Beneath the Stairs

A Novel

By: Jennifer Fawcett

Narrated by: Carolina Hoyos

In this spine-tingling, atmospheric “nail-biter of a novel” (Shelf Awareness), a woman returns to her hometown after her childhood friend attempts suicide at an alleged haunted house—the same place where a traumatic incident shattered their lives twenty years ago.

Few in sleepy Sumner’s Mills have stumbled across the Octagon House hidden deep in the woods. Even fewer are brave enough to trespass. A man had killed his wife and two young daughters there, a shocking, gruesome crime that the sleepy upstate New York town tried to bury. One summer night, an emboldened fourteen-year-old Clare and her best friend, Abby, ventured into the Octagon House. Clare came out, but a piece of Abby never did.

Twenty years later, Clare receives word that Abby has attempted suicide at the Octagon House and now lies in a coma. With little to lose, Clare returns to her roots to uncover the darkness responsible for ruining their lives.

A “spellbinding horror story, where the terror comes not from ghosts, but from the haunted places we find within ourselves” (Elizabeth Brundage, author of The Vanishing Point), Beneath the Stairs is perfect for fans of Jennifer McMahon, Simone St. James, and Chris Bohjalian.

©2022 Jennifer Fawcett. All rights reserved. (P)2022 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Good story, insanely long ending

The story itself is good. I wanted to stop listening about the last 40 minutes. It just kept dragging on and on

alright book

book did drag on put was alright but ending was little disappointing could been better

It was ok 🤷🏽‍♀️

I didnt love it...didn't hate it. I was expecting more twists and turns but it was a good cleaning the house listen.

Worth the read! Good story!

This story wasn't quite what I expected from the blurb, but the overall book was much better than I'd hoped for. Creepy more than scary, realistic romantic situations, exploration of family/friend relationships, culminating in a satisfying ending. As someone child-free by choice, the "motherhood" thread made me roll my eyes a bit, but I'd definitely recommend this story and would read/listen to this author again.

Narrator nope

Horrible narrator. She is incredibly dull and emotionless, makes an already long story even longer.

SLOW

With a variety of new thrillers and horror books coming out in the next few months, this was a book I was excited about after reading some reviews and the synopsis. I love thrillers, horror, and ghost stories - and I read a lot of them. It was TERRIBLY SLOW. This is NOT a thriller. This is NOT a ghost story with any merit. I forced myself to listen to 15 chapters, I gave it a real go, but as it was going nowhere, had to return this book. The narrator only intensifies the tedious nature of this book, as her monotone voice drones on and on and nearly puts one to sleep. Narrator aside, I don’t think it would have been any better reading vs listening, because the story just fell flat. Disappointing.