Beth Is Dead
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times Bestseller!
Hello Sunshine’s inaugural Sunnie Reads Book Club Pick!
Four starred reviews!
Beth March’s sisters will stop at nothing to track down her killer—until they begin to suspect each other—in this “brilliantly snappy…electrifying” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) debut thriller that’s also a bold, contemporary reimagining of the beloved classic Little Women.
When Beth March is found dead in the woods on New Year’s Day, her sisters vow to uncover her murderer.
Suspects abound. There’s the neighbor who has feelings for not one but two of the girls. Meg’s manipulative best friend. Amy’s flirtatious mentor. And Beth’s lionhearted first love. But it doesn’t take the surviving sisters much digging to uncover motives each one of the March girls had for doing the unthinkable.
Jo, an aspiring author with a huge following on social media, would do anything to hook readers. Would she kill her sister for the story? Amy dreams of studying art in Europe, but she’ll need money from her aunt—money that’s always been earmarked for Beth. And Meg wouldn’t dream of hurting her sister…but her boyfriend might have, and she’ll protect him at all costs.
Despite the growing suspicion within the family, it’s hard to know for sure if the crime was committed by someone close to home. After all, the March sisters were dragged into the spotlight months ago when their father published a controversial bestseller about his own daughters. Beth could have been killed by anyone.
Beth’s perspective told in flashback unfolds next to Meg, Jo, and Amy’s increasingly fraught investigation as the tragedy threatens to rip the Marches apart.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Little Women undergoes the kind of smart reimagining that both newcomers and diehard fans can adore in this thrilling YA whodunit. When Beth March is found murdered after a New Year’s Eve party, there’s no shortage of suspects, including all three of her sisters. But since their father’s thinly veiled novel about the Marches has turned them into unwitting celebrities, the killer could be anyone. Katie Bernet does a fantastic job translating the March sisters into a modern setting. Responsible Meg has been accepted to Harvard. Headstrong Jo plans on publishing her own book. Rebellious Amy is constantly being suspended. And Beth, in flashbacks, was sweetly devoted to her music. Bernet manages to stay true to the spirit of these indelible characters as they’re thrown into an enticing murder mystery. Get ready to root for your favorite March sister—even if you never had one before.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
One need not be familiar with Louisa May Alcott's work to appreciate debut author Bernet's brilliantly snappy contemporary riff on Little Women, which centers high school senior Jo March and her siblings—15-year-old Amy and Harvard freshman Meg—as they investigate the violent murder of their 17-year-old sister Beth. On New Year's Day in Concord, Mass., shortly after their father abandons the family to focus on his writing and the day before Beth starts at Plumfield School for the Arts, Jo and Amy discover Beth's corpse in the snow atop a hill a stone's throw away from their friend Laurie's house. Though suspicions about Laurie's potential involvement abound—according to Amy, she left Beth with Laurie at a party the night before—Jo doggedly dives headfirst into an all-hands-on-deck-scale investigation. Alternating "Then" and "Now" chapters shift between Beth and the three surviving sisters' distinctive voices, filling in events and backstories, fleshing out personalities and possible motives, and injecting suspense and true crime podcast energy into the ensuing inquiry. As Jo digs up unseemly secrets, romantic tension and love triangles add to the enticing drama. The cozy domesticity of the inspiration material is apparent throughout, and the girls' closely held—sometimes conflicting—desires and ambitions both honor Alcott's vision and add fuel to the fire of this electrifying whodunit. The sisters cue as white; Laurie has dark brown skin. Ages 12–up.
