The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens– 303 pages
Book Blurb:
College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe’s life is ever the same. Iverson is a dying Vietnam veteran–and a convicted murderer. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home, after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder. As Joe writes about Carl’s life, especially Carl’s valor in Vietnam, he cannot reconcile the heroism of the soldier with the despicable acts of the convict. Joe, along with his skeptical female neighbor, throws himself into uncovering the truth, but he is hamstrung in his efforts by having to deal with his dangerously dysfunctional mother, the guilt of leaving his autistic brother vulnerable, and a haunting childhood memory.
My Review: 4.5 stars
This book sucked me right in from the start because the author added a family drama and a legal thriller into this juicy mystery. The main protagonist is a likable character and strives to be better than what his poor, abusive upbringing should allow him to be. Much of the story takes place at University of Minnesota where I recently went on a college tour with my son. Knowing the locale he was speaking of, the footbridge that crosses the Mississippi and some of the beautiful buildings that pepper the campus was an added bonus for me.
Mysteries are not my favorite genre but if one comes highly recommended to me, I’ll give it a try. In this particular story, the mystery also involved family drama, a budding romance, exoneration, brotherly love, Vietnam, redemption and second chances. Additionally, the writing style and the author’s use of dialogue was spot on. He deftly used metaphors to enhance the plot. Basically, I stayed up way too late finishing this book. Warning for those faint of heart, there is some disturbing imagery at times.
This would make for a great book club discussion and I look forward to reading more from this debut author.
Quotes I liked:
We waited as the words echoed off the walls and came back to him, tapping his shoulder like Poe’s tell-tale heart.”
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I have this sitting on my night stand. I will have to move it to the top of the pile!
definitely. it was a good one! Night stand you say? LOL! It’s just another book shelf.