Tender Beasts

De: Liselle Sambury

Narrado por: Kimberly Woods

After her private school is rocked by a gruesome murder, a teen tries to find the real killer and clear her brother’s name in this “creepily potent story of a family legacy that gives terrifying shape to monsters real and imagined” (Kirkus Reviews) perfect for fans of The Taking of Jake Livingston and Ace of Spades.

Sunny Behre has four siblings, but only one is a murderer.

With the death of Sunny’s mother, matriarch of the wealthy Behre family, Sunny’s once picture-perfect life is thrown into turmoil. Her mother had groomed her to be the family’s next leader, so Sunny is confused when the only instructions her mother leaves is a mysterious note: “Take care of Dom.”

The problem is, her youngest brother, Dom, has always been a near-stranger to Sunny…and seemingly a dangerous one, if found guilty of his second-degree murder charge. Still, Sunny is determined to fulfill her mother’s dying wish. But when a classmate is gruesomely murdered, and Sunny finds her brother with blood on his hands, her mother’s simple request becomes a lot more complicated. Dom swears he’s innocent, and although Sunny isn’t sure she believes him, she takes it upon herself to look into the murder—made all the more urgent by the discovery of another body. And another.

As Sunny and Dom work together to track down the culprit, Sunny realizes her other siblings have their own dark secrets. Soon she may have to choose: preserve the family she’s always loved or protect the brother she barely knows—and risk losing everything her mother worked so hard to build.

©2024 Liselle Sambury (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

Perfectly Plotted

Tender Beasts is one of those rare novels that had me so completely immersed and hooked that when it ended, I immediately restarted it. The mystery of this supernatural thriller was so solid that it feels like I've read two separate novels, one where I was discovering everything alongside the heroine and one where I was able to pick up additional clues and context. The plot was solidly structured, yet still felt character driven. And those characters driving this story were amazing.

Sunny Behre, the protagonist of the novel, is realistically flawed and unique as far as heroines go. A teenager from a wealthy Black family, Sunny lives a life of great privilege alongside the constant threat of racial bias against her and her loved ones. She navigates the world hiding behind the persona of a happy, peppy, "sunny" girl with a constantly positive perspective and a spotless reputation. On the inside, she is very different as her inner monologue depicts her as more pessimistic, manipulative, and strategic. She was honestly a joy to read as she navigated the struggle of grieving her mother and trying to protect her family as a series of murders threatened to destroy them.

Alongside the modern-day mystery are a series of diary entries written by Sunny's mother in the 1990s where backstory is given on the mysterious Milk Man who is still terrorizing the family. I love the dual timeline these entries provide. The way Sunny's mother annotated the diary entries also added a unique touch as she provided additional wisdom of hindsight as well as advice.

While this story isn't a sequel to Sambury's previous novel, Delicious Monsters, it clearly takes place in the same universe. It's not necessary to read that book before Tender Beasts, but if you do, there's a well-placed Easter egg.

Overall, Tender Beasts is excellent. Absolutely a give star read.

Hard start, but gets real good 1/4 through

The first 1/4 was not clicking - the performance started one note, and the main character was unlikable. But then it started to all come together and by the end, I loved it. Definitely give it some time.

Like Delicious Monsters, Liselle is hitting a more adult horror, reminiscent of Mike Flannagans work. Clearly there is inspiration or they’re both just geniuses.

very engaging

I knew there was a supernatural element to the story but the way it kept me wondering if it was real almost to the very end is why i give this a 5 stars rating... It was just that good. The story is a bit "quiet" which i liked. The only negative is that some of the characters, and siblings could have been removed completely from the story without affecting it much.

whew

get out this was wild Slow Burn everything immediately clicks together by the end of the book though and I am pleasantly surprised I cannot wait to see more from this author

Great read

I did struggle a bit getting into this book which is weird since Liselle is in my Top 3. Once i started over twice, I was able to getting settled into Tender Beasts. The dynamics of the kids was different because usually the oldest child is left to be the family matriarch. In this case, Sonny is given that role in order to save her brother Dom from himself.

Overall great read!!! Definitely worth making into a movie!!

Pacing + Detail

The story took just enough time to spill out all the important details and paint the whole picture, without dragging on forever. V interesting with a great plot twist.

Really good story of generational trauma

I really like the way the story was told from mother and daughter's pov. I did not like the first half of the book because it was so slow. It picked up in the end but I was hooked when the mystery seemed to be another mystery. So so good!

She’s done it again

Couldn’t stop listening, the twists and turns kept me in the edge of my seat! Can’t wait for the next book she comes out with!

9/10 recommend

I liked how the story keep me on my toes trying to figure out who really did it. In the beginning I thought it was dom but then everything started pointing to someone else. Only thing I disliked was the transitions between the mom’s entire and Sunny’s POV. But over all it was a good book and I wish it was a series 😭

Sorry I wasted my time…

The description of this book made me think I would like it - but I ended up being disappointed that I spent my time listening to it. I’m glad I didn’t waste a credit since I bought it on sale but I did feel like I wasted my time. The plot dragged on and on and I wondered how a story with multiple murders could actually be boring at times. The supernatural element seemed poorly developed and the ending was very unsatisfying. I will avoid this author in the future.