Beth is Dead by Kate Berner

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✦ BLURB ✦

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.

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A modern murder mystery that asks: what if the March sisters’ story didn’t end in sentiment, but suspicion?

Pre-Reading Thoughts:
I was intrigued the second I saw the words “Little Women retelling” and “murder mystery” in the same sentence. I love a good reimagining, but I was curious how those cozy, moral, and domestic vibes would play alongside murder, motive, and mayhem.

Post-Reading:
As I thought... this was an engaging and fast-paced mystery. The investigation keeps the tension high, and there are a few genuinely sharp twists. The alternating timelines and perspectives are well-handled, especially Beth’s own flashbacks that reveal cracks in her supposedly sweet image.

It surprised me by... not really needing to be Little Women. There are clever nods to the source — Amy’s cousin Florence was a fun Easter egg — but the plot and tone feel so far removed that the retelling label almost distracts from the mystery itself. When I stopped comparing it to Alcott and took it as its own story, I had a much better time.

Music Pairing:
🎵 “bury a friend” – Billie Eilish
🎶 Norman Fucking Rockwell! – Lana Del Rey
🎧 Artist rec: Florence + the Machine (that blend of myth, rage, and grief feels right)

Vibe Check:

• 🎨 Colour Palette: muted greys, wine red, winter white

• 🎬 Soundtrack: slow piano, crackling fire, and the occasional gasp in the dark

• 🌤 Season: deep winter, post-holiday hush

• 💭 Mood: claustrophobic, brittle, secretive

• 🌹 Scent: cold air and ink on paper

Tarot Pull: 3 of Swords. Heartbreak, true and deep, the kind you're never the same after.

For fans of: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (for the publishing world secrets) and The Family Game by Catherine Steadman.

Beth is Dead publishes on the 6th January, 2026. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.

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