The domestic thriller fad continues to thrive. I haven't particularly enjoyed anything in the subgenre for quite some time, but I try here and there, hoping to find another David Bell or Chevy Stevens.

I was attracted to Jeneva Rose's Home is Where the Bodies Are because of the VHS tape on the cover. Hey, I can be a cheap date.

The novel starts off strongly, with well-drawn characters and a reasonably compelling, if familiar, situation. Three estranged siblings meet when their mother dies in the old family home. The eldest, Beth, stayed home to care for Mom and works in a dreary factory in the small town they grew up in. Middle child Nicole has serious drug dependency problems. Michael left and found wealth as a lawyer.

Their father disappeared years ago in a mysterious way. A small neighbor child also disappeared a few years prior to that. These kind of books thrive on disappearances.

The sibs happen upon a VHS tape with some horrifying contents. It seems their parents had something to do with the missing little girl neighbor.

Stevie Wonder could have seen the guilty party a mile away. It was so blatantly obvious I though Rose was throwing a big red herring smokescreen to lure readers into anticipation of a different conclusion. No, this book isn't that deep.

An aspartame-like phony-sweet ending left me with a feeling of artificial satisfaction.

Predictability didn't prevent me from mildly enjoying Home is Where the Bodies Are. I still can't quite join in the orgiastic praise from Rose's contemporary thriller writers. One reviewer calls Jeneva Rose "The Queen of Twists". How many queens of twist do we need, for God's sake?

Rose succeeds at character development and a strong sense of atmosphere. This novel is also very nicely paced. She's less successful in plotting, originality, and plausibility. Like a cheap Chinese takeout meal, it was tasty, but I almost immediately felt hungry for something more substantial.

Written by Mark Sieber

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