We follow the Somerset family as they’re embarking on a summer roadtrip to go to an amusement park in Florida. Nick (dad), Piper, Leo, Sophie, (kids) and Leigh - the mother and our narrator.
While driving through Indiana, the Somerset’s stumble upon a dilapidated home with a strange past. As soon as they leave to continue on their journey, paranormal happenings occur.
A haunted Cracker Barrel, a locket that keeps reappearing, shadow figures and out of nowhere storms… this family can’t catch a break. All they want is to spend some quality time together and make memories, but the ghosts from the past have other ideas.
This was fun, cute, fast paced - a fun summer read! I will always pick up anything Maureen Kilmer writes because I know her female leads will always be strong and the escapism at max capacity. If you need a ghost story with heart, read this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All of these thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishers for approving me to read this book!
This is the second advanced copy I’ve received from this author and they never disappoint. I will be reading everything she writes.

Maureen Kilmer is BACK and Lampoonier than EVER!

Nightmare of a Trip delivers exactly what I have come to love from Maureen Kilmer, a campy good time! This story follows a family traversing the US to make it to an amusement park to experience the family vacation of a lifetime. However, things take a turn for the ghostly (mostly). In classic National Lampoon-style, hijinks ensue and the ghosts are campy. Leigh and the family are just beyond realistic in my mind, which I think speaks to the excellent writing talent of Maureen Kilmer.

I was hooked on this story from the very first chapter. This played out exactly like a movie in my mind. Leigh is a fascinating main character. She doesn't have to be liked by readers in my opinion. She felt like someone I knew and honestly, like someone I would be friends with. However, I could see how some readers might not like her. She can be difficult and her inability at times to communicate could be frustrating. BUT she was still just so much fun to read her perspective. It kept me hooked and her wit made me laugh.

I think one of my favorite parts of any Maureen Kilmer novel is the ending. I know this sounds cliche, however, her endings are such heartfelt and heartwarming moments, that you have to love them. They always make me feel full of emotions and every once in a while I might shed a tear. I won't give any more details because I don't want to spoil anything, but the endings are so WORTH THE READ!

Fans of Maureen Kilmer are going to love this latest novel, I certainly did. This is also perfect for fans of Grady Hendrix and Darcy Coates!

Nightmare of a Trip is a laugh out loud, creepy, family thriller. But don't most family trips end this way?? LOL!
I read this is one sitting and couldn't put it down. The Somerset family sets out for their family trip from Minnesota to Florida, 5 of them stuck in the family car mostly against their will! What could possibly go wrong? When they stumble unexpectedly upon an abandoned farm house somewhere in Indiana, things get weird.. and spookily eerie! A great summer read that might make you question that upcoming family trip you've already planned! LOL!

Thank you Net Galley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 rounded up to 4.

Think national lampoons vacation but add creepy house and ghost.

The family took off on a road trip that they thought would be a family bounding experience and they defiantly got family bonding time!

This was fun easy to read and entertaining

This was one of the most interesting and chaotic books I’ve read! From creepy side characters to literal Bates Motel moments. Maureen certainly knows how to make me laugh. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my Arc!

As someone who just came back from a family road trip (yup, through the Midwest to Smoky Mountains 🥴) I felt like I was on the road with the Somerset Family 😂 (I experienced the same typical thoughts/fears/parenting minus the paranormal and "souvenirs")
This Mid Upper-class (is that still a thing in this economy?) family from Milwaukee WI brave the attempt to travel to Orlando FL (no easy feat with a teen, tween, and young kid) The Somersets make frequent stops to rest, encountering an abandoned home after almost running over a local child, a motel [with a special guest that will take a tooth to make a new person] a not so normal Waterpark .... and a few other eerie stops along the way. Not quite the ending I expected (the fact that the ride home/destination was uneventful) still a fun quick read!!!!

Thanks to Netgalley and Putnam for the pre-release copy of Nightmare of a Trip! My honest thoughts are to follow.

Maureen Kilmer's Suburban Hell was a highlight of my 2022 reading, and even though I somehow completely missed that she had a 2023 release with Hex Education, I'll definitely be getting my hands on a copy of that to catch up on.

I really loved Suburban Hell, so I was super-excited about Nightmare of a Trip. Unfortunately, I didn't love it. Did I enjoy it? Sure, but it just didn't have the same pacing excellence, lacked the strong character relationships, and had a very meh ending in comparison to Suburban Hell. I feel like the story struggled with some repetition (that I think was supposed to help build tension but didn't really accomplish that successfully).

I think my biggest issue was that it felt like we really just got a few fun ideas for horror movie scenes and then the story in between was "how can we get to those moments."

I still enjoyed it, and will definitely still pick up Hex Education to catch up (and read whatever her next release is), but this one just didn't nail it for me.

3.5 stars, rounded to 3. I'd still recommend it for Kilmer fans and fans of horror. It wasn't a bad read at all, just not as WOW after Suburban Hell set such a high bar.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for an advanced copy of Nightmare of a Trip!

Leigh and her husband Nick are taking their kids on the road trip of a lifetime - from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Orlando, Florida. Things take a supernatural turn when they stumble upon a burned-down farmhouse in Indiana, and "accidentally" acquire a haunted locket.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It had the charm of the National Lampoon Vacation series, while having an ominous, creepy undertone of a supernatural haunting, causing lots of bizarre drama during the road trip. This was definitely more of a cozy horror/mystery, perfect for a summer vacation read. Nothing too tense, but it came together well and had a sweet little (still kind of creepy) ending. The love and support of a family, even when you're struggling, was also a positive, uplifting message.

