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The Burial Society

(The Burial Society #1)

Nina Sadowsky (Goodreads Author)

3.57 · Rating details · 450 ratings · 129 reviews

A woman running from a dark past stumbles upon a tangled nest of seductions and family secrets in this psychological thriller of obsession and betrayal.

When Natalie discovers her father dead in a luxury hotel room in Paris, she's terrified that his death--or is it a murder?--will open up a history she'd rather forget. Years before, her mother went missing from their home i ...more

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Published January 30th 2018 by Ballantine Books

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Dec 23, 2017 Suzanne Leopold (Suzy Approved Book Reviews) rated it really liked it

The Burial Society is an organization based in Paris run by a woman named Catherine. She provides a service for women that want to escape to safety from domestic abuse. The Society provides them with new identities along with a safe haven from their former lives. Three years earlier, Mallory Burrows reached out to Catherine for assistance after receiving numerous threats. Mallory started receiving these warnings after her ongoing affair in Westport, CT. Catherine wasn't able to help, and with th ...more

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Jan 21, 2018 Carrie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

The Burial Society by Nina Sadowsky is a psychological thriller that to be honest I struggled with my feelings on the entire book. The synopsis is a tad misleading on this one as it mainly promotes Catherine and the Burial Society that has been set up to help out victims but in one such case Catherine feels she failed.

The story however with this one has many different characters that are given a voice as the point of view switches with each chapter. The chapters are also fairly short so especial ...more

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Dec 07, 2017 Holly B rated it it was ok

Shelves: a-bit-bored-with-it, read-in-2017

This was way too confusing for me with short chapters constantly changing from one character to another. This drove my crazy and I couldn't keep all the characters straight! As soon as I started to follow one characters narrative, it switched to another.

I liked the sound of the premise of having a covert witness protection service in London. They rescue people from abusive situations and give them a new identity, but I wasn't able to keep tract of the plot.

I do think the author is talented, but ...more

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Jan 29, 2018 Erin Clemence rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, kindle

So proud to be part of the promotion team for this novel, “The Burial Society” by Nina Sadowsky. Thanks to the author and her team for the chance to read and promote!

Catherine is head of “The Burial Society”, a covert, clandestine, group who aim to help abused women escape desperate situations. For the most part, she is effective, but she can’t seem to escape the memory of the one client she couldn’t help. When this client’s husband winds up dead, Catherine takes pity on the misanthropic tee So proud to be part of the promotion team for this novel, “The Burial Society” by Nina Sadowsky. Thanks to the author and her team for the chance to read and promote!

Catherine is head of “The Burial Society”, a covert, clandestine, group who aim to help abused women escape desperate situations. For the most part, she is effective, but she can’t seem to escape the memory of the one client she couldn’t help. When this client’s husband winds up dead, Catherine takes pity on the misanthropic teenaged children left behind and befriends them, providing them with what information she knows that may help them figure out what happened to their father (and their mother). However, Catherine soon becomes involved in something far more sinister than even she imagined.

This story had a great premise and a catchy name- “The Burial Society”. A covert group designed to help battered women escape, led by Catherine, a secretive and spunky, tough-as-nails woman, whose own secrets lead her to a life where she is drawn to saving other lost souls. Set in Paris, this novel depicts a seedy underbelly of the fantastically idyllic city. This premise is creative, smart and unique and it had a lot of potential.

The novel is told from the perspectives of Catherine (of course) , as well as Jake and Natalie (the teenaged children) and the uncle, Frank. There are a lot of different characters to bond with and understand as the novel goes on, but for the most part the characters themselves aren’t particularly good or likable people. Catherine is the character most likely to earn a reader’s devotion, but not enough about Catherine is revealed throughout the plot. I am hoping that a sequel (or further novels) will delve into Catherine’s past more, as there is a gaping hole in her character development that I wish to see filled.

I found the idea of “The Burial Society” to be a fantastic one and I wanted to know more. I wanted to know more about its founder, its operations, its contributing characters, etc. etc. The storyline of the murder and Catherine’s desperate search for the killer was suspenseful and entertaining, of course, but a concept like “The Burial Society” should not be an afterthought, as it was in this novel.

