Where the Bodies Lie Buried by R.J. Minnick

[Maron]

Hello! I'm making a recommendation for an indie book I really enjoyed.

Where the Bodies Lie Buried by R.J. Minnick


Here's my review for it, to explain why I liked it and am recommending it to others:

I enjoyed this book. Mackenzie Wilder is a medical doctor who began her career after becoming a young widow. She moves back to her hometown to "set things right." She buys back her childhood home--which she loves--and tries to establish a positive identity for herself rather than always living in the shadow of her father, who had a bad reputation because he dealt pot and liquor around town. As soon as Mackenzie arrives in town, she learns that two bodies (skeletons, really) were found buried on her childhood property, and everyone believes her father was the murderer.

To me, there are two main story lines in this book: First, we have Mackenzie's adjustment to returning "home" and her desire to establish her identity and to repair relationships with the people she knew as a child. Second, there is the mystery of the bodies: Who are they, and who killed them?

I've only read a few mystery novels (mostly Agatha Christie), and in my opinion this book was more about the development of Mackenzie as a character (and her experience returning to her hometown) than the "whoddunit," and I really liked that. I found Mackenzie interesting--she doesn't fit into any stereotypical character boxes--and that part of the story was very satisfying to me. The closure of the mystery didn't involve a major plot twist, and I think that makes this the first mystery novel I've read where the murderer's identity is not revealed as a shock or twist. But that was fine with me; I didn't need that to enjoy the story, and I appreciated not being led down the garden path (I became frustrated with Agatha Christie's novels for this reason; I got tired of being intentionally misled).

The pace of the book and the sequence of events were good for me, although I could see them being too slow for some people. There is dramatic action at the end of the book--and I definitely felt the tension while reading it--but I know some readers who would want action and tension throughout. I am not one of those readers (I actually find constant action tedious; I'll take character development over action any day), so that worked really well for me.

There is a bit of romance in the book, but it was not the focus of the story, which I liked.

The only thing I wanted from this book that I didn't get was more information about Mackenzie's life with her deceased husband, Brian. However, because this book is the first in a series, I expect we'll learn more about Mackenzie and Brian's history as we go.

To conclude, a simple way for me to judge the quality of a book is whether I'm interested in reading the sequel. In this case, I'm definitely interested in continuing the series. I read this book in the evenings during a long vacation, and I was eager to get back to the book each night.