Death can bring out many things. It is something we all know is coming but something that affects us once a loved one is gone. Sometimes it’s over what’s been left behind to loved ones, other times it’s the memories of them, but in some cases, the things brought out are much darker than anyone could anticipate.
Jeneva Rose’s Home Is Where the Bodies Are tells us the story of Beth, Nicole, and Michael, three estranged siblings who reunite after the death of their mother. Beth, who was with her mother when she passed, is left a strange and cryptic message she doesn’t know how to make sense of. The three siblings are left with a handful of items, including a set of VHS tapes that reveals a horrifying connection between their family and an unsolved murder that will have a ripple effect on them all.
There’s lots of nostalgia for the ‘90s kids out there, references to cd players and slang that might make some people cringe to remember, but also adds to the time period of the book as well. One flaw that the novel does suffer from is the slow pacing, the urgency of the mystery almost not as important as their own individual personal dramas clashing together. While these personal dramas are important to character development and can often lend themselves to the plot, in this case, it doesn’t work out so well. You’ll get one or two paragraphs of a character looking through old journals or watching old tapes to see if they can find anything more regarding the mystery, but then the rest of the chapter will go on about something more mundane and not relating to the plot at all.
Nicole and Michael are two of the more interesting characters in the book, their struggles and points of view the most compelling to read about through the book and the two characters who actually seem like they want to solve the mystery connected to their family. Beth, while seeming determined to solve the mystery, spends most of her chapters trying to impress an old highschool sweetheart who is connected to the murder. While she debates on telling him what she learned, she more often than not, spends more time lamenting on what could have been with him and hoping to win him back rather than what she can do to possibly solve the mystery and potentially bring him closure. When she’s not doing that, she spends much of her other chapters being judgemental, which may or may not be part of her character flaw.
The final twist is one that some may find refreshing and doesn’t fall into the now popular trope of “the love interest is the killer”. There are clues that hint at who the killer is, but they are subtle enough not to be too obvious and even if you’re just following the story along, it still comes as quite a surprise. Overall, this is a good read for anyone new to mystery novels and for anyone seeking a nostalgia trip back to the ‘90s.
Written by:
Lauren Lapinski
Information and Digital Services Assistant
Hoboken Library Staff Picks 