Home is where the Bodies are
I got this book as part of a buy one get one free promotion on Audible, and I’m not even sure why I picked this book anymore. but seeing as how its in my library and I had nothing better to listen to, I decided to start it. I think it was recommended to me by some algorithm becuase I was on an Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler kick at the time.
This is one of those slice of life mystery novels. The story starts with the protagonist’s mom having just passed away and some cryptic message or another was given to her. The slice of life is very strong in this novel as the life of small town america is depicted in an extremely vivid manner.
The mystery is primarily around the disappearance of the protagonist’s Dad and how its affected everything about the family. From the mother’s gradual withdrawal from life, and how the protagonists’s own life fell apart and the lives of her siblings….
In any case, the mystery is well presented, and although most readers will have solved it by about the 80% mark (or even earlier), the clues are all well presented and the ending is documented clearly (so no, a-ha, gotcha moments).
The writing is quite strong as well, the mystery is probably not the main focus of the book, as I believe the slice of life montage you see in a broken family’s interaction takes much more focus. Its also reasonably interesting as I found myself invested in the family and how each of them processes the loss of their mother and everything it means for them.
Recommended for mystery lovers as well as folks who love small time village life in modern America.