Home Is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose

Spoiler warning: This episode contains spoilers for Home Is Where the Bodies Are.

This week we are diving into Home Is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose—and let's just say, things at home are looking a little... suspicious. 

We’re talking family secrets, questionable decisions, buried skeletons (literally and figuratively), and all the twists that kept us guessing. Was anyone actually trustworthy? Probably not. Did we have theories? Absolutely. Were we prepared for where this story went? Not even a little.

Grab your coffee , settle in, and come spill the spine with us!

Come scream about it with us on Instagram: @spillthespinepod

Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen to podcasts

New episodes drop every other week.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:17

Welcome back to Spill the Spine Pod. I'm Morgan. And I'm Brie. It's been a second. We took it's been almost a month. Is it? Yes. We took we took a sabbatical briefly. Yes. Why, why did we take go ahead and make the joke. Because you're itching.

SPEAKER_02 0:35

I can just feel you itching to make the joke. Because my mom passed away. Everybody's ready. Oh my god, you're laughing about it? Yes. I'm sorry. It's not funny.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

It's not funny. She just likes to make light of it in a very dark situation.

SPEAKER_02 0:50

Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

But that's where we've been. Morton wouldn't let me work. Nope. I said you have to take time. You need to process. You had a lot of stuff to do.

SPEAKER_02 1:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

Also, Mordin didn't want to read the book.

SPEAKER_02 1:07

Yeah, we'll get into that in a little bit. It's fine. Everything's fine. And yeah, every and other news, Morton. What happened this month? You personally, what happened this month? Me personally? What did I do this month?

SPEAKER_01 1:21

It was your one-year anniversary. Yes! We've been friends for a whole year. Yes. I thought I was like, what happened this month? I'm like, a year ago I got dumped at the end of the month. We don't give a fuck about this. We don't care about that. That's a whole different scenario.

SPEAKER_02 1:38

Just remember you busting into work that Monday. Like, you dumped me over the weekend.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

I chopped my hair off. I looked disheveled. And I show up to work and I'm like, um, I had a really crap with media text. And uh, if you ever find this podcast, just know that uh you fucking suck. You suck. Big dog. I might have backslided for a second. That's no longer happening. We don't have to talk about it. You suck. Enjoy finding Jesus. Um, you know, if that's your prerogative, good for you. For a big dog. I don't think the people you're finding on these uh occasions are really it, but what do I know?

SPEAKER_02 2:22

Yeah, you're having premarital sex.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

Scandal. Could never be me. I'm totally joking. Anybody who listens to this and you know me, just just turn away.

SPEAKER_02 2:35

Um we don't tell anybody we know.

SPEAKER_01 2:38

Exactly. Except for Katie.

SPEAKER_02 2:40

Except for Katie.

SPEAKER_01 2:40

Hi, Katie. And I feel like I feel like somebody I know listens, but I can't tell you who I fe- I've told some people. I don't know if they actually listen though. Yeah, just drop it randomly. I drop the lure randomly. I'm definitely not telling anyone like I talked to on like a relationship kind of level, like no. Hey, oh podcast.

SPEAKER_02 3:02

I don't post it on any of my socials either. We did like if we put a story on the podcast in Stram. Like we'd share it. Yeah, I'll put it on mine, but like that's different.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

We have the Fourth Wing Atlanta United games. Thanks for doing that. You said that the it's the narrators from is it the dramatized version? Oh my god, I'm so excited. I love them. Oh, I love them so much. I love them because I love hearing the clips on TikTok. I haven't listened to it yet, but I love hearing the clips of their voices on TikTok. I think they're so funny.

SPEAKER_02 3:36

Yes, I love them. Um, and other news, the casting for heated rivalry season two came out.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

That's not your big thing yet, but not yet, but that is the book the pick for book club this month. So I am working on that probably this week. I can't believe it's almost Wednesday. That's what happens when you don't go to work on a Monday.

SPEAKER_02 3:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:56

It is Tuesday. I thought it was Monday. It's okay.

SPEAKER_02 3:58

Daniel's gonna have a quick turnaround on this one.

SPEAKER_01 4:01

Sorry, Daniel. Sorry, Daniel. Yeah, I would say that that is what happened this this month.

SPEAKER_02 4:13

Yes. Oh, um Sarah J. Mass released the titles for books six and seven. Sure did. Sure did. Very like vague. I don't like it. A chord of splintered harmony and a chord of forgotten melody.

SPEAKER_01 4:28

It seems very meh.

