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A review by fictionmajorette
Beneath the Stairs by Jennifer Fawcett
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Full thoughts: https://fictionmajorette.blogspot.com/2022/02/beneath-stairs-jennifer-fawcett.html
This book reminded me so much of Jennifer McMahon's The Drowning Kind (blog review here) - return to a quiet hometown after a tragedy, quiet supernatural horror elements, flashbacks to the past, very atmospheric. However, I did find Fawcett's debut novel to be a little messier in places but with a really solid foundation that kept me turning the pages. While I do think this book technically falls into the supernatural horror genre, it isn't as upfront and bold as it may seem. This certainly has more quiet horror elements and has a very strong themes of friendship and grief.
I really enjoyed the multi-timeline elements in this story. I'd say the story is about 60% in the present day timeline, 30% following Clare and Abby in 1998, and the last 10% split between 1965 and 1936. I think having the 1965/1936 timelines was really smart because it let us find out information that Clare would most likely never be able to know from her investigation. It also let the reader into the lives of these past characters and fleshed them out a bit to make them feel real instead of treating them like rumors.
I loved the characters and thought Fawcett does an excellent job at matching up characters from past to present. It was the literary equivalent of casting directors finding the perfect child actor to match an adult actor. Obviously, a lot changes between Clare when she is 14 years old in 1998 and now as a 34 year old returning to town. However, the characterization doesn't change so much that the two timelines (child Clare and adult Clare) are unrecognizable.
The tension, for me, was really uneven in this story and I think that has more to do with the horror elements often times taking a big step back and the more personal themes coming forward. When the story begins, the reader doesn't have a lot of information about the Octagon House and what connection Clare and Abby have to it. It felt like Fawcett wanted that to be a slower burn reveal where she sprinkled in some breadcrumbs in the story to try and make it sound very ominous.
I did enjoy the horror elements in the story and how they tied the different timelines together. I don't think anyone would be surprised that a supernatural story would have connections to the past and while there might not have been anything super unique about the way the supernatural elements unfolded, they still worked really well.
Overall, I enjoyed this quiet horror read. I loved the characters and supernatural elements. The multi-timeline elements worked well, for the most part. The tension was a bit uneven and the ending left me with a few more questions that I would have liked, but this was still a satisfying read and I'd read more from Fawcett in the future.
Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC
Expected publication date is February 22, 2022
This book reminded me so much of Jennifer McMahon's The Drowning Kind (blog review here) - return to a quiet hometown after a tragedy, quiet supernatural horror elements, flashbacks to the past, very atmospheric. However, I did find Fawcett's debut novel to be a little messier in places but with a really solid foundation that kept me turning the pages. While I do think this book technically falls into the supernatural horror genre, it isn't as upfront and bold as it may seem. This certainly has more quiet horror elements and has a very strong themes of friendship and grief.
I really enjoyed the multi-timeline elements in this story. I'd say the story is about 60% in the present day timeline, 30% following Clare and Abby in 1998, and the last 10% split between 1965 and 1936. I think having the 1965/1936 timelines was really smart because it let us find out information that Clare would most likely never be able to know from her investigation. It also let the reader into the lives of these past characters and fleshed them out a bit to make them feel real instead of treating them like rumors.
I loved the characters and thought Fawcett does an excellent job at matching up characters from past to present. It was the literary equivalent of casting directors finding the perfect child actor to match an adult actor. Obviously, a lot changes between Clare when she is 14 years old in 1998 and now as a 34 year old returning to town. However, the characterization doesn't change so much that the two timelines (child Clare and adult Clare) are unrecognizable.
The tension, for me, was really uneven in this story and I think that has more to do with the horror elements often times taking a big step back and the more personal themes coming forward. When the story begins, the reader doesn't have a lot of information about the Octagon House and what connection Clare and Abby have to it. It felt like Fawcett wanted that to be a slower burn reveal where she sprinkled in some breadcrumbs in the story to try and make it sound very ominous.
I did enjoy the horror elements in the story and how they tied the different timelines together. I don't think anyone would be surprised that a supernatural story would have connections to the past and while there might not have been anything super unique about the way the supernatural elements unfolded, they still worked really well.
Overall, I enjoyed this quiet horror read. I loved the characters and supernatural elements. The multi-timeline elements worked well, for the most part. The tension was a bit uneven and the ending left me with a few more questions that I would have liked, but this was still a satisfying read and I'd read more from Fawcett in the future.
Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC
Expected publication date is February 22, 2022
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, and Suicide attempt