Read this book if you like: Funny horror, strong friendships, mom life stories

Amy Foster has left the city and moved to the suburbs. She found her place quickly with neighbors Liz, Jess, and Melissa. One night during their monthly wine get-together, the crew concoct a plan for a clubhouse, She Shed in Liz's backyard. It's a space for just them, no spouses or kids allowed.

The night after they christen the She Shed, things start to feel off. Suddenly they are battling a demonic force and their friend is possessed. There are strange burn marks, self-moving dolls, and horrible smells surrounding Liz. Together, Amy, Jess, and Melissa must fight the evil spirit to save Liz and the neighborhood before the suburbs go completely to hell.

I loved this book. I love the fun type of horror. It reminds me of Desperate Housewives with some demons added in. 🤣 It was so funny and very entertaining. It has a great balance of humor and horror. I loved the friendship between the women. This felt like a real group of friends. Very well written. There were a few out of place parts that weren't needed for the story but I still loved it. Definitely get this one! It comes out August 30th!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author, and Penguin Group Putnam for the gifted ebook! ❤️

If you enjoy chick lit and horror, then Suburban Hell by Maureen Kilmer may be just what you are looking for!

I’ve been an avid fan of horror since I was seven (yes, really!), so for me to find a book that combines darkness with chick lit, which is usually a much lighter read, was a fun experience.

While the four female characters were written really well, I wish Kilmer had developed the men a bit more. They often felt like caricatures of a fifties housewife or a businessman who only cares about money… which is fine, but they needed a bit more depth. And I really wish Amy’s daughter’s powers would have been explored more too.

I did enjoy some of the graphic horror parts, and I will never trust my Roomba again. Suburban Hell also included some heavier feminist topics if you decide to take a deeper look at the story and not just enjoy it as a beach read.

For a debut novel, Kilmer is a welcome addition to both genres, and I’m interested to see what she comes up with next.

This book was awful… for my insomnia.

I stayed up nearly all night for two days in a row flying through this new horror novel by Maureen Kilmer. Suburban Hell is a story about four female friends and how important it is to find your own small village as an adult. Especially when you are all stuck in a suburb outside of Chicago and have never once been inclined to be a part of a HOA or PTA.

It is also a story about what happens when one of your group’s pillars becomes possessed by a malevolent demonic spirit of a woman long ago scorned, who just so happens to be hellbent on ensuring that no one ever feels joy in the neighborhood again.

Darkly funny, and wonderfully horrific, Suburban Hell by Maureen Kilmer really takes a look at the complexities of adult friendships as a whole, and sprinkles in a lot of centuries old evil to liven things up.

4.6578/5

We follow Amy and her 3 friends living the life in the suburbs where they gather every month for a “wine night”. One day, their friend Liz started acting a bit odd. Amy’s convinced that Liz is possessed by some demonic entity. So then Amy gathered up her friends to help Liz and the suburbs from evil.

If you like A Southern Bookclub’s Guide to Slaying Vampires and My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix like I did, you will love this one. It’s the best parts of both books combined. This was so much fun to read and a bit ridiculous which makes it even better. Lots of creepy descriptions. I love the friendship the most. All the characters are so funny in their own way. I highly recommend!

Thank you @netgalley and @putnambooks for this arc! I am now in the hunt for more horror comedies. This is the perfect cozy spooky season read! 👻

I loved this book. Maureen Kilmer has written a fun book that many readers can enjoy. I read it in one sitting and then recommended it to my friends

Suburban Hell by Maureen Kilmer

A fun Horror story following four moms in suburbia trying to survive the summer’s long days of activities, tantrums, endless snacks, oh and demonic spirits plaguing their block. As if they need more on their plates.
We often hear it takes a village to raise children, but very rarely do we ever have one. So, when these four women find each other, their bond is as strong as their drinks. Straight up. Amy, Jess, Melissa, and Liz have found what many of us mom’s look for in each other, a community. Amy finally feels safe knowing they have each other’s backs and will stop at nothing to protect her found sisters. But that bond she treasures above all else is tested when a demon spirit begins to cause chaos and test what they believe is possible and what they are capable of.

I really enjoyed this book. It felt like The Exorcist meets The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. All the scary goriness but with mommy pressures made this story more real and accessible. I loved the characters and humor they brought to what could have just been another story about a demon spirit. This mom group made it so much funnier but also made the stakes higher. I loved how all the drama of suburbia was woven into the story along with bigger real-life trauma. Any book that can make me simultaneously self-reflect on family dynamics but also terrified of a Rumba is going to be a big hit for sure.

