Author: Katie Bernet
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Children Publishing
Genre: YA Mysteries & Thrillers
Format: Kindle ARC
No. of Pages: 400
Date of Publication: January 6, 2026
My Rating: 5 Stars
DESCRIPTION:
Beth March’s sisters will stop at nothing to track down her killer—until they begin to suspect each other—in this debut thriller that’s also a bold, contemporary reimagining of the beloved classic Little Women.
When Beth March is found dead in the woods on New Year’s Day, her sisters vow to uncover her murderer.
Suspects abound. There’s the neighbor who has feelings for not one but two of the girls. Meg’s manipulative best friend. Amy’s flirtatious mentor. And Beth’s lionhearted first love. But it doesn’t take the surviving sisters much digging to uncover motives each one of the March girls had for doing the unthinkable.
Jo, an aspiring author with a huge following on social media, would do anything to hook readers. Would she kill her sister for the story? Amy dreams of studying art in Europe, but she’ll need money from her aunt—money that’s always been earmarked for Beth. And Meg wouldn’t dream of hurting her sister…but her boyfriend might have, and she’ll protect him at all costs.
Despite the growing suspicion within the family, it’s hard to know for sure if the crime was committed by someone close to home. After all, the March sisters were dragged into the spotlight months ago when their father published a controversial bestseller about his own daughters. Beth could have been killed by anyone.
Beth’s perspective told in flashback unfolds next to Meg, Jo, and Amy’s increasingly fraught investigation as the tragedy threatens to rip the Marches apart.
When Beth March is found dead in the woods on New Year’s Day, her sisters vow to uncover her murderer.
Suspects abound. There’s the neighbor who has feelings for not one but two of the girls. Meg’s manipulative best friend. Amy’s flirtatious mentor. And Beth’s lionhearted first love. But it doesn’t take the surviving sisters much digging to uncover motives each one of the March girls had for doing the unthinkable.
Jo, an aspiring author with a huge following on social media, would do anything to hook readers. Would she kill her sister for the story? Amy dreams of studying art in Europe, but she’ll need money from her aunt—money that’s always been earmarked for Beth. And Meg wouldn’t dream of hurting her sister…but her boyfriend might have, and she’ll protect him at all costs.
Despite the growing suspicion within the family, it’s hard to know for sure if the crime was committed by someone close to home. After all, the March sisters were dragged into the spotlight months ago when their father published a controversial bestseller about his own daughters. Beth could have been killed by anyone.
Beth’s perspective told in flashback unfolds next to Meg, Jo, and Amy’s increasingly fraught investigation as the tragedy threatens to rip the Marches apart.
MY THOUGHTS:
Beth is Dead is an exceptional retelling of my favorite book of all time - Little Women. It is hard to believe that this is Katie Bernet’s debut novel. When the March sisters father penned his novel, Little Women, perhaps Beth’s future was predetermined. Of the four March sisters, Beth died in their father’s book. Sadly, truth followed fiction for the March family when Beth was brutally murdered. Her sisters, Jo, Amy and Meg are determined to find the killer.
Although the sad idea of Beth’s death was rather told by the father of the March Girls, this riveting story develops with each of the March sisters points of view, and is also told in then and now format. Sadly, any of Beth’s sisters could have been responsible for her death, but then could just about anyone that was acquainted with her. So, the mystery builds at a steady pace, which definitely keeps the reader guessing.
Though I am not generally a reader of YA, this book is an excellent thriller, one that raises my curiosity of a genre that I just may have been missing.
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
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