Beth Is Dead

One need not be familiar with Louisa May Alcott’s work to appreciate debut author Bernet’s brilliantly snappy contemporary riff on Little Women, which centers high school senior Jo March and her siblings—15-year-old Amy and Harvard freshman Meg—as they investigate the violent murder of their 17-year-old sister Beth. On New Year’s Day in Concord, Mass., shortly after their father abandons the family to focus on his writing and the day before Beth starts at Plumfield School for the Arts, Jo and Amy discover Beth’s corpse in the snow atop a hill a stone’s throw away from their friend Laurie’s house. Though suspicions about Laurie’s potential involvement abound—according to Amy, she left Beth with Laurie at a party the night before—Jo doggedly dives headfirst into an all-hands-on-deck-scale investigation. Alternating “Then” and “Now” chapters shift between Beth and the three surviving sisters’ distinctive voices, filling in events and backstories, fleshing out personalities and possible motives, and injecting suspense and true crime podcast energy into the ensuing inquiry. As Jo digs up unseemly secrets, romantic tension and love triangles add to the enticing drama. The cozy domesticity of the inspiration material is apparent throughout, and the girls’ closely held—sometimes conflicting—desires and ambitions both honor Alcott’s vision and add fuel to the fire of this electrifying whodunit. The sisters cue as white; Laurie has dark brown skin. Ages 12–up. Agent: Sara Crowe, Sara Crowe Literary. (Jan.)