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

This was the perfect book to read to get me pumped up for the upcoming spooky season. Its a quick read I was able to finish in a day. This book is the real housewives meets the exorcist. I enjoyed the fact that the main characters weren’t considered the perfect pta, and that they had a strong bond. I would like to read more from this author

A book that I thought I would love, but had to put down at the 25% mark. This is one of those books that I gravitated toward because it reminded me of a great small town, funny, rich people drama, with a side of cozy mystery. But, I found that the writing was a bit hard for me to get through. I am hoping to pick this up another time. Just wasn't the book that I needed at the time.

So this wasn't that great unfortunately. I loved the cover. I loved the synopsis. But it took me several days to finish this one. It just moved so freaking slow. And I just didn't care about any of the characters. I kept hoping that something would happen, but nothing really does except for a scene about some baby rabbits. I just thought the whole book dragged and was hoping for a book more similar to "The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires" and this was not it. 

"Suburban Hell" follows Amy Foster and her three closest friends who live in the suburbs of Chicago. Amy is still trying to get back into working, and finds the only thing that keeps her going are her friends Liz, Melissa, and Jess who all live in the same upper middle class cul-de-sac. When the four friends have one of their wine girl nights, they go out to have a toast to the she-shed that Liz is having built for their togethers. But something weird happens that is followed by a bad smell. After that Liz is off and then Amy starts thinking that Liz may be possessed by a demon (just go with it). The book follows Amy, Melissa, and Jessa as they try to think of some way of saving Liz.

I get this was supposed to be funny, but I didn't laugh or smile once. Everything felt dreary. And after a while I got sick of Amy who talked "crap" on everyone, but her friends. I thought she was so judgmental and even wondered why she cared at all about Liz. The book doesn't do a great job of showing what brought these women together and even why they continued to hang out. Amy goes on and on about how without Liz around they all are not the best versions of themselves. But I kept going, so you all were jerks ands he put up with it? Sounds about right. 

And the whole possessed by a demon thing? I expected more gore honestly. And even without that, this demon seemed really lame. Just threatened a lot. At one point I went, so is it going to do something or??? And it seemed to be or. Maybe it would have been more interesting if we got a chance to see if the whole neighborhood would come together. But they really don't. It's just the three women who keep floundering around and not really wanting to do anything and Amy telling her husband about every event with him going well maybe this is what is happening. 

I thought the backstory on the whole demon was interesting, but even that wasn't really delved into much before the book drags on forever before we get to a confrontation. I think the book focused way too much on the mom dynamics and Amy hosting a freaking carnival or whatever it was. It just didn't add anything and started to feel like filler towards the end. 

The ending seems to be setting up a sequel I am going to pass on.

this one was a lot of fun! I personally wish it went a ~little~ further in the end but i had a great time with this campy horror. perfect for fans of Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires

Suburban Hell follows a group of women who get together monthly. During their monthly get together one of the women Liz tells the ladies that she is building a clubhouse from them called the She Shed. But there is just one problem: the building of this She Shed releases a demonic force and Liz gets possessed and strange things start happening in the neighborhood. And now they have to find a way to get rid of this demonic force. 

This was a really interesting book. This was one that I was unsure if I was going to like it but ended up enjoying it. This book reminded me a lot of Grady Hendrix's book The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. I think this would be a really good book to read during spooky season. Overall I thought it was a good horror book, I liked the overall story, and it was a super fast read. Thank you Netgalley, Putman books, and Maureen Kilmer for the ARC of this book.

This was such a FUN and fast read. If you like horror with a sprinkle of mom drama this book is for you. Think the exorcist meets the real housewives. Who has a kitchen remodel reveal and do you bring gifts?? This group of friends must stick together through everything to help one of their own. Solidarity even when you are facing an evil entity who has been waiting hundreds of years to be set free. Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. Looking forward to reading more from this author in the future!!!

Thank you so much to netgalley, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and Maureen Kilmer for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Suburban Hell will hit shelves August 30th!

Amy, Liz, Jess, and Melissa became fast friends thanks to their proximity and personality differences to the rest of the neighborhood. After many nights spent together drinking and watching movies, the four women decided it was time for them to have a club house; The She She'd.

Excited to live their greatest pinterest dreams, they toasted over the space and broke grown the next day. What they weren't expecting was awaking something that had long been buried - something evil and out for vengeance.

While struggling with the typical suburban mom life issues - planning community events, keeping after the kids, managing obnoxious neighbors - Amy now finds herself struggling with paranormal issues and at the center of it all is sweet, kind, unfortunate Liz.

This book was an extremely interesting, fun concept. I got strong 'Santa Clarita Diet' vibes in the first half - demonic posession but also get the kids out of the house and make sure Heather doesn't see you sweat. It was a snarky look at mom life mixed with the super natural and I loved that.

The disappointment came when the story suddenly took itself very seriously. I think if we had stuck to the dark humor side of things it would've blown me away, but suddenly it was supposed to be straight horror and I found I wasn't a fan.

Ultimately I did enjoy the book. I thought the characters were lovely, developed perfectly. I thought the plot moved smoothly and developed itself well. Maybe it tacked too much on in the second half, maybe it could've been a little less campy. But overall I found it unique and a good time!