Beneath the Stairs by Jennifer Fawcett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars rounded up**
Clare left her small hometown of Sumner’s Mills, in upstate New York, behind many years ago. And it wasn’t that she just left, she ran.
After a chilling incident occurred one summer when she was just 14-years old, the town lost its sense of comfort for her. She couldn’t wait to get out of there.
It seems a silly thing, tweens exploring a haunted house, but after that day, Clare and her best friend, Abby, were never the same.
In fact, the incident was so traumatic, Abby’s entire personality seemed to changed. Her parents moved the entire family from town to try to escape it. It was really a formative experience in Clare’s life.
The girls eventually lost contact after Abby’s move. That’s why Clare is particularly surprised when Abby’s mom reaches out to her twenty years later and asks her to return to Sumner’s Mills.
Abby, whose mental health has continued to be a challenge for her, is in the hospital, in a coma after an apparent overdose. She had returned to the haunted house.
Having just ended her long-term relationship, Clare is looking for an escape anyway. She decides she will head back to Sumner’s Mills, lick her wounds for a bit and try to discover what could have possibly possessed Abby to go back to that house.
Once back in her childhood home, Clare is reacquainted with old friends and begins a deep dive into the history of the haunted house, known in town as the Octagon House for its peculiar shape.
Beneath the Stairs uses both past and present perspectives to weave together this truly haunting tale. I always enjoy that narrative format, so was excited to see it here.
This book is definitely a slow burn, and while there’s a lot going on, I feel like Fawcett did a great job weaving it all together in a way that felt fluid.
I enjoyed getting to know Clare as a character. She was strong-willed and pretty fearless. It is clear she had built walls up around herself after her childhood trauma. I felt for her. She was alone, both mentally and physically, through a lot of her struggles.
Over the course of the story, Clare comes into contact with a man who was sort of a first love for her. I was completely invested in the exploration of that relationship. I thought it was extremely realistic and very well done.
My only slight critiques for this story would be that it is quite slow, eventually toeing drawn-out territory. Also, towards the end, a few situations didn’t quite make sense to me. I was left with questions.
Overall though, this is a fun read. I am still thinking about it weeks later, so that’s always a good sign.
I loved the is it supernatural, is it not supernatural feel; generally an element I will look for when picking up haunting Thrillers. Fawcett definitely delivered those vibes; something I hope she continues to bring with future works.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
I enjoyed this a lot and look forward to picking up more from Jennifer Fawcett!