Review will also be on Instagram and blog post on Publish date 8/30/22

Suburban Hell was the perfect title for this book because I literally felt like I was in a Surburban Hell, the PTA meeting moms, Pinterest perfect, block parties, and well-trimmed lawns with a dash of demonic possession and evil Rombas..

This wasn't scary but this was a fun, campy, read that was easy to digest. I loved the friendship between the women and them coming together battling the demon to save their friend. That wasn't' the only demon being confronted, watching Amy deal with the grief of the loss of her sister was done well and was interesting to read.

I highly recommend this book to fans of horror who want a fun palette cleanser, that will have you laughing and questioning if there really is Surburban towns like this still today.

Wow. Just WOW.

This book sucked me in from the beginning. I felt myself immediately relating to the narrator and her friends as “suburban moms” with kiddos just starting summer break.

I did not anticipate the swift change from lighthearted and witty to dark and demonizing. This book gave me “Dead to Me” meets “Amityville Horror” vibes. I could not put it down but the details had me needed a couple breaks! So scary!

My only critique would be the backstory with the drug-addicted sister. I don’t feel as though it added anything to the story and could have been left out.

Suburban Hell felt like the adult cousin of My Best Friend's Exorcism. A creepy story with the high stakes of losing your best friend at the center, with a little humor mixed in. Maybe not for all audiences, but it definitely worked for me!


You might enjoy this if you like:
•Stories about friendship
•Demons and possession
•Mom life
•Suburbia
•Books that read easy but have depth

Suburban Hell had female friendship I could appreciate and a husband that was supportive instead of the cliché. There are horror elements but no terror. I didn’t connect with the characters the way I wanted to but I still had an enjoyable time

Suburban Hell by Maureen Kilmer is such an interesting read. I related to a lot of the feelings and emotions of the moms who lived in this neighborhood, with the exception of all the demons and hell stuff. This was actually scarier than i thought it would be. I loved Amy's loyalty and her determination to do what was right for her friend. The banter between the friends was also top notch. This is a great book for spooky season.

It’s been some time since I’ve had a book scare me and yet feel lighthearted as this one. My Best Friends Exorcism meets Desperate House Wives. Funny moments speckled with scares and chills. If this is Kilmer’s first horror novel I can’t wait to see what else she has to offer.

Suburban Hell was a very interesting book to read. It had a similar atmospheric vibe to The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix, one of my favorite books. The characters were all interesting, the story, while there are plenty of supernatural stories out there, was still unique. I really enjoyed this one and would give it a 4 star rating.

The only thing about the book I didn't love were parts of the book seemed forgotten. One of the main characters children fell and hurt her knee. The mother came over and held a hand over it, but when the mothers friend appeared at the event they were having, the mother left and the daughters knee was forgotten. Did she bandage it up? It wasn't said.

Another instance like that happened with the family's dog. The rumba they had glitched and hurt the dog. In the chapter it says the dogs front paws were bleeding. But then it doesn't say if the main character took care of the dog later on. She just focused on her friends. It was never said if the dog was taken to the vet or needed its paws wrapped.

Instances like that takes me out of the story because it makes me feel like they don't belong if the author doesn't follow up on what's been written.

Otherwise, the story was good and interesting and I enjoyed this book!

This book was a little different for me. I love humor and the way the author did it in this book was PERFECTION I got all of the jokes, I had to hold back from laughing out loud for real. Now, why is this book different outside of the humor? Well this book offers more than that, we have suburban moms saving the world, saving their town from this evil thing that’s plaguing their town, their families, and even one of the moms named Liz. I swear this book would make a great comedy horror film on Netflix, I know I am not the only one to even think it. I would never think to read a genre like this, but I can say honestly that I enjoyed it in so many levels. Thanks Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Suburban Hell was such a surprisingly fun horror novel. A group of four very different mothers live an ordinary life in a quiet Chicago suburb. But then, during a monthly movie (wine) night, the women give a toast to the site of a future She Shed in Liz's back yard, a space they can finally claim as their own. There's a charge in the air, and by the next day, things begin to feel wrong. Throughout the summer, there's a demonic Roomba, an American Girl doll that seems to have a life of her own, and a completely altered Liz who's undergone a transformation for the worse. Her friends Amy, Melissa, and Jess are understandably worried and are determined to make things right again.

I loved the mix of horror elements and typical suburban scenes - carnivals, Target trips, and pool visits with the kids. It made the book more light-hearted, even though there were some creepy moments throughout the book. The story also shed a light on the power of friendship, the determination of mothers, and the effects of loss. I always appreciate when a page-turning novel carries a little more depth than just a series of actions and reactions from the characters. I love books like this, and I look forward to whatever comes next from the author.

