Trigger Warnings: Grief, Bereavement (including child/ sibling/ parental death), Emotional abuse, Adult/ minor relationships, Sexual harassment, Murder, Violence, Stalking.
When Jo and Amy March go searching for their sister after an eventful night at Sallie Gardiner’s New Year’s Eve party, the last thing they ever expected was to find her blood-soaked body in the snow outside Laurie’s house.
As the March sisters gather back together at their family home in Concord, there is only one question on everyone’s lips. Who killed Beth March?
This is not the first time the March sisters have been headlining the news recently. Their father’s latest novel, a fictional tale based on the ‘Little Women’ in his life, exposed each of them, including their flaws and talents to the world, making them all celebrities in national literary circles.
This was mostly a problem for Beth, who at her father’s design, had died at the end of his book.
Readers across the country were already mourning her before she was even dead. Worse still, as soon as the book was done, their father left on one of his solo camping trips and hasn’t been heard from since. When the police arrive and the questions begin, the light is turned in his direction.
Could their father really have killed poor Beth and preemptively left clues for his plans in his novel, or did one of his bookish fans succeed in turning his art into a horrific reality?
As the questions swirl around them, their secrets begin to unravel, and they soon realise that there were a lot more motives hiding behind their sister’s death. Perhaps it wasn’t their father after all. Perhaps it was one of them…but then, no one has heard from Mr March yet, and those days away are turning into weeks.
One thing is for sure. Someone knows what happened, and the sisters will stop at nothing to discover the truth.
But the one of them who was there that fateful night has far too much to lose. The truth about who murdered Beth March can’t come out, and they are absolutely ready to do whatever it takes to keep those secrets buried.
Katie Bernet’s young adult debut reimagines Louisa May Alcott’s iconic March sisters as they investigate the suspicious death of their younger sister, while realising that no one is as innocent and sweet as they may seem.
Bernet is an award-winning creative director, a long-standing member of the DFW Writers Workshop, and the Director of the 2025 DFW Writers Conference.
Bernet resides in Dallas, Texas, U.S.A., and is a die-hard fan of Alcott’s ‘Little Women.
‘Beth is Dead is a thrilling, modern-day who-done-it tale, set in the unbeating heart of one of classic literature’s favourite families.
A fantastic contemporary debut that will refuse to let you sleep until you know the truth, this outstanding mystery thriller was published 15th January, 2026!
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