Set in an all too familiar mundane suburb where the scariest thing one usually has to contend with is an overzealous HOA comes real evil. When Amy's friend Liz is possessed by a demon unearthed after breaking ground on her backyard She Shed she bands together with other friends from her neighborhood to banish this entity back where it belongs all while coordinating volunteers for the upcoming school carnival

Suburban Hell is a FUN read! There's obvious overlap Grady Hendrix, but while his books lean more towards horror Suburban Hell is like Liane Moriarty decided to dip her toe into horror, this is women's fiction domestic drama meets demonic forces and it doesn't take itself too seriously. It's campy and absurd and kind of horrifically funny, one scene involving a rogue robot vacuum had me chuckling out loud, and it has an admirable undercurrent of themes like the pressures of modern motherhood, the pitfalls of isolation, the importance of community, and the power of female friendships.

Suburban Hell is a fantastic addition for your Spooky Season reading!

Suburban Hell was quite the story!! 4 best friends, Amy, Jess, Melissa and Liz, have idyllic lives in a wealthy suburb of Chicago. They decide to build a She Shed, a place to get together without the unending interruptions from their husbands and kids. But once they break ground in Liz's backyard, she's somehow becomes someone else entirely. Amy takes the lead in figuring out what's going on with Liz and recruits Jess and Melissa to help her out. This was a laugh out loud horror/thriller story that had me glued to the pages! Demons, ghost and exorcisms, oh my!! Loved it all!!!

“What’s a little demon possession among friends?” It’s the perfect tagline for “Suburban Hell,” a story about a group of four moms who bond over playdates and disliking most of the other women in the neighborhood. After a girls night at Liz’s house, Liz’s husband gives in and allows her to build a SheShed in the backyard for the groups’s extracurricular activities. With plans in hand, a construction crew begins to break ground, only to open up something unexplainable… and smelly.

Amy, her next-door neighbor and self-proclaimed bestie, notices something’s off with Liz, which is confirmed once Liz tries to kill her. From there, peculiar things begin to happen and tests the strength of the group’s bond. The chain of events that take place post-possession are creepy-yet-funny, making this dark-comedy an easy read and something that you’ll want to speed through pretty quickly.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope the author writes more horror-like stories in the future!

Suburban Hell was a fun read and a great way to kick start fall reading! It reminded me of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires meets The Change.
I loved the friend group of Amy, Jess, and Melissa and had fun rooting for them as they tried to save their friend Liz and their neighborhood from a demon. It was a good mix of spooky scenes and funny, relatable moments!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A great summer read for those who are into summer thrillers. I enjoyed the fact that I can easily get the women since they are in my age range and they are mothers. We need more of this books. Worth the read and it was good!

Ahh I absolutely adored this gem of a book!! A mix of horror/thriller/humor, what a fun time! I love how there seems to be a trend of horror/thrillers with a mix of humor, it is quickly becoming my favorite thing to read. Pick this up you won’t be disappointed!!!

Oh man I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I started reading it and I was just not vibing with the whole mommy stay at home holding down the household thing but then it got interesting. Such a good mix of neighborhood drama, horrific history, supernatural elements, and above all else the strength of friendship. I thought the 4 main characters were a delightful group; sarcastic and funny. I thought it had a very Grady Hendrix vibe and a Real Housewives vibe, though toned down quite a bit. Ended up loving this!

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Think life in suburbia is always dull and monotonous? Think again, because for Amy, Liz, Jess and Melissa, life on their suburban street becomes anything but. After breaking ground in Liz’s backyard one night for their new she shed, Liz becomes someone they no longer recognize, and someone they fear. And to save their friend, their families and the neighborhood only they can confront and deal with the new Liz, because after all, aren’t suburban moms always called upon to do everything anyway?

This was a fun horror novel about a suburban mom group and what happens when one of its members becomes possessed and all sorts of creepy things start happening in the neighborhood. I really enjoyed Amy’s first person POV and seeing her band the group together to help try and save their friend and their neighborhood. Normally short chapters are my jam…but in this book for some reason they felt a little choppy or rushed to me and somehow made the book feel longer than it was. Despite that it was still a fun read and one I’d highly recommend for fans of Grady Hendrix! I would definitely read more from this author in the future.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I always enjoy horror that has its tongue planted firmly in cheek, and I also like seeing horror explore territories that it may not otherwise. Therefore, SUBURBAN HELL by Maureen Kilmer was a fun and goofy horror read that spoke to me on a personal level as a presently stay at home Mom living in suburbia. Sure the possession storyline was perfectly servicable with a taut and unsettling backstory, as well as some genuine tweaks to the subgenre to make it more accessible, which is great. But I really liked how Kilmer addressed the sheer isolation and stress that modern day parents, particularly mothers, can feel in our current culture and society. I really related to Amy, who never imagined that she would leave her job and her city life, but has found herself in a quiet and somewhat dull suburb, raising two children and pining for her days as a social worker, and important her friendships with other women in her cul du sac are. This made for deeply relatable at at times melancholy reading, and also perfectly explained by Amy would be SO DETERMINED to salvage her friendship and friend group beyond the 'that's just what you do in a horror story' motive. It isn's too deep, and the scares are pretty mild, and a fair amount of the other characters are pretty two dimensional, but overall I thought that SUBURBAN HELL was a fun quick read that horror averse people may enjoy this Halloween season.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5!

