I Am the Monster Under the Bed

by Emily Zinnikas, Jenn Lee (Narrator)

12 hours, 34 minutes

TIME ONLY MAKES THE NIGHTMARE MORE REAL.

Something lives under Willa’s bed. As an adult, her fondest childhood memories are of the invisible entity under her bed who taught her how to read. Now thirty-two, Willa is a reclusive but successful painter until a bombshell news report exposes her identity as the controversial survivor of the unsolved Rapture Mystery Slayings, a small-town tragedy that splashed across headlines during her senior year of high school. Six teenagers died in the woods while Willa walked free, and everyone thinks she killed them.

When an old classmate calls about a funeral, Willa reluctantly travels to her sleepy hometown, where the possessed forest that stole her friends looms. The trees whistle for her attention, but she knows better than to listen. And the unexplained knocking from the shadows in the basement of her decaying childhood home is honestly the least of her problems.

As her past pulls her back to the place where she swore she’d never return, Willa is drawn toward the monster she left behind—and becoming the villain her hometown has always believed her to be.

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Paranormal, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook

Audiobook

First published September 15, 2026

Reviews

[MarilynW]

I Am the Monster Under the Bed by Emily Zinnikas
Narrated by Jenn Lee

There is so much going on in this story. We get to meet monsters but some of the monsters are human. To say that thirty two year old Willa has had a difficult life would be a massive understatement. Some would say she deserves that difficult life, that she should just be happy she is alive. In fact, some would say that Willa is the reason six teenagers are dead.

Living a reclusive life in rural nowhere, Willa paints. Her parents are dead but they were never supportive or caring when they were alive. There is one high school teacher who Willa loved, a teacher who let Willa know how talented and important she was but since the slaughter of those six teens, teens that some say Willa murdered, she's stayed away from her childhood town.

But now journalists have found Willa and she is being hounded nonstop to give interviews, to appear on TV, to tell her side of the story, a story she's already told. The story hasn't changed, she told the truth all those years ago. She was already looked at with derision in her town, all those years ago, because of what a teacher did to her. Willa knows that telling the truth always backfires on her, the only thing she can do is hide away from everyone. And paint, she can paint. Willa paints under an assumed name and she is making a breakthrough in the art world, just at the beginning of being noticed, face unseen, real identity hidden.

Someone, something was under the bed but young Willa decided that the monster under the bed is a friend. Her parents won't help her with it, they don't want her to talk about it, so the only way to get on in life is to think of it as a friend. But Willa can't do the same for the monsters in the basement. She never planned to go back to her childhood home, to those monsters, until she started getting threats about the past. Now she's going back home to try to save her future from the past. Maybe even to make a stand, to stand up for herself, to set some records straight. Willa might have been hiding but she's hiding no more. I think the human monsters are even scarier than the "monster" monsters and it's surprising to find out who might be friend, who might be foe. Another foray into horror for me and it was a good trip, overall.

Despite Jenn Lee having narrated a lot of books, this is the first time I've listened to her and she did a great job here. I'd be happy to listen to her narrate more stories. I was able to enjoy this story with both the ebook and audiobook in front of me and I will always remember the sound effects that Jenn Lee made while narrating the book.

Pub September 15, 2026

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, SMP Early Readers, and NetGalley for this ARC

[Dutchie]

After being the sole survivor of a massacre, Willa leaves her small Maine town and becomes a reclusive painter. When someone who was once close to her dies, she heads back to Maine for the funeral and to confront the demons that have plagued her from childhood.

This novel had a lot of moving parts, and I feel like it could have been even better if the focus was narrowed down. While all the side plots tied up nicely, there were just way too many of them.

As for the timelines, I would have loved for them to have been more focused on the past. There were a few pieces randomly interspersed, but there wasn’t enough to get a good feel of what Willa went through as a child. To have more backstory would have given a bit of emotional depth that I think was missing. Lastly, I feel like there should’ve been a little bit more explanation about Elliot and the woods. But that’s just me.

I know this sounds like quite a few critiques, but there really was a good story buried within. The first chapter drew me in and was one of the creepiest that I’ve read in a while. The sudden switch to psychological thriller/mystery was a bit jarring, but I liked that it gave a different layer to the story. I definitely was never bored and fully engaged throughout the novel, and I think if it was just scaled down a little bit, it really could be a creepy read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[suspenseisthrillingme]

THE PERFECT BOOK FOR SPOOKY SEASON!

Taut, creepy, and oh so very mysterious, I Am the Monster Under the Bed kept me guessing from beginning to end in this horror-packed story. You see, this stunning genre-bending debut novel took a spooky haunted house, a handful of side-eye-worthy characters, added a healthy dose of M. Night Shyamalan-esque possessed-woods vibes, and finished it off with a murder mystery that chilled me to the bone. Don’t get me wrong, Zinnikas favored psychological thrills over graphic blood and gore. Taking a fresh stab at the monster-under-the-bed trope and combining it with a nightmare-inducing setting, to say this book was memorable would be underselling it. Spine-tingling, sinister, and made for the silver screen, the small town of Rapture lived up to its name as it seized my attention the moment it entered the frame. Trust me, that place has convinced me not to go into the woods—or the basement—anytime soon.

On top of an eldritch atmospheric setting, the narrator was simply sublime. Complicated, sympathetic, but also exhibiting just the right amount of sarcasm, Willa was a compelling character whose arc blew me away. Ending with a *mic drop* conclusion that I didn’t see coming at all, I only fell more in love with her and the story by the time I reached the last eerie page. I mean, not only was the final third deliciously twisty, but it had the kind of scenes that you need to read with the lights on . With evocative descriptions and a very cinematic feel, it was a true masterpiece of immersive storytelling for anyone who loves a book that interweaves the mystery, thriller, and horror genres. Thanks to believable emotional depth, a true-crime element, and chilling supernatural imagery, it was the epitome of a five-plus-star read. After all, that ending was an absolute slam dunk that hit me with surprise after surprise. Rating of 5+ stars.

