I wanted to like this one based on the premise, but it fell woefully short. I thought this was going to be more about the mom/daughter relationship, but the mom barely confides anything in her daughter and they’re at odds for the most part. The whole novel is this huge build up to a secret that her mother can’t bring herself to talk about, while also investigating a murder that you’re trying to unfold the details of. The ENTIRE thing is build up. And the conclusion was a let down. Honestly the only thing that kept me going was thinking I was going to find out something crazy, but I personally didn’t think it made up for powering through the book. The relationship between Lucy and Audrey is cute, almost a little too cute, but they offer each other a nice balance. That being said, this book is dual POV of the two of them, and for characters that are supposed to be so different, I sometimes forgot whose perspective I was in the middle of reading. I think it would have been better served all from Lucy’s perspective or even having a dual POV with Lucy and her mother. I unfortunately don’t have much positive to say about this one other than the cover is awesome.

I thought this was really well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I think it will find readers at our library, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection.

I absolutely love a thriller/romance hybrid so of course I was super into this book. Lucy thinks she and her mom are going on vacation, but instead they’re called to her mom’s hometown to investigate a murder. Lucy knows very little about her mom’s past and her mom is trying to keep it that way. But now that Lucy is here, she’s finally finding things out—like that her mom was raised by the wealthy family in town, who have some dark secrets of their own. In her investigating, Lucy’s path crosses with Audrey’s, a local teen whose connections to the mystery also bear looking into. Soon they’ve teamed up as they try and figure out what their moms aren’t telling them, and who’s killing people in this creepy little town.

Better Left Buried follows Lucy, who ends up entrenched in a murder mystery, instead of a spring break vacation, because she is the daughter of a famous private detective. This book surprised me with how it pulled me in and didn't let me go. I flew through the chapters and was just as determined as Lucy to entangle the web of secrets and lies that fill this book. I did find that I would have been satisfied with the book without the final chapter. It felt a bit like an add on to make everyone happy. That being said, this book kept me engaged from start to finish and I recommend it to both teens and adults that like a fast-paced puzzle to solve. This book is a great addition to any teen fiction collection.

Mary Roach is an artist. This book was scary and mysterious and I was worried for the main character's life several times but at the same time I was laughing and falling in love. I don't know how she manages to balance the high emotions of being a teenager in a spooky town where more people are being found dead. I really appreciated the mom character's humanity, it was really refreshing to see an earnest sibling-parent relationship. Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for an early read in exchange for my honest review.

Student Review

Daughter of Katy, Lucy gets involved in her mom's private investigation and uncovers things from her and her mom's past that were kept from her. She finds out who she is beginning in a town called Haeuter Lake. Lucy meets Audrey who teaches her about her past, and tags along with her when she investigates. Better Left Buried was adventurous and dug deep into the past of the characters, and their little town.

4

"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." I'd say it is a pretty good description of this YA mystery-laden sapphic romance!

Love the atmosphere of this book: the dark woods, the abandoned amusement park, the creepy mansion. Overall, it's a great clean mystery for teens. The romance between the 2 FMCs is sweet and thoughtful. They wrestle with important ideas about socioeconomic status, power balances/imbalances, and grief. It's one I'd be happy to recommend to students.

I absolutely love a thriller/romance hybrid so of course I was super into this book. Lucy thinks she and her mom are going on vacation, but instead they’re called to her mom’s hometown to investigate a murder. Lucy knows very little about her mom’s past and her mom is trying to keep it that way. But now that Lucy is here, she’s finally finding things out—like that her mom was raised by the wealthy family in town, who have some dark secrets of their own. In her investigating, Lucy’s path crosses with Audrey’s, a local teen whose connections to the mystery also bear looking into. Soon they’ve teamed up as they try and figure out what their moms aren’t telling them, and who’s killing people in this creepy little town.

There was some great scene-setting here and a mystery you want to know more about right away. The mother-daughter dynamics for both MCs were great, and of course I loved the love story. Such a solid thriller debut!

Was drawn in by the AMAZING cover but the story inside is just as good. Full of compelling twists, dubious characters, and a tantalizing mystery. I so enjoyed this one and look forward to the author's future books!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A fun, chaotic lesbian mystery reminiscent of Knives Out and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.

Better Left Buried is a dual POV that follows Lucy, daughter of a private detective who goes to the town her mom grew up in, and Audrey, motorcycle enthusiast who lives in said town. Both girls are tangled up in a mystery as a murder takes place at the abandoned amusement park. And to make matters worse, Lucy’s mom is investigating Audrey’s mom for the murder. The town is full of secrets all tangled around a wealthy family that goes back generations and Lucy and Audrey have to figure out who is murdering people or risk being next.

I really enjoyed this book and the two main characters as they tried to figure out who was killing people and what happened around the town when their parents were their age. It did take me a bit to get fully into the story and I’d recommend really paying a lot of attention at the beginning because a lot of characters are introduced. I was also expecting more scenes at the amusement park but the ones that did take place there were good. I would’ve just preferred more there and less at the house.

Lucy and Audrey were really adorable together and I loved the growth of their relationship – I need more sapphic mysteries where they play detective. I loved their tension and sneaking around scenes. And Audrey’s history with the amusement park was so heartbreaking. They had really great chemistry and seeing them run around and try to solve the murder was really fun and had me on the edge of my seat. The wealthy family in this was really reminiscent of the Knives Out family and really delivered on that. I was definitely unsure who actually ended up being the killer and liked the overall twist at the end.

It's a really fun, suspenseful read with chaotic characters and eerie vibes around this small, forested town. Would definitely recommend if you loved Knives Out or any YA mysteries!

I just read an eARC of Better Left Buried by Mary Roach provided by Netgalley.

Lucy's mom Katy is a famous private detective, but when she redirects their route on the way to spring break, Katy and Lucy find themselves in the middle of an investigation that is VERY close to home. Katy hasn't told Lucy anything about her past, and Lucy, along with local troublemaker Audrey, can't help but dig, even when the stakes are life or death.

This book was pretty good, Audrey and Lucy make a good investigative pair- they balance eachother put well. However, I found some of the reveals to be disappointing. Some new evidence would be provided as if we already knew it, and even though there were obvious pieces withheld for dramatic effect, there was never really any doubt about whodunnit. That said, it's a fun romp, and I'm excited to see what Roach'd sophmore novel looks like. I think the teens in my library would enjoy this book.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. This book has some twists and turns that keeps you guessing. Even though the girls were told to stop looking; they still kept getting involved to try to find the truth. This book also shows that people will do everything they can to keep secrets buried and forgotten.

Oh hey, I wrote this one and I'm pretty proud of how far these girls have come. (: Thank you for reading BETTER LEFT BURIED!

This was such a fun, edge-of-my-seat debut. I was totally engrossed in the spooky, atmospheric setting and drawn in by our two strong, very different leads. I loved Lucy's inquisitive nature and Audrey's brazenness. They were the perfect pair and I had so much fun with them. There were moments of absolutely beautiful writing, too. I can't wait to see what this author does next.

"Better Left Buried" is an adrenaline rush of a story, one you editor block out a nice chunk of time to just power through. I picked it up last night and read much much later than intended.

I am a sucker for a non-traditional narrative. This is written bouncing between the perspectives of the two main characters, Lucy and Audrey as they meet, uncover murderers while putting themselves in harm's way over and over again, and nurse a budding romance. There's a little bit of everything in this book. It's tense, scary, sentimental, traumatic, and action-packed.

I think YA readers will fall in love with Lucy and Audrey.