really relate to. I wish there was a part 2 because I would definitely be reading that as well. The book had me looking over my shoulder at times because it made me think someone was watching me. The characters were very interesting to get o know as well. This book reminded me of a book that I absolutely loved called Hell House by Richard Matheson. It was so creepy and terrifying that I wanted to jump into the book and experience it for myself. The House in the Woods is a horror game that reminded me of this book so it hooked me in automatically.