Read if you’re a fan of:
- Psychological chills
- Stephen King-esque vibes
- Supernatural horror
- Haunted houses
- Immersive storytelling
- Murder mysteries
- A slow-burn start
- Unreliable narrators
- A dash of feminine rage
- Small-town secrets
- Twisty endings
- A dark mysterious past
- True-crime elements
- Evocative descriptions

BRIEF BLURB:

PLEASE OH PLEASE go into this book at least mostly blind. Even the publisher-provided synopsis will ruin a bit of the ride. All you need to know is…

Willa, a reclusive painter with a dark and mysterious childhood, has escaped the harsh spotlight of her teen years for her relative success as W. Sloane. Deemed the villain after a horrendous crime took place in her small hometown of Rapture, she’s glad to hide behind a name far from where she grew up. All that is about to change, though, when a stranger shows up on her doorstep. Setting off a string of increasingly disturbing occurrences that will ultimately lead her back to Rapture and the ghosts that wait for her there, it’s only a matter of time until her secrets catch up her. Will she be lucky enough to make it out alive once again? Or is this trip going to be when the past catches up to her for good?

Thank you Emily Zinnikas and St. Martin’s Press for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

PUB DATE: September 15, 2026

Content warning: death, grief, adult/minor relationship, child abuse, stalking, kidnapping, bullying, gun violence, violence, murder, confinement

[Constantine]

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Horror + Mystery Thriller

I Am the Monster Under the Bed is the story of Willa, who returns to her hometown years after a devastating massacre that left her as the only survivor. As she tries to confront what happened, memories of the strange entity that visited her under her bed as a child begin to resurface, while the mysteries surrounding the town, the forest, and the killings gradually come back into focus.

I went into this expecting a horror novel, but for me, it worked much better as a mystery thriller with supernatural elements. Surprisingly, I found the atmosphere rather lacking for a horror story. There are certainly some creepy ideas and moments, but I never felt that sustained sense of dread or unease that I look for in horror. The book's premise is probably its strongest element, particularly the idea of a childhood "monster" that may be something considerably more complicated than a child's imagination.

My bigger issue was that there are simply too many ideas packed into the story. There is enough material here for a very intriguing supernatural mystery, but the novel keeps introducing additional concepts and plot threads, which made the overall story feel somewhat scattered. The pacing also felt uneven throughout—some sections moved nicely, followed by stretches that felt much slower than they needed to be. I kept waiting for everything to come together in a more satisfying way.

There were a few genuinely interesting moments, and I can see why the premise has appealed to so many readers. Unfortunately, those moments were too sporadic to push the book into like or love territory for me. It wasn't a bad read, but it never quite became the atmospheric horror story I was hoping for, nor did the mystery fully compensate for that. A decent 3-star read with an interesting premise that ultimately felt more ambitious than successful.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book.

https://constantinebooks.blogspot.com...

[Richard Derus]

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: TIME ONLY MAKES THE NIGHTMARE MORE REAL.

Something lives under Willa’s bed. As an adult, her fondest childhood memories are of the invisible entity under her bed who taught her how to read. Now thirty-two, Willa is a reclusive but successful painter until a bombshell news report exposes her identity as the controversial survivor of the unsolved Rapture Mystery Slayings, a small-town tragedy that splashed across headlines during her senior year of high school. Six teenagers died in the woods while Willa walked free, and everyone thinks she killed them.

When an old classmate calls about a funeral, Willa reluctantly travels to her sleepy hometown, where the possessed forest that stole her friends looms. The trees whistle for her attention, but she knows better than to listen. And the unexplained knocking from the shadows in the basement of her decaying childhood home is honestly the least of her problems.

As her past pulls her back to the place she swore she’d never return, Willa is drawn toward the monster she left behind—and becoming the villain her hometown has always believed her to be.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Willa's desire to bury her trauma, not make theater of it, is at the heart of this creepy, atmospheric story of dread. It's impossible to decouple one's existence as a survivor of an unsolved mass murder from the event but Willa's kept her profile as low as is possible.

The exigencies of storytelling make that impossible. Willa's goin' in. Not willingly, not graciously, but in she's going. Into the past, into reckoning with her...odd...beginnings, into what one hopes can be a laying-to-rest of the horrifying truths of childhood sexual assault.

It's the season for uneasy-making reads. Based on the synopsis I rather thought this story would be more about supernatural unease, dealing with hauntings and entities and so on. Instead it's about the awful reality that some kids are not safe even in their own beds. It's very uneasy-making but all too corporeal. I was surprised to feel so compelled to keep reading. It's not exciting writing on a sentence level but it kept my eyes engaged for an entire day, difficult to achieve at this late date in my reading career, as Willa's return to the site of her trauma brings her sporadically, almost haphazardly, into contact with her unresolved pain. Normally I would be complaining that was disorganized, or lacked narrative thrust. Instead of feeling that intellectual response I felt it was me being in Willa's fragmented, damaged emotions with her, processing with her as she had to do and I was along to witness so I could stand in fellowship with her in her hours of need.

It was not the experience I'd expected to have in the read. It was in most ways a better, more real, more involving one. It was dark, and dangerous, and deliberately frightening at times; it was always Othering, intensely alienating to be with Willa in the recovered moments. They were not numerous or extended in ways that felt prurient to me-the-reader.

Horror that gets dressed in supernatural drag doesn't often work that well for me. I usually dismiss the supernatural elements, where this time I had a context for them that made them make sense to me. I won't recommend the read to all readers...check the CWs...and I suspect the truest devotees to horror reading won't get as much out of the read as I, with my self-supplied remapping of the story, did.

It was a successful, pleasurable read for me. I hope y'all will consider giving it a shot at your time and treasure.

[Debra]

Dark, twisted, gripping, hard to put down, and creepy! I Am the Monster Under the Bed is equal parts mysterious, thrilling, chilling, and entertaining. Willa grew up with an entity/ghost/monster who lived under her bed. She was a bit of a loner, but the monster under her bed was always there for her. When she was a teenager, she and six teens went into the woods and Willa was the only one who survived what later became known as the "Rapture Mystery Slayings." She was considered the chief suspect with everyone in her small town pointing their fingers at her.

