Book Review – Suburban Hell

STATS

Genre:	Horror/Comedy	Amazon Rating:	3.9
Publication Date:	2022	Goodreads Rating:	3.57
Pages:	317	POV:	1st, past (Amy)

DISCLAIMER:  

1. Trigger Warnings.  Should you desire trigger warnings, please seek them out.  If you do not know where to look for said warnings, I found this article from Book Riot to be a helpful starting place.  
2. Spoilers.  I apologize in advance, but there will probably be some small spoilers.  I try to limit discussion to information found in the cover copy.  If you are sensitive to spoilers, you may want to skip My REST section.  

SETUP.

In your typical Chicago suburb, Amy, Liz, Jess and Melissa formed a friendship forged against the forces of the HOA and PTA. They are in and out of each other’s lives on a daily basis, but also have a monthly wine date.  As their friendship grows, the women decide they need a place just for them, a no-husbands-or-kids-allowed kind of place: the She Shed.  The story opens in summer, kids on break, and construction beginning on the shed in Liz’s backyard.  However, excavation comes to a screeching halt, followed by a boom, and a putrid smell.  Then Liz starts doing very un-Liz things.  Is Liz possessed?  Will Amy, Jess, and Melissa be able to save her?  Does Liz want to be saved?  

MY WHY; or, What I Thought I’d Like About This Book.

I love female friendships with shenanigans, add a demon possession in the suburbs, and I’m there.  Plus,…the cover.

NOTEWORTHY ELEMENTS.  (You decide if they are Pros or Cons.)

1. The Female Friendship.  Amy, Liz, Jess, and Melissa are all very different women, but they’ve bonded over their shared view of the absurdity of normalcy, which included the picture-perfect PTA and HOA.  Ultimately this book is really about friendship and the give and take it requires from everyone involved.  All of the women have different lives and backgrounds, but they are all supportive and accepting of each other, though this story does test those bonds.  The women are a little tropey – the career mom, the mom who paused her career for kids, the younger second wife, and the “perfect” everything in its place mom – but Kilmer breathes enough life into them, so they feel real and whole.

2. Horror Lite/Campy Horror.  All of the horrors in this book are rooted in the domesticity of suburban life.  If you are looking for total gross out page after page, then you won’t find it here.   However, there are some oozing burns and off the page animal harm, so please check trigger warnings for more specifics.  There are also some campy scenes, too; I’m looking at you Rumba.  This kind of horror isn’t meant to be taken too seriously.  In fact, I would argue that the real “horror” in this book is the backstory and background of the suburb that the women uncover.  

3. Creepy Kid.  Check.  Think creep kid that knows things she shouldn’t, not creep kid who maims.  

4. The Possession.  I want to preface everything in this section by saying this may be the first possession story I’ve read.  I’m not familiar enough with this device and setup to know what is typical of a possession story and what it is not typical.  However, what stood out to me in this story is that we never really learn “why” Liz gets possessed.  Was it a possession of opportunity?  Then why Liz and not the excavator operator?  Was there some intrinsic trait to Liz that made her more vulnerable to possession?  Am I overthinking this?  Probably, but I’m honestly curious.  This isn’t a knock against Kilmer.  She does delve into the “what” of the possession, thus revealing the horrors of the suburb’s history.

5. Heavier themes explored.  Kilmer touches on themes of depression, isolation, grief, guilt, and addiction.  While these themes don’t take center stage, they are discussed.  Again, please see trigger warnings, if needed.  

My REST.  (Reaction. Experience. Summary. Thoughts.) 

As noted above, this was my first possession book and I’m really fascinated.  Possession can be a metaphor to examine so many themes.  The possession in this book is really a vehicle to explore friendship and along the way explore the construct of motherhood through the lens of suburban life.   I realize I sound pompous right now, so I’ll be brief.  The following passage is from Amy, our main character’s point of view.

Amy struggles with feeling trapped in this novel, trapped in suburbia and trapped in this version of herself in motherhood.  As mothers, we spend so much time and energy managing our family’s lives and taking care of everyone that before we know it, we’ve isolated ourselves.  And, if we let it, that isolation can warp us and hollow us out, turning us into a creature that we no longer recognize.  I think Kilmer speaks to that truth, which is why the possession is so poignant.  

Full disclosure, I imprinted hard with Amy.  Except for location, many facets of Amy’s past aligned with mine.  At times I put the book down to process and ponder.  However, to be clear, all the pomp and discussion of themes aside, this is a fun, quick read.  

I’ll leave you with Amy’s musings on motherhood and friendship.  

Don’t let all my ramblings on theme or the lower ratings scare you.  I think this book suffers from trying to find its audience. Hardcore horror fans may be disappointed to find this book is about female friendship with a side of horror. There, do you think I’ve said that enough. It’s all about expectations people.

So, if any of what I’ve discussed resonates with you and you’re looking to shake-up your monthly Mom and Wine meetups, then grab this book, along with your wine and friends, of course, and have fun.  Would your friends try to save you if you were possessed?

Thus concludes an in-depth review of Maureen Kilmer’s Suburban Hell.  Hope you enjoyed.  I’ll see you next time I pick my head up out of a book.