It’s no secret that Chuck Wendig is one of my favorite authors. He’s an automatic read, so I was ecstatic when I received an advanced reader copy of The Staircase in the Woods last month. It’s another immersive, fast paced, mind-f*ck of a story about friendship and the devastating effects of secrets, insecurities, and fears, and ultimately, the redemptive power of love and loyalty.
In true Wendig fashion, The Staircase in the Woods is vivid, haunting, and at times, truly disturbing. Each character’s voice is brilliantly unique with their pain, flaws, and fears ripped from their souls and laid bare on the page. The subtle slow build I appreciated in Black River Orchard is nowhere to be found here. The reader isn’t a frog in a pot of water heating to a boil in this one, they’re leaning over the vent of a volcano moments before it erupts. This was Wendig’s most gruesome, in-your-face horror story yet, with the most vivid imagery and world building since Book of Accidents.
I loved The Staircase in the Woods, and I can’t wait to see what Chuck Wendig comes up with next.
Thanks to Del Rey and NetGalley for the ARC. Publication is expected April 2025.
Book Summary
Five high school friends are bonded by an oath to protect one another no matter what.
Then, on a camping trip in the middle of the forest, they find something extraordinary: a mysterious staircase to nowhere.
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—and what lies beyond the staircase in the woods. . . .
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