Member Reviews
This was the first book by Jeneva Rose I have ever read, but I can assure you now, it won't be my last. I found this novel to be all the things i wanted in a book. it was fast paced, yet slow to reveal its secrets. It was thrilling and at the same time, it was terrifying. The plot itself was very easy to follow, and the writing style, which jumped between multiple characters points of views worked well for the story. there are times formatting like that doesn't work, this wasn't one of those times. Overall, I found this book to be an excellently written piece of work and i cannot wait to delve more into the world of Jeneva Rose.
As always i am thankful to receive any book ahead of time, but i will always give my honest opinion. This book just didn't hit the mark for me. A few weeks after I finished it, I had to go back and read the synopsis because I'd completely forgotten what it was about.
The cover gets a 10/10...probably my favorite one of the year! I also think this book would be really good for people who don't read a ton of thrillers, and even though it wasn't a 4 or 5 star for me, I'd still absolutely broadly recommend it.
Three estranged siblings come together to mourn the death of their mother, who left each of them a separate piece of her estate and belongings. After going through their mother's belongings, they find old vsh tapes of family recordings. One tape revealed a huge secret that change their family forever. Navigating through old and new family drama, they begin to slowly uncover the truth behind the tape and their mother's last words before her death.
Book Review📚
Home is Where the Bodies are by @jenevaroseauthor 🩸🥃🏚️🏃♂️☕️📰🚨📓
This is my second book I’ve read by author and I absolutely LOVE her writing style. She give so much detail I pictured this entire book in my head and definitely has me watching my back! This mystery starts after three siblings are left with their mother’s will and lots of boxes to go through including VHS home video tapes. They start reminiscing in their childhood through the video when they watch a clip they never seen before. With very little information they are on a mission to discover happened the summer of 1999. This book contains many twists and turns, you’ll never see it coming🙊 I highly recommend reading this book if you are in mood for a good mystery 🙌🏼
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Thank you @netgalley @jenevaroseauthor #homeiswherethebodiesare #netgalley
I have heard so many good things about this book I knew I had to read it for myself.
A family thriller with a bit of mystery. One sibling who is the backbone of the family who is there right up till her mom passes away. Another sister who is just wanting to get her next fix and forget about everything. And a brother who has done so well. Much better than the other two but yet the black sheep of family. A mom who can’t take a secret to the grave. One that has plagued her for many years but she kept to protect the family.
My first Jeneva Rose but not my last. If you like a thriller/ mystery give this a try and see what you think.
Genre-bending murder mystery with 90's nostalgia, strained family dynamics, and a whole lotta complicated grief.
Thoughts: I wasn't expecting this one! I'm not a huge fan of Colleen Hoover but one thing I liked about Verity was that it didn't fit into just one genre, and Jeneva Rose's Home Is Where the Bodies Are follows in those footsteps. Part murder-mystery, part tale of grieving family with lots of feelings, and a hint of romance, HIWTBA is a realistically-written fast read with well-timed nostalgic flashbacks and spot-on explanations of complicated grief. Unfortunately, I did find the chemistry between Beth and Lucas a bit lacking, and attentive readers will probably figure out the whodunnit twist pretty early on, but I did enjoy the ride even if it was a little predictable at times. And I'm a stickler for details (especially those meant to transport me back to my childhood), so it bothered me that there's a flashback scene early on where they are listening to "Higher" by Creed in June 1999 when that song didn't debut until August 1999. One of the fact-checkers on the editorial team should've caught that. And that scene had too many 90's throwbacks, in my opinion. But I loved how Rose portrayed each character's complicated grief and how it played out on the page. Would definitely recommend to mystery fans, and I thought the author's flashbacks were incorporated into the plot better than other mystery thriller writers known for their timeline jumps, such as Megan Miranda.
**Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.**
Three siblings are reunited under sad circumstances, the passing of their mother. There's been no connection between them for years and there's no love lost between them. Very few kind words are shared because they all like to point fingers at each other for how their lives evolved. It was a perfect, loving family living in a small idyllic town until there was an incident and life was never the same.
What these siblings didn't know was how involved their parents were: they just knew something was off.
As they clean out the house they discover a long hidden VCR tape that results in a lot of questions. Certainly what they saw on this tape wasn't true and they tried very hard to prove that.
The author spotlights family ties, a parent's unconditional love, addiction, regrets, jealousy.... all here in this tiny little town............along with a few buried bodies.
A quick, entertaining read
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book.
Wow, Jeneva Rose has done it again! She writes such intriguing characters who all have something to hide, which creates a truly sinister environment for the characters and the events taking place. The twists are good, but the character unraveling (much more creative than exposition that just develops a character) is part of what makes the story so enticing and chilling. Such a great read!
Jeneva Rose’s newest has a central mystery, but what really propels the story is the relationship between three estranged siblings after the passing of their mother. Grief plays a huge part in the story, especially since their father left them without a trace many years prior.
The story is told from three points of view, but not in a confusing way. There are hints of nostalgia for the VHS generation, especially since it is a video cassette that happens to uncover some dark family secrets. The chapters are shorter, which keeps the pacing tight throughout. The half way point is where it got really exciting for me.
