Midnight on Beacon Street: A Novel

Emily Ruth Verona has conjured up a very tricky plot for her debut thriller. There are flashbacks, time stamped events, and general mayhem that can be challenging for even veteran thriller readers. The first set of characters include a divorced mom, a defiant preteen daughter, and a sweet little six-year-old son. They are Eleanor, Mira, and Ben. Next, we meet Amy the tried-and-true babysitter.

Does this sound familiar? Yes, it’s a take on the scary babysitter movies that have been around for a while. Eleanor is heading out for a dinner date. She’s savvy enough to meet her date at the restaurant. Eleanor reminds Amy and the kids to lock the doors and watch out for anything that smacks of danger.

To add to the seemingly ordinary scene, a former babysitter and her entourage arrive uninvited. From this point, the plot becomes muddled. This reviewer is an avid reader of mysteries and thrillers. If Midnight on Beacon Street were any longer than nearly two hundred pages, I might have given up and retreated to my tried and true Catherine Coulter and Jonathan Kellerman novels.

Try allowing yourself a solid amount of reading time or pass altogether.