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Midnight on Beacon Street
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.
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.
195 pages, Paperback
First published January 30, 2024
231 people are currently reading
13997 people want to read
About the author
Emily Ruth Verona
12 books132 followersEmily Ruth Verona is the author of the novel Midnight on Beacon Street, published by Harper Perennial in January 2024. Her ghostly novella, Shiva, is due out from Dark Matter Ink in 2026. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and Cinema Studies from the State University of New York at Purchase. In 2014 she won the Pinch Literary Award in Fiction. She is a Bram Stoker Award nominee, a Rhysling Award Finalist, a Jane Austen Short Story Award Finalist, and a Luke Bitmead Bursary Finalist. Previous publication credits include fiction and poetry featured in several anthologies as well as magazines such as The Pinch, Lamplight Magazine, Mystery Tribune, Black Telephone Magazine, The Ghastling, and Nightmare Magazine. She lives in New Jersey with a very small dog.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,057 reviews
March 22, 2024
I am so severely disappointed by how much I didn’t like this book. To call this book “horror” feels like a joke, this is not horror. I wouldn’t even call this a thriller, literally NOTHING happens in this book. It’s only 190 pages long, and it still could’ve been cut down by 100 pages, and that’s not an exaggeration. The amount of time these characters spend playing games and talking about their friends and doing shit that doesn’t matter and contributes NOTHING to the story is insane, what a waste of time.
The flashback chapters were annoying and repetitive and added nothing to the story. The timeline was also super confusing for no reason? This premise promises “suspense and tension on every page” when nothing even remotely thrilling happens until after 115 pages in. And even then, the “thrills” were so cheesy and underwhelming. The villain of the book was so incredibly predictable and cheesy, give me a f*cking break. All the characters in this book read so one dimensional to me and they had no personalities.
This book is one I was highly anticipating because I love horror novellas, and I’m a huge fan of this cover, it’s so stunning and I am so let down by this. Save your time and money and skip this one.
The flashback chapters were annoying and repetitive and added nothing to the story. The timeline was also super confusing for no reason? This premise promises “suspense and tension on every page” when nothing even remotely thrilling happens until after 115 pages in. And even then, the “thrills” were so cheesy and underwhelming. The villain of the book was so incredibly predictable and cheesy, give me a f*cking break. All the characters in this book read so one dimensional to me and they had no personalities.
This book is one I was highly anticipating because I love horror novellas, and I’m a huge fan of this cover, it’s so stunning and I am so let down by this. Save your time and money and skip this one.
August 24, 2025
**2.5-stars rounded up**
Midnight on Beacon Street is a bit of a pensive novel, set in 1993. It follows a babysitter, Amy, who must overcome her own anxiety in order to protect the children she is responsible for on one hell of a night.
The scene is set as Eleanor Mazinski heads out on a date night, leaving her two children, Mira and Ben, with the sitter, Amy. Amy is 17-years old and skilled at taking care of children. Mira is stand-offish, but Ben is sweet and she knows she'll be able to win him over with a little patience.
The evening starts out normally enough, but takes some uncomfortable turns, escalating in their danger level.
By midnight, there's a dead body, a pool of blood, and a race for the kindly neighbor's house to call for help. How did things go so wrong? You'll have to read it to find out!
Midnight on Beacon Street turned out to be a very different story than what I thought it was going to be, and unfortunately, in this case, that's not a good thing.
While I appreciated many different elements of the story, such as the many nods to classic Horror films, I can't say that I enjoyed it. For me, it sort of plodded along in an awkward way, with the tension only arriving at the final, climactic scene; too little, too late.
From the start, it felt odd to me. The way the perspectives were presented, the back and forth in time, it just didn't flow the way I would have wanted it to.
Around the halfway point, I was enjoying it, but damn was it slow. There was a ton of character work and the build-out of their emotions and motivations, but not in a way that I personally found to be compelling. Nevertheless, I was still anxious for the excitement to start.
Sadly, it just never took off for me. It didn't seem to be able to establish a fluid narrative flow. The back and forth was a lot and it just felt way more literary than I was hoping for.
On a positive note, it almost felt like a Stephen Graham Jones work at times, in regards to the way it explored the Horror genre. As the synopsis says, it did feel like a love letter to Horror, which I love to see.
Even though it wasn't done with the same finesse as SGJ, it was still a solid effort and that was definitely my favorite aspect of the book. Without those elements, this probably would have been a 2-star read for me.
I know that this will work for a lot of Readers though, so please don't let my jaded-old opinion sway you. If this sounds interesting to you, please give it a shot. You've got nothing to lose and in fact, you could find a new favorite.
Thank you to the publisher, Harper Perennial, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
Even though this wasn't exactly my cup of tea, I would be interested in picking up more from this author.
Midnight on Beacon Street is a bit of a pensive novel, set in 1993. It follows a babysitter, Amy, who must overcome her own anxiety in order to protect the children she is responsible for on one hell of a night.
The scene is set as Eleanor Mazinski heads out on a date night, leaving her two children, Mira and Ben, with the sitter, Amy. Amy is 17-years old and skilled at taking care of children. Mira is stand-offish, but Ben is sweet and she knows she'll be able to win him over with a little patience.
The evening starts out normally enough, but takes some uncomfortable turns, escalating in their danger level.
By midnight, there's a dead body, a pool of blood, and a race for the kindly neighbor's house to call for help. How did things go so wrong? You'll have to read it to find out!
Midnight on Beacon Street turned out to be a very different story than what I thought it was going to be, and unfortunately, in this case, that's not a good thing.
