I LOVED this book! Right from the beginning I was sucked into the story. I had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen and if they were going to find out what happened. I definitely want to read more like this in the future!

Immediate thought when I started reading Buried Roads: ugh I hate named chapters. This book didn’t change that, but it did end up being a decent read.

Our narrator is a preteen girl named Bly who is being raised by her do whatever she wants, there are no rules style mother, Gus. When her mother’s partner Howard, the only father figure she has ever known, goes missing, Bly and Gus are forced to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives and start over. After 3 years of his absence, Howard’s parents are ready to accept that he’s gone, however, Gus won’t. All hell breaks loose as Gus, dragging her 12 year old daughter around, wreaks havoc around the county as she tries to unravel the mystery of what happened.

Here’s my main dilemma with Buried Roads — Gus is a very unlikable character and, in my opinion, a careless mother. I just can’t ever get behind characters who do, act, and say whatever they want for their own sake. That is very much Gus. Her feelings are the only ones that matter and she will hurt whoever she has to without much thought or care. There’s just something very narcissistic and self serving about her character. Bly is her saving grace, at least in terms of redemption.

I do feel like this story was also rather character heavy. I found myself struggling to keep straight each new supporting character and their purpose. It was confusing at times and bogged the story down for me.

The second half of this book was much more fast paced than its first half, thankfully, and I enjoyed the outcome even if it was out there and a rather unbelievable. I would recommend this book to those readers who like a character heavy story with some suspense and lots of drama.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Paperbacks for this ARC I received in exchange for my honest review. Buried Roads will be released on December 3, 2024.

I really enjoyed this book. This is one of those books where you can go back and re-read and find new shocks and twists that you didn't pick up on the first time around.

When I first started this book, I didn't realize that it was part of a series, but it can totally be read as a stand-alone. I will be going back and reading the other books in this series, and am looking forward to more of series.

I thought the character depvelopment, the plot and all the twists and turns were great. This book had me hooked from page one and it held my attention through the whole book. Not many books have been able to do that. This is one of those books where you can't put it down because you have to know what happens next, but then when you finish it, you are sad and left wanting more.

5/5 stars for me!

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollinsfor this e-arc.

I didn’t realize this was a third in the series. Although I think it can be read as a standalone.

This was full of twists and turns. My first by Kate Tallo and I definitely will be circling back to this again after I read the first two.

I think this was honestly one of my favorite thriller/ mysteries I have read this year. It follows a mother/daughter duo (Gus and Bly) that is trying to find the mother’s boyfriend. The boyfriend (Howard) is a journalist and while they were on a family camping trip had gone missing. His parents decided after 3 years to have him declared dead, so when Bly and Gus came back for the celebration of life they started to uncover clues as to what may have happened to him. This book was filled with small town corruption, There was a significant portion of the book where it seemed that the disappearance was tied to a specific person/group, but the twist was actually insane. After it happened I kept thinking back to the events in the book and it just made so much sense. If you want a good thriller and a book that makes you really use your brain and play detective, read this!

The mystery/twists were interesting, but the first half of the book was so slow to get through and felt a bit repetitive. With Bly being so young and it being from her POV made it feel more YA. I wish it had an older narrator, even if it was just split POV.

I didn't realize this was part of a series either, so maybe reading the other books would have helped me. Though I didn't feel like I was missing anything.

Overall the premise was good, but I just didn't enjoy the characters and slow start.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for the copy of Buried Road by Katie Tallo. I had a hard time connecting to the writing style; the first part of the book never caught my attention. Luckily, Part Two picked up and I started to get engrossed in the story. I was disappointed when we learned about past events when a character told Gus and Bly. It would have been more effective to have a past timeline so we could see what happened. I would have also liked to read a POV other than Bly’s, maybe Gus’s perspective? The story was great and kept me on the edge of my seat to see what had happened to Howard. I’m not sure if the final reveal was believable, or that it even made sense. While this wasn’t a great book for me, it was enjoyable enough to keep me reading! 3 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. This is the story of a mother-daughter duo, changing POV, and a fast paced adventure. I felt like the story had a lot of characters. I couldn't keep them all straight. And I didn't know it was the 3rd book in a series?! You can definitely read it as a stand alone though.

Wow what a gripping novel. I can’t believe I thought I knew where this book was going. The twist was a delightful surprise.

This is a standout thriller, with its blend of heartfelt relationships, razor-sharp suspense, and a web of dark secrets. It’s a must-read for fans of mystery and crime fiction, offering a relentless, edge-of-your-seat experience that will keep readers guessing until the very end.

3.5 stars! I really enjoyed this... Gus's character was so fun and I really loved her "this is me, love it or leave it" attitude. The story kept me hooked and I was satisfied with how the ending played out. I didn't realize that this was book 3 in the series... it can totally be read as a standalone. Would def recommend! Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The twist I did NOT see coming!
This book started slow but it really picks up and sucks you in about 1/3 of the way through.

It took me a little while to finish the book- it felt repetitive for the first half, but once you got to the second half it picked up and kept my interest to finish. Of course the twist was good once you find out who actually knows the truth. Overall decent book.

This is a subtle, deep, slow moving story of a mother and daughter searching for a man, her partner, a reporter who has been missing for three years. The main characters are persistent, likeable, courageous and they get tangled up with a town with lots of secrets and high stakes. 4.5

Started a bit slow but burned bright as I read on. Suspenseful missing person novel with lots of breadcrumbs. Compelling characters.

I wish the author would have given the narration a duel perspective between Gus and her 13 year ol daughter Bly. At times the story felt YA in its tone. The story weaved in and out of some improbable moments and the ending seemed a little far fetched. With that said, I think an older teen would really like this book. This is the third book in the series so I'm not sure what I've missed about Gus's character that would have added an element to this story but I didn't feel lost about the story in the present at any time. With that said, I'd be curious how the author handles an adult narration of this character and I would probably check out her previous two books.

What a tale of breadcrumbs. I loved the tenacity and confidence of Gus. She was a great character. I also loved that this book was entirely in the daughter's POV. I felt the ending got a little chaotic but overall, it was an amazing mystery.

Gus, her partner Howard, and her daughter Bly are a happy family living in Ottawa. On their annual camping trip to a spot near Howard's parents home, he disappears. Gus and Bly hang around town for a long time looking for him, but eventually have to return home. Three years after his disappearance, Gus spots an obituary for Howard in the newspaper (placed by his parents) and she and Bly race back to Picton to found out why they've decided to hold a funeral now.

When I saw that this book was written from the perspective of Bly, who is 12 going on 42, I wasn't sure how good it would be. Let me tell you, it was great! She might be 12, but Bly is smart, resourceful, and daring as all get out when it comes to tracking down Howard, the only father she's known. Does Gus let her daughter do some things most parents wouldn't dream of? Yes. Does she bring Bly along in situations most children should not be around? Yes. Does it all make sense when you get to know each character, their relationship, and what drives them? Absolutely.

I loved this book. It is the third in a series with these characters, but it reads well as a standalone novel. The twists and turns are plentiful, and I found the whole thing to be incredibly well done.

Thank you to Katie Tallo, Harper Perennial and Paperbacks and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

(Review will post on Instagram, Goodreads, and Threads on December 1, 2024, and on Amazon and Barnes and Noble on the publication date).

This book is an exciting missing person thriller. I didn’t realize this was the third book in a series till later and it worked just fine as a stand alone. The last half of the book is fast paced and super twisty.

I was very excited about this book but I didn't realize there were 2 books with the back story I'd need in order to understand the depths of this one.