As an adult, Willa is a successful artist who keeps to herself. When a beloved teacher dies, she travels back to her hometown to attend the funeral and to the stares and whispers of the townspeople. Adding to that, strange and bizarre things are beginning to happen......

I enjoyed this eerie and mysterious book. I enjoyed the not-knowing what really happened the night the teens died. I also enjoyed not knowing if there really was something under Willa's bed of if Elliot was a figment of her imagination. I enjoyed the supernatural vibe of this book. I also enjoyed the mystery, the slow building tension, the unease, the characters, the twists, and the dread.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Deanna Loves to Read!!:)]

What an AMAZING debut!! Rounded down 4,5 ⭐( reason below!)

This was a unique slow burn story that is a mix of mystery and the supernatural. And I found it to be very creepy in a way that is pervasive through the whole story and doesn't let go!

The story is told mostly through Willa's POV. As she was growing up her best friend was a "monster" that lived under her bed named Elliot. Willa saw dark images everywhere, and she also talked to the trees in the woods that surrounded her home and town. She didn't have any friends until she was in high school. Then she had a group of friends. One night when she was 17, they had a "party" in the woods. 7 went in, but only one came out that night. It became known as the Rapture Murders.

Willa is now 34, and is a famous artist under the pseudonym W. Strout. She lives in an isolated house near the woods, and orders all her supplies online. She has never met her agent, they simply communicate by phone. Then one day, Willa decides to do an interview with an art magazine about her upcoming show. However, the "journalists" are actually investigative journalists and begin questioning Willa about the Rapture Murders. After she kicks them out, she begins to get strange packages and mail, all with cryptic messages about that night. Then she finds out that Mrs. Strout, the art teacher that was kind and inspiring to Willa, has died. Willa knows that she will return for the funeral, but is not looking forward to it. She worries about how the town will react to her return. Her fears are real as the town has not forgotten, nor will their suspicion of Willa cease.

Willa is a strong and tortured character. She is haunted, tormented and traumatized by the past and what the whole town thinks of her. i wanted to know her whole story, and I also just wanted someone, anyone, to listen to her and believe in her. We see the past story revealed piece by piece through her memories. Elliot, the monster, is not a bad monster. My favorite quote in the book describing him is as follows:

"As an adult, her fondest childhood memories are of the invisible entity under her bed who taught her how to read."

As the story unfolds, we see that the true monsters are living among us. And they don't necessarily try to hide themselves.

This book is dark and haunting, but there is also redemption and even a tiny bit of humor. So many emotions run through this story, and I was really rooting for Willa (and Elliot- who has missed her since she moved). It questions the reliability of memory and how grief affects our perspective. There were truly scary moments (do NOT go in the basement!), there is a diverse cast of characters- the psychic, the best friend, the predator. They were woven together in a way that let the story unfold revealing all the elements involved- mystery, supernatural, even town drama, and there are many twists! The ending had my jaw fly open for one of them!

My only "con" about the book was that there were a few repetitive spots. Not enough to take the excitement away from my reading, but I might have skimmed over 2 spots!

Highly recommend for spooky season. If you want a psychological horror/mystery with heart and creepy vibes, and a monster that is a "friend", this is the book for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[Christina C]

I Am the Monster Under the Bed was such an intriguing and creepy read! The story follows Willa, a woman haunted by her past and by the mysterious events surrounding the deaths of six teenagers when she was in high school. Years later, she is forced to return to her hometown, where the forest, her childhood home, and the monster she once knew begin pulling her back in.

I really enjoyed the eerie atmosphere and the way the past slowly unraveled. The idea of the monster under Willa’s bed being connected to her childhood and the events surrounding the Rapture Mystery Slayings made the story especially fascinating. There was a constant feeling that something wasn’t quite right, which kept me turning the pages.

The creepy forest and strange occurrences added a great supernatural element

[Mikey ಠ◡ಠ]

Another book where I really liked the premise, but found the execution lacking 😭

The IDEA of this book absolutely rocks, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. In this book we follow Willa, who survived a massacre as a teenager and is now all grown up into a famous painter. Hell yeah. Also, just a little sidebar, no need to be alarmed but something lived under Willa's bed when she was a child. And taught her to read. No biggie. Willa learned of her favorite teacher's death and goes back to the town she swore she'd never return to for said teacher's funeral. Things take an absolute turn from there.

Honestly I just wish we did more with the monster under the bed (and the people/ghosts in the basement?!). Those moments were well written and the people in the basement were especially creepy! But if you zoom out and take a look at the plot as a whole, they kind of don't even really make sense. It's obvious this story is about Willa's trauma, lots of things happen to her (also FYI trigger warning: CSA is alluded to in this book) and the way she has chosen to deal with it all as an adult. I think the ghosts/monster under the bed could have tied into that trauma somewhere but to me it felt overlooked and just thrown in there for the sake of having something mysterious and spooky. Sorry, but I wanted more!

I just think the book was really trying to tackle far too much and, I have to be honest, not really doing any of it successfully. There's a feud with a psychic, the massacre, Willa's assault, her parent's neglect, the way the town treats her (assuming Willa is the guilty one for her school mates' deaths), and, if that wasn't enough, a random unnecessary romance with a cop. I would rather that the author had picked one or two things to focus on and flesh those things out, instead of a bunch of stuff that you never really have time to focus on and let Willa grow and progress from. It made for a chaotic reading experience if I'm honest.

And not to ruin it for anyone but I feel like the hook for this book was a total bait & switch with an unnecessary plot twist that came completely out of left field. But then again, I read so much horror that I have really refined my tastes in this genre so I know things that work for me and things that don't. Unfortunately, this book didn't end up working for me. However I think if you're new to horror or don't know what you like, I'd recommend trying this book out. My 2 star reading experience could be your 5 star, the things that bothered me might not bother you.

Thank you to the publisher for reaching out to offer an advance DRC, all opinions are my own.