The ending was complete, but predictable, as I could see it coming from the beginning of the novel. It was intriguing however, to see how everything plays out and the novel definitely drew me in enough to continue reading the story. I loved the short chapters, which made the novel a breeze to read through, and the suspenseful plot had piqued my interest enough to see if my assumptions on how it would end were true (and they were).

I am a new reader of Sadowsky’s work, and she has received some well-deserved praise for much of her other non-writing related work. If Sadowsky wants to write more about Catherine, and bring me more “Burial Society”, I would be all for it! It’s an addicting concept with an intriguing plotline, and I am desperate for more. ...more

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Jan 16, 2018 Amy rated it really liked it

Shelves: physical-arcs

If you’re looking for a lighter style suspense that’s pure entertainment and a completely addictive page turner, allow me to introduce you to The Burial Society. I devoured this book in just a few hours because I simply could not put it down, it was one of those reads where I had planned on starting before bed and reading only a couple of chapters and before I knew it I was halfway finished!

One of the things that sucked me in and compelled me to keep flipping pages was the set up. There are seve ...more

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Jan 10, 2018 Kristy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, netgalley, read-in-2018, fiction, random-house, ebook, ballantine

In Paris with her father and brother, eighteen-year-old Natalie Burrows returns back to their hotel room and finds her father dead. His death triggers an open wound in Natalie, reminding her of when her mother, Mallory, went missing three years earlier and was never found. A man who was her mother's supposed lover claimed responsibility for her disappearance and death. Natalie and her older brother Jake are both still reeling from that incident, as is Brian's brother, Frank, who must come to Par ...more

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Feb 21, 2018 Carlene Inspired rated it liked it

Shelves: thriller-mystery, suspense, ng-group-challenge-2018, arc, reviewed-books, mystery, ng-2018-challenge

The Burial Society has the sort of passages and fantastic phrasings you could highlight all day long, but there's no real connection between those and the story itself. The concept of a business that extracts people from dangerous, unsafe conditions and helps them start anew, all while getting revenge against the bad guys, is fantastic, but it's a large idea that requires a lot of book to come to life. We're sold on this book by the blurb, with varying people expressing their opinion on whether The Burial Society has the sort of passages and fantastic phrasings you could highlight all day long, but there's no real connection between those and the story itself. The concept of a business that extracts people from dangerous, unsafe conditions and helps them start anew, all while getting revenge against the bad guys, is fantastic, but it's a large idea that requires a lot of book to come to life. We're sold on this book by the blurb, with varying people expressing their opinion on whether we should be told Natalie's story or Catherine's story...rather than told five different character's stories all at once, which is what we really get. There's Catherine, Natalie, Jake, Frank, and their poor deceased mother. There's the present day, the past, first person perspective, and even third person perspective all mixed in to one book. If that sounds confusing then I've made my point clear. There's a murder, there's misguided, lost young adult children, and there's two outsiders who are just a bit too involved for things to be normal. Each character was so complex and their perspective so different, really making for a multifaceted mystery that had so many variations of the truth. Plus, three of the four are fairly unreliable, which we all know is my favorite. Mix in a bit of murder, a heaping pile of lies, and a woman who goes by many names and has a pile of tricks up her sleeve and you've got The Burial Society. It's an incredibly interesting plot and Nina Sadowsky reveals her writing skills with the extensive development given to the murder and aftermath, but the layout just doesn't work for the story.

The idea of The Burial Society is a great one, but the execution just didn't work out in my opinion. The changing perspective, changing tense, and alternating time frames really made for a lot more work as a reader than I find necessary in a novel. I love a good whodunit type of book, but if I can guess it right away and I'm still lead on a very long wild goose chase it no longer is entertaining. The most interesting story was Catherine's, we're drawn into it by the promise of more later on, but we're never given it. We're left to guess her true intentions and about her previous cases, left only with her ties to the Burrows' unfortunate incidents.

Overall, The Burial Society is a unique novel, one that'll tick all the boxes if you're looking for something new, but that doesn't make up for the excess details, very short chapters, and frequently changing POV. Though I read the book in one sitting, I wasn't left with any "AHA that was great" moment and no real understanding of the story Nina Sadowsky intended tell. I likely wouldn't read this again, nor would I recommend it to friends. Unfortunate miss for me.

