A spooky story about when demonic forces take over a suburban neighborhood. Amy and her friends, Liz, Melissa, and Jess, live in a typical suburban neighborhood. Most of their drama centers around catty moms, but for the most part life is not too crazy. All of that changes when construction on a she shed in Liz's backyard unleashes a demonic/ghostly spirit from the past. If that wasn't bad enough, it possesses Liz. Of course, at first her friends don't know what has happened. However, as Amy starts to work through the mystery, she becomes determined to save her friend and save her neighborhood.

I loved the premise of the story. It was spooky without being scary and I love the neighborhood moms.

As a Chicago suburban mom who grew up across the street from a “pump house” that was built over a pre-civil war graveyard where they literally removed the tombstones and left the bodies when the subdivision was built, this book was a must read.

Featuring a group of moms who accidentally summon a demon during the christening of their new movie night she shed and end up with one of their besties possessed, Suburban Hell is a hilarious look at the lengths moms go to to protect their friends and family.

Campy horror with a hysterically accurate look at suburban moms and the lengths we go to save our friends and family. This one is filled with non-stop action, so grab a tumbler of your favorite Trader Joes or Costco wine and hide out in your closet or she shed. Expect this to be your next book club pick that everyone will actually read and want to talk about. I cannot recommend this book enough and am excited to see what the author delivers next.

For fans of The ‘Burbs and Grady Hendrix.

Huge thank you to NetGalley, Putnam, and Maureen Kilmer for this advanced digital readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

#SuburbanHell #NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher of this novel for the E-Arc copy. I am rating this book based on my own personal opinion and was not given anything in return. I am not leaving a entire review because I read so many at a time that I physically cannot right now.

Absolutely mad. The novel escalated so fabulously after every beautiful sentence. Perfectly made with stunning characters, huge stakes, and a wonderful story.

A spooky story about when demonic forces take over a suburban neighborhood. Amy and her friends, Liz, Melissa, and Jess, live in a typical suburban neighorhood. Most of their drama centers around catty moms, but for the most part life is not too crazy. All of that changes when construction on a she shed in Liz's backyard unleashes a demonic/ghostly spirit from the past. If that wasn't bad enough, it possesses Liz. Of course, at first her friends don't know what has happened. However, as Amy starts to work through the mystery, she becomes determined to save her friend and save her neighborhood.

I was delighted by this book! It was spooky without being too scary and I thought it was such an interesting concept. It is definitely a 4.5/5 for me (still waiting until we can get those half stars on ratings!), and I probably will buy it when it comes out!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley
Wow this was a very different but fun read

The author in this comedy (with horror) writes a delightful page turner. It is about a group of chicago suburban ladies. Moms that gather for wine time discover a demon in their midsts - and all hell breaks loose in the suburbs! A funny book a twist on the horror genre - well worth picking up

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the digital review copy of hilarious and fun horror story.

I wanted to love this so much. The synopsis is amazing, the cover is even better, and I (mostly) loved My Best Friend's Exorcism so I was expecting great things. I don't doubt that there will be many that will absolutely eat this book up (it seems there already are from the reviews), but unfortunately it just fell very flat for me. I'm not gonna lie, it was a drag to get through. It's a comedic horror, and while there was comedy laced throughout, there was barely any horror whatsoever. There should have been more focus on interactions with Liz, the actual possessed one, and the backstory of the possession, than on less important aspects like Melissa's continuous inane refusal to consider what's going on with Liz to be supernatural based on her religious cult upbringing (especially because this seemed to have no real relevance on either the plot or Melissa's character in the end). I honestly didn't even understand how we got from Chapter 1 to Chapter 2 with Liz getting possessed in the first place and still don't. There was really no explanation, and I had to go back and reread the first chapter again to make sure I didn't miss anything (I didn't). I don't know... it just really kind of seemed like someone read My Best Friend's Exorcism and Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires and then tried to unsuccessfully combine them into one. Which is a shame, because it very well has the potential to have been 5 stars, but the plot would take a lot of reworking and rewriting.

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Living in the 'burbs should be relaxing. What's not to love - a nice home, a nice yard, good schools, good friends, and Mom's nights out. Let's have a She Shed they said! Wouldn't that be fun? Like a man cave but better! Throw in a not so friendly demonic force and you have yourself one fun and slightly horrific book! Think desperate housewives meets the Amityville horror.

This was a fun book. Liz, Jess, and Melissa, have a fun night full of drinks and She Shed plans when it all hits the fan the next day and I am not talking hangovers, although they have them as well! I'm talking Liz is not acting quite herself, in fact she is acting over the top and her demeanor is bizarre. Is it the horrific smell coming from her backyard or is she possessed?

So clever! I enjoyed this book. It was a nice change to read a not so serious but very entertaining book. The author delivered and I found this to be a quick and satisfying read. Plus, my fingers are crossed that maybe just maybe there may be another book.

Fun. Dark. Funny. Creepy.


Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Suburban Hell was a decent horror-comedy novel. It centers around a group of suburban moms who are left feeling bewildered as one of their own is possessed by a demon. The book is tongue in cheek and campy. It seemed like the author was a big horror movie fan and used a lot of familiar tropes for the story. I did find the use of demonic possession as an allegory for drug addiction a little heavy handed at times, but overall it was an enjoyable read.

Amy, Liz, Jess, and Melissa are all married moms living in a nice little neighborhood where everyone knows each other and their kids get to grow up together. At their monthly wine night at Liz's house, Liz unveils their new she-shed in her backyard... an idea they talked about at a previous get-together but didn't think would actually be built. Little do they know, the construction on the she-shed has unearthed something evil and sinister, and soon, Liz is not herself anymore. Creepy things start happening to Amy and her friends that cannot be explained - seriously going to stop using my Roomba for awhile.