SPEAKER_02 4:31

I like the colours of the book.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

The colours are pretty. Yes. I don't know. I'm I'm I mean, I'm gonna read it. Eventually I will get there because there's a lot of stuff I have to read before to get to the point where I can understand all the things. Yeah. But I I will say the only thing that I'm like itching to read is Threshing Day.

SPEAKER_02 4:57

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

Since we've been gone, that's I think she announced the title and I think so. And the cover. So Threshing Day comes out September 29th, and I will be. I feel like I want to reread Fourth Wing, or at least Onyx Storm. I don't know. I'm very like, I want to go back into that world so bad, and I wish book four was coming. But like at least I have a novella to like get back into that world for a little bit. I don't know. I know you read, I know you read heated rivalry fanfiction. Maybe I should start reading like fourth wing. Who drop your greatest? I'm talking good. It can't just be crap on a stick. Like, I'm talking really good.

SPEAKER_02 5:34

I hate when it turns crap and you're like halfway through and already invested, you're like, now I gotta be in it to win it.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

Right, like now I gotta now I gotta just like sit here and just power through. And I don't want to. Apparently, Wattpad is banning smut.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

Well, what's the fucking point?

SPEAKER_01 5:53

Like, wasn't that the whole point?

SPEAKER_02 5:55

That was the then those are where I read some of the sluttiest books. But also, oh man. So I used to be a really big fan of pant pentatonics. Yeah, I remember you've told me that before.

SPEAKER_01 6:09

Um and I think they're coming at Christmas or something.

SPEAKER_02 6:12

I don't fuck with them since they kicked Ovi off. Okay, well then we don't we're not going. I I like them, but they had a lot of potential. They like released their like very first album and then just went back to doing other people's songs, and like they could have been way better. That's neither here nor there. But this one wattpad author wrote some fucking story about them, and like I still think about the story. And I I've tried to get back onto my Wattpad to like just see if I can get it. Anyway. That is so funny. Isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 6:50

I what was I gonna say? Um there was something else that happened in the news. My book news? Maybe maybe not. I know a bookstore opened near us that we're gonna go to tomorrow.

SPEAKER_02 7:08

Yes, what is that one called?

SPEAKER_01 7:10

Our love story.

SPEAKER_02 7:11

Our love story.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

So that one's in uh the area. Yes. And you know, should be a good time. I'm trying to think of what else. I feel like there was other book news. It looks like HM Wolf is looking to Yeah, I just saw something on her Instagram today. She it's like she's trying. For Python or maybe. Or maybe something else. A lot of see, I'm struggling because a lot of my books that I want to finish or like read aren't coming out until 2027.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

Right, he did write.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

I've got Chelsea Curdo comes is got a release coming. Um, somebody else has one in November.

SPEAKER_02 7:49

Oh yeah, she says something new is coming. HM Wolf.

SPEAKER_01 7:52

Somebody is releasing, one of my authors is releasing in November, and I can't for the life of me remember who. But I'm excited about it. Who is it? In November? Yeah. I feel like it's somebody we both read, and I can't. I swear I saw it on Kindle the other day, and I can't recall. It's not Liz and it's not Elle, because they both moved to their dates from November 3rd, but somebody is it? I feel like Lynn Painter is before November. I can't remember. Because I want to read that one too. She's actually coming to the Decatur Book Festival for Trustful, and I'm like, do I go? Even though I've met her already, but I just love her so. Um, that happened while they casted Better Than the Movies while we were on Sabbatical. Did they? They did. Did I show you? Oh, that's what you were talking about. That's what I was mad about. I'm not mad. I think Liz is uh casts perfectly. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt because he was in the summer I turned pretty. But David was not my first pick, nor my pick at all, actually, for better than the movies to play West. I love him. I think he's so adorable. I feel like he's gonna do a good job, so I'm just gonna hold judgment. That's how I feel about one of the casting for Heated Rivalry, which isn't it j- and he's so good.

SPEAKER_02 9:22

He is, and it's not Ghelipsy, it's the other one. The one that's gonna play Harris, and I do not care that he is a person of color. That's whatever.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

I feel like Charlie plays a lot of the same characters in the game. That's Charlie Ghelipsy. Yeah, Charlie Gillespie. Yeah, whatever his name is. He plays a lot of the same characters in like slightly different fonts. I think he's gonna be such a good Troy Bennett. He is a very good actor. He was in Julian the Phantoms that got cancelled off Netflix that everybody was like.

