Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

I was due for a good thriller - and the availability of this audiobook, allowed me to find Jeneva Rose’s Home is Where the Bodies Are when I was looking for an audio book. Cassandra Campbell, Brittany Pressley, Andrew Eiden, and January LaVoy bring each of the characters to life in this well crafted mystery thriller. The book begins with Beth who is at her mother’s side as she dies. She contacts her sibling Nicole, who has suffered much from addiction and Michael who hasn’t been home since their father mysteriously left years before. Characterized by anger and angst - the sibling relationship is a difficult one as they try to accomplish their mother’s wishes and lay her to rest. An unexpected discovery as they are going through the house creates even more tension. Could their parents have been involved in a murder?

The setting here for me is in many ways the star of this book. A house sort of isolated in the woods at the edge of a small town - the kind that kids want to escape when growing up. Also the one to which many return. Beth feels stuck in the house, and it becomes a chess piece between her and her brother. The woods provide mystery that increases the suspense. The oppression of the setting is palpable. The conflict among the siblings is as well. It’s fascinating to me the way “typical” sibling rivalry is magnified as the novel progresses. Rose expertly layers on the conflicts - often through arguments. This slow release of detail also enhances the suspense. I love when I am kept guessing and the twist and turns the plot takes.

Don’t we all hope that we will never have to figure out if our parents have committed murder? But don’t we all deal with sibling issues in one way or another? The groundedness here makes this suspenseful thriller thoughtful as well as entertaining and exciting. Jeneva Rose’s Home is Where the Bodies Are balances these in an interesting way. You won’t regret spending some time with this family! I didn’t.