ARC provided. ...more

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Dec 12, 2017 Judy rated it liked it

A pretty good story once I got into it. I had trouble getting used to the author's writing style of very short chapters, each told in a single character's point of view - it was somewhat confusing early in the book. I liked the concept of The Burial Society - a secret society that helps women and children disappear from abusive and terrifying situations. Catherine is an intriguing character - quite a chameleon. I couldn't quite warm up to any of the other characters in the book but they did hold ...more

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Jan 22, 2018 Kristen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 19, 2018 Glen rated it liked it

Shelves: mystery, firstreads, psychological-thriller

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

A woman finds her father dead in a hotel room in Paris. Was he murdered? Her mother disappeared years ago. The woman scours Paris for answers.

Pretty shallow, I thought.

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Jan 28, 2018 Melanie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, thriller

3.5 Stars

The Burial Society was an enjoyable read full of twists with characters that have you second guessing everything you've been told.

When Natalie returns to her father’s Paris flat she discovers him murdered in his bed. His death resurrects a number of memories Natalie and her brother Jack would rather forget about their mother’s disappearance three years ago. In an unfamiliar city, the Burrows family seeks answers about how and why Brian Burrows died. All the while, a mysterious woman wat 3.5 Stars

The Burial Society was an enjoyable read full of twists with characters that have you second guessing everything you've been told.

When Natalie returns to her father’s Paris flat she discovers him murdered in his bed. His death resurrects a number of memories Natalie and her brother Jack would rather forget about their mother’s disappearance three years ago. In an unfamiliar city, the Burrows family seeks answers about how and why Brian Burrows died. All the while, a mysterious woman watches and waits from the sidelines holding answers to questions Natalie and her family don’t even know to ask.

The Burial Society is told from multiple characters’ points of view with each chapter following a different character. The story also follows several timelines from three years ago when Mallory Burrows disappeared through present day after Brian Burrows is killed. At times the sudden shift to a different character or timeline was jarring and I definitely got confused several times about what was happening or when we were in the story. Some of the chapters were extremely short while others were quite long which definitely affected the pacing of the book.

Natalie starts out the book seeming like a normal enough girl, but the more we get to know her the more issues we find out she has. Her brother Jake isn’t much better off than her but he is determined to be there for his sister and is quite devoted to her. Their uncle Frank was an interesting character and the one that ended up surprising me the most. We only see Brian and Mallory through flashbacks, but I feel the author did a good job showing who they were in those brief scenes. I did end up being surprised by the reveal of who caused Mallory’s disappearance and who killed Brian.

My favorite character in this book ended up being Catherine, a woman who runs the Burial Society which helps people who feel endangered disappear. Three years ago before Mallory disappeared, she had contacted the Burial Society but ultimately disappeared before she could be helped. Catherine feels a lot of guilt over what she perceives to be her failure to save Mallory. While the plotline with the Burrows is going on, we also see Catherine helping a famous Russian model disappear while taking down her arms dealer husband. We meet a number of characters during that storyline who are all connected to Catherine and her work with the Burial Society in some way.

Overall I enjoyed The Burial Society but the sudden POV or timeline changes definitely threw me off and there are a few plotlines that are never resolved. I would still recommend the book though to readers looking for thriller with messed up characters.

**I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.** ...more

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Jan 07, 2018 Donna Hines rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: author-publisher-provided-books, netgalley