While I appreciated many different elements of the story, such as the many nods to classic Horror films, I can't say that I enjoyed it. For me, it sort of plodded along in an awkward way, with the tension only arriving at the final, climactic scene; too little, too late.
From the start, it felt odd to me. The way the perspectives were presented, the back and forth in time, it just didn't flow the way I would have wanted it to.
Around the halfway point, I was enjoying it, but damn was it slow. There was a ton of character work and the build-out of their emotions and motivations, but not in a way that I personally found to be compelling. Nevertheless, I was still anxious for the excitement to start.
Sadly, it just never took off for me. It didn't seem to be able to establish a fluid narrative flow. The back and forth was a lot and it just felt way more literary than I was hoping for.
On a positive note, it almost felt like a Stephen Graham Jones work at times, in regards to the way it explored the Horror genre. As the synopsis says, it did feel like a love letter to Horror, which I love to see.
Even though it wasn't done with the same finesse as SGJ, it was still a solid effort and that was definitely my favorite aspect of the book. Without those elements, this probably would have been a 2-star read for me.
I know that this will work for a lot of Readers though, so please don't let my jaded-old opinion sway you. If this sounds interesting to you, please give it a shot. You've got nothing to lose and in fact, you could find a new favorite.
Thank you to the publisher, Harper Perennial, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
Even though this wasn't exactly my cup of tea, I would be interested in picking up more from this author.
November 6, 2023
Entertaining thriller with nods to early horror movies.
This is a very short but worthwhile read, especially if you watched horror movies in the 80s/90s.
In 1993, seventeen-year-old Amy is babysitting six-year-old Ben and twelve-year-old Mira while their single mother goes out on a date. Amy has a lot of anxiety, but she loves horror movies because the tension takes her away from her real-life problems. As the night progresses, things happen that lead to Ben standing in the kitchen with a pool of blood around him. What on earth happened?
This book is very short, told in a non-linear format from various points of view. It takes a while to get into the flow of the story, and I'm not sure it worked very well for me. We get the story of the night, but we also get backstory from Amy's childhood to create a bigger picture.
I'm not sure I have buy in for what happened, but this is a decent debut with spooky vibes and is entertaining enough to keep readers engaged and interested to learn the outcome.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
This is a very short but worthwhile read, especially if you watched horror movies in the 80s/90s.
In 1993, seventeen-year-old Amy is babysitting six-year-old Ben and twelve-year-old Mira while their single mother goes out on a date. Amy has a lot of anxiety, but she loves horror movies because the tension takes her away from her real-life problems. As the night progresses, things happen that lead to Ben standing in the kitchen with a pool of blood around him. What on earth happened?
This book is very short, told in a non-linear format from various points of view. It takes a while to get into the flow of the story, and I'm not sure it worked very well for me. We get the story of the night, but we also get backstory from Amy's childhood to create a bigger picture.
I'm not sure I have buy in for what happened, but this is a decent debut with spooky vibes and is entertaining enough to keep readers engaged and interested to learn the outcome.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
April 2, 2024
2.75 stars
A well-meaning effort fusing 90s nostalgia, horror films, and childhood trauma, with its home invasion premise and the gorgeously ominous cover art, I was expecting a fast and lean thriller in the vein of movies such as Panic Room, or even Home Alone. Turned out this is yet another incident where the word ‘thriller’ in its promotional material felt intentionally misused, aimed to draw in a specific audience, but eventually led to disappointment when the material didn’t match up—Midnight on Beacon Street is objectively decent with a focused goal, but it’s much more subdued and serious, more character study than an adrenaline-filled game of cat and mouse.
In contrast to the minimalist setup (1 house in the span of an evening), Midnight on Beacon Street is told non-linearly, jumping back-and-forth in time at irregular intervals. Even though this added complexity feels ‘thrillery’, in actuality it creates a very uneven pacing. Instead of using this technique to reveal critical information, the novel uses it to flesh out various character’s backstories. While the intent is a valid one (characterization is definitely this novel’s strength), these lengthy inserts completely fracture the tension of the book’s primary event. Without going into spoiler territory, I was pleasantly surprised around the 60% mark when a certain character showed up. Unfortunately that ended up being an under-utilized red herring, and the actual culprit was head scratching in both the who and the why—as if the author simply picked the least likely character and retrofitted this person as the villain.
The thesis of Midnight on Beacon Street is a strong one: how do children digest trauma, when they have not yet had a holistic grasp of the world, but the execution feels labored (especially when evaluated as a thriller). Perhaps it would’ve fared better going into this expecting a drama with nods to horror film tropes, rather than a full-on horror thriller.
**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**
A well-meaning effort fusing 90s nostalgia, horror films, and childhood trauma, with its home invasion premise and the gorgeously ominous cover art, I was expecting a fast and lean thriller in the vein of movies such as Panic Room, or even Home Alone. Turned out this is yet another incident where the word ‘thriller’ in its promotional material felt intentionally misused, aimed to draw in a specific audience, but eventually led to disappointment when the material didn’t match up—Midnight on Beacon Street is objectively decent with a focused goal, but it’s much more subdued and serious, more character study than an adrenaline-filled game of cat and mouse.
