Review: Suburban Hell by Maureen Kilmer

Author: Maureen Kilmer
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: August 2022

Amy Foster considers herself lucky. After she left the city and moved to the suburbs, she found her place quickly with neighbors Liz, Jess, and Melissa, snarking together from the outskirts of the PTA crowd. One night during their monthly wine get-together, the crew concoct a plan for a clubhouse She Shed in Liz's backyard--a space for just them, no spouses or kids allowed.

But the night after they christen the She Shed, things start to feel . . . off. They didn't expect Liz's little home-improvement project to release a demonic force that turns their quiet enclave into something out of a nightmare. And that's before the homeowners' association gets wind of it.

Even the calmest moms can't justify the strange burn marks, self-moving dolls, and horrible smells surrounding their possessed friend, Liz. Together, Amy, Jess, and Melissa must fight the evil spirit to save Liz and the neighborhood . . . before the suburbs go completely to hell.

Suburban Hell involves Amy, a suburban mom who has her own inner circle of friends disrupted when one of them seems to become possessed.  I though this was a fun book. I enjoyed the friendship between Amy, Liz, Melissa and Jess.  When you are lucky enough to find your people, you will fight for them no matter what.  Amid the seriousness of the women realizing their friend is possessed, there was a lot of  humor.  The ending was pretty creepy and perfect.

I do have one rant though.  Authors, can we please stop painting PTA moms as cliquey, snobby and psycho?  This is coming from a working mom who spent many years as PTA president of her kids' elementary school and middle school.  And that was because no one else wanted the job.  Being a PTA volunteer is just that...volunteer.  We don't get paid for it.  It's a thankless job that some parents take on to help make things better for the kids in the schools. We fundraise to provide resources that the distract doesn't pay for.  That part of this book where Amy can barely find volunteers for the fair?  Well, that is what it is often like. A few people doing the job that really needs many. The ones that complain are usually the ones that don't ever volunteer.  So, cut us some slack please.  OK rant over.  This just happened to be the 6th book I have read recently that painted PTA moms in a negative light.  I had to get that off my chest.

I do recommend this one.  It's s a fun read.