Thanks to Netgalley & Disney Hyperion for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lucy was traveling with her mom to meet her dad, who would be taking her on the summer vacation of her dreams when her mom stopped them to quickly check in on a friend in rural Tennessee who sent her a text asking for help. Once they get there, it's quickly obvious that Lucy's private investigator mom will not be continuing their road trip soon, as her mom's friend is dead in the amusement park where he asked for them to meet. It quickly becomes apparent that there's more to this town and her mother than Lucy could have imagined. As she begins investigating on her own, Lucy finds Audrey, a local girl with her own reasons for wanting to solve the murder and a knack for being in suspicious places. Together they embark on a mission to uncover some of the small town's secrets together.

This set up seems so perfect, and the cover absolutely draws you in. In that case, why didn't it live up to all the mental hype I had for it? Part of my issue comes from the communication in this book, or the lack thereof. So much of what happens is driven by the fact that the main characters just would not talk about things clearly. Instead, Lucy's mom sends her on her own missions to discover information that she already knew, just to save the pain of talking about it. Lucy won't ask questions because she doesn't really want to know the answers. While this helps the story and could feel real for some people, stories driven by lack of communication frustrate me. It's a personal issue.

I also found the romance to be unnecessary. Because this was an ARC, I went into it not knowing this plotline was there. I am sure some readers will love the book because of the addition of the romance into the mystery, but I just wanted to solve the mystery, so I found myself trying to rush through the teen romance to get back to my favorite parts.

My final issue that kept it from feeling perfect was the use of the setting. People are dying in a mysterious amusement park. This park is the center of the mystery, but we kept leaving it to go other places. I wanted more of the creepy park. Granted, most of the other places were enjoyable settings in their own right.

Overall, this was a fun mystery. I definitely see the comparisons to Knives Out and A Good Girls Guide to Murder. I enjoyed trying to figure out the mysteries of Lucy's family, the murder, and the town. The pacing was fantastic, and the pages flew by. If you are someone who isn't put off by a lack of communication and go into it knowing the town is as much a focus of the book as the amusement park, and that there is a romance plotline, I think this book could be perfect for you. I just needed that information going in, and I didn't have it, which distracted me from an unputdownable mystery storyline.

Real Rating 3.5


I saw this on so many lists to read after I’ve read Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch. So I did. And even though I worried for a while it was too much alike, it ended up being ok.

The mystery in this was bomb! Well once it got started. It took forever for us to get to what the ACTUAL mystery was. And even though we see one of the teens noticing the other, we don’t understand why or anything else until way later. It was like a slow burn mystery and you just can’t do that. There needs to be something happening all the time, and this one just wasn’t it for me. I will say it got good once it got started tho. And the MESS! There was so much drama in this and I am not embarrassed to say that this is what intrigued me most lol

The next thing I really liked was the setting. I LOVE amusement parks, but NOT creepy ones. And this one was creepy lol And then to find out all the things that happened there? Big yikes. And to find all the different things that ended up happening there? Yeahhhh it was creepy for a reason. I was right to not like that place. But naturally, because I knew better, that was my favorite part. Every time they went there I knew there was something else that was about to happen. And I loved that.

I also liked this for the feelsssss. Like I was legit creeped out because of the dark and gloomy amusement park and I was also creeped out by the huge mansion that was there while everyone else didn’t have the same grandeur. Roach did really well with giving this a gothic type vibe.

The thing I didn’t like about this was the characters. I understand that one of them the moms was a PI, but Lordt everything just kept falling into place for the daughter. For her to have no training and her mom to be certified Idk how it was so easy for her. And like how did her mom not banish her from the first time? My momma would have put me on the first thing smoking to my dad’s lol

Even though it wasn’t completely believable, it was entertaining. Definitely helped put me in a Summer Ween mood so I’m not at all mad at it. I really hope y’all pick this up and let me know what you think of it.

I enjoyed this quite a bit, but found Katie absolutely insufferable for the first half of the book. There were some subtle implications that Lucy was having to parent her parent that I thought were really interesting, but could have been explored more explicitly. I did enjoy the mystery and the sapphic romance, though the whodunnit element really didn't gel as much. Still, it was enjoyable and Katie was redeemed a bit more after she stopped refusing to say ANYTHING about her past or give any information at all about what was going on.