SPEAKER_02 9:50

But it's his love interest is who I have a problem with because in the books, Harris is chunky.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

Oh, that's fair. Like you want actual representation. For all you know, they've made him eat for three months. That's true. For all you know, they said here's a pie eating the whole thing.

SPEAKER_02 10:09

But like it is like that is like a big thing about Harris is that he is not skinny, an athlete, you know, any of these other things, but I will hold judgment until I can see it, which will be April of next year. So I think that'll be good.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

Did we missing anything else? Dare. I mean, the Jonas brothers are going on tour again. I don't know if I don't know who they're before we I'll have to watch it.

SPEAKER_02 10:37

Before we start.

SPEAKER_01 10:38

I don't know who they owe money to.

SPEAKER_02 10:40

Essentially, what it's saying.

SPEAKER_01 10:41

That's what everybody's saying because we're all wondering who do you owe money to? One of y'all has to be dead broke. I don't know who it is. I can guess.

SPEAKER_02 10:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:51

It's the one who's probably being taken to the dry cleaners. But uh. Oh, but we will always stand with the Queen of the North. Of course, Queen of the North wins every time. But I secretly love him. Fear not, I secretly love him in in secret, secret times.

SPEAKER_02 11:08

Right, but my loyalty is the Queen of the North.

SPEAKER_01 11:11

Of course, of course. Alright, are we Do you think we covered everything? I think we covered everything. I think I think we can we can move into the book. The book that I did read and the book that you read, but I didn't.

SPEAKER_02 11:26

Yes, I would like it to be known I read it within my time frame before my mother passed away. You sure did. Sure did. So what did we what were you what were we supposed to read?

SPEAKER_01 11:38

We were supposed to read Home is Where All the Bodies are the b Home is Where All the Bodies Are by Geneva Rose. And not to say I don't love Geneva. I don't know, this book just didn't it didn't catch me. It took a little bit into. And my motivation for reading right now is so slim that it it it wasn't gonna happen.

SPEAKER_02 12:00

Right, and so I ended up just thugging it out. But I do have some notes because I was reading on my Kindle, and like the first swipe uh is like from the page is a review, and the first review is fucking Ashley Flowers.

SPEAKER_01 12:15

I do like Ashley Flowers.

SPEAKER_02 12:17

I do too. I just never finished her book. Like I started, it was good, I just never finished it. Her very first one. I think she came out with another one.

SPEAKER_01 12:28

I haven't read any of her books. I really watched it.

SPEAKER_02 12:32

I think it's all good people live here or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 12:35

Something to that to that nature.

SPEAKER_02 12:36

I did start it, I just never finished it.

SPEAKER_01 12:38

So you read Home is Where All the Bodies Are. I unfortunately DNF'd it. Unintentionally. Unintentionally. It's it's still in my library. I could still go back to it eventually, but I did read so at the top of, I think it was at the top of last year, I read House of Bane and Bane. I'm gonna butcher the whole thing. Let's take a break, so Daniel has an easy spot to cut it. Here, Daniel, here's your break. At the top of last year, I read House of Bane and Blood by Alexis Menard, I believe. M-E-N-A-R-D. Yeah, that sounds about right. Sounds about right. So I read both like Top of the Year. It was so good, enjoyed it. Uh it's kind of like magic, fantasy, that kind of vibe. But it was set like almost like a period piece, kind of. Um, and I just happened upon a new book that she had put out called The Anatomy of Magic. And I told you, like, I devoured that book. It was, I don't know what it was. Like, I just loved it. It was about 470 pages, which wasn't bad. Um, the next one doesn't come out until April, which does make me upset because it ends on a big cliffhanger. It's very Zaden and Violet, very like, kind of very onyx storm iron flame reminiscent. So that definitely like pulled my attention. I loved it so much. Um, but yeah, that's that's what I read. And I won't give you any any spoilers because I think you'd love it, and I want you to read it. But it was there were times where I was, it's kind of like where I was like, what's going on? Like, what do you mean? What is what is happening? Why are you doing this? So very like Zaydan violet, that kind of that kind of vibe.

SPEAKER_02 14:27

Nice. But I'm interested to hear before we get there. I told you about this author I found on TikTok. She's a black author. Love that. Yes. And so her book is Death Card, and it's by Jasmine Smith. So that is what I am reading right now in between. And it's good? Yeah, so far it's good.

SPEAKER_01 14:45

I like it. It's very magic. I think you sent me, you sent me the TikTok, and I think I said that that was a really interesting. So I kind of I want to read it too because I love supporting like because it's her, is it her first?

