I received an advance galley of this book courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

I read Maureen Kilmer’s “Suburban Hell” after watching an Instagram Live interview with her last year, and she mentioned this book. I’m a huge fan of the “National Lampoon’s Vacation” movies (especially “Christmas Vacation”)) so I was super excited to check this one out.

The book focuses on the Somerset family and is told from the first-person POV of Leigh, the mother. She, her husband Nick, their teenage daughter Piper, son Leo, and youngest child, Sophie, are set to go on a road trip from Wisconsin to Florida to visit Magic Land in Orlando. Nick has meticulously planned this trip and is looking forward to the family bonding experience. Leigh, on the other hand, loves her family but would rather stay home, tend to her hydrangeas, and hang out with her neighborhood friends. Just a few hours into the trip, things take a turn for the worst when they almost hit a young boy while driving down a side road to avoid traffic congestion. When Leigh walks off to see if she can find the boy and ensure he is okay, she stumbles upon the charred remains of an old farmhouse, but no boy. The family continues on their journey, but Leo decides to take a souvenir from the charred remains, and he may have brought something with him. Now, the Somersets are constantly plagued by a series of bizarre and unsettling events that will test their patience and their sanity and throw a wrench in their family bonding experience.

I enjoy how Kilmer is able to combine horror with comedy. Just as she did in “Suburban Hell,” she effortlessly weaves together elements of the supernatural with laugh-out-loud moments, creating a story that is both funny and chilling. Much of this has to do with her knack for creating smart-ass, no-nonsense leading ladies, with Leigh being the perfect protagonist for this story. While Leigh is the glue of the family, her husband Nick is the heart, with his optimism and can-do attitude, which eventually starts to unravel as more and more weird things plague the family during the trip. The kids are also loveable, and Leigh’s friends, who occasionally call to check in, provide some nice comic relief. We even get a version of cousin Eddie in Nick’s brother, Ethan.

As the mystery unfolds and the tension mounts, Kilmer keeps readers turning the pages with clever plot twists, ridiculous hauntings, and unexpected developments. The pacing is pretty quick, and I was able to get through it in just a few hours.

While it was entertaining, and I enjoyed the slight nod to the National Lampoon vacation franchise, I didn’t find it especially creepy, and at times, it felt discombobulated. There are a lot of stops, detours, and random occurrences that begin to feel like a little too much at times. It seemed to take a really long time for the family to get to Florida, and then, suddenly, they were headed back. This wasn’t enough to ruin the book for me, and I did enjoy it in the end. I also saw the final plot twist coming very early on in the book, but it was still fun to see it play out.

If you’re a fan of Kilmer’s past books, you’ll surely enjoy this one. This is also an excellent book to check out this Halloween season if you like your scary books with a side of comedy or if you want a creepy read that isn’t too scary or bloody. The characters are fun, and the story is engaging, even if it sometimes feels a little unfocused at times.