Book Review: 'The Girl Upstairs' by Jessica R. Patch

Happy Monday Bookworms!

I have been anticipating this post for weeks and am so excited to finally share my thoughts on one of my favorite authors’ latest masterpieces that is releasing this week! I hope you enjoy my thoughts on this Psychological Thriller and don't forget to scroll to the bottom of this post and enter the amazing giveaway from JustRead Tours!

Welcome to the Blog Tour for The Girl Upstairs by Jessica R. Patch, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: The Girl Upstairs
Author: Jessica R. Patch
Publisher: Harlequin Love Inspired Trade
Release Date: April 28, 2026
Genre: Psychological Thriller

"Jessica R. Patch weaves a dark, twisty tapestry that’s both unsettling and unexpectedly hopeful. Masterful." –New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan

She bought this house to save her marriage. Unearthing its secrets might just claim her life.

Gwen McDaniel’s life is broken. But she knows the perfect place to fix it. Cold Harbor, Maine, an idyllic small town with views of Acadia National Park, is where she used to vacation with her parents as a child. Here, she and Steven can start over, renovating their cliff-side fixer-upper while patching up their marriage. Soon, everything will be better.

Except from the moment they arrive, Gwen sees and hears things, and it’s more than just the drafts and shadows that are part of any old house. Steven downplays her fears, warning her not to fixate on problems as she has in the past. But Gwen spent years as a homicide detective, and her instincts don’t lie. Something happened here. Proof comes when she rips up the attic’s carpet to discover a chilling message carved into the wood underneath.

As Gwen delves into the history of the house and the Cold Harbor community, she begins to piece the fragments together. And gradually, a terrifying picture emerges: A missing girl. A house of horrors. And a dark, decades-old nightmare that is more haunting than Gwen ever imagined…

My Review

I felt breathless when I finished this novel. This was a lot! I purposely did not read the synopsis, so I went in blind, and I feel like that added another layer of mystery and darkness. I lost sleep reading this novel in one night and regret nothing. This was phenomenal and one of my favorite novels in recent memory. I appreciate how Jessica R. Patch can paint such a dark and disturbing picture without being overly graphic. You get exactly what she’s saying without her having to plainly show you, and as someone who is sensitive to things that are of a graphic nature, I appreciate that so much.

I was consumed and completely absorbed from the moment I started reading. I could see so much of myself reflected. The struggles with depression and guttural loss run deep, but that’s where the parallels stop. Gwen has been to places my heart and mind couldn’t possibly comprehend, and the deeper I dove into her story, the more shattered my own heart became. The plot is positively brilliant with its devious twists, turns, and moments that were so shocking that I felt like I had been punched in the gut. You know a story is getting to you when you keep catching yourself holding your breath.

The Girl Upstairs is an intense read that has you questioning everything and shows that sometimes the scariest place to be is inside your own mind.

My Rating: ★★★★★

Also Available

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Be sure to check out my other reviews of books by Jessica R. Patch

About the Author

Jessica R. Patch is a New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of more than thirty novels. Known for her pulse-pounding plots, emotionally charged characters, and signature twists, Jessica’s stories explore themes of justice, resilience, and the unshakable power of hope.

Whether weaving inspirational stories of danger edged with romance or crafting chilling thrillers that probe the shadows of the human heart, Jessica delivers fiction that thrills while shining light in the darkest places. She makes her home in Northwest Mississippi, where she enjoys life with her family, a good cup of tea, and dreaming up her next edge-of-your-seat story usually over tacos and queso.

You’re invited to join the Patched In community at her website: jessicarpatch.com and receive a FREE short thriller, Nobody Has to Know.

Tour Giveaway

(2) winners will each receive a signed copy of The Other Sister and a $10 Amazon gift card!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight April 27, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on May 4, 2026. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only for the print copy. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!