HOME IS WHERE THE BODIES ARE Book Review

Home is Where the Bodies Are¹ by Jeneva Rose, physical, 280 pages Synopsis from GoodReads: After their mother passes, three estranged siblings reunite to sort out her estate. Beth, the oldest, never left home. She stayed with her mom, caring for her until the very end. Nicole, the middle child, has been kept at arm's length due to her ongoing battle with a serious drug addiction. Michael, the youngest, lives out of state and hasn't been back to their small Wisconsin town since their father ran out on them seven years before.

While going through their parents' belongings, the siblings stumble upon a collection of home videos and decide to revisit those happier memories. However, the nostalgia is cut short when one of the VHS tapes reveals a night back in 1999 that none of them have any recollection of. On screen, their father appears covered in blood. What follows is a dead body and a pact between their parents to get rid of it, before the video abruptly ends. Beth, Nicole, and Michael must now decide whether to leave the past in the past or uncover the dark secret their mother took to her grave.

BOOK REVIEW: First I need to GUSH about the B&N signed preorder copy that I got back when it came out in April 2024 (and just got to reading). I got it not because it is signed (that helped) but because not only does the book look like a VHS tape but the B&N copy came in a VHS tape sleeve! The nostalgia is so freakin real holding this book! I also did some annotating and note taking while I was reading this book. Mostly with thrillers like this I want to get better at taking notes about where my mind is going to see if I can call who dun it! I'm not telling you if I did or didn't call it...you should be in my book club for that info!

I loved everything about this book. I loved the nostalgia of the camcorder being a huge part of their childhood. In my family it was my dad that always brought out the recorder but we had the small one that you put the tape into a VHS adapter. Fancy right? Anyway, I loved the way she even describes the things from back then. The mood ring, the goth/emo look Nicole rocks (I would have been her friend). Oddly enough I think I resonated more with Nicole personality wise even though I thought I would be more like Beth since I'm the oldest of 3.

The number of times I gasped, jumped, said anything out loud immediately made this a 5 star read for me. I loved it so much! I've mentioned the nostalgia that she brings with the flash backs to 1999 (my Freshman year in high school). We're hearing the story from not only Beth, Nicole, and Michael but their mother Laura is who we're hearing from in 1999. You really get to see what happens to a family when there are secrets in such a small town and just how far family will go to protect their own. This is my second go round with this author and I love it so much I can't wait to dive into more of her work! I also want to note that while I didn't listen to the audiobook, several people in my book club did and they said there were four narrators that really made the story great to listen to just so you know if you're an audiobook listener!

5/5 Stars

2025 Reading Challenge: 46/50 complete

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