Title: Burial of GhostsAuthor: Ann Cleeves
Published by: Pan Macmillan on Jan. 24, 2023
Genres: Mystery/Thriller
Pages: 339
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publishers Group Canada
Book Rating: 8.5/10
A classic psychological thriller, available for the first time in Canada, from the New York Times bestselling author of the Shetland, Vera Stanhope, and Two Rivers series, Ann Cleeves.
Abandoned as a baby, twenty-five-year-old Lizzie Bartholomew spent her childhood moving between foster homes and has had more than her fair share of troubles.
Now a holiday in Morocco seems to be the perfect escape. Especially when she meets Philip, a fellow tourist. After a brief affair, Lizzie returns to England, only to find a solicitor’s letter waiting for her.
Philip Samson has died and in his will, has left Lizzie a gift of £15,000. But there are conditions attached to this unexpected legacy that will soon force Lizzie to confront terrifying secrets from her past life.
Burial of Ghosts is a page-turning, edge of your seat thriller from superstar crime writer Ann Cleeves, author and creator of three astounding TV series: Shetland, Vera, and The Long Call.
Review:
Simmering, tight, and mysterious!
Burial of Ghosts is a tense, twisty tale that introduces us to Lizzie Bartholomew, a young social worker who, after experiencing a tragic incident at work, takes a leave of absence to Morocco, where she indulges in some rest, relaxation and a one-night stand with an older man she believes she will never see or hear from again only to return from vacation to find a letter from his solicitor informing her that Philip has died and has left her a sizeable inheritance linked to a stipulated request that will ultimately turn her life upside down, make her a possible suspect in a grizzly murder, and will cause her own secrets from the past to rear their ugly heads.
The writing is sharp and brisk. The characters are flawed, unreliable, and troubled. And the plot using flashbacks and a back-and-forth style intertwines and unravels into an ominous tale of twists, turns, lies, deception, corruption, suspicions, revelations, mayhem, familial drama, and murder.
Overall, Burial of Ghosts is an atmospheric, sinister, satisfying tale by Cleeves that does a wonderful job of highlighting that she’s not only the queen of police procedural series, but also a pretty good standalone psychological thriller writer as well.
This book is available now.
Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.
Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
About Ann Cleeves
Ann Cleeves is the author behind PBS’s Vera and BBC One’s Shetland. She has written over twenty-five novels, and is the creator of detectives Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez – characters loved both on screen and in print. Her books have now sold over 1 million copies worldwide.
Ann worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook and auxiliary coastguard before becoming a crime writer. She is a member of ‘Murder Squad’, working with other British northern writers to promote crime fiction. In 2006 Ann was awarded the Duncan Lawrie Dagger (CWA Gold Dagger) for Best Crime Novel, for Raven Black, the first book in her Shetland series, and in 2012 she was inducted into the CWA Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame. Ann lives in North Tyneside, England.
