“Something I Keep Upstairs” by J.D. Barker is an awesome ghostly supernatural thriller! The story revolves around a group of teens who spend their summer in a haunted house on a secluded island across from New Castle, New Hampshire. One of the teens inherits the spooky house from his estranged grandmother, and as his stay at the house lengthens and more of his friends arrive, the sinister and deadly past history of the house and the towns occupants unravels.
There are so many twists and unexpected turns in these pages I never once guessed correctly where the story was going. I recommend this book to everyone who enjoys a “bump in the night” story but I can tell you that every time my house creeks now I jump!

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

Review Copy

Haunted house stories tend to be old and tired. But they haven't been written by J.D. Barker. SOMETHING I KEEP UPSTAIRS is a chilling story that deserves to be read along with THE STAND and IT.

While I won't tell you any of the terrifying details of the book, I will tell you to read the entire thing. It's odd. When you think it's finished and you're at the Author's Note, read it! Then continue reading.

If you're into horror, don't miss SOMETHING I KEEP UPSTAIRS. Enter the giveaway, preorder the book, then get into bed for a week and read. You will love it.

My thanks to Hampton Street Press, J.D. Barker and Netgalley.
You know, I fully expected to love the crap out of this story.
I didn't. I really disliked the characters and couldn't find any common ground.
I kept expecting greatness! Then I set my sights on really goodness! Then I lowered them to "for fuck's sake..edness!"
Yeah, not a word, but that's how I felt.
Sadly, at 75% I was waiting for that Barker, bezerker madness to come into play.
Sadly, here I am, finished. No nothing. Bummer dude.
Barker usually has his shit going on. Hmm....maybe next time.
Doesn't matter. He's still my favorite new author. I will read the crap outta anything he writes.
This however won't be in the cards for second read.

This was a coming of age horror story done right.

The story focuses on a group of teenagers who get together for one more summer of fun after their friend, Spivy, inherits a house from his grandmother after her strange death. Insert an ancient angry being with good character development and you get this book.

It kept me on my toes and was similarly paced to a Stephen King novel, so if you like his books this maybe one to give a try.

What's keeping me from rating it higher is that this is marketed as YA, and it does not feel like a YA horror (longer, more drawn out scenes and character development, more mature tones/scenes that I would not find inappropriate for this age group). It threw me off because I wasn't expecting it. That's not really on the author, more the marketing. Other than that, I enjoyed this book!

This book gave me the creeps..in a good way. Billy, his family and friends live in a very small New Hampshire town where even your parents and grandparents grew up together. Billy’s best friend Spivey inherits a house on an island the grandmother he only met once left him.. When Spivey and friends check it out they see it’s an amazing house that will be perfect for parties, but very strange rules must be followed. No one under 16, you can’t leave the island after dark, don’t lock the doors, or answer the phone, and make sure you feed Emerson. What follows is an intense story spanning generations. Barker deftly handles all the characters and the many layers of this novel , as each chapter the story becomes darker and more complicated than the chapter before. I felt the helplessness of the characters as they realize this is a nightmare that will never end.

In this suspenseful story the main character, Billy, encounters a situation with his friends that can only be called otherworldly. Together they encounter an ancient entity and have to manage (or not manage) their own destinies. Some characters are super reliable, and you will like their integrity right away. Others......not so much. Wood Island is both beautiful and terrifying.

The author does an amazing job creating a world that can be seen, and horror and suspense that can be felt. The structure of this book reminds me of Stephen King with long chapters with multiple sub-sections. The narration goes back and forth between people and builds with intensity throughout. It is fast paced and will keep you reading late into the night. 4.5/5 stars. Amazing characters! Highly recommend.

Wow! This is a book that I will be thinking about for a long time.

JD Barker has crafted a beautiful haunted house story. It shifts between view points to give the book an extra eerie element. The story gives nightmare-inducing details, and grips you from the get-go.

We follow a teenage boy caught up with his best friends in an unlikely inheritance and the rules that come with the estate. The other POV is the chief in the town that realizes something is amiss and wants to solve it before time runs out.

Haunting, chilling, captivating!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

What the actual fudge did I just read??
Give yourself to Emerson?
Oh wow. What a ride. JD barker strikes again

I always swear that I hate coming-of-age stories. And then I read one like this one and realize that, done right, they're amazing.

This one was amazing.

This is a dark and horrific story, but there's also something wistful and sad about it.

Once you truly realize the plot, it's an unusual one - and this is a most unusual house.

The book is almost 500 pages and I could have happily read 500 more.

I want to read the author again.

Something I Keep Upstairs by JD Barker
For those that love the eerie, spine tingling, hair standing up on the back of your neck kind of books, this may be for you.
This story is mainly centered around a group of high school kids. ‘Spivy’ inherits his (unknown to him) grandmother’s house out on wood island after her strange death. His folks are livid about this. But Spivy and his friends are excited to have a new place to hang out. The house comes with a lot of strange rules but the kids are intent to have fun. A lot of people don’t want them near that island and they can’t figure out quite why.- Until they do. It’s a good read especially if you like to sleep with the light on at night. Pry would make a good movie.

