Kerry Cullen’s House of Beth is a haunting, genre-defying debut that blends gothic atmosphere with psychological realism, queer identity, and the aching complexity of womanhood. It’s a novel that doesn’t just ask what haunts us, it interrogates who we become when we try to live inside someone else’s story.

Here's a bit of the synopsis: Cassie Jackson, reeling from a traumatic breakup and a career implosion, retreats from New York to her childhood home in rural New Jersey. There, she reconnects with Eli, her high school best friend, now a grieving widower and father of two. Their rekindled bond quickly morphs into marriage, domesticity, and a life that seems borrowed from someone else. That someone is Beth, Eli’s late wife, whose presence lingers in the house like a perfume that won’t fade.

Cassie’s mind is a battleground, and Cullen renders it with unflinching honesty. As Cassie begins to hear Beth’s voice narrating the house’s secrets, the novel shifts into speculative terrain, where grief and identity blur with the supernatural.

Told in alternating perspectives—Cassie’s grounded, anxious realism and Beth’s ethereal, posthumous musings—the novel explores the tension between tradition and selfhood. Beth, once the ultimate wife becomes a spectral guide. Their relationship, strange and tender, evolves into something almost romantic, challenging the boundaries of love, memory, and embodiment. It was a pleasant surprise to me how the author flipped the cozy Hallmark trope of “big-city girl returns home” by injecting it with dread, desire, and feminist critique.

The setting,a secluded house in the woods, is portrayed with gothic precision and I swear is a character here. This is a novel for someone who is looking for a story that takes off running and checks you bit by bit each chapter. I couldn't turn away!

Alright I liked this. I knew it was going to be weird because a friend started reading it before me and warned me, but I liked it. It was the kind of weird I want in a book.

It’s a very quick read at only 240 pages, but a lot happens. And I’m not going to tell you about any of it because it’s a book best gone into blind. But the prose is delightfully readable and haunting, the story is bizarre and creepy, and overall it’s a fun narrative to sink into. Definitely check it out!

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for this ARC. House of Beth is out 7/15!

This book’s discussion of OCD was amazing. That connected with the MC. The book was great, right before the end when everything made absolutely no sense. It was the kind of ending that angered me, since the rest of this book was great. Three stars for everything before the infuriating ending.

Wow I have not devoured a book like I did this one in so long! I sat down and read it in 24 hours and wished I could continue reading their story. When I originally read the synopsis, I was expecting a little bit of a paranormal murder mystery but this book was SO much more than that! Cassie and Beth were such well developed characters that were flawed but still so engaging. I loved the dual narration. I really thought I knew where this book was going and I was so wrong. I loved it.

This one took a little while for me to get into but overall I really did enjoy this. It was a little bit more serious than what I had expected (I am not sure what I was truly expecting but it was a bit different) but I would definitely recommend this one

Two of my favorite booktokers read it and really liked it so I whipped through it. This is more up my alley, which is weird almost speculative fiction. The writing and the plot was unique and I think I read it in two settings. While everything happening in the book looks normal, it feels off somehow. Well not somehow, very specifically the way Cassie’s OCD is expressed throughout the book. The way her OCD manifests is through violent, gory intrusive thoughts that sicken her. I feel like Cassie has no self preservation, between not making good choices friends-wise, dumping the girl who loved her, and then leaving her job with no money only to end up almost a trad wife, which is the antithesis to what she believes in. This would be a horror book for trad wives actually.

The plot: Cassie is living in NYC, seeing a girl she loves named Lavender, and still working for pennies at a publishing house. One day she walks into her boss’s office and thinks he’s dead. Convinced everyone will believe she did something to hurt him, Cassie walks out of her job without anyone seeing her and ends up at her dad’s vacant house in New Jersey. She reconnects with her best friend from high school, Eli. Eli’s wife died from an accident only a few months before. Not long after they have been reunited, Eli and Cassie end up married and Cassie is now home maker and homeschooling Eli’s two kids. Cassie is curious about Eli’s first wife, Beth but Eli won’t really talk about her. Cassie also befriends the next door neighbor Joan. In interspersing chapters, the reader gets Beth’s perspective on her life, where she ended up after her death, and where she wants to go… with Cassie.

9/10 Would recommend for weirdos like me.
10/10 cover art.

When I saw the cover and synopsis of this book I was immediately intrigued.

This book is not what I expected, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I just expected more outright horror. I expected Cassie to be haunted by Beth in a different way. They almost seem to develop a type of symbiotic relationship.

I don't dislike the way they connected, it just... didn't feel like enough happened. The ending was... abrupt and weird and felt very out of place in the story.