The Burial Society is a fab thriller of epic proportions dealing with providing shelter for domestic abuse survivors. One major question needs to be addressed and defined from the heart and that's what is home? For some , "It was never home" for this truly disturbed and bizarre family who "need to keep secrets".
Catherine who assumes several aliases is head of this organization in Paris providing new identifies in getting out safely and leaving abuse behind.
Several years earlier Mallory Burrows The Burial Society is a fab thriller of epic proportions dealing with providing shelter for domestic abuse survivors. One major question needs to be addressed and defined from the heart and that's what is home? For some , "It was never home" for this truly disturbed and bizarre family who "need to keep secrets".
Catherine who assumes several aliases is head of this organization in Paris providing new identifies in getting out safely and leaving abuse behind.
Several years earlier Mallory Burrows sought assistance after receiving threats for her relationship and affair with Will Crane. As you can expect when the secret is revealed all hell breaks loose.
Mallory has subsequently went missing and her family and friends have presumed she passed.
Now three years later the family seeks answers led by Natalie (daughter) along with her brother Jake . In addition, add to this escalating drama as numerous other close knit deaths make everyone suspicious of one another.
Perhaps there's more to this story as someone surely must know what's behind all this violence. Is their a manhunt for the killer? Was it a suicide? Is there a weirdo stalker on the prowl?
So many unanswered questions especially when cemeteries are involved as 'the sense that honor can endure after death' is a wide held belief.
Add to this some family feuds, jealousy, bitterness, personality trait disorders like BPD & NPD and rage along with sexual orientation that was never fully addressed and you have a recipe for disaster.
Nina Sadowsky has a truly vivid imagination that captures you hook, line, and sinker. She is truly energetic and determined in her writing to involve the readers thought process without altering the flow of the story in its natural progression.
A strong plot with heroine characters leads to a captivating & superb thriller read for 2018,
Everyone is a suspect till proven guilty and everyone is under the radar in The Burial Society with non stop action and fast suspenseful drama you won't want to put this one down.
A quick read but a worthy investment for all readers.
In closing, we must remember " Some things are better left behind."
I often say 'life is stranger than fiction' if this defines you please remember: Rewrite your story, never give up, the past has nothing new to say as this is not how your story ends. You hold the pen.
Thank you Nina for providing me this e-read from Netgalley and for being so gracious as to include me in the Burial Society Launch Team on Facebook. I'm truly honored to be included among many intellectual individuals. ...more

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Jan 07, 2018 Linda Zagon rated it really liked it

IMG_1744My Review of “The Burial Society” by Nina Sadowsky

WOW! WOW! WOW! I have you to blame, Nina Sadowsky Author of “The Burial Society” for keeping me up all night reading. This is a Psychological Thriller, Mystery, and novel of Suspense. WARNING: Once you get into reading, “The Burial Society”, it is difficult to put down.

A reasonable question that you might ask is what exactly is ‘The Burial Society”? The blurb states, “Catherine, no last name, doesn’t bury the dead. She rescues the living– ...more

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Jun 23, 2018 Janet Newport rated it it was ok

Shelves: birmingham-library, 2018-reads

Yawn...

Short, choppy chapters, flat and unlikeable characters, designer names dropped, gratuitous sex scenes, and NO REAL TENSION!

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Jan 19, 2018 Book Him Danno rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The Burial Society is a page turner that will keep readers hooked with its fast pace story. Readers will enjoy the short chapters but might get lost with all the different points of view that change between chapters.

The characters jump off the page and the concept of having a Witness Protection in London to help those who are in abusive relationship find a way out was interesting. The writing is sharp it balance between a easy spy thriller and a romantic suspense.

The Burial Society is a Well wr ...more

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Feb 13, 2018 Darcia Helle rated it it was ok

Shelves: suspense-thriller-mystery, fiction, review-copies

I had such high hopes for this book. The description on Amazon (which is currently different from the one here on Goodreads) focuses on Catherine and her Darknet-based, witness protection program called The Burial Society. This premise intrigued me, and apparently set my hopes too high for the story's content.

This story has four narrators: Catherine's part is told in first person, and then we have three others told in third person. The chapters are quite short, with the narrators constantly alte I had such high hopes for this book. The description on Amazon (which is currently different from the one here on Goodreads) focuses on Catherine and her Darknet-based, witness protection program called The Burial Society. This premise intrigued me, and apparently set my hopes too high for the story's content.

This story has four narrators: Catherine's part is told in first person, and then we have three others told in third person. The chapters are quite short, with the narrators constantly alternating.

I expected Catherine to be the main character, but her part is relatively small in comparison. We learn next to nothing about her. Her character is not well developed at all. We also learn little about The Burial Society, how it's run, and/or why Catherine decided to get involved in helping people disappear. Given that this is the aspect that drew me to the story, I was hugely disappointed.

We spent a whole lot of time with Natalie narrating. She is a teenager who cuts herself and has an eating disorder. While these aspects are handled well, Natalie's part, for me, quickly became repetitive. We constantly wallow in teenage angst. Spending so much time with Natalie has the added misfortune of giving too many signs of the twists to come.

I didn't like Frank, Natalie's uncle and another narrator, at all. He whines incessantly about his so-called misfortune, but does virtually nothing to help himself and little to help anyone else. He isn't much of a caretaker, in my view. I did find Jake, Natalie's brother, interesting, though his character is not fleshed out enough to really latch onto.