[megs_bookrack]

**3.5-stars**

I Am the Monster Under the Bed is an Adult Horror novel following an MC named Willa. When she was a child, she had an invisible entity living under her bed. She would talked to it and about it, saying a lot of creepy things that had her parents frazzled.

Through past perspective chapters, the Reader learns a bit about that time in Willa's life, and how those experiences shaped the adult she would become.



Another formative experience for Willa occurred when she was a Senior in high school. She went into the woods with six other teens and was the only one to walk out. That's right, the other six died in the woods that night.

This incident devastated their small town of Rapture, Maine, and Willa took the brunt of the blame, becoming a social pariah in an instant. She was always considered strange, but that night catapulted her to a new level of infamy.

The case went unsolved, with most locals thinking Willa was responsible for the deaths. They considered her a killer. Willa left town and started a career as an artist under a different name. She's tried hard not to look back.



In the present perspective, Willa is now 32-years old. She's been successful in her pursuits as an artist, though she lives a reclusive life. After an expose exposes her as the sole survivor of the Rapture Mystery Slayings, it seems Willa's wall of privacy has been shattered.

In the midst of all this, she receives a call from an old classmate that her beloved art teacher has passed away. This is a woman who changed her life, and Willa feels compelled to return to Rapture to pay her respects.

With a great amount of trepidation, Willa returns to the small town she thought she'd never see again. The reception is mediocre, at best, and hostile at worst.



The narrative shifts back and forth between past and present, filling out the whole picture of Willa's life and the truth of the goings on in Rapture. I did like this. It's a good story, but I've been torn on how to rate it.

My experience with the novel could best be described as unbalanced. There were moments Zinnikas had me completely dialed in and then others when I was slightly rolling my eyes. I was also confused at times, which I attribute more to the way the story was put together than to the actual plot, or characters.



I feel the audiobook production could have done more to make the past/present perspectives more distinctive from each other. It was tough in the audio to really feel grounded within the story, but yeah, it was still good.

I'm so torn. My heart says round up to 4-stars, but my head is saying 3.5-stars is a more realistic rating based on my experience. The concluding bits also dipped a wee bit into eye-roll territory, which is never a good thing.



Overall, I did love the concept of this story, as well as the building of tension. I also really enjoyed Willa as a main character and thought that she had a compelling backstory.

What let me down was the execution of the past/present perspectives as a whole, and the concluding action scenes. I am pleased with the experience for the most part though, and will pick up any future works by Zinnikas.



Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. This is a great read for the Spooky Season!

[Donne]

It’s that time of year that I get in the mood for a scary and spooky story of ghosts, including those that lived under the bed at night. While the whole “monster under the bed” trope is not an original one, it is certainly one that has produced a lot of scary and spooky stories. Good enough for me!

For Willa Green/Sloane, the thing under her bed she called Elliot, and Elliot was Willa’s best friend and was always there to protect her and comfort her. The book summary introduces the primary storyline of Willa, living her reclusive life as a painter (a very successful one at that) in PA on several acres of land out in the boonies. As the sole survivor of a massacre 15yrs earlier in her hometown, Rapture ME, Willa was also the prime suspect of the murders and why she left and never weny back. Until now, when the podcaster, Nathaniel Lennox, discovers that WSloane (Willa’s professional name) is actually Willa Green from the Rapture Massacre.

As fate would have it, Willa’s high school art teacher back in Rapture, Millie Sloane, dies and Willa wants to attend her funeral. Millie was the only adult/teacher who encouraged Willa to pursue her art and whose last name Willa took when she changed her name years later when she went to art school and became a professional painter. I’ve said it before, but it bears mentioning again, nothing good usually comes from going back home after more than a decade away, and for Willa, nothing has changed when she gets back to Rapture; the town still hates her.

Most of the story revolves around Willa going to the funeral, and reconnecting with Millie’s husband, Arthur Sloane, who is one of the few townspeople who doesn’t hate Willa, along with Willa’s high school best friend and a local deputy who is new to Rapture and doesn’t really know anything about Willa or the massacre. Arthur gets Willa involved with some of Millie’s projects in an effort to keep Willa in town as long as possible.

It’s deep into the second half that Nathaniel Lennox catches up with Willa again and all hell breaks loose. If you’re one of those types of readers where your level of enjoyment of a story is contingent on the story’s level of believability, then you aren’t the target market for this story. Fortunately, I am not one of those kinds of readers and for me the crazier the better and this one was a wild and crazy story.

The character development of Willa and a couple of other characters, like Graham and Dep Callum well done. The pacing was steady to fast, especially in the second half. The storyline was interesting and, once again, the writing was pretty crazy and out there. Definitely my kind of story. I’m looking at an overall rating of 3.9 that I will be rounding up to a 4star review. I want to thank NetGalley, St Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #StMartinsPress #MacmillanAudio #IAmtheMonsterUndertheBed

[Pav S. (pav_sanborn_bookworm)]

This book is as creepy as it gets, no doubt about it! If the cover doesn’t send chills down your spine, think back to those childhood nights when you’d race to your bed, careful not to touch the ground, convinced that something or someone was lurking, ready to grab your feet. I’ve been there, done that!

The unresolved Rapture murder mystery unfolds mostly from Willa's perspective, and there's a stunning amount of unsettling detail within these pages. Through flashbacks, we delve into the tragic night in the woods when Willa's friends lost their lives. Now, at 32, Willa is a famous artist operating under an assumed name, returning to her hometown for her teacher's funeral. As a child, Willa and her friends ventured into the woods, but only she survived, leaving the town to blame her for the tragedy. Yet, Willa knows that there are forces at play far beyond her understanding, and the woods themselves hold the key to the killings. As she grapples with guilt and sorrow, feelings come rushing to the surface. Willa didn’t appease the woods, and in turn, the woods claimed her friends. Yes, feeding the woods is a real thing in this story! I found it fascinating how, chapter by chapter, Willa offers meat to the woods to appease ‘it.’ And let’s not forget Willa had a best friend who was literally a monster living under her bed. But this is just the tip of the iceberg, so you’ll need to read it to uncover everything, because there’s much more, trust me!