Kerry Cullen clearly has a knack for writing beautiful prose, and has a really creative mind. I think this book could have been amazing, it just felt a little bit flat for me, unfortunately.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a modern dark fairytale about an independent woman who marries into a household where her role becomes a "trad-wife" and stepmother to a family where there is a gaping wound left by the dead ex-wife. With the help of the neighbor, Joan, Cassie learns the ropes. But Cassie is not really a trad-wife. Still connected to her NY life and ex-girlfriend, Cassie has a new inner voice narrating the house secrets, leading to the truth about Beth's death and Cassie's reality.

Cassie isn’t an evil stepmother but a person struggling with OCD, whose violent, intrusive thoughts leave her questioning her reality and herself. On the other hand, Beth, is spoken about like some mythical figure who could do no wrong. There’s an air of mystery around who she was, and we’re kept in the dark. Is Beth real or a figment of Cassie's imagination? This is an interesting study comparing and contrasting these 2 women and their interactions.

The writing good, and the pacing is fairly fast. This is such a weird story that I was surprised that it worked. If you like darker, horror-lite stories, I would recommend this.

House of Beth is a fascinating novel that, despite its relatively short length, explores several relevant topics in such a profound way that I’m still thinking about it, days after finishing it.

The protagonist is Cassie, who has recently fled her life in New York City after a traumatic break-up and a shocking event at the literary agency where she works. Returning to her small hometown in New Jersey, she reconnects with her childhood best friend, Eli – and before she knows it, she’s agreeing to marry him and stepping into the role of stepmother to his two young children. But her new life is far from idyllic; the shadow of Eli’s late wife, Beth, haunts every corner of their home, and Cassie is still missing her ex-girlfriend while also trying to cope with the harm OCD that has her mind continuously playing a reel of disturbing scenes.

I’m going to stop there with the summary, and I really wish the description didn’t give so much away, because House of Beth works best if you just let the book surprise you. Reading this was a surreal experience; it feels very modern but also steeped in the classic Gothic tradition of novels like Rebecca, and there’s a sense of unease and unreality that pervades the whole book. The path the narrative takes is entirely unexpected and very strange, but not only does it work – it also elevates the book and allows Kerry Cullen to explore so many important themes: life and death, religion and belief, identity, grief, marriage and relationships, self-discovery. Cassie is a fascinating protagonist through which to explore these themes, because she’s one of those characters who just seems to drift through her life, making decisions without thinking about the consequences – always choosing what seems easiest or most convenient at the time. Typically I can’t stand that type of character, and at first I struggled to relate to Cassie – but as the book went on, I started to “get” her, to understand her motivations, and I really appreciated her growth arc. All of the characters, in fact, are well-drawn and richly-detailed. I felt completely drawn into their lives and circumstances, which was unsettling for a variety of reasons.

House of Beth is a beautiful, haunting, and unexpected book. It’s also very strange, and I can see it not resonating with every reader – but it totally worked for me. Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the early reading opportunity.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. I think it was written well and I enjoyed the progression of the story itself. It is pretty dark and touches on some serious mental health issues. The main character is not very like-able and definitely has self destructive tendencies. Those aren’t deal breakers for me though. I liked it overall and if you’re into horror I would definitely recommend reading it.

Really great writing and gothic vibes. It’s definitely odd and won’t appeal to everyone. The surprise at the end fell a little flat

After a heart-wrenching breakup with her girlfriend and a shocking incident at her job, Cassie flees for her hometown in New Jersey. There, she reconnects with her high school best friend, Eli, now a widowed father of two. Their bond reignites, and within a few short months, they are married. But Cassie’s fresh start is less idyllic than she’d hoped. She has OCD, and her mind is haunted by gory, graphic images. But no matter what Cassie does, the shadow of Eli's late wife, Beth, permeates every corner of their home."

That's the official premise, but let me break down what actually happens. The heart-wrenching breakup is initiated by the self-centered Cassie, not the other way around, so the reader sympathizes with her ex, Lavender. The "shocking" incident was a medical emergency that causes Cassie to spiral and frantically flee the scene instead of calling 911. She has neither hopes nor expectations about her new life. Without a job she has to crash somewhere and Eli desperately needs a nanny - sorry "housewife" to homeschool his kids. By the end I pitied the kids as they serve as passive witnesses to all this irresponsible drama.

The twist is pretty predictable, the violence is mild, the "spice" is lukewarm, and there's a lot of potential that never gets fully realized. Joan has no depth, and cannot exist outside of her relation to Eli. None of the "living" characters ever truly apologize or face the consequences of their actions, which is frustrating. Cassie's intrusive thoughts become less provocative with every page. They're shocking, sure, until you realize nothing will come of them. It may have an abrupt, unfulfilling ending but as I understand, it was very therapeutic for the author. It's also a queer read that, despite its flaws, has none of those negative, overused tropes. So I say good for them!

