Jeneva Rose

"Home is Where The Bodies Are" was an incredibly enjoyable read for me. I strongly identified with the storyline, having grown up with two siblings in a small community similar to Allen's Grove. The experience of our father's passing significantly altered our family's dynamics, and like Beth, Nicole, and Michael, we uncovered long-held family secrets. Some secrets can be earth-shattering and challenging to reconcile.

This thrilling mystery skillfully weaves a narrative that tugs at the show more heartstrings of those who have a fondness for their childhood home yet also harbor a desire to escape. It's hard to fathom that a seemingly idyllic place could conceal such profound secrets. It might appear perfect as a child, but there are always hidden, dark truths waiting to be exposed. If you're lucky, you won't discover them until the innocence of childhood is gone.

I love this book because it's short and sweet! Jeneva Rose did an amazing job giving her characters the attention they deserved, and she dove right into the heart of the story. Plus, the gorgeous cover perfectly captures the essence of the story. This is definitely my favorite book by the author! BONUS: She’s one of the narrators!!!

To the author: I used to overlook acknowledgments, thinking they were boring. However, my perspective changed when I started listening to audiobooks. I've heard some very interesting and hilarious ones. They all get my attention now.

Thanks to the author and Blackstone Publishing for providing this audiobook through Libro.FM. All opinions are my own and left voluntarily.

#HomeIsWhereTheBodiesAre #JenevaRose show less

Holy fucking shit. This book was already a captivating read, but WOW, that ending left me completely stunned. I'd like to think I'm pretty good at unraveling mysteries, having grown up glued to crime shows since I could remember. Constant exposure to such narratives has sharpened my ability to conjure out of the box theories, but this conclusion? It took things to a whole new level. I gotta admit, I was kinda worried after seeing some reviews hinting the ending might suck, but for me, it was show more just brilliant.

-> SPOILERS AHEAD

My first guess was Sarah. I thought it might just be a basic murder story. But then Matthew came into the picture, and I was convinced it was him. I had all kinds of crazy ideas - maybe all three cops were involved, including Sarah's husband. And then there was my wildest theory the horrendous mother. (Sarah, seriously, she should have been killed off too, just saying.)
Discovering Anne's complicity with the note left me reeling. And Rebecca? Her role was unexpected, but looking back, it should've been obvious. Still, props to her for getting that bag.
In the end, I was thinking it'd be a 3.5-4 star read, but that ending? It bumped it straight up to a solid 5 stars. The way everything unfolded, especially Sarah confessing to Adam and sending him into a tailspin, added so much more depth to the story for me. Five stars, no doubt about it. show less

They are there to scatter her ashes, read the will, and go through the house. But in doing that last chore, they find something horrifying: a video tape of their parents discussing the disposal of a body.
Beth, the oldest of the three has stayed...and now she is alone with her dying mother. Just before she dies, her mother tells Beth something about Beth's brother and sister, who disappeared many years ago...she learns that they may not have disappeared forever. How can that be? Not long show more after Beth's mother takes her last breath, her long-gone siblings show up.

Michael, the youngest, hasn’t been home since their father disappeared seven years ago. In the meantime, he’s "outgrown" his sisters by moving away and distancing himself from all the family troubles, taking a high dollar job in San Jose, California... a long way, and as far as he could get from his family in Wisconsin. Nicole, the middle child, is basically an addict that has pretty much succeeded tuning out reality and any sense of responsibility, much to Beth’s disgust. These folks are not going to win the "Family of The Year" award.

Their mother’s death marks an ending for the family but it’s also a beginning, for the three siblings when they find a disturbing videotape when going through their parents’ belongings. The video is from 1999, and sheds suspicion on their father’s disappearance, and links it to a long-unsolved mystery from their neighborhood. Was it just a series of unfortunate circumstances that broke the family apart, or was it something much more sinister?

I don't believe it will take any mystery reader very long to know who the killer is. The chapters go back and forth between each of the siblings speaking. The three also take turns digging up the stories and all the long-hidden family secrets, which maybe were better off staying buried, while searching for their answers. What they do find is that answers are hard to come by...sometimes harder to believe...some should just never be spoken aloud...and it's better that some remain buried. show less

Likes & Dislikes About the Book:

I don’t know if I love crying from books or hate to cry from books. This one hit right in the feels that I was expecting, but also not. It was definitely something I knew would hit home from the second I picked it up, but more for the millennial nostalgia of it all. The music and movie references alone got me, but the feeling of wanting to go back and do a do-over, to fix the things I wish I knew back then in impossible ways today. Of course it’s a work of show more fiction, but that longing, I now realize, is something at least I’m not alone with. I guess even for a woman who seemingly has a life I want like Jeneva, the author has, she too felt this. Albeit it’s about the loss of her mother, whom she clearly had a far better relationship with than I could ever relate to, but the career path, love life, etc.

I can’t change the past. I can only live with the future I create from the lessons learned.

I’m very grateful I picked up this book and I have to start to learn how to be more grateful to the girl I was.

What was learned from reading this book?

It’s nice to know that I’m not alone in my feelings of wrestling with the past.

Favorite Quotes:

“The hardest things to admit are the things we have to admit to ourselves. I know now that I am the problem, but I also know I am the solution. There's still time for me to change, still time for me to make things better.”

“The plant and I have a lot in common, both a little rough around the edges with the inability to properly care for ourselves.”

“It’s odd that when we look back, the big moments are the little ones and the little moments are actually the big ones.”

“I’m like a jigsaw puzzle that someone got bored with and decided not to finish putting together.”

“What’s a Kardashian?” Wow, a world where no one knows what a Kardashian is. How refreshing.” show less