Burial of Ghosts

First published in 2003.

Ann Cleeves has drawn quite heavily on her own experience as a probation officer in this stand-alone story and that lends the tale an air of authenticity although several aspects of it do stretch the bounds of credibility.

Award winning Cleeves has become known for her Shetland novels and her Vera Stanhope series, and so it is nice to come across a non-series title occasionally. There are Gothic qualities to this novel which remind me of books I read in an earlier life. Nevertheless an enjoyable read.

Really, this is a 2.75 for me. At first I thought perhaps I was jaded by the fact that I read this before bed, so therefore only got a few pages in at a time. But after reading the reviews of others, I feel my complaints are valid. I generally like Ann Cleeves' work, however, so that's why this is a three, instead of a two.

First, everything from the cover art to the blurb on the front and the back oversell this story. Lizzie Bartholomew's terrifying secrets? Still not sure what they are. I found her character very unlikeable, or at least inconsistent, and none of the other characters were that interesting. Her "past" pops up at the strangest of times, but I didn't care enough about her in the present to be invested. I truly didn't care show more about either of the main deaths, and the whole premise seemed a bit flimsy. Not my favorite. show less

In comparison to The Sleeping and the Dead, the other Ann Cleeves stand-alone I read, I liked Burial of Ghosts better; the first-person narration made it more vivid, and I liked that the central character was a woman. The plot may be far-fetched, but it was a far-fetched I could roll with. Found the flashbacks hard to read, so I ended up skimming them.

Lizzie Bartholomew meets Philip Samson on a bus in Morocco. She is heading back home to England and he is on a holiday. They get to know each other on the bus ride and spend a wonderful night together. When Lizzie wakes up he is gone.

Several weeks later she gets a letter from Phillip's lawyer inviting her to Philip's funeral. He had died of cancer. The lawyer needs to speak with her because Philip provided for her in his will. A $10,000 bequest put $5,000 if she will locate and befriend Philip's illegitimate son, Thomas. She ultimately agrees and goes searching for Thomas, only to find him a tad too late. He had been murdered. So, now Lizzie takes it upon herself to find the murderer.

This standalone by the author of the Vera and show more Shetland series is an engrossing read. show less

Lizzie Bartholomew, running from a past full of foster homes and various misdeeds, finds herself in Morocco. She has a one-night stand with a nice man, Philip, and enjoys it for what it is.

When she gets home she continues her life. Until she gets a letter from a solicitor, asking her to meet with him. Philip died and left her some money, on the condition that she search for his illegitimate son.

The money is not that much, but Lizzie is curious enough to follow trails to the missing son. Nothing is as straightforward as it seemed, however.

Quite unusual for Ann Cleeves to write in the first person. But as usual she pulls it off with aplomb. Very engaging, really had us hooked! Wonderful narrator! A real page turner. As always I highly recommend anything by Ann Cleeves.

This is a book I read straight after reading the Ann Cleeves crime novel Raven Black. I had not heard of Cleeves before, it was a book chosen by our reading group, but I enjoyed her style in Raven Black so I thought I had to try this one next. It had another attraction in that it is set in Northumberland where I live and I was curious to see how she would treat the area. She described it perfectly. In fact I wish I could remember her descriptions and carry them off as my own!
The story is about Lizzie Bartholomew, an orphan who has grown up in foster homes and, despite a lot of trouble in her youth, she became a social worker hoping to help children who are where she was. However because of a traumatic event, that is slowly revealed show more through the book, she is now no longer working and, following a strange request from a man she only knew briefly but who has recently died, she is slowly drawn into a murder investigation.
Like Raven Black this book is full of interesting characters who all have secrets to hide, it is up to Lizzie, and the reader if you want to play the 'detective game' along with her, to try to work out which secrets are the red herrings and which will unlock the mystery. At times this is a very dark book but it does draw you in beautifully, it is definitely one to start when you have a whole day ahead of you to do nothing but read ... you won't want to put it down. show less