Phew, this was a wild ride!! You will NOT be expecting the turns this book takes as a family's secrets are exposed. A fantastic read by Jeneva Rose.

Home is Where the Bodies Are is a slow-burn thriller about three estranged siblings who return to their small town when their mother dies. They find a home video from twenty years ago that makes them question everything about their childhood…
This book has a lot of POVs. First, we have first-person chapters written in the perspective of the three siblings. There’s Beth, who’s the oldest. She never left home, and she’s been taking care of her mother in her final days. Next, we have Nicole, the middle child who’s a writer and a drug addict. Finally, we have Michael, who’s the youngest and the most successful. Years ago, he left home to make something of himself, and he’s never looked back.
But once we view the fated home video, we also get POV scenes from their mother’s perspective, detailing just what happened twenty years ago… Her scenes, while only occasional, provided much needed insights into the mystery. I also thought that her sections had the best cliffhangers; each chapter wrapped up with a line that sent shivers down my spine.
This book is a slow burn. I initially picked it up because of the VHS-style cover and the fact that it’s touted as having 90s nostalgia. To be honest, I didn’t feel the nostalgia, aside from the fact that it’s a VHS recording. I think the book would require a little more worldbuilding for the era to shine through, similar to Grady Hendrix’s My Best Friend’s Exorcism.
The tone of the story is honestly quite depressing. I had to put it down a few times. However, Jeneva Rose has a both beautiful and conversational writing style that made the darkness much easier to sift through.
The melancholic nature of the story comes from quite a few different angles. There’s the subject matter, which I’ll be intentionally vague about to avoid spoilers. But I found that it primarily came from the three siblings. Their interactions with one another are heartbreaking and, at times, cruel. There’s a lot of hatred, self-loathing, and despair packed in the pages of this book. I think the novel would have benefited from a little comic relief.
The mystery is gradually unraveled throughout the story, and the final twist is quite well crafted, tying the entire story together.

Man this was a fun one. I really enjoyed Rose's writing style and the various POVs. While the mystery was a little predictable the writing made up for it. Was a quick and easy read that sucked me in and keep me interested until the end.

Um.

Meh for me.

I tried! I wanted to like it so much. I did.

I figured out the ending to soon and was hoping for a twist in what I “knew”. But no.

It was a bit drawn out for a mystery.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

Another great one from the talented Jeneva Rose! Highly recommend! This gripping family full of secrets had me sitting on the edge of my seat. Home Is Where The Bodies Are really hit the vibe in the head with this fast paced thriller.

I love Jeneva Rose's style of writing. So, imagine this... your mother dies, but not before leaving you with some ominous last words. Your siblings come home for the funeral and to pack up the house, you find home movies and start to watch them. Only to see one that ends in your parents burying the body of a missing girl from decades earlier. What do you do? That is what the siblings in this story are faced with. Who were their parents really? Did their father really choose to leave them, or is he on the run from his sins? What else was their mother going to say before she died? As they start searching to unravel these mysteries they end up down a dark path of family secrets, cold cases, local mysteries, fear, guilt, and a deep need to make things right. I did figure it out before the end, but I enjoyed the journey to get there. Go read it!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Home Is Where The Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose.

I love a good mystery, especially when it involves family secrets and dysfunction. I thought this had a great start to it. When your mother reveals to her in her very last breath that your dad didn't actually go missing, what do you do? Add your sanctimonious brother who makes good money and looks down on your decision to never leave town. Add also your alcoholic sister who has a reputation for going missing and is difficult to trust. Lastly, add home video tapes that drop jaw dropping clues into their past.

This is told through multiple voices in the past and present.

If I had never read a thriller/mystery before in my life, I probably would have thought that this was great fun. However, it's fairly dusty. It's a story that doesn't go very far, and could probably be told in about five minutes. It's honestly not bad, it's just not original. I've read it, multiple times already, just different covers.

I love mysteries, and this wove in the realness with hospital rooms, FMLA, and a mother's passing! I found the fast-paced and easy to read, a delight in that way. Thanks for the ARC!

This was a pretty good thriller. I've read one other book by Jeneva Rose and I think comparing the two I was a bit more surprised at the ending for that book than this one but the story itself stayed interesting. I don't think there was any big surprise in what was really happening in the mystery because we kind of get hints throughout but I think the perspective switch between the siblings and the mom were well done and kept the story moving quickly.

This book hooked me from the start. Three siblings reunite at their childhood home for their mothers funeral. While going through her things they find a vhs tape with something shocking on it. I am pretty good at figuring things out but this book kept me guessing until the end.

