Midnight on Beacon Street
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- Create Date：2024-02-06 07:23:31
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Emily Ruth Verona
- ISBN：B0CHJ4KFGZ
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Summary
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。
Reviews
Erin :bookshelvesandbubbly
，
I was so excited for the nostalgia that comes with a horror set in the early 9o's！ And 10/10 for the 80's movieEaster eggs。 It's probably the main thing that kept me flipping pages。 Unfortunately the plot itself fell flat for me。 it really just felt like a short story that someone wanted to turn into a novel with a minimum word count。 Considering it's right at 200 pages， it was so full of fluff。And that ending。。what？ Did I miss something？ I was so excited for the nostalgia that comes with a horror set in the early 9o's！ And 10/10 for the 80's movieEaster eggs。 It's probably the main thing that kept me flipping pages。 Unfortunately the plot itself fell flat for me。 it really just felt like a short story that someone wanted to turn into a novel with a minimum word count。 Considering it's right at 200 pages， it was so full of fluff。And that ending。。what？ Did I miss something？ 。。。more
Hailee
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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。
Kelly
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3。5
Sydney
，
What the fudge was that >:*
Brandy Johnson
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I don’t normally like books that flip back and forth in time， but this one does it well。 I won an uncorrected proof and if I hadn’t I probably would not have read it。 I am so glad I did。 A little heavy on movie/book references but I enjoyed it very much。
savannah
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3。5
Cassie Daley
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I love books set in the 90s， especially when they include things I also liked from the time period - and this one does that so many times thanks to the main character’s love of horror movies。 Babysitting isn't a trope unfamiliar to horror lovers， so seeing it done differently here - with more heart， I'd go so far as to say - is refreshing。 This had distinct WHEN A STRANGER CALLS vibes， but with more backstory and emotion。 This starts off with a lot of blood in the first chapter， but it's definit I love books set in the 90s， especially when they include things I also liked from the time period - and this one does that so many times thanks to the main character’s love of horror movies。 Babysitting isn't a trope unfamiliar to horror lovers， so seeing it done differently here - with more heart， I'd go so far as to say - is refreshing。 This had distinct WHEN A STRANGER CALLS vibes， but with more backstory and emotion。 This starts off with a lot of blood in the first chapter， but it's definitely more character-driven than blood-splattered slasher; the atmosphere is tense throughout， and the characters are fleshed out and detailed with their own motivations and backstories。 I loved getting to know the Amy， Ben， Mira， & their mom - the main perspectives of the book are via Amy & Ben， but the writing enables us to get to know the rest of the cast fully as well （not to mention a lot of other more minor characters）。 Amy’s love for the two kids she’s babysitting felt really believable， as did their characters in general - children aren’t always easy to write， but they’re so realistically done here！ I also felt the anxiety representation was really well done。___________________________Find me outside of Goodreads！Substack | Instagram | YouTube 。。。more
Chelsea Connors Newman
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The lower-ish rating this debut novel has on GoodReads surprised me once finishing。 A majority of the ratings are solidly 3 stars - not divisive。 I’m rating it higher， because I found it comforting for the genre。 It is very nostalgic。 It doesn’t have a sense of urgency， yet it all happens in one evening and [spoiler] ends in a stabbing。 The cultural references of the era were spot on。 I would recommend！
Kayla
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Good， quick read！ Deeply enjoyed all the nods to 90s horror films and might well read this one again sometime in future。 Just like a good horror movie there's something in the length and pace that makes it enjoyable for me to return to！ Good， quick read！ Deeply enjoyed all the nods to 90s horror films and might well read this one again sometime in future。 Just like a good horror movie there's something in the length and pace that makes it enjoyable for me to return to！ 。。。more
Cody
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Quick and fun， just how I like my thrillers！ It may have been a tad predictable， but it gave off the perfect vibes for the story it wanted to tell， certainly capturing the innocence of the early 90’s。 Definitely one that I’d suggest if anyone wants a quick read。
