This horror book seemed to geared towards young adults and paid dues to 80s horror movies. In the vain of Halloween, the book follows Amy on an evening babysitting for Mira and Ben. With a recent uptick in home break-ins in the neighborhood Amy is a little nervous. When things spiral she has to do all she can to protect the kids. I felt the book was a bit predictable. I liked the format of the book with the bouncing back and forth of timelines. Overall good debut but adults may be a little bored reading it.

This book is such a gift, i felt like i was back in time a teenager myself. Very gripping, suspenseful plot! I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys nostalgia and twists! Thank you to NetGalley!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for this ARC!

I thought this was a wonderful debut novel and I enjoyed a lot of the themes in the book. The setting during the 90s and the main characters love of horror movies drew me into the story. I also enjoyed Amy’s mentions of fear and anxiety throughout the book, it felt real and authentic.

All and all I’d say this was a good thriller, but like Amy who watched too many horror movies, I feel like I’ve read too many thrillers. I felt myself growing bored at times and it felt like the story didn’t have enough substance to keep me fully invested. I do think Midnight on Beacon Street was a solid debut and new fans of thrillers will definitely enjoy this one.

Calling this a thriller is a crime against the genre.

This is easily the most boring "thriller" I've ever read. Amy is a babysitter who spends most days warding off panic attacks. When a babysitting job goes wrong, it's up to her to protect the kids.

The characters are fine, none are particularly memorable, yet they didn't inspire loathing hate.

The time jumps were all over the place and not in a good way. We would get Amy's perspective, one of the kids (Ben) perspective, and Amy's back when she was a kid. There's no rhyme or reason to the jumps. The chapters about Amy's past could have been cut out and wouldn't have changed a thing. Amy and Ben's switching wasn't awful, but Ben's POV added little to the story. I think it was to showcase how alike he was to Amy, but I didn't care for his inner monologue since it didn't push the story. Also, we kept going back and forth a few hours in the timeline. It didn't make sense.

The "thrilling" part promised in the summary? Doesn't happen til after the 80% mark. It took up less than twenty pages and was anticlimactic to boot. Thank goodness this book was under three hundred pages, or else I'd be more upset about my time wasted.

Save your time and money. There are better thrillers that center around 90s horror, I'm sure.

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks, for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc! I first stumbled upon this title watching some of my favorite YouTubers talking about their most anticipated reads of 2024. It piqued my interest almost instantly, Nevermind the beautiful cover.

This was an ode to 90’s horror. 90’s VHS horror, and it is written in different time lines which adds to its charm. The story felt clunky at first, I was slightly confused but it ended on a high note. As high as one can be for this genre anyway.

I loved this! Strong 90’s vibes, that as a millennial I really enjoyed. Loved the scary movie references. This book also talks about anxiety and I think that’s pretty cool to have in a scary book. As someone with anxiety, I appreciate having a main character who deals with/knows what it’s like. I will be looking for more work by this author!

Midnight on Beacon Street caught me right from the start when we opened with a little boy and a dead body. The story is told in different POVs, which I enjoyed, and a couple of different timelines. In the current timeline, we are going backward starting from the body and working our way to how the night started. That was an interesting way to tell the story one that really made me pay attention to anything I thought could clue me into who the body was and what happened.

The story took some twists and turns and kept me on the edge of my seat and was fast-paced. I loved the horror movie/90's feel, and will read more by this author in the future.

Midnight on Beacon Street is the kind of book you keep on reading because you can smell blood in the air and you need to know who it belongs to.
I appreciate the author's development of this young characters. He does a good job of ratcheting up the suspense.
Now for my main problem with Midnight on Beacon Street. Verona writes the story non-chronologically, jumping around through the events of the day, then to 6 years into Amy's past. Having the book begin in the midst of the climax of the action is actually a device I really like, but using that device continuously through the book was jolting and confusing at times. I understand the author's need to flesh out her characters, but while she succeeded on that front, these interruptions in the story also succeeded at pulling me out of the story repeatedly.
All this said, I did enjoy the end of the story, and many of the bits in between, I just wish they had been written in some kind of order.

"A suspenseful and entertaining debut thriller - and love letter to vintage horror movies - in which a teenager must overcome her own anxiety to protect the two children she's babysitting when strangers come knocking at the door.

October 1993. One night. One house. One dead body.

When single mom Eleanor Mazinski goes out a for a much-needed date night, she leaves her two young children - sweet, innocent six-year-old Ben and precocious, defiant twelve-year-old Mira - in the capable hands of their sitter, Amy. The quiet seventeen-year-old is good at looking after children, despite her anxiety disorder. She also loves movies, especially horror flicks. Amy likes their predictability; it calms the panic that threatens to overwhelm her.

The evening starts out normally enough, with games, pizza, and dancing. But as darkness falls, events in this quaint suburban New Jersey house take a terrifying turn - unexpected visitors at the door, mysterious phone calls, and by midnight, little Ben is in the kitchen standing in a pool of blood, with a dead body at his feet.