SPEAKER_02 14:56

I think so. That's exciting. But I am excited to finish it. We would keep you updated on that. And now, now we can get into this book. So I just wanted to tell you all about it. Tell me all about it. Tell me. Okay, so we tell me all all the good details. Open up to Beth. Right. So there's three siblings in this. You have Beth, and then you have Nicole, which is the middle child. And she's kind of off when they start. Like she's off on her little Yeah, so she's a drug addict, and so she's been pushed to arm's length because she's a drug addict and hurting everybody and not making good choices. Right. And then you have the baby, which is Michael, and he has fucked off to wherever the fuck he went. I think California. So they're in this little tiny town in Wisconsin.

SPEAKER_01 15:42

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 15:43

Grew up, raised there. Whatever. So we opened to her mom dying, their mom dying.

SPEAKER_01 15:50

And Beth because I got that, I got there. Yes. So I knew I got to I got to like, I think, right after she had called her daughter or something. Beth had called her daughter, and I was kind of like, hmm. I'm just not, it's not giving what I wanted it to give off the bat.

SPEAKER_02 16:08

Right. And so Michael shows up probably like maybe about 30 minutes after the meeting.

SPEAKER_01 16:14

Yeah, he was he was pretty quick. Like, I think he was trying to get there like to some extent. Like they were trying to, like, she's like, hey, we don't have that many days left. Like, you should probably show up.

SPEAKER_02 16:25

Right. And her last dying words are shit. That's anti-comatic. I didn't write them down.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

It was I got it. Hold on. I was like, did you find it? Because it I kind of remember what they were.

SPEAKER_02 16:36

It says her, like, as she is dying, your father didn't disappear. Don't trust. And that is how that's how that ends. And so we find out that like seven years ago, um, the dad just disappeared. Just vanished. Just vanished. Left a note, like, don't look for me. Blah blah blah. And so, like, I want to say like everybody's life just kind of fell apart at that point. Michael's never been back since he disappeared. Uh, Nicole went further into her addiction, and Beth just like gave up. Well, no, she lost her marriage because she kept trying to find her dad.

SPEAKER_00 17:16

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 17:17

Yeah. And like she's a little estranged with her daughter. Like, it is a bunch of things.

SPEAKER_01 17:23

Yeah, because it seemed like she was very like they were estranged, like she didn't really have anybody else.

SPEAKER_02 17:31

Yeah, so she's estranged. And so mom died. Michael shows up. The nurse, the hospice nurse comes back after she died, and she starts taking care of everything. She's calling um the funeral home to come get her. Right. Doing everything she needs to do. And in the interim, Beth gets a phone call from I believe the police department or the hospital. Because Nicole is in the hospital. She got her ass beat. Oh. Yeah. She got her ass beat. Got her ass beat. Okay. So Michael and Beth goes up. Why did she get her ass beat? She owes people money. Oh, fair enough. So Michael and Beth go pick her up. And mind you, Michael is very well off. And the siblings feel some type of way about that. You know, like he got to live the life they all wanted. Beth she was taking care of their mom. Yeah, and Beth, you know, gave up a lot of her life to stay there. Nicole's, you know, went to drug detention and Michael, they seem in their eyes, Michael got the best life out of all of them, and they hold a little grudge towards him. Okay. So Beth, you know, they pick Beth up, not Beth, Nicole, they all come back to the house. All awkward, trying to, you know, figure out how to coexist again with each other.

SPEAKER_00 18:56

Right.

SPEAKER_02 18:57

After years, probably seven years. So the next day, they're like, oh, let's just let's start going through all of mom shit. They're pulling shit out of the attic, looking at it, and they find find. They find all these video tapes. So they just pop in a random one. Just like June. It just says June 1999. Starts out as a normal thing, like mom's filming them.

SPEAKER_01 19:21

Right. Like normal home video.

SPEAKER_02 19:23

Like they're running around. And then after that video's done, it goes to mom like filming the yard again, and her husband comes running up, and her name's Laura. He goes, Laura, turn the camera off, you need to come with me. And they're like Laura's like, what is going on? And he will not tell her. So they are running the camera's on. She keeps the camera on the whole time. Which she probably shouldn't have. Probably shouldn't have. And hold on, Daniel, touching it. So as they're running, they finally stop and it pants to a dead body. A little girl. Oh. We find out later her name is Emma Harper. And she disappeared while they were having some big festival in their little town. Yeah. And so they immediately think the kids think like dad killed her. Because he will not say what happened.

SPEAKER_01 20:19

Like what happened. He's just like being weird. Being weird.