I absolutely loved this horrifying spin on the rich housewife premise. Living not super far from the Chicago suburbs, I really enjoyed all of the references and felt like they really made the characters and overall story that much more relatable.

I loved the summer vibes of this one and was immediately reminded of My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix, which I also really loved. This reminded me SO much of a grown up version of that story set in the Chicago suburbs.

Definitely read this one if you enjoy:
• rich housewife friend groups
• paranormal possession stories
• confirmation that men can be the worst

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Putnam Books for my review copy. Publishes August 30th!

Interesting and entertaining but not as scary as I’d hoped it would be. The trio of friends were fun to read about and I feel like its sort of rare to read about a group of PTA moms. I liked them despite not being a mom myself.

Fun considering it's horror. Even better if you are in the Chicago suburbs as I am now.
Would make a delightful horror comedy film.

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Yes, this book has demon possession in the heart of midwest suburbia. It's terrifying, right? Something so idyllic could have evil lurking under the surface. But the truth of this story is community & friendship.

It's not super gorey, imo. If you're looking for something to make you scream, this ain't it. But as I generally read cozies & romcoms, it did manage to give me anxiety, lol.

In the vein of Grady Hendrix, Maureen Kilmer's Suburban Hell is a quirky take on horror that slowly reeled me in with it's deceptive normality of day to day life in suburbia. The creepy/horror really sneaks up on you and it's a bit unnerving, but I loved it!

Four women. One Neighborhood. One crazy summer of demonic possession?

Suburban Hell completely had me fooled into thinking it would be your typical demon possession story. But throw in quirky moms, relentless gossip, endless humor, and a nail biting stand between the 3 women & their possessed friend? Outstanding! I was on the edge of my bed, enthralled til the very end! I loved the perspective of Amy, a mom of two- who perhaps wants more from her suburban life. She was funny, and relatable with today’s hardships & societal issues.

Jess was my absolute favorite! Her quirky one liners, and light hearted attitude kept me smiling constantly! While also enjoying the resident “mean girl/woman”, and their interactions with her.


I wasn’t going to continue reading, at first. It was slower in the start for me. But! I love spooky novels & this definitely hit the spot! Beware of Roombas & Barbie’s y’all!


Thank you to Putnam Group, Netgalley, and the author Maureen Kilmer for this book in exchange for my honest review!

This is a very unique and entertaining horror story set in suburban Chicago. Four very good friends who live in the same neighborhood decide they need a She Shed to escape husbands and children. When the foundation hole is dug in Liz's backyard, she undergoes changes in personality and behavior that lead Amy to believe that evil demons are to blame. The story moves back and forth between a normal suburban summer and a terrifying evil presence. Very strongly drawn characters, lots of action, and realistic family and community scenes make this an excellent read. It is both a hoot and a serious horror story, just begging to be a feature-length movie! Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing an ARC.

Big thanks to Maureen Kilmer, NetGalley, and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC. I devoured this book! I enjoyed it so much. This was most likely my first horror read and will not be my last read from the author. I thought the concept of the book was very unique. Amy lives in a suburban neighborhood filled with typical PTA moms, but her three friends and herself instantly bond by not being typical moms. They each have their faults, but they enjoy spending time together, not judging each other, and enjoying wine and movie nights. They concoct a plan to build a She Shed, but once construction happens, they unleash an unexpected demon and one of them becomes possessed. Amy, Jess, and Melissa band together to fight the evil while also dodging evil looks from other moms in the neighborhood.

I absolutely loved the bond between the four women in this story. The friendship between them was so relatable. They each had their struggles and wanted to help each other no matter what. The story was creepy and spooky. I've read some stories in the past where it feels they are trying too hard to be horror or supernatural, but this one knew it was horror and made me believe it. I would definitely recommend this one.

Thank you to the Penguin Group and NetGalley for letting me enjoy this book early in exchange for my honest review!

This is a pretty straightforward story of possession, grief and friendship and I had a great time reading it. It was quick witted, warm and I appreciated the horror movie references that were peppered in. I do think it could’ve been a little shorter; at times it had pacing issues but overall, a great little spooky/sweet story about what happens when a demon comes for the moms and children of suburbia.

🏡 🕳 🐇 🧟‍♀️ 💅🏼 🍷 🎇
Book Review:: Suburban Hell
By:: Maureen Kilmer

Okay, this one rrreally brought out the creepiness of living in suburbia. I mean, HOA’s, block parties, and PTA moms are already kinda creepy as it is, but Maureen Kilmer pulled out all of the stops for this book.

It was hilariously spooky and had a lot of satire, which I was a fan of. It helped lighten up how creepy this book actually was. Featuring the dreaded run-in’s at Target, the headache that is boxed wine, and my personal favorite, a possessed Roomba.

This book follows four moms who don’t quite fit in with the rest of the mom’s in their picturesque neighborhood. When one of our 4 beloved friends turns into a mega-b*tch, the problems ensue.

I loved every second getting to know these ladies, their comical bickering, and the ride of their lives to get their friend back to herself.

Suburban Hell releases August 30th of this year.
A very big thankyou to @netgalley and @penguinpublishing for the opportunity to read this delightful eARC