In contrast to the minimalist setup (1 house in the span of an evening), Midnight on Beacon Street is told non-linearly, jumping back-and-forth in time at irregular intervals. Even though this added complexity feels ‘thrillery’, in actuality it creates a very uneven pacing. Instead of using this technique to reveal critical information, the novel uses it to flesh out various character’s backstories. While the intent is a valid one (characterization is definitely this novel’s strength), these lengthy inserts completely fracture the tension of the book’s primary event. Without going into spoiler territory, I was pleasantly surprised around the 60% mark when a certain character showed up. Unfortunately that ended up being an under-utilized red herring, and the actual culprit was head scratching in both the who and the why—as if the author simply picked the least likely character and retrofitted this person as the villain.
The thesis of Midnight on Beacon Street is a strong one: how do children digest trauma, when they have not yet had a holistic grasp of the world, but the execution feels labored (especially when evaluated as a thriller). Perhaps it would’ve fared better going into this expecting a drama with nods to horror film tropes, rather than a full-on horror thriller.
**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**
February 17, 2024
This book started with a bang and then nothing. This book is only 192 pages and yet absolutely nothing happens. This book is so boring. I feel lied to.
Where was the suspense?
Where was the Thrill?
Where was the story?
The book started with a 6 year old standing in a pool of blood and it should have just been one of those 2 Sentence Horror Stories.
This is a debut novel and it shows that anyone can get a book deal.
No recommendation. I'm so happy I didn't spend any money on this.
Where was the suspense?
Where was the Thrill?
Where was the story?
The book started with a 6 year old standing in a pool of blood and it should have just been one of those 2 Sentence Horror Stories.
This is a debut novel and it shows that anyone can get a book deal.
No recommendation. I'm so happy I didn't spend any money on this.
March 28, 2024
3.5 Stars
Video Review https://youtu.be/vANfnwA99y0
I enjoyed the meta aspects of this one, because horror movie references in books always work for me. This has been marketed as a horror thriller but it read more like a YA or coming of age novel. I liked it, but I found it a fairly straightforward narrative. A fun, but not earth shattering read.
Video Review https://youtu.be/vANfnwA99y0
I enjoyed the meta aspects of this one, because horror movie references in books always work for me. This has been marketed as a horror thriller but it read more like a YA or coming of age novel. I liked it, but I found it a fairly straightforward narrative. A fun, but not earth shattering read.
January 18, 2024
The most thrilling aspect of this book was when I was able to finish it.
February 5, 2024
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.
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.
February 23, 2024
When single moon Eleanor Mazinski decides to go out one chilly October night for a date, she entrusts her two darling children with seventeen-year-old Amy. A practiced babysitter, she’s taken care of six-year-old Ben and twelve-year old Mira several times already, and their routine is down pat—despite Amy’s anxiety disorder. Typically she entertains the kids until lights out. Then Amy tucks into her favorite pastime—watching the goriest of horror films.
Before that, however, just as everyone is settling into the evening with take-out pizza and some games, things start to go off the rails. First some uninvited guests show up at the door and force their way into the house. Then the phone calls begin. Phone calls with no one at the other end other than loud breathing. Before the end of the night, Ben will find himself in his kitchen watching spilled blood spread out around him. How did things go so wrong so fast? Who is the dead body at Ben’s feet? And who is to blame?
A campy, near cult classic type thriller, Midnight on Beacon Street pulled the feel of every horror movie I’ve ever seen and transformed it into a gripping tale of every babysitter’s worst nightmare. From its attention-grabbing first chapter to the adrenaline-fueled climax, my eyes were well and truly pinned to the page. At the same time, however, there were some flaws to the story, despite its overall success.
As for the plot, I enjoyed the dual POVs and multiple timelines immensely. One told in order from the babysitter’s perspective, it was matched nicely by the other revealed in reverse from one of her charges viewpoint. The third timeline I could’ve easily done without, though, as it jumped black six years and didn’t add much to the story, in my humble opinion.
My two biggest hang ups with this one, however, were both the need to suspend all disbelief and the rather abrupt ending. With that said, the immaculately described feeling of anxiety and dread permeated the pages as foreboding followed in its stead. Despite much of the short, one-sitting read being a suspenseful slow burn, I still found it utterly addictive as I eagerly awaited to learn who was going to die.
In the end, this debut novella was a fun way to spend an evening. With a definite nod to those wonderful 80s and 90s slasher films we all remember, it still held a more thriller-esque vibe. Add in the well-drawn feel of being both a babysitter and a teen, and much of this 192 page book was a hit. I do have to say, though, that it did harbor one of the reasons that I often steer clear of short stories, as much of this plot was thoroughly under explored. Ultimately, though, I still give this one at least one mildly enthusiastic thumbs up. Rating of 3.5 stars.
Thank you to Emily Ruth Verona and Harper Perennial for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
PUB DAY: January 30, 2024
Trigger warning: anxiety, bullying, panic attacks, breaking and entering, fatal stabbing, mention of: robbery, domestic abuse
Before that, however, just as everyone is settling into the evening with take-out pizza and some games, things start to go off the rails. First some uninvited guests show up at the door and force their way into the house. Then the phone calls begin. Phone calls with no one at the other end other than loud breathing. Before the end of the night, Ben will find himself in his kitchen watching spilled blood spread out around him. How did things go so wrong so fast? Who is the dead body at Ben’s feet? And who is to blame?
A campy, near cult classic type thriller, Midnight on Beacon Street pulled the feel of every horror movie I’ve ever seen and transformed it into a gripping tale of every babysitter’s worst nightmare. From its attention-grabbing first chapter to the adrenaline-fueled climax, my eyes were well and truly pinned to the page. At the same time, however, there were some flaws to the story, despite its overall success.