Poppy
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writing was lovely， but this is definitely more of a character study slow burn than a thriller of any kind。
Kori Potenzone
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One question。。。。 How is this a debut？Emily Ruth Verona， you have literally blown my mind and I am so honored to have been given the opportunity to read and review early in exchange for an honest review。 This book right here needs to be on everyones list : Midnight on Beacon Street The 90s nostalgia was real and I was completely consumed within the pages。 I was lost in time and submerged in this intricate and detailed thriller that will have you gasping out loud。 I loved every minute of this book One question。。。。 How is this a debut？Emily Ruth Verona， you have literally blown my mind and I am so honored to have been given the opportunity to read and review early in exchange for an honest review。 This book right here needs to be on everyones list : Midnight on Beacon Street The 90s nostalgia was real and I was completely consumed within the pages。 I was lost in time and submerged in this intricate and detailed thriller that will have you gasping out loud。 I loved every minute of this book and can not wait to see what Verona， comes out with next。 Check out this teaser : 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。 。。。more
Lana B thrills_chills_and_frills
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Thank you @NetGalley and Harper Perennial for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest review。 I gave this 4 stars due to that it is different from anything I’ve read and the nice little surprise TWIST at the end。 It had spooky vibes and a great plot and I liked how there were multiple point of views and how it flipped from past to present day。The setting takes place in the 90’s， which is AWESOME！ Amy is an anxious teen babysitter， sitting for two precocious children with a tragic history of a Thank you @NetGalley and Harper Perennial for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest review。 I gave this 4 stars due to that it is different from anything I’ve read and the nice little surprise TWIST at the end。 It had spooky vibes and a great plot and I liked how there were multiple point of views and how it flipped from past to present day。The setting takes place in the 90’s， which is AWESOME！ Amy is an anxious teen babysitter， sitting for two precocious children with a tragic history of abuse from their Dad。 Ben is quiet， shy and has a wild imagination， fabricating being haunted by a ghost。 Meanwhile， the actual ghost is older sister Mira， who protects her brother by keeping him living in fear。 Making them always prepared。 One night， Amy’s boyfriend and his brother， his girlfriend （which is Amy’s former babysitter）， and their friend show up unannounced and unwelcome to the house。 Amy puts up with them until they become too unruly and send them home。 The kids Dad， who is under a restraining order show up at the door， barging in aggressively。 Mira， hearing the commotion， shows up at the staircase and yells that she has called the cops and that they are on their way。 Dad leaves but later on another intruder breaks into the house and all hell breaks loose。 One dead body， another seriously injured and one pretty surprising twist at the end。 Any thriller reader will enjoy this VERY FAST read。 。。。more
Risa
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Light Popcorn thriller is how I would describe this。 The movie references were fun。
shmarls
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2。5 I did not like the babysitter Unsatisfying ending
Katie Warren
，
hear me out on this。 a house in the suburbs。 recent break ins around town。 weird phone calls and strange things happening。 all while one teenager is babysitting 2 kids。 it was written in a campy， 90s horror movie style。 with tons of nods to old horror movies。 which， imma fan of。 this is really good。 it is so well written。 i loved the little boy， ben。 my heart did melts for him。 BUT。。。 dun dun dun。。。 this is advertised as a fast paced twisty turny thriller。 and that it is not。 i don't really know hear me out on this。 a house in the suburbs。 recent break ins around town。 weird phone calls and strange things happening。 all while one teenager is babysitting 2 kids。 it was written in a campy， 90s horror movie style。 with tons of nods to old horror movies。 which， imma fan of。 this is really good。 it is so well written。 i loved the little boy， ben。 my heart did melts for him。 BUT。。。 dun dun dun。。。 this is advertised as a fast paced twisty turny thriller。 and that it is not。 i don't really know what id define this as。 is "nostalgic 90s campy horror movie" a genre？ if it is， this is it。 it's more of a character study of an anxiety ridden babysitter who has to deal with strange shit happening inside the home。 so thriller？ absolutely not。 a fun horror book with 90s vibes？ absolutely yes。 。。。more
