Beth is Dead - 2026 Book Review

Today is the anniversary of Louisa May Alcott’s death, the author of Little Women. And, because of this, I thought it would be perfect to talk about this reimagining, even through most of us only know one real thing about Little Women:

I should attempt to read Little Women (but me attempts to read classics in 2026 have ended with me quitting them so maybe not). So, let's chat about Beth is Dead by Katie Bernet!

Title and Author: Beth is Dead by Katie Bernet

Publisher: Scholastic

Buy from (Affiliate Link): https://uk.bookshop.org/

We start at that moment: Beth is discovered dead after a New Year’s Eve party. But she didn’t die of natural causes. Beth is murdered. The Marsh family are in shock over the news - who would kill their sweet, little sister and for what possible reason? They’re all determined to find the killer, but with each sister having their own motives, is one of the Marsh sister’s a murderer? And does it have anything to do with their father's latest novel, entitled Little Women?

SpoOOoky Mini-Reviews

Yes, I know it's November. But I read these two in October (one I finished on All Hallow's Eve) so I'm going to pop these here in one post and hopefully, by the time you read them, you can forgive me. 

So, the two reads. One was a free short story/novella that acts as a prequel (of sorts) to a MM romance I read a few weeks back for a blog tour (Hostile Takeover by Lucy Lennox) - Luca and Marcel - and the other was a YA thriller that I had high hopes for as it felt perfect for Halloween - It's Behind You by Kathryn Foxfield. 

Ok, I'm not going to do my list of info, so I will say that Luca and Marcel was free on Amazon and I enjoyed their characters in Hostile Takeover, while It's Behind You was gifted to me by the UK publisher, Scholasticv, in exchange for an honest review/reaction. 

With all that out of the way, let me do a quick overview of both stories. 

With Luca and Marcel, this acts as a prequel (of sorts) to Lucy Lennox's MM romance, Hostile Takeover. When billionaire hotelier Luca Bernardi discovers his assistant can't come with him on an important business trip (due to her breaking her leg), he panics. Thankfully, she calls in a backup - PA to renowned venture capitalist, Marcel Abbott. Only... she was a little under the influence of heavy narcotics when she made the call and wires are definitely crossed as when Marcel turns shows up wearing sequins and a tiara (he came straight from a bachelorette party), Luca wonders if his PA might have accidentally hired him a rent boy and Marcel is confused over why Luca is acting all flustered around him? 

And in It's Behind You, five teen contestants enter one of the UK scariest reality TV shows (Imagine Most Haunted on ITV2 or E4) - staying the night in a haunted location. This episode is in haunted caves where a ghost haunts who eats the hearts of lovers and suffered a cave in only a few years ago. But as the night begins, things take a turn and secrets slowly come to light. And that's when the body count begins...