As for the plot, I enjoyed the dual POVs and multiple timelines immensely. One told in order from the babysitter’s perspective, it was matched nicely by the other revealed in reverse from one of her charges viewpoint. The third timeline I could’ve easily done without, though, as it jumped black six years and didn’t add much to the story, in my humble opinion.
My two biggest hang ups with this one, however, were both the need to suspend all disbelief and the rather abrupt ending. With that said, the immaculately described feeling of anxiety and dread permeated the pages as foreboding followed in its stead. Despite much of the short, one-sitting read being a suspenseful slow burn, I still found it utterly addictive as I eagerly awaited to learn who was going to die.
In the end, this debut novella was a fun way to spend an evening. With a definite nod to those wonderful 80s and 90s slasher films we all remember, it still held a more thriller-esque vibe. Add in the well-drawn feel of being both a babysitter and a teen, and much of this 192 page book was a hit. I do have to say, though, that it did harbor one of the reasons that I often steer clear of short stories, as much of this plot was thoroughly under explored. Ultimately, though, I still give this one at least one mildly enthusiastic thumbs up. Rating of 3.5 stars.
Thank you to Emily Ruth Verona and Harper Perennial for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
PUB DAY: January 30, 2024
Trigger warning: anxiety, bullying, panic attacks, breaking and entering, fatal stabbing, mention of: robbery, domestic abuse
September 25, 2024
“We’re all safer if we’re scared.”
An unnerving, character-driven, mystery thriller that pays homage to horror films. Yes please!
It's 1993 in suburban New Jersey. Halloween is around the corner and our protagonist Amy is babysitting for single mother Eleanor Mazinski. Amy is quiet, a bit self-conscious, and diagnosed with anxiety. The one thing in which she finds solace is horror movies, because in the fictional world of terror on screen she can anticipate what happens next. Predictability makes her feel safe. She admires the final girls who survive the monsters--especially if they're babysitters. They're relatable and representative of overcoming what is out of one's control. As stated in the story, "...it’s life , not scary movies, that keep Amy up at night." But what starts out as a normal evening of pizza and games turns into a real life nightmare that has Amy reflecting on what she's learned in scary movies to pull through the night and keep her young charges safe.
This story is told from two perspectives: Amy's and one of the children she is babysitting. I absolutely loved that each chapter was time stamped, counting down to a bloody murder that occurs at midnight in the first chapter of the book. Who's murder? And by what means? Readers don't know until the end!
This definitely felt like a love letter to both horror cinema and the people who find comfort in the genre. It will leave readers asking important questions: Can fear be a good thing? Are we mistaking "caution" for that well-known, incapacitating liar we call "anxiety"? Are we crazy to believe in the tropes that keep horror movie characters alive, or are we worse off when we disregard them?
I absolutely loved this and readers who enjoyed books like Stephen Graham Jones' The Babysitter Lives or any horror movie featuring babysitters (Halloween, The House of the Devil, When a Stranger Calls, Better Watch Out, etc.) will find something to love within these 200 pages as well!
An unnerving, character-driven, mystery thriller that pays homage to horror films. Yes please!
It's 1993 in suburban New Jersey. Halloween is around the corner and our protagonist Amy is babysitting for single mother Eleanor Mazinski. Amy is quiet, a bit self-conscious, and diagnosed with anxiety. The one thing in which she finds solace is horror movies, because in the fictional world of terror on screen she can anticipate what happens next. Predictability makes her feel safe. She admires the final girls who survive the monsters--especially if they're babysitters. They're relatable and representative of overcoming what is out of one's control. As stated in the story, "...it’s life , not scary movies, that keep Amy up at night." But what starts out as a normal evening of pizza and games turns into a real life nightmare that has Amy reflecting on what she's learned in scary movies to pull through the night and keep her young charges safe.
This story is told from two perspectives: Amy's and one of the children she is babysitting. I absolutely loved that each chapter was time stamped, counting down to a bloody murder that occurs at midnight in the first chapter of the book. Who's murder? And by what means? Readers don't know until the end!
This definitely felt like a love letter to both horror cinema and the people who find comfort in the genre. It will leave readers asking important questions: Can fear be a good thing? Are we mistaking "caution" for that well-known, incapacitating liar we call "anxiety"? Are we crazy to believe in the tropes that keep horror movie characters alive, or are we worse off when we disregard them?
I absolutely loved this and readers who enjoyed books like Stephen Graham Jones' The Babysitter Lives or any horror movie featuring babysitters (Halloween, The House of the Devil, When a Stranger Calls, Better Watch Out, etc.) will find something to love within these 200 pages as well!
October 13, 2023
I was excited to read this because it sounds like a good, creepy thriller. 41% in and nothing had happened except a girl babysitting two kids. And the timeline…chapters go back and forth right down to “3 hours and 59 minutes to midnight” which I just found obnoxious.
I received an advanced copy from netgalley in exchange for a review and opinions are my own.
I received an advanced copy from netgalley in exchange for a review and opinions are my own.
November 26, 2023
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Jan. 30, 2024
Emily Ruth Verona takes a place out of Grady Hendrix's book with her novel, “Midnight on Beacon Street”. Verona takes a small town in 1993, adds a babysitter alone with two young children and sprinkles it with anxiety and fear to deliver a decently written YA horror novel.
Amy is reliable and dependable, so it is no great surprise when she is asked to babysit young Ben and Mira while their mother goes out on a date. What starts off as pizza, games and movies turns far more sinister when one uninvited guest after another starts to show up and the night turns from fun and games to fighting for their lives.