This book transcends genres; it's a ghost story, a love story, an exploration of grief. Cassie returns to her small hometown in NJ after a tragedy, where she reconnects with her childhood best friend, Eli, who's mourning the death of his late wife, Beth. Throughout Cassie's present and Beth's past, Cullen tells a story that hooks you from the beginning and keeps you lured in. Cassie and Beth are interesting characters, with more to them than meets the eye. I'm biased, since this is set in the same part of my perfect, wonderful home state of NJ that I grew up in, but the setting of this novel, specifically the woods, is one of my favorite places for an eerie story.

I was hoping for a little more from the ending, and I had expectations that this would be true horror, so I do wish this was spookier, especially during the climax, but overall, this was an excellent debut! I'll be anxiously awaiting Kerry Cullen's next book

This book is released on July 15, and I definitely recommend picking it up if you're looking for an introspective and unique ghost story.
Thank you tons to Simon and Schuster for the advance copy!

This is a very uniquely told story and i feel it’s best to not give too much away. It’s a haunting story, but i wouldn’t call it horror, it’s really more of a character driven book focused on new wife Cassie, and flashbacks of the deceased ex Beth who Cassie starts to feel like still lives in the house.

3.75 ✨

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC.

Was drawn in by the queer and horror descriptors and while they aren't inaccurate, I don't feel like it leaned into either as much as I was hoping. The pacing was a little slow and then ending I found to be a little lackluster. An interesting concept and an OK execution.

You can go home again, but you can also leave again.

Cassie is an overworked literary assistant who leaves New York after her boss has a heart attack and she's wallowing in her recent breakup. Once returning to her hometown in New Jersey, Cassie reconnects with her high school best friend Eli. Eli is recently widowed and a single father. Cassie and Eli quickly reconnect and marry. Cassie fills in the trad-wife role that Beth, the former wife and mother, used to fill. With help from Joan, the single mother next door, Cassie learns how to cook and how to homeschool the children.

But that's not who Cassie is. She is still connected to her former life, still missing her ex-girlfriend, and now, there's a new inner voice narrating all the secrets of the house. Eventually, this leads to the truth about Beth's death and Cassie's reality.

This is a fast read, and it's weird. It's a weird story and book. Cassie is kind of an asshole the whole time, and the 'twist' was fairly obvious - to me--so the end didn't surprise me in the least. Basically this was a blip in Cassie's life.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A slow burn, eery, psychological mess of intrusive thoughts and life experiences. Each character played a pivotal part in the whole story. I like when that happens. This expanded exploration of character interactions did not detract from learning the nuances of Cassie. If given the opportunity to ignite the past once more, would you thrive or seep into madness?

Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and author Kerry Cullen for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

From independent woman to tradwife, this is already a creepy story… but now add a dead ex-wife and we have ourselves a haunting. And truly, this story is more of a haunting than an all-out horror. You won't be scared to turn off the lights, but you will experience a dark, misty sense of unease. And of course, Cassie's intrusive thoughts present an additional, more realistic horror faced in real-life by individuals with OCD. To her credit, Cullen's representation of this disorder was very well done, and presented respectfully.

This book is a slow burn, but the prose is strong enough to carry it. I would almost describe this as a dark, speculative fiction more than horror. The narrative jumps from Cassie's internal monologue to Beth's internal (because it has to be) monologue, until they weave together in a very creative way. I had no trouble staying engaged with the storytelling, and I was excited to find out what would eventually be revealed by Cassie and Beth.

Alas, I was unfortunately disappointed with the reveal and hasty ending. After such a creative build up, I felt somewhat like I was left hanging. There was also a scene toward the end (you will know it when you see it) that was a bit embarrassing to read -- I did not feel that it lived up to the quality of the rest of the story.

Still, I am glad that I read this book; it has given me a lot to think about with regard to women's roles in relationships and their potential to empower each other. I think this book could find its niche among readers who enjoy a dark speculative fiction/horror centered around female comradery, ala Blood on Her Tongue, by Johanna Van Veen.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kerry Cullen, and Simon & Schuster for sending me an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

4/5 ✧

I really enjoyed House of Beth. I went into it expecting more Rebecca vibes but I was pleasantly surprised by what I got instead. There are some eerie moments and gorey descriptions, but I wasn't scared or disturbed at any point. About 70% of the way through, the plot kicks up a notch and it's a little unexpected— it felt like we skipped a chapter or 2, but ultimately I was glad for the new elements that it brought. The writing is intensely readable & the stories of these two women unfold in an interesting way. Even though there isn't a ton of action, I almost wish House of Beth was 100 pages longer, but maybe it's more impactful this way.

Read cw. Thanks so much to Netgalley & Simon & Schuster for this e-arc of House of Beth!

A struggling woman moves back to her hometown, reunites with a close friend from childhood and finds herself filling the void left by his recently deceased wife. But her death is shrouded in mystery and her memory haunts their lives until it’s no longer possible to deny her presence. This has the most accurate, to the point of being upsetting at times, depiction of intrusive thoughts that I’ve ever read. To not trust your mind or the motivations behind it - she nailed that feeling entirely. I sense this story lingering in my mind already. Total knockout.