SPEAKER_02 20:23

Trying to figure it all out. And so now the kids are stuck. Like, do we tell the police? Do we not? Like, what are we doing? And in the interim, best love interest from high school comes back. Lucas. Ooh. High school sweethearts. But Lucas is Emma's older brother. Yes. And so Okay. They broke up at the end of high school because Beth wasn't going anywhere. She had.

SPEAKER_01 20:58

And this was obviously after like she had like his sister disappeared. Yes. And they did they know she was dead or no? No.

SPEAKER_02 21:05

So Mora and their dad, I can't remember his name. Ended up burying the body. We don't know where this body is buried, but they did something. They disposed of this body. Oh shit. Yes. And like that's what was pretty much essentially caught on film is like, hey, help we have to get rid of this. We can't call the police about it. We need to do something about this. So that's how all the kids find out about that. And so they all think their parents did it. And in the interim, like you eventually get the mom's perspective as things are happening too. Which I really liked.

SPEAKER_01 21:44

Well that's good. Because you need more context. Like they don't know. Like.

SPEAKER_02 21:48

No. And all they're doing is going off of these videos that they have, and so they're still like trying to figure out what the hell happened. And Oh, the father's name's Brian. Hmm. So at one point, I think a lawyer comes to give them letters that their mom wrote. They're reading the will. During this will reading, we all find out that Michael had been sending her money for like the last seven years. Like $2,000 a month. Beth knew nothing about it. The mother never touched it. And like let Beth go into debt paying for all these bills and stuff. And so that was a big shock to everybody. The mom left them notes and said, do not open them until after you scatter my ashes. Right. And so they're all fighting like that demon to do all that. But in the interim, we find out Beth has been emailing her dad. Just like weekly updates. Like no response. No response. Okay. Yeah, obviously no response or anything. But she just because Beth and Nicole think that their dad's still out there with that. He just left. Sure. Left this note that was very vague. Like, you know, don't look for me, essentially was the note. That's most like. Yeah, so Beth just keeps sending out emails month after month. She sent one that said, hey, mom died. Like, I feel like you should know. She had a response back.

SPEAKER_01 23:22

What did he say?

SPEAKER_02 23:23

I'm still something along the lines like, I'm sorry, I can't be there. I wish I could, don't look for me. Oh no, I'm closer than you think.

SPEAKER_01 23:31

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 23:33

Yeah, so they found out. So he's just been living under their nose this whole time? Well, they I think they found his truck in New Mexico. I think somewhere super far. So they just assumed he crossed the border, went fucked off into Mexico. But yeah, he did they get that note or that email. And so Nicole's freaking out. She's like, we need to go like look for dad. They have. Right.

SPEAKER_01 23:57

Like we need to jump into action.

SPEAKER_02 23:59

Let's where is he? Right. And so Michael alerts night. So he's able to ping it to some random house like an hour away. Okay. And so Nicole's like, alright, well, we have to go, and Beth's like, I can't go because if dad's not there, I don't want to I don't want to get my hopes up. So I'm not going. You guys go. So they go. Nobody's obviously at this house. Right. And so then Nicole's like, you know what? Take me. Take me somewhere. Stop. Oh, stop at a hotel so I can get some stuff that was there. Where I used to stay. Surprised at her drug dealer's place. Oh girl. Right. So she's trying to score. So Nicole's trying to score. Yeah. In the um, trying to score. Obviously, she owes this man money. Of course. He's beaten on her. Michael comes in to save her.

SPEAKER_01 24:49

She can't catch a break. No, she can't.

SPEAKER_02 24:51

She's been beat twice now. So Michael comes in to save her, beats the shit out of the drug dealer, pays them off for her. They move on. Nicole reconnects with one of her friends from high school that I think she kind of had a thing with, or they dated, didn't really go anywhere. But he's a sheriff. And so she's asking him, like, hey, can you give me some files? Like, can you tell me what you know about Emma Harper? Can you give me that file? Yeah, so he they get that file from Emma Harper. And they're going through that. As this is going along, like you're getting Laura's perspective of like after she helped with this body. Like, it's ruining their marriage. Like the kids have no idea.

SPEAKER_01 25:41

Right, they're not good. Right. He won't tell her like anything. He's being weird. Being super weird.