All in all, this is an easy, if a little predictable thriller that features a decades old murder, family strife, and making peace with your past.
I really enjoyed this! I wouldn’t call it a thriller necessarily but a domestic mystery. Some may disagree with me on that and that’s okay but that’s how it felt to me and I loved it.
3 estranged adult siblings are reunited after going their own ways after their father up and left their family without any clues or reasons why. Brought together after the death of their mother, they must sort through her belongings and prepare for a funeral to say their goodbyes. As they dig through their mother’s belongings they find their well documented childhoods in a series of VHS tapes. One tape, dated Summer 1999 shows their father covered in blood, and their mother attempting to help him dispose of the body. Now the siblings must decide if they want to pursue the truth and expose the sinister story behind the tape.
This story is revealed in a fun, multiple POV/dual time line way, which I so enjoy. I love that style of writing and I love a slow burn. I also enjoy the late 90s nostalgia!
Recommend this book if you love Jeneva or if you just love a good mystery!
Thank you to @bibliolifestyle and @blackstonepublishing for the gorgeous finished copy to review.
I am a huge fan of Jeneva Rose and I absolutely loved this book! It was a perfect combo of family drama, secrets, and murder and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this one. It was twisty and a perfect combination of slow build and suspense, that culminated in a tense ending that was wild! If you haven’t read this one or her books yet, you need to fix that now.
This was one of Jeneva's best written books. She did a great job of hooking in to the grief that Beth experienced when her mom died. I knew that the siblings all had differences with each other, which really helped muddle up all their feelings.
This title wasn’t a favorite of mine but I know a lot of people will love it. I can confidently say I will be recommending this title to customers. Thank you to MetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I found this piece to be exceptionally well-crafted, and I'm eagerly anticipating the opportunity to delve into more works by this author. Given its potential popularity among our library patrons, we're certainly looking forward to adding it to our collection
Another fun Jeneva Rose thriller! The audio for this one was great. A really messy family drama / thriller mash up.
Home is Where the Bodies Are is a domestic thriller that begins when three siblings come together following the death of their mother. Beth, the caretaker, Nicole, the addict, and Michael, the one who has it all, have the task of getting all of the family affairs in order. While going through the belongings in the family home, they come across an incriminating videotape involving a missing girl. This makes them question everything they’ve known as they continue to uncover even more secrets.
It was a book full of suspense and kept me engaged. It was definitely one of those “just one more chapter” type of reads 😊. I like how the book was written from multiple points of view. The book deals with topics such as grief and addiction.
If you enjoy a thriller and some family drama then this book is for you!
Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the digital ARC.
This one seemed out of character for the author. None of the characters were likable and I figured out who did it pretty early in the book.
Thank you, partner @Bibliolifestyle, @BlackstonePublishing, @NetGalley & @JenevaRoseAuthor for gifted ARC & HC.
Jeneva Rose is an auto-buy/read author for me and, as always, she delivered on another amazing thriller!
Beth, Michael & Nicole have gathered together to mourn the death of their recently deceased mother & to go through her home and wrap up her Estate. The siblings have been estranged for years & none hold as big of a chip on their shoulder as Beth, who is the sibling her stayed with their month while she was sick & present until her dying breath. It is seconds before that dying breath when her mother tells Beth their dad didn’t disappear and “don’t trust…..” She is unable to get the rest of that sentence out before she passes & Beth is left wondering who or what not to trust. Upon going through the home, the siblings find old VHS tapes & the very first one they watch shows their mother & father seemingly covering up the death of a young girl who went missing when they were young. But how did she die? Who killed her? What happened to her body since she was never found? Just remember the title of the book!
This story is told from multiple POVs of each sibling, plus their mother. There were very tense family dynamics throughout & TONS of secrets. I did know who the ultimate “bad guy” was from close to the beginning, but I still enjoyed the story & how it played out. These siblings are super dysfunctional, so go ahead & grab your popcorn just for that drama, alone! With the quick pace & NEED of finding out what happened to Emma & their dad, you’ll definitely not be disappointed in adding this book to your TBR!
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Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Home is Where the Bodies Are is definitely something I could see adapted into a TV series. It's a fantastic blend of mystery and thriller, and incredible character work that is the hallmark of longform storytelling.
The book follows three siblings that return to their hometown upon the death of their mother. However, secrets and bodies have been buried that start to unearth, and it shakes this family to their core. Each chapter is written in the first person perspective of the different family members, jumping in time as well, between the present day, and to the POV of their mother, in the past. This really allowed me to feel like I was getting inside the mind of these siblings, and it helps to paint personal stakes across everything happening.
As the story goes on, light is shed and secrets are revealed, and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I loved the jumps back and forth in time. Jeneva Rose really gets to the heart and trauma of these characters. I cant wait to add a physical copy to my collection.
The first novel by Jeneva Rose I have read, and what a story to jump into! I got startlement, a series of BIG shocks, an unexpected ending! Needless to say: can't-stop-reading! If that spooky title doesn't entice, what can I say? Prepare yourself with an X-Files "Trust No One" mindset, because believe me, you are going to need it. This story has more ups and downs than a mountain range, and author Jeneva Rose will keep you restrained in your position and your eyes wide open and heart in your throat. This is stay-up-all-night reading right here!