A Family Reunion to Die For
4.5 out of 5 stars
Wow—talk about an emotional roller coaster! Home Is Where the Bodies Are hooked me from the first chapter. The narration brought the complex emotions vividly to life, especially January LaVoy’s Beth’s, making me instantly connect with her struggle of watching a parent fade away. Having experienced something similar myself, the writing was so genuine it felt like the author had peered directly into my heart.
Jeneva Rose masterfully portrays strained family dynamics, especially through Nicole’s deeply relatable battle with addiction. The narration captures her struggle perfectly—the agonizing cravings, the relentless self-awareness, and her heartbreaking regret over missing her mother’s final moments. Nicole isn’t just her addiction; she’s a vibrant, aspiring writer whose journey toward redemption kept me rooting for her throughout.
But let’s talk about plot twists—I pride myself on spotting them early, but this one blindsided me in the best way! The suspense cleverly built around a decades-old family secret had me convinced I knew the culprit from the start. Wrong! Rose threw in a brilliant red herring, keeping me second-guessing until the jaw-dropping reveal in the final pages. Some of the twists gave me actual chills, I’m still recovering from them.
Rose’s storytelling shines through her vividly drawn characters, each revealing their secrets bit by tantalizing bit. The addition of journal entries offering glimpses into their mother’s inner turmoil was both intriguing and heart-wrenching. And of course, Beth’s simmering romance with Lucas provided a sweet, emotional respite from the tension—albeit complicated by a dark secret she’s struggling to conceal.
The narration really shines here; January LaVoy, Cassandra Campbell, Brittany Pressley, and Andrew Eiden all shine and helped bring this story to life. Home Is Where the Bodies Are is an absolute thriller gem, deftly narrated and skillfully crafted. If you love stories that blend family drama, emotional depth, and jaw-dropping twists, do yourself a favor and dive in immediately!
Book Description:
From New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Marriage and You Shouldn’t Have Come Here comes a chilling family thriller about the (sometimes literal) skeletons in the closet.
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.
Home Is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose
Narrator: January LaVoy, Cassandra Campbell, Brittany Pressley, Andrew Eiden
Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
on April 29th 2024
Format: Audiobook
I’ve loved reading since I was little when my dad would read me Dr. Suess books. Fast-forward a little and I noticed that he was always reading on his lunch breaks at work, and I wondered why.Then, I found a book that took me to another place and time, to another feeling,another sense of “being”.It was the first book that I ever fell in love with, and I’ve been chasing that feeling ever since.
