This is a real page turner! Eva is struggling with her new life in London when her husband Peter surprises her with a trip to Hong Kong where she spent time after college and everything goes off the rails for them there. Catherine is trying to relocate a family where the dad is a whistleblower about a failed pharmaceutical. Maggie is an FBI agent searching for a woman and her child who have gone missing without a trace. These three threads feel random but trust that they will come back together in this carefully plotted tale. Great characters in Eva, Peter, Stephanie, Jake, and Eva's friends in Hong Kong - I found myself rooting for all of them, especially Betsy who we never meet. If I have a quibble it's with the repeated references to "a story for another time" (does this mean I've forgotten something from the first novel or that it will appear in a subsequent novel?) in the first half of the novel. I loved the Hong Kong setting (if you've been there, you'll be reminded of some of the locations such as the aviary). It's fast paced and plot driven and while I realize there are some plot holes, that didn't matter to me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Excellent thriller.

Sometimes people disappear for mysterious reasons. This thriller toys with the reader, revealing just enough about character and situation to keep me guessing. Author builds tight suspense throughout, but the multiple points of view—while cinematic—can be complicated to follow. Much of the novel takes place in Hong Kong; details of setting are vivid and alluring.

The second book in Nina Sadowkys’ Burial Society series, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺 𝘉𝘦𝘥 finds Catherine, the founder of the underground witness protection organization, occupied with protecting whistleblowers against vengeful pharmaceutical company who will stop at nothing to quiet them.

While on her mission to keep the Harris family safe, Catherine receives an SOS from a former flame, Forest Holcomb, who is one of the few people Catherine trusts. He enlists the Burial Society’s help to find Eva Lombard, wife to Peter, one of his key employees. Peter and Eva moved to London from the United States; since then, Eva, a former journalist, has felt isolated and adrift, her only friend Baxter, a loyal Burmese Mountain dog and her drinking become problematic.

To rebuild the shaky foundation of their relationship, Peter plans a surprise anniversary trip to Hong Kong. Despite their best efforts, they fight during the long flight, with Eva claiming she’s being followed and Peter attributing it to paranoia. After checking into their luxury hotel suite, Peter takes sleeping pills and falls into heavy slumber. When he wakes, Eva is gone. Two days later, she still hasn’t returned.

Catherine dispatches her agents Jake and Stephanie to Hong Kong as a favor to Holcomb—there, they find a tangled web of deceit embroiling them in a conflict between rival gangs. Without untangling the mystery, not only are Eva and Peter in danger, they too are in the crosshairs.

Meanwhile, New York-based FBI agent Magali Guzman herself is on the trail of a missing mother and son, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she comes to dismantling the Society Catherine has worked so hard to establish.

While I liked the basic premise of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺 𝘉𝘦𝘥, the various strands of the narrative never meshed completely for me, and I think the book would have been stronger if Magali’s story had been eliminated, especially since the denouement seemed rushed and slightly contrived. I also wish the philosophical interludes, perhaps from Catherine, perhaps an omniscient narrator, had been eliminated. Some of the dialogue, particularly the arguments between Eva and Peter, rang false. Additionally, at no fewer than five points, Catherine referred to “stories for another time.” In my mind, these stories should either be told or not referenced at all. Finally, Catherine seemed omnipotent in her abilities and intelligence network but the mechanisms were assumed in a way that I wish had been outlined more directly.

I did, however, like the Hong Kong setting and the growing sense of paranoia and chaos afflicting Eva, and Stephanie was a scrappy and fun character. The book was a quick read, and I was compelled to give it my attention to find out what happened to the characters and how the different plot strands converged.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Nina Sadowsky for the opportunity to read and review the next book in her great Burial Society series - another 5 star read for me!

Catherine is again featured in this book as she seeks to help those who need to hide away. She is in Mexico City with her latest job, hiding a family, when she gets a call from an ex needing help to find the wife of one of his employees. This employee, Peter, and his wife, Eva, are on an anniversary trip from their home in London, trying to salvage their marriage. Eva realizes that she is being followed, even though her husband doesn't believe her. When Eva disappears from their hotel in Hong Kong, Peter calls his boss, Holland, who sets Catherine's team on their mission to find her. Enter an FBI agent who becomes entangled in the story line as well.