JR is a hit or miss author for me, and this one was a HIT. probably my favorite one by her since The Perfect Marriage to be honest! and the cover is PHENOMONAL. it really sets the vibe for the whole book! can't wait to see what she writes next!!!

Beth, Nicole, and Michael have been estranged for many years, but their mother's death brings them all back together. Their father has been missing for 7 years, their family has been suffering for even longer. Beth's mother's last words hint at a secret much bigger than she ever suspected: her father didn't disappear. Jeneva Rose is an expert at building tension and this book is full of it. Highly recommended!

What happens when you discover your parents are guilty of covering up a murder? This is the tale of three siblings who gather after thier mother's death. Upon going through old VHS tapes, they discover their parents may have had something to do with a missing girl from years ago. What do you do? Themes: family, loyalty, addiction, regret. I've loved everything Jeneva Rose has written and this one did not disappoint.

I binge read this book! Popcorn thriller at its best. It was so good. I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the E-ARC.

All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

If I am being completely honest, Jeneva's books are hit or miss for me (not in a bad way, just in a not-for-me way). Home is Where the Bodies Are was definitely a hit! I love a novel centered around family drama, and this pulled me in from the very beginning! I will say, I figured out who the killer was pretty early in the book (my criminal justice brain almost always does this lol), but the story was so intriguing that I didn't care. I needed to keep going to see what was going to happen next and how everything was going to turn out. It was also very obvious that this book was personal to her and that made it that much more enthralling. I can officially say this was my favorite of her books!

I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this book being set in a small town, as well as the multiple POVs provided. I read it in two sittings, my only gripe with the book is that I knew who the killer was the whole time. Maybe it's the fact that I've read hundreds of thriller mysteries, but I could see it coming from a mile away. However, I did still enjoy the story for what it was and it was very creepy and alluring. I liked all of the characters and found I was able to connect with them which is a big part of why I enjoyed this story.

Home is Where the Bodies are by Jeneva Rose is a fast-paced, twisty, and shocking thriller. It’s a REAL page turner with short chapters told from multiple points of view in first person. I’m not sure how a murder mystery can have so much heart, but Rose pulls it off.

After the mother of what used to be a normal family dies, she barely mutters her last words to her eldest daughter Beth. “You’re father didn’t disappear…don’t trust…” Estranged, dysfunctional siblings Nicole, the heroin addict, and Michael, the wealthy narcissist, come home to face each other for the first time in years. They are all full of anger, hurt and resentment. But none of them could have ever expected the many lies, deceit and secrets their parents hid from them. After watching the bloody VHS tape, all they want is the truth.

Rose plants vital clues and tidbits of truth in the story inviting you to join in the desperate and dangerous hunt, while the fear of the unknown creeps up inside of both you and the siblings.

In the end, Home is Where the Bodies are is about a parent’s love and protection for their children, no matter what the cost.

I highly recommend reading this book for yourself and prepare for a heartbreaking , shocking experience that pays off.

Fun fact: Jeneva Rose grew up in this very tiny 170 person town, it’s a real place!
Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This actually surprised me and I ended up having a good time. The twists were good and I really liked the main protagonists and their dynamics.

In the captivating narrative that unfolded before me, I found myself drawn into a world where every revelation shattered my preconceived notions, leaving me questioning the very foundation of the story. At first, the pace seemed leisurely, but as the plot thickened, it became evident that this was a deliberate choice by the author to meticulously lay the groundwork for the intricate web of secrets and lies that awaited.

The story's masterful manipulation of perception kept me constantly on edge. Just when I thought I had a handle on the truth, another twist would emerge, forcing me to reevaluate everything I thought I knew. The characters, too, proved to be unreliable narrators, blurring the line between protagonist and antagonist in a way that kept me guessing.

As the tension mounted, so did the stakes, culminating in a climax that was as shocking as it was satisfying. And yet, even in its resolution, the story left me with lingering questions, challenging me to revisit its intricacies long after the final page had been turned.

In this riveting journey through the depths of deceit and betrayal, every detail mattered, every revelation more astonishing than the last. It's a testament to the author's skill that even now, I find myself reflecting on the complexities of the story and the intricacies of its characters.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for the copy of HOME IS WHERE THE BODIES ARE. This one is out now.

I really enjoyed this one!! I was so sucked into this book and these characters I had a hard time putting it down. I loved the different POVs, I loved the setting and I had no idea the ending was going to end so hard. I highly recommend this one!