In this dazzling debut novel, Emily Ruth Verona moves back and forth in time, ratcheting up suspense and tension on every page. Chock-full of nods to classic horror films of the seventies and eighties, Midnight on Beacon Street is a gripping thriller full of electrifying twists and a heartwarming tale of fear and devotion that explores our terrors and the lengths we'll go to keep our loved ones safe."

I agree, there's something calming about horror films, but don't expect this book to calm you.

An entertaining debut novel. I liked the references to 80's horror films and tone, but the story never fully came together for me. I would definitely check out any future books by Verona.

First, I really love this cover and thought the book sounded so interesting. It was good, but not great. I think the writing could have built up more suspense and character development. I think people will enjoy it. I liked the plot twist at the end- lots of twists and turns . 3 1/2 stars for me.

I mostly enjoyed this but still have my issues. It starts out at the end, which I liked, but then is non-linear, which some times worked and sometimes interrupted the flow and tension. Although this is a nod to 80s and 90s horror movies, it doesn’t exactly live up to its inspiration. There were almost too many references and discussion of horror flicks as well. There were some twists that seemed good but the didn’t really pay off. Also the big reveal left me a bit confused. Overall, not bad but not great - for me.

Emily Ruth Verona's debut, Midnight on Beacon Street, isn't just a thriller; it's a love letter to the golden age of horror movies, wrapped in a heart-pounding, modern-day package.

Verona masterfully captures the essence of classic slasher flicks, weaving in nods to iconic villains and tropes without feeling derivative. The setting, a sleepy suburban street cloaked in the shadows of a dark history, pulsates with an eerie familiarity that draws you in, daring you to peek around the next corner.

Protagonist Amy, a horror movie-obsessed teenager entrusted with babysitting two young siblings, is a relatable and compelling heroine. Her anxieties and vulnerabilities become the audience's own, making the escalating terror all the more visceral. Verona's tight pacing keeps the adrenaline pumping, and the short chapters, punctuated by flashbacks that reveal a chilling backstory, propel you through the story with breakneck speed.

But Midnight on Beacon Street isn't just about jump scares and gore. It's a story about overcoming fear, facing your demons, and the lengths we'll go to protect those we love. Verona explores themes of family, trust, and the resilience of the human spirit, adding depth and emotional weight to the thrilling narrative.

The twists and turns are masterfully executed, keeping you guessing until the final, satisfyingly chilling conclusion. Verona's writing is sharp and evocative, bringing the characters and setting to life with vivid detail.

Highly recommended for fans of:

80s slasher movies
Stephen King
Riley Sager
Lauren Oliver
Midnight on Beacon Street is a must-read for anyone who craves a spine-tingling thrill ride with a heart. It's a modern horror masterpiece that will leave you both terrified and wanting more.

P.S. Don't forget to turn off the lights before diving in!

The plot summary and glorious 90s cover drew me in (nostalgia!!!), but the writing simply didn’t work for me. I hung in there through about 20%, but found myself mostly bored. Unfortunately, I didn’t finish this one as it didn’t catch my attention.

This was a suspense with such a great build up. Set in 1993, we get the horror film vibe of what’s going to happen with to the babysitter. We see some flashbacks to 6 years prior to mesh some characters.
I absolutely loved the buildup, but was hoping more in the ending. I wanted that horror film ending.
3.5 stars. Great writing and character development!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book takes the reader back several decades to the haydays of B horror movies. I loved the premise of the anxiety ridden babysitter overcoming the odds and protecting her charges. Definitely a must read for fans of horror movies and readers who enjoy books by Grady Hendrix.

[arc review]
Thank you to Harper Perennial for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Midnight on Beacon Street releases January 30, 2024

2.75

This thriller is a take on the classic babysitter/horror slasher films.
Through dual pov and a non-linear timeline, we witness a night of babysitting two kids on an October night in 1993, in a neighbourhood where there’s been a recent uptick in break-ins.

With the way this book was set up, interspersing a then/now approach with flahsbacks from when the current babysitter was being babysat, it was highly obvious where this was going — otherwise why would any of that be necessary in relation to the current timeline?

It’s a quick read but nothing all that noteworthy or with a wow factor.
Shortening the name Mira to “M” for 99% of the story was a writing style I could have done without, and there was also a fair bit of repetition in scenes from both pov’s.

cw: main character with anxiety and panic attacks, mentions of past abuse

This was one of the most tense reading experiences of my life, which is not always the case with stories told out of order. I really enjoyed the story, and I loved that it had a Jewish family at its center. I'm also glad I read it now, as I'm beginning to come to terms with a new prevalence of panic attacks of my own. I liked this one a lot.

A nice callback to the horror movies from my youth.

Told in a non-linear format, this is a quick read, told through the eyes of various characters, all within one night. This has everything that is to be expected that all those horror movies had: a babysitter, a single mom, two children, a boyfriend, an older brother who is a bit of a mess, a kind older neighbor, a pizza delivery...

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review in advance of its review.

A great spooky read that kept me entertained I would definitely recommend this to any thriller lovers that want a good read.