The vibe of this novel is evident right from the cover (which I loved). Obviously, it’s a retro novel (read: before technology!) which seems to be on trend right now. Verona’s characters are young and naïve, yet likable and charming at the same time. Although Amy suffers from anxiety disorder, she manages to take charge of a few very dangerous situations, and immediately aligns herself with the reader, building a quick rapport.
“Street” is told in two time periods; right before “midnight” (when the incident happens) and six years ago, when Amy herself was young and had a babysitter. There is a reason for these two timelines, although it’s not revealed until a little farther into the novel. Although Amy is the primary narrator, young Ben sometimes takes over, which leads to a few events being told twice (once by Amy and once by Ben) but Ben is so adorable that I overlooked the repetition.
This novel is easy to read and the plot is engaging. Amy handles an unrealistic number of stressful events (in one night!) and I desperately wanted to know how it would all play out. The ending was actually as I expected, which is a good thing, and I felt satiated and content when the novel was over.
“Midnight on Beacon Street” is a debut, and it’s quite a good one. Verona has the writing talent but “Beacon Street” is a culmination of Stranger Things, Grady Hendrix and Riley Sager. Although these are all stellar in their own right, I would love to see what Verona creates independently and I am looking forward to her next novel.
Expected publication date: Jan. 30, 2024
Emily Ruth Verona takes a place out of Grady Hendrix's book with her novel, “Midnight on Beacon Street”. Verona takes a small town in 1993, adds a babysitter alone with two young children and sprinkles it with anxiety and fear to deliver a decently written YA horror novel.
Amy is reliable and dependable, so it is no great surprise when she is asked to babysit young Ben and Mira while their mother goes out on a date. What starts off as pizza, games and movies turns far more sinister when one uninvited guest after another starts to show up and the night turns from fun and games to fighting for their lives.
The vibe of this novel is evident right from the cover (which I loved). Obviously, it’s a retro novel (read: before technology!) which seems to be on trend right now. Verona’s characters are young and naïve, yet likable and charming at the same time. Although Amy suffers from anxiety disorder, she manages to take charge of a few very dangerous situations, and immediately aligns herself with the reader, building a quick rapport.
“Street” is told in two time periods; right before “midnight” (when the incident happens) and six years ago, when Amy herself was young and had a babysitter. There is a reason for these two timelines, although it’s not revealed until a little farther into the novel. Although Amy is the primary narrator, young Ben sometimes takes over, which leads to a few events being told twice (once by Amy and once by Ben) but Ben is so adorable that I overlooked the repetition.
This novel is easy to read and the plot is engaging. Amy handles an unrealistic number of stressful events (in one night!) and I desperately wanted to know how it would all play out. The ending was actually as I expected, which is a good thing, and I felt satiated and content when the novel was over.
“Midnight on Beacon Street” is a debut, and it’s quite a good one. Verona has the writing talent but “Beacon Street” is a culmination of Stranger Things, Grady Hendrix and Riley Sager. Although these are all stellar in their own right, I would love to see what Verona creates independently and I am looking forward to her next novel.
September 29, 2023
Review in the October 2023 issue of Library Journal
Three Words That Describe This Book: Cinematic, Shifting Time Frame, Anxiety
1993 setting (perfectly done) with VHS and Classic Horror film references from 70s and 80s. Specifically Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street
Debut
It is an ode to Horror films and filmmaking.
Best read in 1-2 sittings and the pacing and suspense style of storytelling beg you to just get lost in the fear. The chapter are clearly labelled in their relation to MIDNIGHT where the story begins and from whose perspective.
Excellent kids here. Very realistic.
POV only Amy and Ben.
Readalikes: The Babysitter Lives by SGJ and for anyone who loves Halloween. Final Girl babysitters for the win.
Draft Review: It’s 1993 and a normally sleepy New Jersey town is experiencing a rash of breakins. Amy, an anxious kid who loves the Horror movies from the 70s and 80s, is the local babysitter, and tonight, she is headed to single mom Eleanor’s house to watch Mira, 12, and Ben, 6. But readers know from the first page that this will not be an easy night as the story opens at Midnight, with Ben covered in blood. Told in short chapters that move back and forth in time, and headed with timestamps as the action relates to that fateful Midnight, this intensely unnerving novel moves swiftly, while the well placed flashbacks, provide the necessary background details to flesh out the main characters and anchor the story in its perfectly rendered setting. Both Amy and Ben are authentic narrators, whose different perspectives enhance the full gamut of emotions that this book will elicit. Reader beware, you are going to need to clear your schedule to gulp this one down all at once.
Verdict: Verona’s debut is not only a riveting thriller, but it is also a thoughtful love letter to Horror films like The Shoemaker's Magician by Cynthia Pelayo. However, it will find its most enthusiastic audience with fans of the babysitter finals girl trope from any medium such as Halloween (film) and The Babysitter Lives by Stephen Graham Jones.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Cinematic, Shifting Time Frame, Anxiety
1993 setting (perfectly done) with VHS and Classic Horror film references from 70s and 80s. Specifically Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street
Debut
It is an ode to Horror films and filmmaking.
Best read in 1-2 sittings and the pacing and suspense style of storytelling beg you to just get lost in the fear. The chapter are clearly labelled in their relation to MIDNIGHT where the story begins and from whose perspective.
Excellent kids here. Very realistic.
POV only Amy and Ben.
Readalikes: The Babysitter Lives by SGJ and for anyone who loves Halloween. Final Girl babysitters for the win.