All of these characters and events will keep you globe-trotting and guessing on who the bad guys really are and how it will all turn out. A great follow-up to The Burial Society!

I enjoyed this book, but I wish I would've been able to read the first in the series prior to this one. I didn't know this was book 2 until I looked it up on Goodreads. However, it kept me interested until the end. I liked the storyline, and the characters felt real to me.

Book Info
Hardcover, 320 pages
Expected publication: January 28th 2020 by Ballantine Books
ISBN 0525619879 (ISBN13: 9780525619871)
Series The Burial Society #2
Other Editions (1)
Source:Netgalley EARC
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BOOK BLURB

Catherine excels at helping desperate people disappear. But now she must use her unique skill set to find a missing woman in this electrifying novel from the author of The Burial Society.

Eva Lombard is being followed. Or so she suspects. . . .

Eva and her husband, Peter, are in Hong Kong on a romantic getaway from London when Peter wakes up in their hotel room to an empty bed, his wife gone without a trace. His worst fears are confirmed: Eva wasn't imagining things. Suddenly, he finds himself the number one suspect in his wife's disappearance, trapped in a foreign country with no one to turn to. He calls his boss, Forrest "Holly" Holcomb, who enlists the help of Catherine, his ex-flame and the enigmatic operator behind the darknet witness-protection program known as the Burial Society.

As a favor to Holly, Catherine sends her team of highly trained Society members on a dangerous chase through Hong Kong to find Eva--while she takes care of pressing business at home. Not only is she tasked with a mission in Mexico City, protecting a family that knows too much from a vengeful pharmaceutical company, but an FBI agent tracking down the missing wife and child of a charismatic businessman is about to come dangerously close to exposing the Society's secrets.

In these intertwining story lines that converge in unexpected ways, not everyone is who they appear to be--and not everyone who is lost wants to be found.
My Thoughts

Catherine oversees and is the mastermind of this modern day adaptation of an Underground Railroad using advanced technology and methodology outside the purview of conventional, meaning strictly legal, Witness Protection programs.

This particular story has intersecting events that manage to overlap here and there, as indicated in the books synopsis, in ways that can be understood and followed easily.

For those that are in the midst of each mission however as things do unfold there is quite a bit of trepidation as well as some genuine danger before everything is quite elegantly resolved by outside forces that are totally unexpected by anyone, including this reader.

The Burial Society is not a new concept however its execution has proved to be one that would be envied by many if they were privy to its successes.

For me this was a great way to expose my love of challenge in figuring out the hows and whys of what is happening as well as what is coming in the story.

The author has a way of drawing in her reader with both situations and characters that keep one involved throughout in ways that are very addicting to read from start to finish.

[EArc from Netgalley]
On every book read as soon as it is done and written up for review it is posted on Goodreads and Netgalley, once released then posted on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles as well.

Very enjoyable read. Full of intrigue and action, this book has multiple story lines going on at once, but they all meet up throughout the book. As the second book for the Burial Society, this book can be read as part of the series or a stand alone book. I hope there will be many more books with these characters.

Thank you NetGalley, Nina Sadowsky and Ballantine Books for this advanced reader edition and hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partners

This is book 2 in the Burial Society series by Nina Sadowski. I did not read the first book; therefore, I did feel rather confused in the beginning because I didn’t have a clue what was going on. I don’t think it works well as a standalone; however, background information was revealed as the story progressed.

Overall the story was well written, with interesting revelations about the characters as well as plenty of twists and turns. I liked all the action and the various plots tied to the main character, Catherine.

While I enjoyed the story, I felt the liberal sprinkling of the F word throughout was completely unnecessary. It was thrown in here and there both for the action and as a swear word. I have never read a book review filled with complaints that the F word was missing, many people, myself included, hate to see it. Why turn readers away? My favorite authors, many of them very popular, don’t resort to this.

I seriously have a knack for missing that a book is part of a series. This is book two of The Burial Society. This is a book that can be read as a stand alone. You don't have to have read the first book to get what is going on in this story.

Feeling dejected because her husband is always at work Eva should be much more excited than she is about the surprise he has planned for her. Only she can't bring herself to feel the excitement that she should. Between attempting to smooth the waters with her husband, Eva is also dealing with the intense feeling that she is being followed. Only she has no clue why someone would be following her.