"A Chicago cul-de-sac is about to get a new neighbor...of the demonic kind."

This book is best described as the Real Housewives with a demonic possession - and it is so much fun! The characters and female friendships are so well written. The four main characters are different and the same all at once. They lean into their friendship (and wine night!) to get through the struggles of motherhood, marriage, other PTO moms, etc. When one of them decides to build a proper She Shed as a place for them to host wine night a demonic force is released and the ride begins.
I read a lot of thrillers with edge-of-your-seat twists and turns - but that is not this book. It was easy to see where the story was going, the magic was in the characters and their relationships with some spookiness sprinkled on top. I absolutely loved this book from beginning to end. You do not need to be a horror fan to enjoy this book - dare I call it cozy horror?
Suburban Hell is the perfect book to add to your list of fall reads!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC.
Release Date scheduled for August 30, 2022.

From the publisher:
A Chicago cul-de-sac is about to get a new neighbor...of the demonic kind.

Amy Foster considers herself lucky. After she left the city and moved to the suburbs, she found her place quickly with neighbors Liz, Jess, and Melissa, snarking together from the outskirts of the PTA crowd. One night during their monthly wine get-together, the crew concoct a plan for a clubhouse She Shed in Liz’s backyard—a space for just them, no spouses or kids allowed.

But the night after they christen the She Shed, things start to feel . . . off. They didn’t expect Liz’s little home-improvement project to release a demonic force that turns their quiet enclave into something out of a nightmare. And that’s before the homeowners’ association gets wind of it.

Even the calmest moms can’t justify the strange burn marks, self-moving dolls, and horrible smells surrounding their possessed friend, Liz. Together, Amy, Jess, and Melissa must fight the evil spirit to save Liz and the neighborhood . . . before the suburbs go completely to hell.

My thoughts:

The story is told from Amy's point of view. Once Liz has been possessed, it's Amy's drive that keeps the ladies going seeking a way to save her. And while all this is going on, she somehow volunteered to organize a school carnival. Amy is a devoted parent, spouse, and friend.

The book is well-written. The plot moves along at a good rate. There's plenty going on. And in addition there is building suspense and a good dose of humor.

Overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. I love the combination of horror and humor. It made me think of both The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix and the program Desperate Housewives. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy light horror with a good infusion of humor. I will definitely be looking for Maureen Kilmer's next book.

Suburban Hell is expected out August 30th, 2022 from G.P. Putnam's Sons.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my review.

5/5 Stars!

If you love books by Grady Hendrix, you’ll LOVE Suburban Hell. It’s like if My Best Friend’s Exorcism and Desperate Housewives had a baby.

The story is about Amy, Liz, Jess, and Melissa. Four women who have bonded during wine and movie nights. It’s a monthly routine for them and they discuss having a “she-shed” to further give them a type of escape from their everyday life. However, when Liz breaks ground in her backyard to build the she-shed, something evil emerges. Liz is not the same afterwards and it’s up to the rest of the group to save their friend and their entire neighborhood.

This book was the perfect balance of humor and horror. The conversations between the women felt so realistic. Each woman had her own quirks and behaviors that felt organic. They felt like a real group of friends. The elements of horror were also fantastic. Creepy dolls, hallucinations, and possession! I personally don’t mind a fair amount of gore but i actually enjoyed that this book was mostly tension and creepy stuff. I do feel like the ending was done so the author could write a sequel or spin off of some kind. I don’t mind it though! The ending was still really good.

I’m so pleasantly pleased with this book and I look forward to more horror from Maureen Kilmer.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun, lighthearted horror about what happens when a suburban housewife becomes possessed. It also had a commentary on motherhood and adult female friendships which was unexpected but really appreciated. Suburban Hell was such a fun read that kept me coming back to it. I actually got sucked in to the point I actually jumped when someone came up behind me which doesn’t happen often anymore. If you are interested, I’d recommend giving this book a shot. And check in on your friends. They just might need you to perform an exorcism!

thank you to netgalley and g.p. putnam sons for the arc of suburban hell!

i had so much fun reading this story. i feel like it was a super interesting take on comedic horror by having it be set in the suburbs and be told through the perspective of amy, a mother of two. there was a really nice balance between horror elements like the demon taking over liz’s body and a murderous vacuum, and motherly elements like amy being rangled into being in charge of the pta’s summer carnival.

i think my one complaint is the consistent use of the phrasing “i would soon to come find out” or “i was wrong about this” etc bc it feels almost like a fourth wall break but with not the best execution.

overall though i would recommend this to anyone looking for a not too scary horror book this fall! thanks again to the publisher for this advanced copy.