Hanneh Bareham
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This was a very quick and easy read。 However， it’s nothing even close to a thriller。 The plot， reminiscent of a 90s horror film， is predictable for the most part with a few random， inconsequential characters introduced here and there。 It’s clear to see that this was all in an attempt to disuade the reader to create a shocking ending。 Rather than being a true thriller， it’s more about a high schooler’s night while babysitting。 The only intriguing story line or plot development comes toward the la This was a very quick and easy read。 However， it’s nothing even close to a thriller。 The plot， reminiscent of a 90s horror film， is predictable for the most part with a few random， inconsequential characters introduced here and there。 It’s clear to see that this was all in an attempt to disuade the reader to create a shocking ending。 Rather than being a true thriller， it’s more about a high schooler’s night while babysitting。 The only intriguing story line or plot development comes toward the last 10 minutes。 The final intrusion feels a bit cheap from a reader’s perspective and it doesn’t really make sense in terms of the story line。 I would have appreciated more development of the character relationship rather than the seemingly random nature of the ending。 Not the worst book I’ve read， but definitely not the best。 Even though the plot is relatively flat and the character development is boring at best， the descriptive imagery is impressive。 At times， maybe even too descriptive。 Everything was described with such intentional detail that it felt like I was watching a movie in real time。 。。。more
Ashton Reads
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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 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 steadyHeartbeat readyKeep your eyes openKeep your aim lockedThe night goes dark" 。。。more
Kelli Jones
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This is like a 3。75！！ I enjoyed this！
Britt Johnson
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This one was interesting， and I hadn't guessed the ending surprisingly。 This one was interesting， and I hadn't guessed the ending surprisingly。 。。。more
Melissa Wright
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I really did enjoy this book， she kept you guessing and wanting more。 If you like horror movies I think you’d like this little book。
Chad
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I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this short novel。 It generated some serious 90's nostalgia， especially with many of the horror movie tributes。 Halloween is one of my favorite movies ever， and this is definitely a bit of an homage to that。 I enjoyed the characters， especially the lead。 The story was delivered by jumping a around in time a bit， and through different perspectives and I think this worked fairly well。 The ending surprised me a bit too。 If you like 90's nostalgia and horror movies （ I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this short novel。 It generated some serious 90's nostalgia， especially with many of the horror movie tributes。 Halloween is one of my favorite movies ever， and this is definitely a bit of an homage to that。 I enjoyed the characters， especially the lead。 The story was delivered by jumping a around in time a bit， and through different perspectives and I think this worked fairly well。 The ending surprised me a bit too。 If you like 90's nostalgia and horror movies （especially Halloween）， this one is worth your time。 。。。more
Meredith Thorpe
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2。5 stars。 I liked the concept- early 90s creepy babysitter story （phone rings but no one’s there， etc。） There were just so many weird/unnecessary backstories and details and the ending was pretty disappointing and didn’t make much sense。 Super quick and easy read so I don’t feel like I wasted my time， but meh。
sam
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 this had so much potential but it fell short :（ i wish there was more character development for everyone and the face off seemed so rushed！！ i wish it lasted longer and played into more cliche horror movie tropes especially since sadie knew amy liked them！！ instead it felt like this was all built up to nothing。 also this is just a personal thing but it was annoying when the author said "the babysitter" instead of amy's name😭 this had so much potential but it fell short :（ i wish there was more character development for everyone and the face off seemed so rushed！！ i wish it lasted longer and played into more cliche horror movie tropes especially since sadie knew amy liked them！！ instead it felt like this was all built up to nothing。 also this is just a personal thing but it was annoying when the author said "the babysitter" instead of amy's name😭 。。。more