Although this is a slow-burn read, there’s ample food for thought that kept me turning the pages without stopping. The book is filled with twists and turns, and the ending took me completely by surprise! I won’t lie; the pace was slower than I expected, so I requested the audiobook for the full experience. Following along while listening really elevated my overall enjoyment. The narrator, Jenn Lee, did an outstanding job of bringing the eerie atmosphere to life. She was a perfect choice!

The author did a fantastic job keeping me engaged. I could vividly picture the woods and the events that unfolded there. The reading is unsettling, and the pace picks up toward the end. You could almost feel the woods watching you, hear every creak in the house, and imagine those shapes lurking in the basement! No spoilers, but I experienced it all vividly. Don’t wait until Halloween—add this book to your reading list now, because it’s one that will stick with you!

If you enjoy spooky supernatural stories that actually tell a tale alongside the fright, this is the book for you. You’ll discover what happened to Willa and the long-term effects of that fateful night. You’ll feel the weight of her heartache and her longing for the small town that turned against her. This read dives deep into themes of grief, the yearning for belonging, childhood trauma, and the emotional toll on its characters. I loved immersing myself in Willa’s world for a day, but it’s not a place I’d want to live in. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll head outside and toss a piece of meat into the woods behind my house just in case. Ha!

Thank you, St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley, for the DRC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Marcie Reads]

𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆, 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘄. 👀

After avoiding horror since childhood, I think I’ve finally discovered that 40-plus-year-old me is actually perfectly capable of reading it without being scared of the dark. 😂

But what really surprised me about this book was that it wasn’t just horror. It was creepy and unsettling, but underneath that was a gripping mystery, a beautiful story, fantastic atmosphere, twists that genuinely surprised me, and a very well-developed Willa whose personal growth I really connected with.

And the audiobook? 100% recommend. Jenn Lee’s narration is fantastic, especially the voices she creates for the characters. They add so much to the atmosphere and creepiness.

So apparently, after 30 years of avoiding the genre, this is the book that introduced me to horror. 😂📚

[Lisa]

I absolutely loved this one and can’t believe it’s a debut novel! I AM THE MONSTER UNDER THE BED grabs you from the very beginning with her amazing story-telling skills, creating an atmospheric horror novel unlike any I’ve read in quite some time!

Our protagonist is Willa, an artist with a past that has haunted her for years. Tragedy struck when she was just a teenager and her tragic story had me hooked from the beginning. One fateful night 15 years ago, Willa and a group of her friends went into the woods, but only Willa returned, her friends being horrifically murdered by someone or something. The mystery surrounding their deaths lingers long after Willa decides to leave her small hometown, where Willa was blamed for simply surviving.

The character development was so good, the writing was wonderful, and Emily Zinnikas did such a great job building the suspense and creating an atmosphere that made me feel like I was right there in those woods. Honestly, the woods felt like a major character in the book themselves. There was just something so eerie and unsettling about them that added another layer of creepiness to the story.

The story also includes a monster under the bed, and real or imaginary, it’s one you won’t soon forget. I love a book that keeps me guessing and makes me question what I think I know, and this did just that. I was completely invested in finding out the truth!

This was such a great read, and I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from Emily Zinnikas. Can’t wait to see what her imagination creates next!!

I want to extend a huge thank you to NetGalley, Emily Zinnikas, and St. Martin’s Press for gifting me the ARC of I AM THE MONSTER UNDER THE BED. I appreciate you trusting me with an honest review!! It was a privilege to be able to read this novel before publication!

[Ten Cats Reading]

Early thoughts: Honestly, the dedication really got me right in heart! The opening pages of this book are well designed, compelling enough to pull me in without drawing to much attention to the craft. I'm about halfway through the book, and though the plot has many moving parts, I'm not lost and I'm really enjoying myself!

Feeling: "You can't go home again."

I’m curious about: that freaking basement!!

"I knew there was someone under the bed. I heard him all the time. But Mommy said there was nothing scary under the bed. And Mommy was always right.... I brushed aside the fabric, so I was nose to nose with darkness. I peered into it, but it was too good at being dark. “I’m going to be your friend,” I added." p5

What worked:
⏳ I like how the author uses the alternating timelines, where they change by scene instead of chapter. It gives the section more of a memory feel.

💜 I like the treatment of being a kid in a difficult childhood. It's compassionate but still very scary.

👀 I don't always like stalking stories, but this plot has a unique dimension and I'm into it!

💪🏽 Truly excellent sensory writing that remains totally accessible: "I was up, and then I was down. I couldn’t say how I got from one to the other. Only that my arm was hot, hot, hot, and my brain was cold, cold, cold. For the first time, I couldn’t hear the wind . Only a deafening, high-pitched ringing." p237

What didn’t:
🗣️ Interview format is so dry. I wish we had gotten these details translated through the narrator, as summary and emotional acknowledgement. *edit Luckily, there are not many of these sections and where there are cluster close to the beginning of the book.

Who this is for: true crime and supernatural thriller fans

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Content Notes:
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underneath beds, monsters, darkness, child mental illness, pathologizing, stigma, murder (mention),

[Hannah Stafford]

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

The title immediately drew me in because I love paranormal horror. I Am The Monster Under Your Bed sounded creepy, unsettling, and exactly the kind of supernatural horror I enjoy.

The story follows Willa, a successful artist who has carefully rebuilt her life under a new name, distancing herself from the tragedy that made her infamous in her hometown. Years ago, Willa and her friends went into the woods — only Willa survived. When the media exposes her identity, she’s forced back into the town that never forgot what happened.

The premise is strong. Returning home for the funeral of her former art teacher, navigating hostile locals, strange occurrences beginning again, and confronting a past she’s spent years avoiding should have made for a tense psychological/paranormal horror story.

Unfortunately, the execution didn’t fully deliver for me.