Eva tumbles into a web of deception and secrets that nobody can begin to fathom. Secrets that if brought to light could ruin several important peoples lives. Eva races against the clock to find the truth and stay ahead of whomever is after her.

An enjoyable and suspenseful story.

The Empty Bed is a page turner. You'll have a hard time putting it down. A small group of people take persons in dangerous situations and relocate them so they are safe from harm. The characters are intriguing with interesting backgrounds. You'll like the way things happen.

Reading The Empty Bed gave me the same goose bumps that a good James Patterson book does. There is a core character responsible for tasking and following her fellow investigators. While they typically work to make people disappear, this time they are working to find them, but the same principles apply. The characters are so real that most of the time, I can see them. There are three distinct story lines running that all meet together in the end. Nina Sadowsky has built the Burial Society into a "can't wait for the next one" series.

I was a bit concerned because I did not realize that this book was a part of a series and I had not yet read the first one. However, once I dove in and immersed myself in the book, I was able to pick up on the characters and what was going on. It was such an intriguing read and I am not only looking forward to going back and reading book one but to also read the future books!

I read this book (thank you NetGalley) before having read book 1 of the series, so I was behind a bit in the characters, BUT, I picked up on most of it pretty quickly. There are 2-3 storylines going, all tied to Catherine - a woman who helps others hide &/or disappear. The main story involves 2 US citizens who travel from London to Hong Kong and run into some trouble after the wife takes a photograph. There is also a New York City VIP whose wife and son are missing and a pharmaceutical researcher who is involved in a whistleblower suit.
Overall, the book is well written. I am not a fan of the asides to the reader (despite considering myself a great Conan Doyle fan!) . I just don't think they're needed here and it reminds me I'm reading a novel rather than experiencing an adventure from my sofa! I haven't yet decided if I will look into the first book of the series, but I probably will...

While this could be read as a standalone book, I realized there was probably a previous book when the author kept referencing things that happened in the past that were not described in this story. It would have clarified some things, but still did not take away from the exciting story line. One thread is the pairing of two new agents for the Burial Society, a group that helps people leave, or rescues people, from dangerous situations; another thread about protecting whistle blowers before they testify (and where we learn a little about Catherine, the owner of the Burial Society and her relationship with "Holly"). There is another one about FBI agent Magali (Maggie) Guzman who is training to go undercover (I suspect we haven't heard the last of her), and then there is what I would consider the main story - a woman living abroad in England with her all work, all the time husband, vanishes on an "anniversary" trip to Hong Kong. We then follow the clues to find out who was following her, and why, all the while suspecting several people along the way. This part was fast paced, but I have to take away a star for the distraction of the subplots which kept competing for my attention. Reading these books in order would definitely help with the flow.

I struggled a bit with this book. So many characters and so much choppy going from one set of people to another. Who were the good guys? Who were the bad guys? How were they connected? I wish I had read the first book in this series - that might have helped me with this one.

There was a lot of action that kept me turning the pages but the choppiness kept me from fully enjoying the story. Now that I'm familiar with the characters, maybe the next book in the series will be more enjoyable.

The Empty Bed picks up where The Burial Society left off. Catherine, an operative for said Burial Society, makes a practice of helping people escape their lives. Mostly women who are in bad marriages - and by bad, I don’t mean unhappy, but truly bad, marriages where they are beaten or threatened or living with monsters. Catherine helps them escape and become whole new people. New names, new identities, new lives. What she does is dangerous, and sometimes deadly, but she believes in it wholeheartedly. ‘

In this novel we meet two new operatives, Stephanie and John. Catherine is training them to work on their own, and in their own way, they are teaching her a thing or two. Both are coming from tragedy in their own lives. Perhaps that is what leads them to want to work for the Burial Society. Perhaps in a way they are adrenaline junkies. Regardless, they have chosen this path.

Peter and Eva are a thirty something couple living in London. Peter works in high finance. Eva has given up her journalism career to start a family, only she can’t seem to get pregnant. So now Eva spends her days walking her dog Baxter and shooting photos of whatever she fancies. Peter finds time for her when he can. So when Peter proposes a surprise trip to Paris for their anniversary, Eva is a bit skeptical. She’s just not sure what to make of his sudden attentiveness.