Draft Review: It’s 1993 and a normally sleepy New Jersey town is experiencing a rash of breakins. Amy, an anxious kid who loves the Horror movies from the 70s and 80s, is the local babysitter, and tonight, she is headed to single mom Eleanor’s house to watch Mira, 12, and Ben, 6. But readers know from the first page that this will not be an easy night as the story opens at Midnight, with Ben covered in blood. Told in short chapters that move back and forth in time, and headed with timestamps as the action relates to that fateful Midnight, this intensely unnerving novel moves swiftly, while the well placed flashbacks, provide the necessary background details to flesh out the main characters and anchor the story in its perfectly rendered setting. Both Amy and Ben are authentic narrators, whose different perspectives enhance the full gamut of emotions that this book will elicit. Reader beware, you are going to need to clear your schedule to gulp this one down all at once.
Verdict: Verona’s debut is not only a riveting thriller, but it is also a thoughtful love letter to Horror films like The Shoemaker's Magician by Cynthia Pelayo. However, it will find its most enthusiastic audience with fans of the babysitter finals girl trope from any medium such as Halloween (film) and The Babysitter Lives by Stephen Graham Jones.
January 15, 2024
I'm very sorry to say but I tried, I really tried. The book bored me to tears and at the same time I really couldn't get my head around the story and the characters.
Thanks to Edelweiss.
Thanks to Edelweiss.
March 18, 2024
I dont really know what to say besides.. this aint a thriller, this aint horror. What it is, idk. And i dont think we'll ever know.
Read
April 3, 2024To me, this book is suspenseful at times, but it's not a thriller. It feels like that term is used to describe any story with violence, but that's no fault of the author. This is a creepy, slow-burn debut about a babysitter dealing with one challenging situation after another. She has anxiety, is prone to panic attacks, and, like most teens in novels, doesn't always make the best decisions. There aren't many moments of tension, and the violence seems to come out of nowhere. Midnight on Beacon Street was a short, entertaining read with lots of references to horror films.
January 31, 2024
Midnight on Beacon Street ended up being more of thriller for me but I still enjoyed the vintage 90s vibes and all the horror movie references! This was a fun short thriller to fly through! More of my thoughts are in my reading new horror and thriller reading vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlTNA...
Thank you, netgalley for this arc!
Thank you, netgalley for this arc!
February 27, 2024
TW: Blood, violence, anxiety, toxic family relationships, peer pressure, sexism, domestic abuse, drinking, language, bullying
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
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.
Release Date: January 30th, 2024
Genre: Horror
Pages: 206
Rating: ⭐
What I Liked:
1. Beautiful cover
2. Loved all the horror movie references
What I Didn't Like:
1. Repeating the same dialog from Ben's POV
2. Boring - nothing happens
3. Writing felt YA
Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer I write my review as I read the book}}
So the book starts off with Ben covered in blood and a body at his feet. That's about all the action you get for awhile. Seriously. We go through different timelines with Amy babysitting now to when she was being babysat by Sadie (a character that's dating Amy's boyfriend's brother). They all (Miles, Patrick, Tess, and Sadie) show up at the house while Amy is babysitting.
The book is so short that they spend most of the time telling the readers things that don't matter. There are some things that are mentioned that maybe make you think perhaps it's the father behind the murder. We find out that the mother had to leave the father because he was physically abusive to her. We also get this very uncomfortable moment where Amy's boyfriend's brother is making fun of her for being a virgin and I was confused on why it was there. Trying to understand why a brother that is in college would want to hang out with his 16 year old sibling.
Cool we get another introduction of a character - Mr Darren (Professor at the college). And right after that another character - Mr. Mitchel. (the kids father).
Why hasn't Amy even called the mom and why is she just waiting and waiting to hear from her?
Omg I'm on page 150 and I am skipping to the ending. Maybe something will happen that's not them playing games, eating, or talking about stupid things.
• We get another visit from Miles - they kiss
• Sadie shows up soon after - she's the killer (so shocking) - no reason why she does it
• Amy stabs Sadie
• Tess tries to attack Amy but Amy hits Tess with the bat and escapes
Final Thoughts:
I thought this would be more of a slasher horror but instead it's a slow burn thriller that felt more YA.
Nothing happens until page 165. Just random filler stuff. Could have cut this book down to 100 pages.
I really tried to like this book. I saw that on Goodreads it had like a 3.0 rating, which is not great, but I was confident I could like this book. There were definitely things in this book I liked about it but overall it's just not what I thought it was going to be.
IG | Blog
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
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.
Release Date: January 30th, 2024
Genre: Horror
Pages: 206
Rating: ⭐
What I Liked:
1. Beautiful cover
2. Loved all the horror movie references
What I Didn't Like:
1. Repeating the same dialog from Ben's POV
2. Boring - nothing happens
3. Writing felt YA
Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer I write my review as I read the book}}
So the book starts off with Ben covered in blood and a body at his feet. That's about all the action you get for awhile. Seriously. We go through different timelines with Amy babysitting now to when she was being babysat by Sadie (a character that's dating Amy's boyfriend's brother). They all (Miles, Patrick, Tess, and Sadie) show up at the house while Amy is babysitting.
The book is so short that they spend most of the time telling the readers things that don't matter. There are some things that are mentioned that maybe make you think perhaps it's the father behind the murder. We find out that the mother had to leave the father because he was physically abusive to her. We also get this very uncomfortable moment where Amy's boyfriend's brother is making fun of her for being a virgin and I was confused on why it was there. Trying to understand why a brother that is in college would want to hang out with his 16 year old sibling.