Something I Kept Upstairs by Author J.D. Barker is a Haunting story taking place in New Hampshire.

This story started off on a high for me, it was rolling along at a good pace and kept my interest for the most part.

I did however start to lose some interest as it went along.

I will read anything that this author writes, however this one was just ok for me.

The premise is about mysterious house on an island, which is inherited by a teenager after his grandmother dies.

It’s spooky and mysterious, and is all about friendships.

In my opinion there was just too much going on and was really meant for a young adult reader.

The dark past of the house, island and area are all interesting though.

Thank You to Hampton Creek Press, NetGalley, and Author P.D. James for my advanced copy to read and review!

Great book, very dark and scary. This would a great autumn/halloween time read. I love the authors writing style so will look forward to picking up more books by JD Barker. Thanks for the early access!

While I love J.D. Barker when he writes with James Patterson, this novel was really good as his own. And while it's not as good as his Fourth Monkey trilogy, it was a good stand alone novel.

Complex, cerebral, creepy, and genuinely disturbing in it's closeness to reality, leaving you hanging by a thread - maybe it is real, or not. Fans who like real horror that creeps from the shadows and breathes emotion from the dark, this is for you.

JD Barker has done it again. Totally opposite end of the spectrum from his 4MK trilogy, but with all the thrills, twists and suspense you’ve come to love from a Barker novel.

The book details a group of high school kids who are looking for one last fun summer together before they enter in their last year together and go off their separate ways for college. Spivey (David) inherits an island with a house on it from his grandmother. The house contains a list of rules that he tries to stick by, but ultimately their friends end up breaking. Once in the house, the story jumps back between Billy’s storyline and Whaler, decoding between a missing teen, ghost sacrifices and more. These characters are developed so well and the further you get into the story, the more layers are peeled back revealing just how much this storyline and the past is webbed together.
Towards the end I couldn’t read fast enough. All of the events taking place on the island with Billy and his friends while jumping chapters with Whaler trying to help locate the missing girl and learning more of the islands past. I felt the excitement and tension building up in myself just wanting to get to the end and see how it all plays out. The ending did not miss and the closer you got, the more I kept going no way!

Thank you NetGalley and Mr. Barker and his team for the ARC. This novel did not miss.

One last thing, Please feed Emerson..

J.D. Barker is a masterful storyteller whose latest novel, Something I Keep Upstairs, is a haunted house ghost story that is dark and creepy in the best sense. The plot is slow to unfold, but once the pieces start to fall into place, what emerges is a tale that is both chilling and mind-blowing. It's best to go into this one without spoilers to enjoy it fully. Don't miss the Author's Note at the end.

Thank you to Hampton Creek Press/Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

When David inherits a house on an island belonging to a Grandmother he knew nothing about, his rather sad life takes a turn....

I loved this book. It is a chilling and exciting read and I think my favourite charcter was Emerson. Emerson has a mystery attached to him and I loved trying to guess the outcome of the plot.

A well told haunted house tale that would be a great TV drama.. highly recommend

J.D Barker has done it again! He is truly an exceptional storyteller!

If I had to quickly summarize this absolute
masterpiece, I would say it's a chilling coming of age story about friendship and family with undertones of generational trauma set in haunted house where everything and nothing is and isn't what it seems to be.

Billy Hasler is an all-american 17 year old. Athletic and well liked with a beautiful girl. His parents are successful professionals and he lives a comfortable life. The exact opposite can be said about his best friend
David Spivey. His life has been more difficult in many ways. His parents aren't as successful, wealthy and put together. They are actually quite the mess. Spivey has battled cancer off and on throughout his childhood, he is often bullied at school, and his home life is tough. Maybe his luck is changing because he just inherited everything from a grandmother he doesn't really even know. The boys and a few of their friends set off on an adventure..what's to be the best summer ever... so they think..

I don't want to give away the secrets tucked away so perfectly within these pages but I know late at night when hear the house make a noise or feel like I'm not alone, my mind will definitely drift to what I read. If you're a fan of Stephen King or Joe Hill, you will devour this book.

Thank you, NetGalley and Hampton Creek Press/Simon & Schuster for opportunity to read an advanced copy of #somethingikeepupstairs

There will be enough of both summary and praise in other reviews, so I would like to spend our time together contemplating these pressing questions:
Why is the title?
Why, in all the great wide world of names out there - Emerson?
Orgy? (Use your imagination to make that an answerable question, I'm stumped.)

What fun it must be to live in Barker’s mind!

For a haunted house to be born, somebody has to die.

Teenagers, Summer, and an entire island to play on and a house that has a lot of secrets.

When David’s grandmother dies, he is her sole heir to the island and the house, as well as the mysterious Emerson, who must be fed.

Grandma lived alone out there and forbade her own child from stepping foot on the island, and David can’t remember going there more than once.

Just when you thought they had free reign over things, they don’t.
There is an executor who everything must funnel through.

The first night there, odd things happen and trust me, they only get odder!

Twisty doesn’t begin to describe this one. Barker is a master at many horrible things happening all at once, and this one kept me on my toes!

This is the best kind of horror and I am here for all of it!


NetGalley/Hampton Creek Press / Simon & Schuster | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles
May 13, 2025