A review by ghostiegail
Home Is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose

emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

 
“No,” I lie again. I don’t know why I don’t just come out and tell them.


I don’t know why either, girlypop.

I honestly did not enjoy this book but by the time I realized it wasn’t for me, I was too far in to quit and decided to just power through. I’m new to mystery/thrillers in general and I don’t usually enjoy “unlikeable characters” so please take my review with a grain of salt — you may love this book, as the majority of the reviewers seemed to love it. But for me, this was a miss.

Home Is Where the Bodies Are is about three miserable siblings discovering their parents were also miserable and half-heartedly investigating a string of disappearances.

THE GOOD

★ I always appreciate a book set in the rural midwest, and I can see this setting really working for people that enjoy the trope of “small town struck by the horrors of a murder in their own backyard realize their tight-knit community isn’t as trustworthy as they once imagined.”

★ How could you not be drawn to a book with that cover?

THE BAD

★ The writing often drifted into this cheesy “chicken noodle soup for the soul” style that felt like it was trying too hard to create a quotable moment, but without the atmosphere and tension required to make it hit home.

”The moments that change us forever always feel recent, because we carry them with us whether we want to or not.”


★ This leaned more mystery/thriller than horror for me, and while it was definitely mysterious, it didn’t feel very thrilling/suspenseful for me. The characters seemed to only have a vague interest in solving the mystery, so as a reader I didn’t care either. They seek out information on and off, but also blatantly ignore/conceal evidence that might be helpful. Spoiler Alert: 
this book could have ended at 20% if Beth had just opened the lockbox and read the letter that explained, quite literally, every detail of the mystery.


★ This lack of tension could be made up for with a strong cast of characters, but the characters felt paper-thin — rich asshole brother, hard-working but miserable sister, drug-addict creative sister. I didn’t feel like we got much characterization beyond that. Nicole, the middle child, goes through the most character development, but I wish the author provided a more nuanced take on her journey with addiction. In the end, 
she overcomes adversity by realizing how precious life is — while I’m glad she gets her happy ending, I wish it was less straightforward. Addiction is a disease and healing is not linear, so this ending was overly simplistic for me.

 
★ This is more of a personal preference, but I wish this book was written from the mother’s perspective. The glimpses we get into her mind were the best part of the book for me, and it’s fascinating to watch someone’s vision of their perfect life be upended. What went through her mind the night of the VHS tape? How did her perception of her own family change as the story developed?

★ Re: the Ending
I’m glad that everyone got their happily ever after, but I don’t love that the big moral of the story is that their parents weren’t bad people, they were just trying to protect the ones they love (according to Beth, at least). To me, the moral of the story is that if your child commits a horrible crime, you should get them the psychiatric help they need instead of hiding the body and rewarding them with a computer— but hey, that’s just me.


For me, this book was a 2-2.5 star read because I didn’t connect with the characters, I didn’t feel any tension/suspense, and I thought the mystery itself wasn’t that engaging — but I think if you’re looking for a bingeable popcorn thriller, you might enjoy this.