I think the best part about this novel for me was the good 'ol Midwest road trip tropes! I grew up in a suburb of Milwaukee, so all of the Wisconsin references were on point. It was nostalgic and unlocked a lot of core childhood memories for me. A lot of the places mentioned and certain experiences (mainly the Cracker Barrel and the car porta potty) were 100% accurate (minus the ghosts) to my own experiences going on family road trips. It was fun to read, and fun to reminisce about my childhood.

Thanks to Netgalley & PENGUIN GROUP- Putnam for this E-ARC! So good! Loved the road-trip theme & all the spooky fall vibes. Really enjoyed her last book, so I knew I would love this one!

Nightmare of a Trip by Maureen Kilmer is an engaging read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I was thrilled to receive an advance copy of this book, especially since I loved Kilmer's previous work, Suburban Hell. Although Suburban Hell remains my favorite, I found Nightmare of a Trip to be equally captivating and entertaining.

The Somersets are traveling over a thousand miles for a National Lampoon's type family vacation - intentionally! Except they encounter things the Griswolds never had to deal with: particularly the ghosts, visions, and unexpected pregnancy.

Leigh didn't really want to go to Magic Land by way of car, but her husband convinced her it would be an amazing way to bond as a family before their eldest daughter went to college. A bad tire forces the family off the meticulously planned route, and after they were certain they did not, in fact, hit a child, they came across the charred remains of a home. After their middle son finds a locket and takes it, the ghostly activity begins.

I really enjoyed this book! Very fun and different, it felt like I was reading a Mary Downing Hahn ghost story for moms. The creepy factor wasn't over the top, nor were the horror descriptions. Some language and references to drinking, but for the most part it is more cozy mystery as compared to full-on thriller. I loved how unique this story was - I've never really read anything like it. I will definitely be watching Maureen Kilmer for future books while I backtrack and read her previous two novels.

Nightmare of a Trip by Maureen Kilmer was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. I had never read this author before and I will read more of her if the opportunity arises. The ad for this book reads "A horror-tinged National Lampoon’s This is one family getaway they’ll never forget." While kind of correct, in actuality it is nowhere near either extreme, in that there is not that much horror involved and not that much crazy shenanigans that a National Lampoon move would entail. If you, or someone you buy gifts for likes a light-hearted family story of a road trip, give this book a read.

3 Stars

Nightmare of a Trip blends a family vacation road trip filled with catastrophes and a haunting horror story. The Somersets are road-tripping from Milwaukee to Orlando. They are not long into the trip when disaster strikes and now it seems that they have taken on an unexpected guest on their trip. Weird and spooky things keep happening and they all seem to be connected to the burned farm house that they stumbled upon. I loved the mix of a normal family road trip filled with travel destinations with the creepy tethering of the Somerset family to the farm house and the family that once lived there. It is a great contrast. I wanted to ghost story to be a little clearer. While then ending pulls everything together, I wanted the two families connections to be flushed out more. Overall this is an entertaining story and a fun read.

Thank you G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

This was a super fun read - like a netflix series to binge. Maureen Kilmer wrote a horror - lite or horror-cosy story!

Leigh agrees on a roadtrip with her family to visit the coveted Disney-like parks in Florida. The Somerset family has it all planned out - different gifts for all three kids as each state is entered and a few overnights on the way. But an accident causes an experience with an abandoned farmhouse that leads Leigh to believe the trip is cursed.

Join Leigh as she deals with true terror - but is it the devil and ghosts or the waterparks, the Cracker Barrel and countless hours stuck in a car with her family!
#penguingroup #maureenkilmer #nightmareofatrip

Rating 3.5

This book had so much potential to be better than it was. The plot went back and forth between being interesting and pointless and boring. I didn't care much about the characters. I do like the writing though and I plan on continuing reading every book by this author.

Nightmare of a Trip follows the Somerset family as they go on a vacation from the Midwest to Orlando, Florida but what starts out as family fun quickly turns into a vacation from hell when things start going awry. Will they be able to make the most of it or will their haunted vacation be the best of them?

I thought this was a fun book. I think my expectations were a little high because of how much I loved Suburban Hell by this author. I think this book struggles to know what story it wants to tell so it’s just telling all of them at the same time.

There are a lot of things going on in this book. It wants to be a humorous vacation gone wrong book while also being a haunted road trip book while being a quick read and all those things just don’t mesh well. The pacing is a little strange at times because it felt like a lot of rushing from point to point.

I did enjoy the family dynamics. Reading this while my own kids were screaming around the house as background noise really added to the atmosphere of the story.

This is a strong three star book for me. While I didn’t like it as much as this author’s horror debut, I enjoyed my time reading it. I think it was a fun time, just a little muddy at times.

Fun read but overall disappointing. I found the first half to be really fun and humorous and then the book lost me in the last half. I would still recommend giving this book a try to see if you like it!

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook.
I have read this authors two other books. This book had some interesting scenes in it but it just didn't grasp me in the end. It was pretty cheesy and I just didn't feel it.

I think about Suburban Hell a lot. I read it towards the end of last summer and it was fun, cute, and hit all the right female-friendship notes. I hoped to be as pleased with Nightmare of a Trip, especially since it takes place in summer. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much. I have yet to read Kilmer's 2nd novel. I'm interested to see where it lands for me.

Leigh and her husband and two children are taking a road trip to Florida this summer. Leigh is not a road trip kind of gal, but what's the harm in trying something new, right? Welp. What starts as a comedy of errors morphs into a sweet (and mildly creepy) story of motherly love and keeping those things we love close. And ghosts. Maybe.

The pros:
The Somerset family dynamics were fun, believable, and refreshing
The humor was on point
There were a couple of genuinely creepy moments

The con:
The tone change in the last 3rd