Magali is an FBI special agent. She has worked her way up the ranks and is about to depart for undercover training. But she has one last case to clear off her plate, the disappearance of socialite Betsy Elliot and her son Bear. Of course the husband is the prime suspect, but Magali definitely doesn’t see it that way. How does a prominent wife and her six year old son just vanish off the face of the earth with no trace? Magali is going to make it her mission to find out.

Just as with The Burial Society, I couldn’t put this one down. I stayed up way past my bedtime two nights in a row to finish it and find out what happens to all these people in this crazy, twisty, turny novel. Sadowsky is a master of suspense, taking you to the brink and then switching the story to an alternate point of view. Each character has layers to unpack, each layer bringing new revelations.

I couldn’t wait for this follow up to The Burial Society, and as with some sequels, you often don’t know if they will meet your expectations. Not this one. Sadowsky surpassed all expectations I had for book number two. Now I have to wait, anxiously, to find out what happens with Stephanie, John and Catherine, and what “burials” they have in store next.



4.5 stars


This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com on 14 January 2020 .

THE EMPTY BED by Nina Sadowsky is the gripping second book in the Burial Society series. I really enjoyed the first book, THE BURIAL SOCIETY, so I was excited to reconnect with Catherine and her associates in another compelling mystery. Although THE EMPTY BED could be read as a stand-alone novel, there is a lot of background in the first book that helps to understand the motivations of the characters and the reasons behind the secret Burial Society. Catherine’s dark net society helps “rescue” people in highly dangerous circumstances and ensures they land somewhere safe and untraceable. Peter Lombard schedules a surprise getaway to Hong Kong so that he and his wife, Eva can reconnect. Eva becomes very uneasy when she feels a stranger has been following her from their London home all the way to Hong Kong, but Peter insists she is imagining things. That is, until he wakes up to an empty bed and soon learns that Eva has actually gone missing. In another part of the story, a couple and their children are extracted by The Burial Society from a volatile situation where a powerful corporation threatens to harm them. At the same time, FBI agent Maggie Guzman is investigating the disappearance of a prominent businessman’s wife and son. These three separate storylines end up intersecting in unexpected and complicated ways. I was kept on the edge of my seat from beginning to end trying to figure out what would happen next. The drama, suspense and intrigue of THE EMPTY BED definitely did not disappoint and I hope there will be more books in this series in the future. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy.

Eva Lombard hates living in London and having no center to her life, other than attempting to get pregnant by her husband Peter. Peter’s work with Forrest “Holly” Holcomb’s internationally known company keeps him occupied at all hours of the day and night, and Eva’s career as a photojournalist has been put on hold while they are overseas. In an effort to surprise Eva, Peter plans a romantic getaway to Hong Kong, where Eva had spent a summer during college. Things go horribly wrong, and Peter is forced to rely on his boss and Holly’s dark web of contacts in order to save their lives.

Catherine is Holly’s secret weapon, his go-to person when someone needs to be located – or to disappear. Managing multiple cases at one time, she delegates the Lombard situation in Hong Kong to Jake and Stephanie, two of her operatives, and though the two have never worked together, Catherine is sure the outcome will be successful.

This book is packed full of action and intrigue, with spying here, missing people there, some guns and violence thrown in, murder and mayhem and ransacking of hotel rooms – and while I enjoyed the various parts of the book, I found the format to be choppy and not easy to follow. Each chapter is written from a different character’s perspective, and I would have preferred a more streamlined way of delivery. Interesting premise, though I think reading the first book in the series prior to reading this one would have helped me to understand the backstories of the characters.

The Empty Bed will leave your head spinning,but it is a fantastic book if you can keep up with it. The characters are interesting and the storyline is entertaining.

When I started reading this book, I was afraid I would not be able to keep track of all the characters and their intertwining story lines, but that was not the case. The author did a superb job keeping the story lines and the characters flowing in the right direction. This book is full of mystery and intrigue and this is #2 of the Burial Society. I had not read #1 and I had to trouble knowing what was going on. Catherine head up the Burial Society and helps rescue people in danger and helps disappear. Magali "Maggie" Guzman works for the FBI and is getting read to begin their undercover program. Each chapter is told from a different character's point of view which made this book very interesting. Thank you NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for the ARC of this fantastic book which I think deserves more than 5 stars. I was so impressed with this book, I ordered the author's previous book, The Burial Society. I very highly recommend this book if you are looking for a very well written mystery/thriller.