Beneath the Stairs by Jennifer Fawcett

It was just a dare! Clare and her friends had heard about the Octagon House. Everyone had. They say a man killed his family there. And when one of their small group claims she knows how to find the place, of course they had to visit. But something happened in the woods that day. And Clare’s friend Abby was forever changed by the experience. 

Now, so many years later, Clare gets word that Abby tried to kill herself. At Octagon House. And though she’s now in a coma, one of the last things she asked for was Clare. 

In spite of everything, Clare returns to Sumner’s Mills to try and help Abby. To find out what happened to her in Octagon House. Because it’s her fault.

A haunted house story, a mystery, a story about lost friendships...Beneath the Stairs is emotional and chilling! It's also the perfect kind of book for a wide cross section of readers!

Clare is all grown up, but she’s never truly forgotten Abby or that spring when they visited Octagon House. And the guilt she’s felt since then has never gone away. It’s one of the reasons she’s never wanted to return to Sumner’s Mills. 

But Abby’s apparent plea for help is one that she can’t ignore.

The story alternates predominantly between Clare then and now, but the reader is also given a few other perspectives: Ben, the man accused of murdering his family in the home; Ben’s daughter Joan; Natalie, Ben’s wife; and Alice, a little girl at the time the house was being built. 

Through the various points of view, the reader is given a full picture of the history of the house as Clare herself tries to untangle it in an effort to find out what happened to Abby. And it’s not a pretty picture at all. 

This is the kind of book that will appeal to genre fans: mystery/suspense and horror readers. But it’s also the kind of book that will appeal to a much broader readership as well. The issues it deals with are certain to spark conversation, making it perfect for book clubs. It’s also a book that really stays with you, haunting you much in the same way the Octagon House haunts anyone who comes in contact with it. 

While Beneath the Stairs is hard to describe as a fun read, given the subject matter, it is a propulsive one that sinks its teeth into you from the very beginning. I thought it was fabulously well written and I can’t wait to see what Jennifer Fawcett will come out with next!

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