Better Left Buried is a sapphic mystery that revolves around the investigation of a small town murder. There were a lot of characters in the beginning and it took a while for me to get into the story. I like the relationship between the main characters, Lucy and Audrey and how they grow through the story together. The mystery aspect was just OK to me but it was a solid read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Lucy Preston's private investigator mother has never really talked much about her past. All Lucy wanted was to go on a normal spring break trip, but those plans change when her mother gets a message from someone in her past. Lucy finds herself at the ruins of an amusement park, with a body under the roller coaster. Lucy decides to investigate this murder too, since she thinks this murder is the key to unlocking the secrets of her mother's early life. Lucy joins forces with Audrey Nelson, who has her own reasons for investigating this murder and how it is connected to the entire town. A fantastic thriller with several twists, told in two voices (Lucy's and Audrey's), about the secrets we keep and dangerous they can be.

Better Left Buried by Mary E. Roach is an enthralling and darkly humorous exploration of the macabre, showcasing Roach's signature wit and meticulous research. The book's engaging narrative and fascinating insights make it a compelling read that captivates and entertains throughout.

This didn't keep my attention like I had hoped it would. I struggled getting myself to read it but overall it was a decent book, just maybe not for me.

This is a book that I was really looking forward to. Langley being brought to a town where her mother is very mysterious about why they need to come back. Only to find that the mystery is tied to her family and her past. One that she has never been able to explore before. Audrey has always been seen as one of the outcasts of town. Her mom and her always struggling to find a way to make ends meet. Sadly, when Langley and Audrey meet, I feel like everything quickly became really one noted.
The story itself had so many opportunities to delve deeper into what was going on. The mystery of the family, trying to figure out how Audrey's mom fit into everything, the murders, even the romance itself? And yet everything felt very superficial. Even the romance between Langley and Audrey did nothing to carry the book. I did enjoy the coming out of the closet joke though. I also liked how their opposite personalities completed the other. Beyond that though this book was a hard one for me.

Thank you to Disney Publishing Worldwide and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

The beginning of this book really grabbed my interest and kept me going and then lulled in the middle. However, the ending revved (motorcycle pun) back up for an engaging ending.

The two main characters in this story were cute and really worked well opposite each other. I think reading from the two opposite characters was a fun way of staying engaged in the story. The romance wasn’t too overbearing.

An easy five stars. I can't wait to see what Roach does next. Please, all the queer thrillers forever and always.

Two girls, a town filled with secrets, murders, and a family of mysteries. Pitched as Knives Out meets A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, the story follows Lucy Preston, the daughter of a famous private investigator who was only suppose to go on vacation but finds herself being dragged into her mother's home town and all the secrets her mother has kept as they arrive at a new crime scene. Lucy's mom has kept her past a secret, she's never told Lucy anything about her family and now Lucy is determined to find the connection between her mom and the town. Then she meets Audrey Nelson, the mysterious girl who was riding a motorcycle on the night that Lucy and her mom found the body. Lucy and Audrey hit it off and decide to investigate together... but when more bodies start dropping and the next target could be Lucy.... they'll have to find out all the secrets before it's too late. I was so so excited to read this one because I absolutely adore Knives Out and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder... but it fell flat for me. it just never lived up to my expectations or the hype I thought. I was so excited to read a sapphic murder mystery romance but I just didn't really feel the romance all that much and i didn't really care for the mystery. The way the dialogue is written feels repetitive and boring. While this one was a miss for me, I do think other YA readers will have fun with it and I definitely would recommend it for younger mystery loving YA readers.

Release Date: August 6,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide | Disney Hyperion for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

4.5/5 ⭐️
Lucy is not thrilled to be dragged into one of her mom's investigations during her spring break. She is shocked though when she realizes she is going to her mom's hometown to investigate the death of an influential man. Her mom tells her to trust no one, but she can't help but be drawn to Audrey. Together, they start to investigate to prevent Audrey's mom from going to jail.