Alison Rafter
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All the pertinent action occurred at the very end。I went in with high hopes， given how well this book was reviewed。 This book is not horror。 I nearly quit on it several times。 It only became interesting at the very end。 Painful。
ISBNthinkingaboutbooks
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2。5 stars， rounded up。 i feel like I had high expectations for this one but ultimately， this one left me wanting more。although it’s a short read the pacing is slow， with multiple POVS in both past and present， which I didn’t think added a whole lot to how things ended。 And the ending， a bit abrupt， the action happens the last 10-20 pages or so and even then， that’s really all we get。while I appreciated the horror references and atmospheric feel of this story， I think it left a lot to be desired。 2。5 stars， rounded up。 i feel like I had high expectations for this one but ultimately， this one left me wanting more。although it’s a short read the pacing is slow， with multiple POVS in both past and present， which I didn’t think added a whole lot to how things ended。 And the ending， a bit abrupt， the action happens the last 10-20 pages or so and even then， that’s really all we get。while I appreciated the horror references and atmospheric feel of this story， I think it left a lot to be desired。 。。。more
Miranda
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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 overwhel 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。Senseless novel。 Don't recommend this one。Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for giving me an advance copy。 。。。more
Maggie
，
I think some of the negative ratings on this book are truly unfair and mostly a product of poor marketing （which is zero fault of the writing or the author）。 This is very much a character focused story that happens to be set over the course of one violent evening。 If you enjoy a slow burn， character driven， 90s homage， then you’d love this story。 Thank you Libro。fm for the ALC！
Jenni | The_BookishBrew
，
Midnight on Beacon Street by Emily Ruth VeronaRead this if you enjoy:-90’s nostalgia-vintage horror films-short readsGenre: It is being marketed as horror/thriller…Pub Date: January 29， 2024Well， the beginning of my reading year hasn’t exactly started off strong。As much as I hate not to give an amazing review on a gifted copy of a new book， I also want to be honest。 I was bored。The whole book jumps to different time lines， which threw off the pacing for me and hindered the narrative。 I also Midnight on Beacon Street by Emily Ruth VeronaRead this if you enjoy:-90’s nostalgia-vintage horror films-short readsGenre: It is being marketed as horror/thriller…Pub Date: January 29， 2024Well， the beginning of my reading year hasn’t exactly started off strong。As much as I hate not to give an amazing review on a gifted copy of a new book， I also want to be honest。 I was bored。The whole book jumps to different time lines， which threw off the pacing for me and hindered the narrative。 I also wouldn’t consider this book to be in the horror or thriller genre。 Around the 90% mark there is a chapter that might fall under that category。Overall， I lost interest and found the story to be too wordy at times， even at just 200 pages long。 If you’re looking for a short horror， pass this and check out T。 Kingfisher。 。。。more
Kindle Worm
，
The year is 1993 and Amy is babysitting 8 year old Ben and 12 year old Mira。 As the evening progresses， things take a turn and Amy doesn’t feel in control of the situation。 As unwanted visitors arrive， and a madman threatens them， Amy is on edge， and when someone breaks in and threatens her， someone is going to end up dead。 Verona blends early horror films and trauma together to give the reader a creepy vibe throughout。 Short and entertaining， but the ending was a bit too abrupt leaving me wishi The year is 1993 and Amy is babysitting 8 year old Ben and 12 year old Mira。 As the evening progresses， things take a turn and Amy doesn’t feel in control of the situation。 As unwanted visitors arrive， and a madman threatens them， Amy is on edge， and when someone breaks in and threatens her， someone is going to end up dead。 Verona blends early horror films and trauma together to give the reader a creepy vibe throughout。 Short and entertaining， but the ending was a bit too abrupt leaving me wishing for more。 Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for an ARC of this book。 。。。more
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midnight on beacon street midnight on beacon street by emily ruth verona