The plot centers around the recent murder of Natalie and Jake's father and the not-so-recent murder of their mother. Catherine inserts herself into the drama to help. We also have a totally unnecessary subplot involving a woman Catherine is rescuing and the Russian mob, which felt totally implausible. I assume the subplot was intended to try to pull The Burial Society into the story, which could have been better served by focusing the main plot in that direction. The subplot wasn't developed enough, we didn't get to know the characters involved, and so it didn't add any suspense to the story but instead took away from it.

In the end, I wasn't surprised by the twists. Clear signs are there throughout the story for anyone who cares to pay attention. And, since I didn't really get to know any of the characters well, aside from Natalie, I didn't really care about the outcome.

*I was provided with an ARC by the publisher, via Amazon Vine, in exchange for my honest review.* ...more

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Jan 13, 2018 Elisa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: first-reads

I loved Nina Sadowsky's debut so much that I had to read her new novel. It doesn't disappoint. It's addictive, suspenseful and full of twists. Catherine (no last name, no past, many aliases) helps people disappear. She doesn't just do it for the hefty paychecks but because she wants to help. She is smart, confident and underestimated (many think that she must be a man). She also lives in Paris, so as an added bonus we get to do sightseeing in this amazing city. Catherine only botched one job - a ...more

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Jun 07, 2018 Sandra Miller rated it really liked it

Breaking from traditional structure, Nina gives multiple characters their own narratives in bursting short chapters, creating a true page-turner, while the protagonist, Catherine, takes the reader through the journey of her work in the underground network, The Burial Society, rescuing abused women and children. The story becomes an intricate web of past acts coming to roost on the present when Brian Burrows is murdered in Paris. Catherine works behind the scenes to protect Brian's barely-adult c ...more

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Jan 14, 2018 Shel rated it really liked it

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Ballentine Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

“The Burial Society” is a quick-paced thriller by author Nina Sadowsky. This is the second book by Sadowsky and while her debut novel, “Just Fall”, was an excellent read this book will make you a Sadowsky fan. The book reads very fast (most chapters are no more than 8-10 pages) so it’s the perfect book to pack for a beach vacation or long weekend. Thriller authors can occasionally t ...more

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Feb 06, 2018 Michelle Casper rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The story had lots of twists but ended too abruptly. I did enjoy the mystery that Nina wove.

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Feb 12, 2018 Jennie rated it liked it

Shelves: genre-fiction, genre-contemporary, genre-crime, audioreads, genre-mystery, year-read-2018

This book was interesting. I liked it, but it never really felt like it hit its stride completely. I kept wanting more more more and it didn't happen until the very end.

Massive trigger warning for self harm. ...more

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Jul 08, 2019 Moshi rated it liked it

Shelves: thrillers, 2019-reads

I am quite conflicted over this book. I love the idea of this secret witness program but it got side railed by another storyline. And though the ending was not what I expected and i do like it, I do not fancy the narration by Catherine. There’s too many lines of “ that’s a story for another time” in it.
And I came to the conclusion that I do not like stories with alternate narration. This doesn’t work for me and I get very irritated.

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Feb 05, 2020 Edward rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book was good. I like the character Catherine a lot. What's weird is I had this book on my TBR pile and when I picked it up and research the author, I found that her 2nd book to this series was just released the day before. So I ordered the 2nd book the next day and started this one. I think this would be a good Netflix type movie. I should be getting the 2nd book here in two days and this will be one of the first back to back book series I have read. Hope the second one is as good as this ...more

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Jan 28, 2018 lacy white rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: s, 5-stars, arc-copy, ebooks, favorite, cover-love, 2018

A special thank you goes out to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for giving me an eARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes used are from the ARC version and are subject to change upon publishing date.

tw: self harm, disordered eating, gruesome murder details, child abuse, marital discord/abuse

Remember to be grateful, Natalie thinks, for every single day.

I will be honest, friends. I have no idea where to begin with this book. All I know is that I loved every single A special thank you goes out to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for giving me an eARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes used are from the ARC version and are subject to change upon publishing date.

tw: self harm, disordered eating, gruesome murder details, child abuse, marital discord/abuse

Remember to be grateful, Natalie thinks, for every single day.