Cool we get another introduction of a character - Mr Darren (Professor at the college). And right after that another character - Mr. Mitchel. (the kids father).
Why hasn't Amy even called the mom and why is she just waiting and waiting to hear from her?
Omg I'm on page 150 and I am skipping to the ending. Maybe something will happen that's not them playing games, eating, or talking about stupid things.
• We get another visit from Miles - they kiss
• Sadie shows up soon after - she's the killer (so shocking) - no reason why she does it
• Amy stabs Sadie
• Tess tries to attack Amy but Amy hits Tess with the bat and escapes
Final Thoughts:
I thought this would be more of a slasher horror but instead it's a slow burn thriller that felt more YA.
Nothing happens until page 165. Just random filler stuff. Could have cut this book down to 100 pages.
I really tried to like this book. I saw that on Goodreads it had like a 3.0 rating, which is not great, but I was confident I could like this book. There were definitely things in this book I liked about it but overall it's just not what I thought it was going to be.
IG | Blog
March 28, 2024
"In real life things can get messy- not in a guy’s intestines hanging out way, but in unexpected ways. There’s no control out in the world. There is only life. Chaos."
The year is 1993. There's one little house that is keeping two kids and a babysitter safe. Break-ins are happening on and around Beacon Street. Then there's a dead body. Babysitting is a killer job...
We should judge a book only after reading it. Despite the numerous negative reviews, I decided to read the book. It turned out to be an enjoyable read, like a cheesy baby-sitters club book with an element of horror and gore. However, I must say that the mystery in the book was quite predictable. I was able to solve it after reading just a few chapters. The clues were evident, especially when I questioned the chapters about the protagonist's childhood.
Midnight on Beacon Street is a book that offers a warm embrace to all horror enthusiasts. Although it may not be particularly frightening, it still contains the familiar elements that we all enjoy. I highly recommend giving it a read and I look forward to seeing what this author has in store for us next.
The year is 1993. There's one little house that is keeping two kids and a babysitter safe. Break-ins are happening on and around Beacon Street. Then there's a dead body. Babysitting is a killer job...
We should judge a book only after reading it. Despite the numerous negative reviews, I decided to read the book. It turned out to be an enjoyable read, like a cheesy baby-sitters club book with an element of horror and gore. However, I must say that the mystery in the book was quite predictable. I was able to solve it after reading just a few chapters. The clues were evident, especially when I questioned the chapters about the protagonist's childhood.
Midnight on Beacon Street is a book that offers a warm embrace to all horror enthusiasts. Although it may not be particularly frightening, it still contains the familiar elements that we all enjoy. I highly recommend giving it a read and I look forward to seeing what this author has in store for us next.
March 28, 2024
strong strong 3 because nothing much happened, but I LOVED that it was a love letter to horror movies in a way that does nott make the MC sound like not like other girls nor someone who's trying too hard to be a horror connoisseur. it's a super cozy book with the classic babysitter and eerie things being said, which gives you that anticipation of something supposedly happening at midnight. there's also anxiety rep and some trauma mentioned, so check trigger warnings. there were several duller moments, but I just really appreciated the insightful discussions about classic horror movies rather than the surface-level shit that's brought up in a lot of books with main characters "who love horror movies."
January 8, 2024
First, thank you to @harperperennial for this ode to vintage horror movies! It’s described as a “love letter to vintage horror” vintage meaning the 80’s/90’s. The story is told from various points of view which made it a bit hard for me to follow. It did also flip back and forth between past and present.
This is worth the read however, not sure I would call this a “thriller”. It’s more a drama, with some thrilleresque tropes thrown in. The ending was good, although pretty unrealistic. I did appreciate the anxiety rep with our main character, Babysitter Amy. Verona does a good job of showing the claustrophobia one feels while battling it. I think Verona shows promise and I am curious the direction she goes next.
This is worth the read however, not sure I would call this a “thriller”. It’s more a drama, with some thrilleresque tropes thrown in. The ending was good, although pretty unrealistic. I did appreciate the anxiety rep with our main character, Babysitter Amy. Verona does a good job of showing the claustrophobia one feels while battling it. I think Verona shows promise and I am curious the direction she goes next.
February 6, 2024
Lackluster and messy. I'm not sure what I expected but it wasn't this.
March 2, 2024
This book had some decent build up with VERY little payoff. Super disappointing because it opens so strong and it just fizzles out.
September 23, 2024
okay... I'm just underwhelmed. I didn't connect or feel immersed. Character driven without much tension and nothing really happens until the last moment.
Reading notes along the way...
17% so far okay, a lot of character exposition. Anxiety representation. Im wondering is this YA? It's not reading annoyingly young or immature compared to some other recent YA horror releases I've tried... but the perspective is young and a bit tiring.
33% the emphasis on the mc relationship with her bf and also peer pressure stuff...this is definitely YA. I wish I could fast forward. This kind of stuff drives me nuts.
53% I like the appreciation for scary movies... reminds me of "The Mary Shelley Club"
80% I feel like there hasn't been any tension or something involving a mystery where weird things are happening and we have to try and piece it together. I don't know what genre I would call this but not horror/thriller.
89% okay... I'm just underwhelmed. This is what would be the climax but I don't feel anything.
100% I didn't connect or feel immersed. I thought the one kid Mira was an interesting character and the parts about scary movies was fun. But it didn't make me feel a thing. At least it was an easy read/distraction but not much of a good one.
Reading notes along the way...
