Book Review: THE LIFE WE BURY by Allen Eskens

Title: THE LIFE WE BURY

Author: Allen Eskens
Read: February 2020

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2

No one can change the sound of an echo.

Book Description:

College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe's life is ever the same. Carl is a dying Vietnam veteran-and a convicted murderer. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder.

As Joe writes about Carl's life, especially Carl's valor in Vietnam, he cannot reconcile the heroism of the soldier with the despicable acts of the convict. Aided by his skeptical neighbor, Lila, Joe throws himself into uncovering the truth. Thread by thread, he begins to unravel the tapestry of Carl's conviction. But as he and Lila dig deeper into the circumstances of the crime, the stakes grow higher. Will Joe discover the truth before it's too late to escape the fallout?

What made me choose this book:

This was definitely a #bookstagrammademedoit read - it came highly recommended by various bookstagram friends. I am so grateful to them, because I loved it!

My Musings:

THE LIFE WE BURY is one of those books that has been sitting on my TBR pile forever. It came highly recommended from several of my bookstagram friends, and I don’t know why it took me so long to pick it up and read it! It’s my bad, because I knew very soon into the narrative that this reflective and compelling tale was also one heck of a fast-paced thriller that would easily make it onto my favourites list!

Without delving too much into the story (you can read the blurb for that), I immediately warmed to the character of Joe Talbert, who is a sweet oxymoron: on one hand he allows himself to get repeatedly screwed over and manipulated by his alcoholic mother, and on the other hand he can drop a six-foot giant with a few well aimed martial arts moves without losing his stride. But most of all, his heart is in the right place. Deep down his family will always come first, which is why he gives his mother bail money even if it costs him his college fund. He also risks losing his job and future prospects by taking in his autistic brother to get him away from his mother’s abusive partner. He is the only one who is prepared to listen to Carl Iversen’s story, when most people shy away from the “monster” who has been convicted of murdering a young girl. Over the course of the book I fell more and more in love with Joe, and feared for him when things started to go wrong.

Although some suspension of disbelief was required, the mix of sentimental reflection on Carl’s situation and the fast-paced scenes of the thriller element made for compelling reading late into the night. Each and every character was so well drawn that I could picture them vividly in my mind, and the atmospheric setting further contributed to a heart-pounding read. There were a few scenes that literally had me hold my breath! The story flowed effortlessly and it was impossible not to become emotionally involved.

After turning the last page I know that it won’t take me long until I will delve into the next book featuring these characters, who almost seemed like people I have met in real life. There’s nothing better than finding a series to get addicted to, and this one now has me well and truly hooked. Eskens is a writer I want to read lots more of! I highly recommend this book to lovers of fast-paced thrillers that also prompt reflection and tug on your heartstrings.