I will be honest, friends. I have no idea where to begin with this book. All I know is that I loved every single minute of it and I didn't want it to end. I sat on the couch for 2(two) hours without looking up from my Kindle because I was that absorbed into this book and could not put it down. That hasn't happened to me in a long time. I could have easily read 200 more pages. Yeah, friends, is was that good.

There were 5 (four) POVs total with one surprise POV (that I won't reveal). Catherine's POV was in first person, while Natalie's, Jake's and Frank's were in second. The addition of using second person made this book extra special and added a more sinister twist. The POVs would move to the next person when they found out something, which caused me anguish and forced me to continue to read to find out what happened. And I loved every minute of that.

I honestly don't even know what I can tell you guys about this book because I don't want to spoil anything. Honestly, just go in completely blind. Don't even read the synopsis. But, please make sure your mental health is in a good spot. Natalie is very sick and talks in depth of her illness, which includes self harm and disordered eating. And also be prepared for some gruesome descriptions. I can handle a lot but with these descriptions, it made me feel kind of sick.

I think I will end the review on that note. I don't want to spoil anything at all and if I continue to talk about it, I will spoil it. All I know is that I love this book and it has made its way into my top 10 of 2018 without a shred of doubt. I will be on the lookout for more work by this author. Her writing is absolutely breathtaking and oh so haunting. You will not be disappointed when you read this book.

The only people who think there is a time limit for grief have never lost a piece of their heart.

...more

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Jan 29, 2018 Sharon May rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Many thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine Books and Nina Sadowsky for the opportunity to read and review this book - I loved it and couldn't put it down!

Like her first book, Just Fall, this is a finely-crafted psychological thriller but I liked it even better. Constructed with short chapters and alternating points of view, this story is spooled out in a unique and totally satisfying way. I especially loved the little precursors to each section.

I don't want to give too much away because you need to ju ...more

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Feb 01, 2018 Sionna rated it it was ok

Shelves: did-not-finish, thriller, netgalley

*I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

DNF @ 15%

I gave up on this book ultimately because there was no depth to the characters. The short chapters did nothing to endear me to the characters. I'm not saying that short chapters in general aren't great, but that the way things were written I was never able to break through to any depth of the characters. Also, it felt like so many narrators and so much going on, when really not much has truly going on-- there was n ...more

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Jan 17, 2018 2shay rated it it was ok

FLASHCARD..........

This book is presented as just that, a series of flashcard looks at the lives and experiences of multiple characters, most “chapters” being only two or three pages long.

FLASHCARD..........

Catherine is the main character. She runs the Burial Society. She has an unhappy past that we learn little about. She is a master at her craft...according to her. Her initial purpose in this story is to rescue Elena from her abusive Russian husband.

FLASHCARD..........

The Burrows family become ...more

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Mar 07, 2018 Stephanie rated it it was ok

Shelves: netgalley-read

*trigger warning**Self Harm

To be honest this book wasn't horrible, it wasn't great, not something I would wholeheartedly recommend over and over to the right person. It was just blah. I was expecting more on the "Burial Society" side versus what I got. It was hard to jump through so many characters point of views with every chapter and found myself struggling at first. I almost didn't finish it and when I did, I felt nothing...nothing...I can't remember the last time reading a book and literally ...more

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Aug 05, 2018 Myrna Gottlieb rated it liked it · review of another edition

I received a free copy of The Burial Society by Nina Sadowsky from Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the book. It was definitely a page-turner; and the plot was not inspired by Gone Girl, as with so many books I've been reading, which is a plus.

However, I was put off by the author's choice of writing style- all short short chapters, sometimes just 2 or 3 pages, narrated in the first person by a different character at different periods of time,from different locations: Connecti I received a free copy of The Burial Society by Nina Sadowsky from Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the book. It was definitely a page-turner; and the plot was not inspired by Gone Girl, as with so many books I've been reading, which is a plus.

However, I was put off by the author's choice of writing style- all short short chapters, sometimes just 2 or 3 pages, narrated in the first person by a different character at different periods of time,from different locations: Connecticut, New York City, Paris. And the main character, Catherine, no last name, founder of the burial society, was a bit much for me- a super-superhero- a woman of many disguises, amazing computer skills, battling international crime and criminals. Catherine lived large and alone; she could trust no one.