SPEAKER_02 25:47

He's like, I can't tell you. I can't tell you. I can't tell you. And I'd be like, And towards the end of the book, he's finally like, you want me because she catches him covered in blood. Um, and eventually he was like, Ollie will tell you everything. So she's missing. This one weird guy down the road ends up confessing that he killed her. Okay. We don't really know why he did it, but like I think there there ended up never being enough evidence to actually like charge him. Charge him. So he just kind of walked. Yeah, he walked, and like he was taking care of his mother. He was older, but he was taking care of his mother. And then he ended up disappearing at some point. Right. Hmm. And so I'm trying to remember. This like three weeks ago, I'm trying so hard to remember shit from memory. Yeah. Is the mom the murderer?

unknown 26:58

No.

SPEAKER_01 26:58

Okay. Oh, it's like those that just book. I'm like, I like like I don't know why my brain was like It's the mom.

SPEAKER_02 27:06

It's it's the mom thing. I also had that thought. But then like right before you find out.

SPEAKER_01 27:14

It's not one of the children disassociating and like murdering, is it? I wouldn't say disassociating. Oh my god, one of the children's a murderer? Is it Michael? Yeah. Really?

SPEAKER_02 27:25

So they're at this.

SPEAKER_01 27:27

I kind of had like a weird, like.

SPEAKER_02 27:30

Yeah, like you can it's pretty easy once you like read it and you're seeing all this shit. So they're at this festival, and he comes up to Laura and he goes, Mom, he was doing a water balloon toss, so he's soaking wet. He goes, I I need to go home and change. And she's like, Okay, do that. Bring you know, bring another change of clothes. Yeah. Okay. And so he runs off because remember, it's a tiny town. Everybody knows each other. Of course. Everybody's safe. Of course.

SPEAKER_01 27:58

Not from Michael, they're not. Right.

SPEAKER_02 28:01

So Laura's like organizes her friend, which is Emma's mom. You know, kind of kind of watching the kids. Sure, like they're kind of they're hanging out. Like. Yeah, they remember seeing her doing the egg tops or something like that. And then everybody kind of like loses track.

SPEAKER_01 28:23

And they don't think anything of it. It's a small town. Everybody knows. The kids are all running around together.

SPEAKER_02 28:27

Yeah, it's like 8 o'clock. And I think her name's Sarah. Knocks on the door. We can't find Emma. And so all the kids go out to look. The parents are looking. Later that night, that's when they find out. So what happens, and that's what we find out towards the end of the book, because Michael is trying, like, Beth gets the house. Like that's the big thing, is Beth gets the house.

SPEAKER_00 28:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 28:52

And Michael wants to buy it from her. Over asking $400,000. It's a lot of money for a house in Wisconsin. And Beth's, like, she's sitting on it. You want it so bad. Right, she's sitting on it. And she goes, No, you've gotten everything you ever wanted. You're not getting this house. Come to find out, because the bodies are buried there. Right, big surprise. Like now the parents knew, like, that that's Yes. So we come to find out that Michael killed Emma Harper. Right. They were on a bridge, which in the house, like, or not the house, in the book. The bridge is on their property, I think, or really close to it. And it's a bridge, and then there's water. Sure. He was hanging out with her. She was standing on it. And he pushed her. Jesus. Not into the water. Right on the edge. So she hit the ground and not the water. And then he panicked. Yeah! I bet! Freaked out, covered her with like bushes and stuff, and like let everybody think like she was missing. And so like he's getting that knock on the door, like all of this stuff is happening. He finally told his dad later that night, like, I know where she's at. And so that is where we that's where that video picks up. Is him finding her body and you know, asking uh the mom to help bury him. So they bury her back in the back where nobody really goes. Sure. And Beth eventually finds three graves and she starts digging, and she's digging up, and she finds Oh my god, did he kill the dad? He finds Emma's body. Okay. He finds some random guy's body, and we learn that it's that really creepy guy. Who confessed, but they couldn't pin it on him. So what happened with him is he the creepy guy went to the bar and Emma's dad was there drinking with Brian, the kid's dad. And so Creepy Guy like obviously knows he's not welcome, so he's leaving. And then Emma's dad follows him and beats the shit out of him. Like beats him to death, essentially. So now Brian has to help him hide this body. So he is also buried back there. He is the second grave. The third grave we find out is the dad. Because seven years ago, Michael comes home distraught because the girlfriend that he was taking at the time mysteriously died. And so Like he didn't do it, or like we don't know, and his dad pretty much asks, like, we can't believe we don't believe you. Like you're like you've murdered in the past, and so they get into a fight, and he ends up hitting the dad over the head, and somehow that comes in. So dad is and so Laura helped him bury the dad. So when she's saying don't trust, she meant Michael. Don't trust Michael. So, and like in the book, she's like, I will help you do this, and I never want to see you ever again. And so, this really fucked up thing, is you know, they all got their letters, and he went into Nicole's room, and we don't know this till the end, and switched his letters with Nicole's letters. And so the letter Nicole says is Um, You're not the child I wanted, but you're the child I got. Are you you know you're the child I deserve? Some I don't know, so it was horrific. And like, you know, that made her spiral she was trying to use, but it was really Michael's letter. What a bitch! Yeah, and so he wanted to buy this house to keep the secret safe. I don't know. It was it was good, and I'm missing. There's another girl that plays into this that she went missing, but when we find out, really Brian helped her escape. Um she played some role, I can't remember exactly what she did. Oh, she had video evidence. That's how they figured it out. She had video evidence of him pushing Emma into the ground, like pushing her onto the ground. So crazy. For her silence, she wanted to escape this town. So he gave her enough money to run away. Dude. And so she's just always been a missing person. But yes, he helped her run away, and it took him a while to figure out how she played into it. But yes, she ran away, made a new life for herself, and she's alive. It was interesting.

