Beneath the Stairs: A Novel

Written 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Feb 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781797143415

Jennifer Fawcett

Jennifer Fawcett grew up in rural Eastern Ontario and spent many years in Canada making theatre before coming to the United States. She holds an MFA from the Iowa Playwrights Workshop. Her work has been published in Third Coast Magazine, Reunion: The Dallas Review, Storybrink, and in the anthology Long Story Short. She teaches writing at Skidmore College and lives in upstate New York with her husband and son.

Reviews for Beneath the Stairs

[wheresfifi · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved this book. There is a lot of build up to the main event. As you listen it gets creepier. The second half of the book is out standing.

[Jennifer Brusokas · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It just didn't have much to its story. Not scary at all. All 3rd person talking about the supposed murder that took place. I was expecting so much more.

[Janet Arnold · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Predictable and very slow moving. It was hard to get through.

[Leah Kaplan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

SO GOOD!!! Like a modern Haunting of Hill House (novel). Itched every scratch

[Shayla Hansen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I don’t get spooked often but some of the scenes made me question having the lights off lol. The ambiguity is nice touch; I don’t think it gets used enough. People seem to dislike it. I heard this was a debut novel- excellent job. ✨

[Melanie Beaulieu · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story could have been better. Some moments are interesting but some of the plot drags on. The narrator’s voice is very monotone so it makes the characters seem kind of lifeless.

[Jason Doerr · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a great surprise finding this novel was. I look forward to reading more from the author.

[Gita Gass · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I found the story intriguing but drawn out a bit. And let me warn you, ghosts play a role in the story.

[Malinda Synnamon · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story itself was not bad, especially for a debut.. but the narrator took a lot of the enjoyment out of the story. Her voice was a constant monotone. No inflection whatsoever, which made the book sound more awkward and amateurish than what it actually was. I still enjoyed it enough to want to know how it ended. I would definitely give the Author another chance if she publishes another book

[RichardKevinWilson · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This had to be the WORST book EVER!!! It was so so so boring; dumb with dumber characters and it just repeated itself over, and over, and over, and over and over. DO NOT WASTE your time on this terribly stupid and 'furthest thing EVER from being even close to being a thriller!! The characters are so dull.
'oh, there is something in that house!'
'why did you smoke that pot?'
I don't know....there must be something in that house that made me smoke it, I was only 14, and he is the only man i will ever love like that!

Blah, blah, blah,!
Cannot recommend this book.......watch All My Children or One Life to Live on daytime tv. That would be more thrilling and well written than this book!
Terrible!
'I know.....you should have never smoked that pot!'

0 snores!

[Lauren O'Keeffe · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Usually the algorithms work for me, but this one was an exception unfortunately. I am just not a big fan of the ‘supernatural’ threads that underpin everything that happens in this book, nor do I love a (not really spoiler because you find out about it in the first few minutes) creepy supernatural doll.

There was a LOT of back story making things hard to follow but not really giving enough extra storyline or context to make the rest of the story more interesting. Literally the one chapter with the old lady would have been sufficient instead of what felt like chapters worth of back-story.

I kept hoping something more interesting would happen. But it didn’t.
I persisted though so there was something that kept my attention… but overall it wasn’t my cup of tea.

[Angie Knollenberg · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book. I see a lot of negative reviews, but I really enjoyed the story. It made me think of that old abandoned house in town with numerous rumors about it, that kids had to check out.

I like the little bit of “ghosts” mentioned in the book. It’s never outright said, it’s more of a suggestion. Also, there is so much more to the book than that.

I highly recommend checking it out and deciding for yourself. Personally, I loved it!

[Gabriela · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book was very underwhelming and I'm not sure I understand what even happened.

[Geeta Patel · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

great book. I didn't want to stop listening. thrilling and lots of suspense