The concept is a good one. Catherine, who had a traumatic childhood, which is not clearly explained (she was raised in a cult of fathers asserting their rights in a society that favored mothers when deciding custody-her own dad had been shot to death by government agents during a raid??? I think) had founded a business that helped women in danger escape their lives and establish a new identity- a witness protection program. The woman was "kidnapped" by prearrangement" and ransom was collected from the abuser- from which Catherine took a hefty fee.

The storyline is Catherine's involvement in the disappearance/ murder of Mallory, an attractive wife and mother in Westport, CT. Mallory had reached out to Catherine for help because she feared for her life- who or what she feared was not known; Catherine was on the way to help her but failed to arrive on time because she'd been drinking heavily at the airport bar as news of personal interest was broadcast on the TV. Guilt haunts Catherine.

The other characters are family members of the missing/ murdered woman, whose body had never been found- Charismatic, successful husband, college-age gay son, troubled teenage daughter, and an uncle, Dad's younger brother. All have problems, especially the daughter who cuts herself, pulls out her hair, and bites her fingers raw as well as having an eating disorder. After their mother's murder, (they'd received a note confessing the crime from a man with whom she'd been having an affair), the family had left Westport, moved into a fancy apartment in New York City; then relocated for a year to Paris, where the father was found murdered with his throat slashed.

It was a quick read- a page-turner with twists and turns galore; but the plot and the main character Catherine were a bit too over the top for me to give a wholehearted recommendation. PS I read this book once not 2 or 3 times as stated in the review. . ...more

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Jan 28, 2018 BookwormishMe rated it really liked it

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had never heard of burial societies before reading this novel. Burial societies are defined by Wikipedia as,

a form of friendly society. These groups historically existed in England and elsewhere, and were constituted for the purpose of providing by voluntary subscriptions for the funeral expenses of the husband, wife or child of a member, or of the widow of a deceased member. Some also allowed for insuring money to be pa

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had never heard of burial societies before reading this novel. Burial societies are defined by Wikipedia as,

a form of friendly society. These groups historically existed in England and elsewhere, and were constituted for the purpose of providing by voluntary subscriptions for the funeral expenses of the husband, wife or child of a member, or of the widow of a deceased member. Some also allowed for insuring money to be paid on the death of a member.[1]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burial_...)

Nina Sadowsky weaves a tale of a different kind of burial society. One that exists to bury people’s lives by creating a new existence for them. Our protagonist, Catherine, is responsible for moving women into these new lives. Catherine lives a vaporous existence. Always changing, always morphing into a new identity to preserve her own life. “I traffic in others’ secrets, but don’t want anyone knowing mine.” Every time she assists The Burial Society, she puts her own life in peril. Yet, this is her world. What she chooses to do make right the wrongs that exist for women.

The Burial Society skillfully illustrates this hidden world by using a faceless, nameless narrator to tell the story of a family touched by tragedy. An extraordinarily dysfunctional family where every member has something to hide. With all the secrets, it’s hard to know who is innocent and who is guilty. But in their own ways, everyone is guilty of something. Jake, keeping his lifestyle secret. Frank, trying to protect his family. Brian, what all is he hiding? Natalie, so much to hide. This family on the surface appears to have it all. The longer you look, the more you can see the cracks and chips of damaged people.

Ms. Sadowsky masterfully controls the story by only sharing bits at the right time. The writing is riveting.

“Hands can do many things. Build a fire, make a sandwich, paint a landscape, toss a football, fly across a keyboard. Caress a lover, soap a back, rub out a solitary orgasm. Wield a razor, swing a baseball bat, punch a heavy bag. Pull a trigger. Choke a neck until all breath is stilled.”

Wow. The unexpected elements of this story grab your attention and hold on tight. I don’t often have time to just sit and go through an entire book in a weekend, but I couldn’t put this one down. Forget the laundry and dishes and dinner, just read! Truly, you won’t be disappointed.
...more

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About Nina Sadowsky

Nina Sadowsky

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Nina R. Sadowsky's eclectic career has spanned work as an entertainment lawyer, a producer, a film executive, a screenwriter, a director and a film professor. She has written numerous original screenplays and adaptations and done rewrites for such companies as The Walt Disney Company, Working Title Films, and Lifetime Television.

She is currently serving as adjunct faculty at USC’s School of Cinem ...more