SPEAKER_01 33:56

I do like, I like Geneva because there are like with the perfect marriage, like out the gate, the mistress is dead. Yeah. So you're thinking automatically, you're like, well, the man who's cheating, like, did it. He woke up, she's dead. Like, you're like, oh, yeah. That is not what happened. Yeah. Turns out, do you want me to tell you? Yeah. So turns out it kind of to the sentiment of this one where you're like, you're leading up to it, and you're like, his wife's a lawyer. So she's like trying to defend like what he did. Well, he goes, I'm pretty positive. It I read this a hot minute ago, but I'm pretty positive he went to jail. He either went to jail or he died. Some he got acquitted and she killed him. But she did it. She killed the mistress with the help of the guy she was cheating with. And then they got married. And then that's how the perfect divorce happened. But I haven't read the perfect divorce. But I was like, damn. What I remember being in the tanning bed, like, what? What are you talking about? What do you mean? She does have I like her, I like her her method towards the end where it's like starting to like come together and you're you're starting to slowly unravel, and then she's like, Yeah, I'm gonna yank this ribbon real fast. Watch this.

SPEAKER_02 35:18

It's like you can, like, right before they told us it was Michael, I was like, I think it's Michael, because you're spending this whole fucking time like, do the parents really kill this kid? And like, but hold on, there's a quote. Well, let me find my notes. Ah, I I wrote down the note that was really from Michael, but Michael switched it to Nicole's and says, You're not the child I wanted, but you're the one I deserved. Regretfully, your mother. Oh who and he knew that by changing it that like she would try to relapse. And that's exactly what she did. And the emails, we find out that it was really Michael sending these emails because obviously he knows the dad's dead.

SPEAKER_01 36:11

Which is nuts. I had a feeling I was like, so if he did it.

SPEAKER_02 36:16

And throughout the book, like Michael, obviously, small count in Wisconsin, like they're struggling for money. And Michael was always given, like, he got his new computer, he was given coding classes, like they were trying to keep him busy so he couldn't have time to go, you know, hurt other kids. But to Beth and Nicole, it was seemed like he was the favorite, and so both of them resent him because he was the favorite, but like he was only the favorite. Right. Because they were murdered somebody burying all his people. That's crazy too. Yeah, she thought that they were their favorite, but they were just trying to keep him occupied. It says we smothered him with love and attention, most likely then neglecting our daughter in the in the process. Like they knew. I'd have just smothered him. Somewhere in the book, like after Brian finally tells her, like, all of the shit that's happened, Laura goes, After hearing it all, I would have done the exact same thing. Like, because you're like, that's your children. Like, yes, we know murdering's wrong. But like, I'm gonna do everything in my power to to keep you safe. And like, essentially, that's what they did. And like, yes, they hurt another family in the process, but like their son was safe, you know?

SPEAKER_01 37:45

Right.

SPEAKER_02 37:46

Until he wasn't, and oh, it's a whole thing. Like, that is the part that futs you up. Because like, as a parent, you're like, I would do anything to keep my child safe. And like, right, and like totally found. So that is that was the interest of interesting perspective. And okay, so during all this, like Lucas is there. Right, the brother, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:11

How does how does that shake it?

SPEAKER_02 38:12

So Beth tries to show him the video, and Lucas she puts it in the tape layer, the original video plays, and then it's static for where that is. And so Lucas is like, Beth, this is really fucked up. Why the fuck would you do that to me?