My biggest issue was the lack of development across nearly every major relationship and storyline. Willa’s former relationship with her soccer coach, Graham, should have carried substantial emotional weight. We learn they had an inappropriate relationship when she was a student, she reported him, legal action followed, and she unexpectedly encounters him upon returning home. That setup has enormous narrative potential.

But we never really know Graham. There are no meaningful flashbacks, no dialogue from their past, no deeper exploration of their dynamic or its aftermath. He exists mostly as a plot device tied to suspicion and mystery. Because of that, the emotional impact feels muted rather than complex or unsettling.

The same issue applies to Willa’s friends. Their deaths are central to the entire story, yet we learn almost nothing about who they were beyond “they died that night.” There’s very little relationship building, which made it harder for the tragedy to carry the emotional weight it seemed intended to have.

Even Eliot — the titular “monster under the bed” and Willa’s childhood imaginary companion — felt surprisingly undefined. We’re told he existed, that he comforted her, and that her parents were exhausted by hearing about him. Willa fears the basement and the quiet, veiled spirits lingering there, which creates intriguing horror imagery, but these elements remain vague rather than immersive. I wanted more atmosphere, more description, and more depth surrounding the paranormal aspects.

The pacing also felt uneven. The opening moved quickly and somewhat sporadically, while the climax and reveal felt overly drawn out. The storytelling often seemed focused on withholding information for the sake of mystery rather than fully developing the characters and relationships already on the page.

Overall, I think the idea behind this book has real potential. The premise, themes, and horror elements are all there. I just found myself wanting deeper characterization, stronger emotional connections, richer paranormal worldbuilding, and more fully realized relationships to make the story land.

There’s enough material here for a phenomenal psychological/paranormal horror novel, but nothing gets enough room to breathe.

[AndaReadsTooMuch]

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

When I tell you I found the perfect book for spooky season, I found the perfect book for spooky season. This one hits ALL the right notes. Emily Zinnikas builds you the perfect set up for everything you need to sleep with all the lights on.

Creepy old house where the kid can see things and the parents can’t? ✅
Spooky forest in a small town in Maine? ✅(I see you Stephen King reference.)
Mysterious deaths of teenagers? ✅
A basement full of who tf knows what? ✅

It’s literally all right there. And I know what you’re thinking, what makes this different? How is this not a typical spooky story. Because all those pieces are separately woven into the larger story that will absolutely make your SKIN CRAWL. I was riveted. I fell asleep reading this book because I refused to stop. Woke up four hours later, immediately continued reading. IT. IS. SPELLBINDING.

And the ending? Not what I expected at all. It was even better than where I thought it was going! Zinnikas had me guessing through the whole book and I was so, so wrong. You absolutely need to add this to your TBR and read it on a stormy and windy night. If you can, that is.

I Am The Monster Under the Bed hits shelves September 15, and trust me, you are going to want to put this at the top of your list for spooky reading!

Five very spooky trees for this one. (Read the book, trust me it makes sense.)

[♥Rachel♥]

When Willa was in high school, she was the only survivor after six people were murdered in the woods. Even though she was cleared as a suspect, the town still blamed her. After graduating, she moved away, changed her name, and became a successful artist. She's built a quiet life for herself until someone leaks her identity and the media descends on her home.

When she learns that her beloved art teacher has died, Willa decides to return to her hometown for the funeral. She'll be escaping the media frenzy, but she'll also be going back to a place where most people despise her.

I was freaked out by the flashbacks to Willa's past. I was enraged that her parents didn't believe her about the strange things happening in their house. I'd have been terrified! I was also annoyed by the way the town treated her. There was a lot going on, but everything came together in the end.

For most of the story, I Am the Monster Under the Bed is a mystery with horror elements, but things get wild by the end! I was completely riveted, worried about Willa, and wondering how everything would work out. This is a great read to add to your spooky TBR.

I alternated between reading and listening to the audiobook and would recommend either version. Jenn Lee did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life, performing both male and female voices across a range of ages with just the right emotions.

I voluntarily read/listened to a copy courtesy of the publishers. These are my thoughts and opinions.

[Laura (thenerdygnomelife)]

If spooky, atmospheric vibes are what you're looking for as the weather starts to shift toward chilly, "I Am the Monster Under The Bed" may perfectly fit the bill. The novel follows Willa, the sole survivor of the Rapture Slaying, a cold case that left six of her classmates dead in the Maine woods fifteen years prior. Now an adult Willa is pulled back to her hometown when renewed media attention and a funeral for a loved one reopen the past she’s tried to outrun. As she returns, the forest that “stole her friends” still looms and the entity under her childhood bed is stirring again.

I found this an enjoyable read overall, with a mood that's exactly right for fall. I did find myself slipping out of the story from time to time, and I'm not sure if it was my attention that caused me to miss a key explanation, or if the author was just a touch too light on connecting a few dots. The reveal felt like it came out of left field, leaving me a little unsure on how it all fit together. Even so, it didn't really matter in the end, and the vibes were great. I think it will be a book enjoyed by many, especially those who want atmosphere over complexity, or for anyone craving a quick, creepy read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an advance copy for honest review. 3.5 stars that round up.

[Kandace]

When Willa thinks of her childhood, her fondest memories are those of the invisible entity underneath her bed. In the present, at 32-y/o, Willa a recluse. She's a successful painter going by W. Sloan. She's anonymous.. until a news report exposes her identity as the controversial sole survivor of the Rapture Mystery Slayings-- an unsolved case that occurred during her final year of high school. 7 teens went into the woods that night, and only Willa came out. Instead of rallying around Willa, the town blames her for their deaths. She's moved far from her hometown of Rapture, but returns when an old friend calls about the death (and funeral) of a beloved teacher. Willa heads back to Rapture where the forest calls to her. She swore to never return, but Willa is drawn towards the forest that stole her friends.

3/5 stars. This was honestly a little spooky at times. There were definitely times I felt a little sense of dread building up. I do think the romance subplot could have been done away with. In my opinion, it didn't really add much to the overall story. That, or I think it should've had a bit more development. Overall a very intriguing book though.