Such a fun read! It's like Desperate Housewives meets My Best Friend's Exorcism. The ending was good too, and makes you wonder if there is more to come for these suburban moms. Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for an ARC in exchange fr any honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I LOVED this book! I live in Chicago so the description totally intrigued me and it was everything I hoped it was and more!

Thank you NetGalley, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, and Maureen Kilmer for an arc in exchange for an honest review! This was an easy read that’s definitely a good “guilty pleasure” book to pick up. I really enjoyed reading about the friendship between the main character and her female friends and I think that that was the best part of the story. It was also pretty funny and unique and would be a great read for the beach or when you need something more light-hearted.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free eARC copy of this novel.

This is a true popcorn novel with very little “literary” merit but absolutely a good way to sort of zone out and relax and recharge while you read. I loved that it centered female friendship and motherhood, and I enjoyed the scenes of rich planned community pta mom one upmanship. I didn’t love that the friend group felt largely undeveloped, and I didn’t think all the bits regarding the lead’s sister did anything to help the book— they felt like padding to lengthen the book, but that space could have been better used to develop the friends.

Also hate that every chapter early on ended with like a “but little did we know xyz” type sentence. I would have loved for a little more concern and questioning and even involvement of Emily and the other kids— like why is only ONE child affected? And what had been going on with Liz’s kids??? WAY more interested in that than in the dead sister stuff which just— would have been more at home in a more literary novel.

Overall a fun, easy, mindless read. It’s set up for a sequel, and I’ll probably check that out too when it comes out. Absolutely will read more from this author when I’m in the mood for popcorn, but I just kept wanting it to be a little more developed and polished. I’m optimistic about future books though!

This book wasn't bad, but it also wasn't the humorous horror I was looking forward to reading. I'm not sure if this is the fault of my own expectation or the way this seems to be marketed. Most of the humor here is more in the irony, rather than anything that would make you laugh out loud. Our main characters are your standard "I'm not like other moms, I'm a cool mom" suburban mothers, each clinging to who they were prior to suburbia heavily. Some of the plots feels jagged and detached, but it all comes together in the end, though, of course, the power of friendship.

This is definitely in the category of a beach read horror for me, a very quick read without heavy emotional baggage attached to it.

CAWPILE:
Characters: 7 | Atmosphere: 7 | Writing: 5 | Plot: 5 | Intrigue: 5 | Logic: 8 | Enjoyment: 5

Suburban Hell
By: Maureen Kilmer

Storygraph Rating: ★★★★☆
4.11 Stars

My Rating: ★★★★☆
4 Stars

Pub Date: 8•30•22

Thank you at #netgalley for the eARC and thank you #putnam for the gifted ARC!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Let's get this straight, anything compared to Grady Hendrix I will instantly be intrigued by! The whole Horror Comedy genre just gets me.

I love some of the one liners in this book and the witty banter. There were definitely some Midwest inside jokes in this one and they made me giggle!
I would say though this book feels a bit closer to the heavy side.

The characters were well written and had a bit of a bad moms vibe to them which I can appreciate as I personally am not the pta kind of mom.

I found the plot to really pull me in and want to keep reading on. For the most part this book had a great flow.

While there are definite nods to Hendrix's My Best Friend's Exorcism and The Southern Bookclubs Guide To Slaying Vampires, the author was really able to make this into their own story and add their own style.

If you like Grady Hendrix's writing I really do think you will enjoy this one and can't wait to see what Maureen Kilmer does next!

It all started with a She Shed. Who knew that the building of such a simple club house would be the cause of a demon possession and terror raining down on the neighborhood? Amy, Jess, Liz, and Melissa the best of friends. They come together against all odds to form a friend group that while not made up of the coolest people in the neighborhood, they are some of the funniest. Yet when Liz starts to act strangely and an odd smell permeates the neighborhood that seems to be coming from the hole dug in Liz's yard for the foundation of their new She Shed. Amy, Jess, and Melissa are swept up in odd happenings that can only mean one thing. Their friend Liz is not Liz, but who is she? More importantly what is she?

This book will sweep you up in an epic adventure to figure out what is really happening in neighborhood. There really can't be a demon possessing their friend can there? Yet why are appliances going crazy? Children and adults alike are having nightmares. And not just nightmares they are having the same nightmares. Overall this book is fun. I enjoyed the characters. I didn't really find it super scary. I feel like Liz as a demon could have been in the book quite a bit more. The supernatural activity is kind of minimalistic for as powerful of a spirt that is controlling Liz. If you are looking for a semi scary book then this one will be perfect. It is a fast read though and very smoothly written. So might be the perfect book to pick up during the scary season if your looking for something fast and fun.

Thank you so very much to Penguin Group Putnam and Netgalley for allowing me to read this title.

I was hoping for Grady Hendrix, and instead I got blah. I prefer my writing to be a little more witty and a little less reliant upon telling and suburban mom cliches. Like, I LOVE mom cliches, as I am a walking suburban mom cliche with my Rothy's and flavored sparkling water. But when I'm looking for satire, I want it to have zing and bite. Not enough zing in the first few chapters to keep me reading to the end.

Such a fun read! I am a huge "Housewives of ANYWHERE" fan and this book truly spoke to that part of me. I love the horror aspect of it, it made it so fun and different. I will definitely recommend this to so many types of readers.