SPEAKER_01 38:30

Yeah, like why why would you do that, like, kind of thing?

SPEAKER_02 38:34

Yes, and so they end up so she once she finds the bodies and starts digging and stuff, like she's just like crying and screaming and just like letting all this frustration and anger out. And Lucas comes over while she's doing that, and while they're talking and figuring out, Michael comes in. And Beth had not Beth, Nicole had figured it out. She went to the lockbox that was supposed to be hers, so she was trying to score, she was trying to get ready to score. Right by right. All she found was a note that their mom wrote saying, I did here's everything that happened and what how it happened and the and she's like, Well, that's not so she's like, Fuck, I know what so she's trying to call Beth. Beth's not answering, so she's calling the police. So as Michael is confronting Beth and Lucas, the police are coming. Anyway, somebody gets shot, Michael ends up, like somebody pulls a gun out, and Michael ends up getting shot in the gut. He survives, he's in prison. Good. Um, her and Lucas end up together.

SPEAKER_01 39:35

You know, happy ending.

SPEAKER_02 39:37

I think they either had a kid or they adopted a kid. Happy times, happy times. Nicole gets clean, becomes an author, because like that's her thing. She's a writer.

SPEAKER_01 39:46

So, like so, like, the whole premise is like she wrote. I think this is like this is that kind of yeah, quote unquote. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:54

Huh. Yeah. It was good. I did like it. It took a while to get into it.

SPEAKER_01 39:58

It takes I feel like that's that's part of my like my lack of motivation right now, and then like it just took a minute. I was like. I want to be immediately drawn in. I need to yeah, I need to be hooked. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:08

Like Fourth Wing had me immediately. Present Sydney. Present Sydney had me in the first fucking 50 pages. I feel like we need more like oomph, you know, in the beginning. I need to be grabbed right off the beginning. I need oomph. Oomph.

SPEAKER_01 40:25

A little. I'm hoping that's what uh what our friend has for this next episode.

SPEAKER_02 40:32

What are we reading for a next one?

SPEAKER_01 40:34

Well, technically, you don't have to read any.

SPEAKER_02 40:38

I forgot you do. You have to read heated rivalry.

SPEAKER_01 40:40

I have to read technically just heated rivalry.

SPEAKER_02 40:43

But because I'm making you watch the show, I would like for you to read Game Changers 2.

SPEAKER_01 40:47

I like to do things right for the most part. So I will read the first two, and from there, who who knows? But that is the plan. I have to read technically just heated rivalry for book club, but I'm gonna read both and then we will discuss.

SPEAKER_02 41:04

Then we'll work from home when we quote. Yes. We will watch it. We will re- I will reheat it with you. I'm gonna sit down and record it all to you.

SPEAKER_01 41:11

You're so funny. And you should. I'm so excited that you get to I always feel bad because I'm like, I'm just not ready yet. Like I wanna like actually like be in the Right.

SPEAKER_02 41:22

And then then when it comes out in April next year, we'll be in each other's offices watching it. Oh my gosh. Yeah, just towards the end, like every Friday.

SPEAKER_01 41:29

I'm still gonna watch off campus with it. Okay, I'm just making sure. I just wondered because I know that you don't I know you don't care, but this is Dean and Allie's season, so like at least we can get something good out of it. Right.

SPEAKER_02 41:45

Is that it?

SPEAKER_01 41:48

That's it.

SPEAKER_02 41:48

I don't know how we managed to meet that in 44 minutes. We did. We did. And mainly it was just you telling me the plot of the book I didn't read. So it's all over the place. I'm so sorry, guys. I did not know.

SPEAKER_01 41:59

We like we said, we had some things.

SPEAKER_02 42:02

Relive this whole boat from memory. We had some things going on.

SPEAKER_01 42:05

Yeah, we will be back in back in better than never. Hopefully. Hopefully. In two weeks. Yeah, in two weeks' time, I think we'll be good. We'll have the fourth wing night to talk about. We'll have all kinds of stuff to talk about. Fourth wing night. I am ready. Okay. I'm so ready. Alright. Well, drop us a like, subscribe. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 42:25

Like, subscribe.

SPEAKER_01 42:26

Let us know what you want us to read. Give us some good book recs, especially if they draw you in like Fourth Wing did. Um, let us know what you're feeling. Let us know how you're doing.

SPEAKER_02 42:37

Let us know if you fucking read it.

SPEAKER_01 42:38

Let us know. Right. Let us know if you didn't if you didn't fuck with this book. But we hope you guys have a great week, and we will see you next time.