17% so far okay, a lot of character exposition. Anxiety representation. Im wondering is this YA? It's not reading annoyingly young or immature compared to some other recent YA horror releases I've tried... but the perspective is young and a bit tiring.
33% the emphasis on the mc relationship with her bf and also peer pressure stuff...this is definitely YA. I wish I could fast forward. This kind of stuff drives me nuts.
53% I like the appreciation for scary movies... reminds me of "The Mary Shelley Club"
80% I feel like there hasn't been any tension or something involving a mystery where weird things are happening and we have to try and piece it together. I don't know what genre I would call this but not horror/thriller.
89% okay... I'm just underwhelmed. This is what would be the climax but I don't feel anything.
100% I didn't connect or feel immersed. I thought the one kid Mira was an interesting character and the parts about scary movies was fun. But it didn't make me feel a thing. At least it was an easy read/distraction but not much of a good one.
February 22, 2024
This will be among my first exhibits when mounting my case against New York Times Books section recommendations
Ms. Verona is obviously a fan of horror but Midnight on Beacon Street never rises above fan fiction which was very disappointing to me
*I was (as I always am) glad to pay for this book new as I do like supporting new/young authors. I hope that Ms. Verona gets many more shots
Ms. Verona is obviously a fan of horror but Midnight on Beacon Street never rises above fan fiction which was very disappointing to me
*I was (as I always am) glad to pay for this book new as I do like supporting new/young authors. I hope that Ms. Verona gets many more shots
February 19, 2024
2.5 stars
Meh. I wanted to love it but there's not much here besides some '80s/'90s nostalgia. Babysitter who likes slasher flicks ends up in a potential slasher flick of her own, but trust me, it isn't as exciting as that sounds.
Meh. I wanted to love it but there's not much here besides some '80s/'90s nostalgia. Babysitter who likes slasher flicks ends up in a potential slasher flick of her own, but trust me, it isn't as exciting as that sounds.
February 2, 2024
I really hesitate to even shelve this as "horror" because it was not nearly as intense as the synopsis made it seem.
I was beyond excited for a pulse-racing book about a babysitter dealing with an intruder (When a Stranger Calls was a movie I watched over and over as a teen, so I thought this would be similar). Instead, what we got was a slower-paced character study of a teenage babysitter who struggles with anxiety and panic attacks. The "intruder" part didn't happen until the very end, and was very quick and underwhelming. In fact, there was a scene in the middle of the book that I found way more tense and engaging, and I almost wish more had come of that incident. Overall, it wasn't a "bad" read, but I do think the synopsis is misleading regarding the actual content of the book.
If this book was Taylor Swift lyrics:
"Keep your feet steady
Heartbeat ready
Keep your eyes open
Keep your aim locked
The night goes dark"
I was beyond excited for a pulse-racing book about a babysitter dealing with an intruder (When a Stranger Calls was a movie I watched over and over as a teen, so I thought this would be similar). Instead, what we got was a slower-paced character study of a teenage babysitter who struggles with anxiety and panic attacks. The "intruder" part didn't happen until the very end, and was very quick and underwhelming. In fact, there was a scene in the middle of the book that I found way more tense and engaging, and I almost wish more had come of that incident. Overall, it wasn't a "bad" read, but I do think the synopsis is misleading regarding the actual content of the book.
If this book was Taylor Swift lyrics:
"Keep your feet steady
Heartbeat ready
Keep your eyes open
Keep your aim locked
The night goes dark"
February 5, 2024
this was not for me :/ i was expecting a “gripping thriller full of electrifying twists” but i was just bored! the most exciting scene happened 160 pages into a 192 page book and i skimmed the last 32 pages because i just did not care. the non linear timeline also was not executed well in my opinion. that being said, i didn’t hate this and there’s definitely readers who will enjoy it! i just wasn’t my cup of tea.
June 26, 2024
Book Blog | Bookstagram
RTC.
⭐⭐½ | 2.5 stars rounded up
RTC.
⭐⭐½ | 2.5 stars rounded up
August 31, 2024
Unfortunately this one did not work for me. I really loved the premise and who does not love a classic horror story with a babysitter receiving the visit of a stranger.
This is also told through a dual timeline and normally that works really well for me but boy was I lost here.
I listened to the audiobook which helped with the pacing but I swear at times I was sure the book was repeating the same sentences.
It takes so long for something interesting to happen after that great opening prologue, that I was bored for the vast majority of the book.
This is a short novel and I think it needed either more action or to be edited down even more to get rid of a lot of fluff that was unnecessary.
The writing was fine but I don’t like when books explain references. There is a reference to The Shinning and the author explains why she is using that reference and that was so unnecessary. I recently read Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning and it also happens to have a reference to The Shining and it works so well without the author having to explain it.
Maybe it is the fact that this was marketed as horror and it felt more of a character driven drama/thriller. But whatever it was, it did not work for me.
This is also told through a dual timeline and normally that works really well for me but boy was I lost here.
I listened to the audiobook which helped with the pacing but I swear at times I was sure the book was repeating the same sentences.
It takes so long for something interesting to happen after that great opening prologue, that I was bored for the vast majority of the book.
This is a short novel and I think it needed either more action or to be edited down even more to get rid of a lot of fluff that was unnecessary.
The writing was fine but I don’t like when books explain references. There is a reference to The Shinning and the author explains why she is using that reference and that was so unnecessary. I recently read Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning and it also happens to have a reference to The Shining and it works so well without the author having to explain it.
Maybe it is the fact that this was marketed as horror and it felt more of a character driven drama/thriller. But whatever it was, it did not work for me.
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