I really enjoyed this one! I felt it was really fast-paced, especially for a dual perspective book. Both characters were equally enjoyable to read and had fun personalities. I was expecting more clues/a wider variety of suspects rather than just all within the same family. The ultimate whodunit within the family was surprising though.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy and her mom, a detective, were on their way to a vacation that should have been a opportunity for them to reunite, but Mom got sidetracked to a murder in a small town. Small towns have histories and secrets and Lucy discovers her mother was involved in the town's past. Lucy connects with Audrey, a girl her age in the town who also is a bit of an outsider. Together they decided to unravel the town's histories and solve a murder. This is a standard noun adult mystery. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc and no pressure for a positive review.

Honestly, this book was a fairly engaging mystery while keeping the book in the realm of YA with some well-timed humor. The absolute best part was the adorable relationship between the two girls. I was rooting for them from the very first.

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for this digital arc.

A history rich in secrets, a trail of murders, and an eerie abandoned amusement park, made for a fast paced mystery that delivered. Audrey and Lucy were the shining stars of the book, both were headstrong, beautifully flawed, and loyal.

BETTER LEFT BURIED is a sapphic YA mystery where two teenage girls team up to investigate a murder and end up falling for each other along the way. i had such a great time reading BETTER LEFT BURIED that i finished it in one day. it really is THAT good. i loved both lucy and audrey as main characters but i especially loved their dynamic and the way they opened up to each other. i'm not much of a mystery reader so it doesn't take a whole lot for me to be surprised by twists but i loved the twists in this book and i audibly gasped several times as i was reading. even if you aren't a mystery reader, this is such a good book and i need everyone to read it!!

read if you like:
- dumbasses to lovers
- abandoned theme parks
- falling in love while solving a murder

thanks to the author and disney hyperion for the advanced copy! BETTER LEFT BURIED comes out august 6.

Better Left Buried by Mary E. Roach is a fun YA mystery with a twist that will have you shocked but will also take you on a crazy ride getting there.
This story begins when Lucy finds out her mom Katy is stopping to investigate a crime scene in the town of Haeter Lake, Tennessee instead of driving to the beach for spring break. The location… an abandoned amusement park with a previous history of death there. While in Haeter Lake Lucy meets Audrey who is around the same age and rides a motorcycle. Audrey’s mom is being charged for the murder of multimillionaire, Pierce Anselm who owned the park. There is a history with Audrey’s family and the Anselm’s, but Audrey is confident her mom didn’t do it and sets to prove that. Together the girls do their own investigating, sneaking around, and finding out clues to the current and past deaths. Along the way they find Katy has kept her own secret past with this town. Who can Lucy trust… her mom, the Anselm’s, or Audrey? Seems everyone has something to hide. Once another victim is murdered, the girls realize digging too deep puts them at risk.
This dual pov book was such an easy and fun read. The mystery of the town, who you can and can’t trust, the imagery of all the places visited, and the chemistry of Lucy and Audrey had me not wanting to put the book down. I could really see this book coming to life in a TV series with all the action and mystery surrounding this town and it’s abandoned amusement park.
The Anselm’s live in an old mansion and great detail went into describing it and the secret passages. It really helped bring me into the world as I read it, and I felt like I was hiding in the walls eavesdropping.

I’d like to thank Mary E. Roach for this ARC through NetGalley.

This was an interesting mystery with two fun characters. I loved the relationship between Katy and Lucy. The Anselms were appropriately awful. I do think the book could have used more editing. But overall it was a mystery that April Henry fans would adore.

"Better Left Buried" is a solid entry in the teen mystery/romance category (is it a "romastery"?). So these two precocious young women run around, disobeying their mothers and looking for clues. One of them gets caught constantly and is constantly threatened to be sent to her father's, but that never happens. Lucy and her mother do not have a healthy relationship. Aubrey is poor, looked down upon, and in mourning, but has a motorcycle so she's cool. Aubrey and Lucy fall in love, the mysteries are solved (kind of anticlimactic) and all is well.
Weird that I read two books in a row about murderous, abandoned amusement parks.
#NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley, Hyperion and Mary E. Roach for the ARC of Better Left Buried. I really enjoyed this YA mystery novel. It is a fun, clean story and I absolutely love Lucy and Audrey. I know a few of my library patrons will definitely devour this one.