[Holly]

I can’t believe this is a first novel. What talent! This story was super creepy and managed to keep ratcheting up the tension all the way to the end. I’m a huge horror and mystery fan, and this book had both! The characters were well developed and had engaging dialogue and back stories. The creepy ambiance was killer. The only small critique I’d offer is that the book switched timeframes abruptly and it was a bit dizzying to understand where we were in the timeline. Other than that, it was outstanding. Couldn’t ask for a better first novel and can’t wait for the next!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Alora Khan]

It’s hard for me to describe this book. It’s a little horror, a little mystery, a whole lot of thriller. Nothing is what you expect. I was hooked from the very beginning. This main character is so interesting and flawed, that I adored her. Nothing went the way I thought it would. So again, hard to describe, but you’ll hurt if you miss it. This will be out in September of 2026, and it’s a perfect addition to your spooky season TBR

[Aggie]

In this gripping debut novel, we meet Willa, a woman ostracized by her community for a decades old massacre she survived.

While the midsection hits a bit of a slow burn, the climax is an absolute banger. As someone who is a total sucker for themes of absolution and redemption, that ending completely paid off.

[Dana]

For me, this read more mystery thriller than horror. I enjoyed the spooky elements but craved just a little more to scare me while reading in the dark. (I am currently at a VERY relaxing retreat and wonder if my calm headspace contributed to these chill vibes?)

The extent of things happening within the storyline was a lot and did feel a bit muddled at times. I also struggled with some of the actions of the characters.

If you're looking to dip your toe into horror but want to start off light, this may be for you. Based on the MANY 4 & 5 star reviews I suspect this will be the case.

Congratulations to the author on her debut novel!

I definitely plan to read whatever the author puts out next. My thanks to St. Martin's Press for th gifted copy

[RavenCantRead]

I Am The Monster Under The Bed
4.5 ⭐️

I need this book to get all the hype and attention it deserves! I loved this book so much, the writing, the characters, the set up EVERYTHING!

Willa, a reclusive painter who signs her work under the pseudonym W. Sloan, is discovered and outed by a true crime journalist as the elusive Willa Renfri Greene - only survivor of a brutal murder that killed 6 teens 15 years ago. Willa hides out while her house is descended upon by a media circus until she finds out her old art teacher Mrs. Sloan has passed away. She makes her way to Rapture, her home town, and deals with the fallout and trauma of everything that happened all those years ago.

I seriously cannot praise this book enough. I went in expecting a monster book but what we got instead is a tenet portrayal of grief, trauma, friendship, kindness and love. Yes, there are monsters in the shadows but they are not the evil in this story.

I absolutely loved the way the mystery of the rapture slaying unraveled. My literal only complaint is that we don’t get an investigation into the flower man , the last chapter just sort of…implies stuff. I’d have loved to see Willa get real answers.

I also loved that Willa wasn’t exactly the most stable person, we can route for her while still being like “babe don’t make that grilled cheese!” But never once did I think her decisions were stupid or out of character.

The author tackled the Graham situation very well. There wasn’t a big moment of forgiveness, we as the reader didn’t have to move past what he did and Willa didn’t ever let go of her anger AS SHE SHOULDNT HAVE TO. I liked the way his story was wrapped up, even though I feel horrible for his daughter.

Also, I was very surprised that there was a lil bit of a romance in here but I loved that too! I thought it made a ton of sense, I liked their interactions, and i definitely think Willa deserves whatever happiness is in her future.

I loved this book, PLEASE add this to your TBR if it sounds interesting to you! This book deserves all the hype.

Thanks St. Martins Press for the arc!

[Cecily - MillennialBookGal]

Thank you Emily Zinnikas and NetGalley for the advanced audiobook of this novel.

4.5 Stars

I think the fact that I consumed this through audio makes a huge difference because the performance was great. I started the book in the middle of the night, the power went out, and I was thoroughly creeped out.

I was pleased that the darkness or entity is never quite revealed while at the same time getting a lot of answers that a reader would want to know. In horror movies, the "big reveal" is what usually ruins it for me so I am glad there was still an air of mystery by the end.

Definitely a great mix of supernatural and a sense of reality and one of the better eerie horror books I have read in a while.

Awesome read.

[Steve Stred]

*Huge thanks to the publisher for sending me a digital ARC of this one!*

I gotta be honest – when I saw the email from St. Martin’s Press come through offering this ARC for review, I wasn’t a fan of the title. After having read the book – and loving it by the way! – I’m still not a fan of the title. Reading the title initially, it gave me the sense that this was YA or middle grade horror. Pushing my trepidation aside, I read the synopsis and a light bulb went off. This was going to be my jam.

When I was a kid first getting into horror, there were only two tropes that truly terrified me – monsters under the bed and creatures in the woods. When I read the synopsis, I was immediately snagged by those two details. That as a child, Willa, the MC, had memories of something under her bed. And, that a group of teens went into the woods and only Willa came out. And though, in the description it doesn’t outright say ‘creature in the woods,’ that’s where my mind immediately went!

What I liked: Keeping with my ‘I gotta be honest’ opening line, I honestly had no idea this was Emily’s debut novel. When a publisher reaches out regarding an ARC opportunity, I have one line of thought – is the synopsis something I’d enjoy. If I’ve heard of the author before, great. If not, it doesn’t turn me away if the synopsis is intriguing. The reality of life is that we all have the same twenty-four hours in the day and every day is busy. I only have so much reading time – even less right now during the summer – so, I want to maximize my reading pleasure, and when I read this synopsis, I knew I’d enjoy it.

The novel follows a world renowned author, Willa, who paints under the moniker W. Sloane. Few know that W. Sloane is one and the same as the sole survivor of the Rapture Mystery Slayings, the event where six of Willa’s high school friends were brutally murdered, while she survived. She didn’t do that, she knows it, but back then, the local police and residents doubted her story and that she was the only one to return. She was always considered weird. She had a friend named Elliot who lived under her bed. She stayed clear of her basement, where the shadow people lived and wanted her gone, and she fed the forest to keep it full. On the night of the deaths, she forgot to leave meat out for the forest to feed, so, for all of these years, she’s blamed herself for their deaths, though she didn’t kill them.

