The BookBrowse Review

Published July 31, 2024

ISSN: 1930-0018

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Contents

In This Edition of
The BookBrowse Review

Highlighting indicates debut books

Editor's Introduction
Reviews
Hardcovers Paperbacks
First Impressions
Latest Author Interviews
Recommended for Book Clubs
Book Discussions

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Publishing Soon

Literary Fiction


Historical Fiction


Short Stories


Essays


Poetry & Novels in Verse


Thrillers


Romance


Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History


Graphic Novels


Biography/Memoir


History, Current Affairs and Religion


Science, Health and the Environment


True Crime


Travel & Adventure


Other


Young Adults

Mysteries


Thrillers


Romance


Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History


Graphic Novels


History, Current Affairs and Religion


Extras
  • Blog:
    The New York Times Best 100 Books of the 21st Century: How Does BookBrowse's Coverage Compare?
  • Wordplay:
    It's R C A D
  • Book Giveaway:
    Smothermoss by Alisa Alering
Book Jacket

Better Left Buried
by Mary E. Roach
6 Aug 2024
304 pages
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Genre: Thrillers
Critics:

Knives Out meets A Good Girl's Guide To Murder in Mary E. Roach's debut YA mystery Better Left Buried, in which two girls try to get to the bottom of a town full of secrets, a family full of mystery and an abandoned amusement park where people keep turning up dead.

Lucy Preston just wants to go on vacation. But being the daughter of a famous private detective means that sometimes, your beach vacay goes off the rails a bit. Think: a clandestine meeting at an abandoned amusement park—except instead of a meeting, Lucy and her mom find a body. Because of course they do.

As Lucy's mom is swept into top-secret detective stuff, Lucy sets out to investigate her mom's mysterious connection with this town. Lucy's snooping sets her on a collision course with Audrey Nelson, the mysterious girl on the motorcycle who was there the night they found the body. Lucy has questions, and Audrey has answers, but there's this tiny problem: Lucy's mom is investigating Audrey's mom...for murder.

Everyone has something to hide, and if Lucy and Audrey can't work together to uncover secrets that go back generations, there will likely be another body found at the base of the old roller coaster. And this time it might just be Lucy's.

Alternating between Lucy and Audrey's point of view, and filled with suspense as secrets are spilled, Better Left Buried is sure to leave readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page.

"Roach explores class differences and unbalanced power dynamics in this expertly paced debut thriller...Roach's profound prose teems with strong depictions of character relationships—including an opposites-attract sapphic romance and multiple mother-daughter bonds—set against the moody backdrop of an abandoned amusement park." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"An intriguing and quick-moving thrill ride of a whodunit with a fledging amateur detective driving the tension." —Kirkus Reviews

Mary E. Roach is an author of thrillers and mysteries and a fan of all things spooky. (But ask about true crime podcasts at your own risk. There are hot takes). 

When Mary is not writing stories for and about powerful girls, she can be found teaching martial arts, baking an unreasonable number of cookies, or taking off on thru-hikes through the wilderness of northern Minnesota.

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