Linzie (suspenseisthrillingme)'s Reviews > Home Is Where the Bodies Are

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 parent's 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.

If you love dysfunctional families, dark secrets, and multiple POVs, Home Is Where the Bodies Are is most definitely for you. Starting off slow with a plot that felt decidedly more family drama than thriller, I was nevertheless wrapped up in the sibling rivalry and small town problems. Fear not, however, because it didn’t take long for the pace to pick up and some monstrous lies to be revealed. Needless to say, the distrust among these three siblings was palpable and it thankfully leaked onto the pages and directly into my bloodstream.

The characters themselves sucked me right into the story. While perhaps not fully fleshed out or particularly well-developed, the flaws to their personalities made them wholly believable. Layered with realistic problems that could’ve easily been caused by trauma, I felt for this broken family as they gathered following the death of their mother. At the same time, the further that I read, the more I gave them ALLthe side-eye. Even the character I was rallying behind. In my book, that is the mark of quite the talented author.

With an adrenaline-pumping climax and a soul-satisfying conclusion, this Jeneva Rose book was one heck of an introduction to her writing for me. Filled with ever ratcheting tension, plot charging drama, and an IV drip of revelations, it was a masterful slow burn of a whodunnit until it exploded into action. All I know is that it won me over thoroughly enough that I’m now looking forward to diving into Rose’s backlist ASAP. After all, I’ve heard nothing but good things about quite a few of them. So I ask you… Where should I start? Rating of 4.5 stars.

Thank you to Jeneva Rose and Blackstone Publishing for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

PUB DATE: April 30, 2024

Trigger warning: death of a parent, terminal cancer, drug addiction