She’s stayed away since graduation, but that all changes when a celebrity psychic calls her out and demands the cold case be reopened. Coupled with her beloved high school art teacher passing away, she’s forced to return and confront her past, and how that’s rippled into the present, head on.

Zinnikas does a great job of painting (no pun intended) the reclusive nature of Willa. The why of her shunning publicity, even as her paintings are hung in the most prestigious museums and art galleries around the world. And when a journalist sneaks in under the false pretense of an art interview, her cover is blown and the paparazzi nature of our TMZ world helps send Willa back to Rapture.

Once there, we get to see a familiar storyline. The return of the outcast. How small minds stay small in small towns and how those who remain can’t fathom that people change. Luckily for Willa, she befriends a new cop, even as people from her past show up and she struggles to not spiral. She’s there, doing this for the one woman who believed in her.

There were at least a dozen scenes in here where I felt my feet pull away from the end of my bed. Between trips down memory lane where Willa recounted her friendship with Elliot under her bed, to scenes within the forest and how branches would move and sway as though independently controlled, I was terrified. There’s large sections of this book that read close to the horrific atmosphere shown normally in Indie horror, not in polished, Big Five Press horror, so kudos to Emily and her editor for keeping the book as dark as they did, because that was a significant worry I had when I started.

Additionally, I’d like to point out how much I loved Zinnikas’ internal dialogue aspects of Willa as she struggled with her guilt/experience/survivor mind. Between how Willa was processing being stalked, running into the high school teacher who was inappropriate with her all those years ago, and being the only survivor – while being alluded in public by adults and professionals that she was the one who did it – Willa is a complicated character. Never once did it feel like an overwhelming amount of hurdles for the reader to deal with and the flow of Willa’s mental state was easy to follow and feel for.

The final quarter takes a different turn with the psychic becoming more involved and the secrets of Rapture coming to the surface. Those things that Willa saw that made her weird. It made for a fantastic finale, the forest really coming into detail and the cinematic climax as equally scare as hell and cathartic.

What I didn’t like: The only thing that stuck out for me was that I found a lot of the Rapture random people introduced didn’t get much time to become individual entities. Which meant when Willa would bump into a rando in the grocery store or wherever, I often couldn’t remember if she’d already encountered them or not. It wasn’t a big thing, but outside of a few Rapture residents, most of the characters beyond the main crew were all grey and not materialized.

Why you should buy this: This was fantastic. Every beat felt hypnotic and Willa made for a great MC. I’m still stunned this was a debut novel, because it reads like Zinnikas has been publishing for years. A dark, gripping, engaging read, ‘I Am the Monster Under the Bed’ had me hooked from the beginning. After having finished it, I want to read even more books with people being friends with what goes bump in the night and you already know how much I love my horror set in the woods.

For anyone looking for a fast-paced scarefest, this one will make you keep the lights on and flipping the pages until the sun rises once again. And for anyone wanting a smalltown who-dun-it with creeps and thrills, look no further.

Loved this one.

[Bookworm]

Every child knows not to look under the bed! Except Willa... she has a best friend - an invisible poltergeist named Elliot. Elliot is Willa's protector and under the bed is Willa's safe space...unlike the basement. Willa is terrified of the basement!

Willa is now grown up. At 32, she is a recluse and famous artist living under a pen name. She lives miles away from her childhood town hoping to never set foot there again. Not after what happened to her friends in the woods when she was a teenager. Seven went in and only Willa came out. Willa and the town blame her for their deaths.

When Willa starts receiving threatening letters from a former teacher who was also her adolescent abuser, she is confused. How did he find her? She calls her old childhood friend and discovers her favorite teacher, Mrs. Sloan, recently passed and the funeral is happening soon. Willa owes everything she has achieved to this teacher as she was the one that first introduced Willa to painting and encouraged her every step of the way. Willa decides it's time to go back to the place she left behind but little does she know, there is much more waiting for her than she bargains for.

This audiobook started off strong. It was creepy and atmospheric. Willa's childhood house was well developed and I could feel Willa's terror of the basement.

There were many horror elements that worked. I'm a fan of supernatural so these elements were both wondrous and frightening for me. I just wish there had been more.

The biggest issue for me was the pacing. It wasn't consistent. After a strong start, the plot stalled numerous times. What could have been the best scene, the basement ordeal, ended up being the most dull and it dragged on far too long.

A smaller issue was the plot development. Some decisions made by the characters just didn't make sense or were a little too OTT. And the dynamic between Willa and her abuser was strange and became even stranger towards the end. It was hard to buy in. Perhaps omitting that plot element altogether and bringing in more horror elements would have made the story more focused.

This author has a strong knack for delivering eerieness and chills. I would definitely read more of their books. The audio performance was pretty good but lacked overall consistency with character voice changes which sometimes made it confusing.

Thank you MacMillan Audio for an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

[LaceyBanana Reads]

A small town tragedy forces Willa, the lone survivor, into hiding. Now as an adult she’s enjoying the anonymity as a successful painter when a news report reveals her identity. She connects with someone from her town and travels back home where she can tie up loose ends and confront her childhood including the monster under her bed that she’s missed.

The premise of this sounded so good I was so excited to read it! I was really invested in the beginning and couldn’t wait to find out more about this character. I unfortunately began to lose interest about 25% in. I would get hooked and then lose interest again. It felt as though there was too much going on in some parts and not enough in others. This just was not the book for me unfortunately.

[The Morbid Mama ☠︎︎]

What a STORY. My flabbers are completely gasted knowing this is a DEBUT!?!? The narrator was so perfect for Willa. The pacing was absolute perfection and the audio just played out like a movie in my head. There were so many twists and turns that I’m had no idea what the hell was actually going to happen in the end! When you start off any kind of story with a creepy kid claiming they’re seeing things under their bed, you know you’re in for a good book 😍 Emily Zinnikas took this trope and nailed it in such a fun and unique way and was so damn hooked.

Thank you so much Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for accepting my first alc request!