House of Beth, Kerry Cullen
House of Beth, Kerry Cullen
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

House of Beth

Author: Kerry Cullen

Narrator: Helen Laser

Unabridged: 7 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/15/2025


Synopsis

A haunting and seductive tale of a young career woman who slides quickly into the role of stepmother, in a life that may still belong to someone else. “Vivid, addictive, and crackling with life (yes, even the ghost), House of Beth asks us to consider how and why we make the lives we make” (Lynn Steger Strong).

After a heart-wrenching breakup with her girlfriend and a shocking incident at her job, Cassie flees her life as an overworked assistant in New York for her hometown in New Jersey, along the Delaware. There, she reconnects with her high school best friend, Eli, now a widowed father of two. Their bond reignites, and within a few short months, Cassie is married to Eli, living in his house in the woods, homeschooling the kids, and getting to know her reserved neighbor, Joan.

But Cassie’s fresh start is less idyllic than she’d hoped. She grapples with harm OCD, her mind haunted by gory, graphic images. And she’s afraid that she’ll never measure up to Eli’s late spouse, who was a committed homemaker and traditional wife. No matter what Cassie does, Beth’s shadow still permeates every corner of their home.

Soon, Cassie starts hearing a voice narrating the house’s secrets. As she listens, the voice grows stronger, guiding Cassie down a path to uncover the truth about Beth’s untimely death.

About Kerry Cullen

Kerry Cullen’s fiction has been published in The Indiana Review, Prairie Schooner, One Teen Story, and more. She earned her MFA at Columbia University, and she lives in New York.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Brandon on August 25, 2025

Less of an outright horror novel, and more of a thoughtful, meditative, somber exploration of finding yourself when nothing in your mind makes sense and most of it scares the shit out of you. Once I stopped wondering when the creepy/haunting elements were gonna ramp up and began to appreciate it for......more

Goodreads review by Summer on July 14, 2025

I just loved this one! House of Beth is so many things, it’s a love story, a ghost story, and so much more. It’s also a searing perspective of what life with OCD is like and how those who suffer often mask how they feel in the inside. Multi-layered with gothic undertones, House of Beth is clearly in......more

Goodreads review by Brandy Leigh on August 05, 2025

Cassie has a lot going on… between coping with harm OCD, a break up, and leaving her dead end job. She decides to leave everything behind and returns to her hometown. Within a few months she ends up marrying her old high school friend who recently lost his wife Beth and has the personality of a card......more

Goodreads review by Cydney on July 13, 2025

Did I think this book was called House of Bath the entire time because I thought the bowl of fruit on the cover (a very underwhelming cover for this book) was a bathtub filled with fruit with a blood splatter on the ground and spend the entire book waiting for some kind of gruesome bath scene? Well…......more

Goodreads review by Andye.Reads on July 05, 2025

I honestly don't even know how I felt about this book. It was incredibly strange, which I don't dislike. But I just didn't feel like enough happened. It got a bit repetitive in the middle, and the ending was pretty predictable and anticlimactic. But it was just strange enough that it held my attenti......more


Quotes

"This contemporary gothic novel is narrated by Helen Laser. After a breakup and an upsetting incident at work, Cassie retreats to her hometown, where she reconnects with her high school friend, Eli, whose wife, Beth, has just passed away. Eli is immediately drawn to Cassie, and they marry quickly. But Cassie, who struggles with OCD, isn’t a good fit for the life Beth left behind. Violent images of Eli and the children fill her thoughts as she attempts to settle into being a stepmother and housewife. Laser provides the narration for both Beth and Cassie, showcasing her skill with an emotional delivery and clear distinction between characters. Laser’s crisp and even tone keeps the listener engaged as Beth guides Cassie toward the truth about her death."