Cover Image: CWA Dagger Award - The Buried Girl

CWA Dagger Award - The Buried Girl

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"When New York psychologist Will Hardy's wife is killed, he and his teenage daughter Bernadette move into Godwin Hall, a dusty, shut-up mansion in the small town of Abbeville, Ohio.
Meanwhile, Abbeville Chief of Police Ivy Holgrave is investigating the death of a local girl, convinced this may only be the latest in a long line of murders dating back decades - including her own long-missing sister."

This book is written from different view points and follows different characters at differing times, which can be confusing. There is a good story here, however not everything is fully explained, which may leave the reader not understanding some characters and plot development..

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Another great book by this author, although in my opinion not the best. Got a little bit confusing at times but overall still a good book

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Will Hardy, a forensic psychologist, and his teenage daughter Detta, have endured a horrific tragedy when Will's wife and Detta's mom dies in a fire in their apartment. Shortly after, Will learns he has inherited an old, closed up mansion in Abbeville, Ohio. This windfall allows Will and Detta to leave their longtime home in NYC and attempt to start over in a new setting. As Will and Detta are preparing to move, a young girl is found murdered in a field near Abbeville. Chief of Police Ivy Holgrave is investigating the murder and has more than a feeling that this murder is part of a larger pattern. After his move to the area, Will and Ivy meet and begin to work together on this local mystery.

The Buried Girl is a well written, completely engrossing novel which will satisfy any reader looking for a good, scary detective/mystery. What a treat it would be if this were the beginning of a series featuring Will Hardy and Ivy Holgrave.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author Richard Montanari, and the publisher Little, Brown Book Group UK for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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Finally got around to reading this book, this review is only 4 months overdue, my bad but life and illness got in the way, but I’m getting back on track, I hope.

Anyway, let’s get back to what your all here to read, my review.

What drew me to this book was the title and the description and couldn’t wait to pick it up. Now that I have finished I have to say it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.

It was a mixed read for me. It was up and down in places. Some parts were really exciting and I was drawn in but there were some really slow bits which put me off a bit. Some of the chapters in the book felt a little far-fetched and at times I didn’t quite understand what was going on, and because of this I had to read some parts.

The story took a little too long to develop for me and it again at times felt a little slow in places. But, saying that, just after about half way it did start to come together and I started to enjoy the book much more.

The book story is told from different points of view and into different time periods, which also threw me. I don’t mind books narrated in this way but for some reason it just didn’t quite work for me in this book.

Most of the character had good characterisation but there were some that felt a little weak. The characters Will and Bernadette felt the most developed and I was interested in them the most. They were very likeable and the ones I cared for the most.

Overall a bit of a slow burner for me but minus the issues that I had with this read I would say it was a god read that I did end up enjoying by the end. A book I think would be worth trying.

I would like to thank the publishers Sphere, Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of my eARC in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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I have read many books by Richard over the years and he is still one of my go to authors. Overall a good book though not as good as his earlier works as at times it was somewhat confusing but still a good read.

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Richard Montanari never disappoints and writes a gripping, thrilling and disturbing novel, once again! This was a slow burner though and I admit i was tempted to give up at first, but persevere and you will be just as gripped as in all his other titles!

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This story is about a New York psychologist, Will Hardy, and his daughter, Detta. Having lost Detta's mother in a devastating fire, the father and daughter move to Abbeville, Ohio where Will has inherited an old house. However, nothing is as it seems in Abbeville as a series of historical murders look to be continuing into the present day. Girls are going missing and Detta could be next.

I loved the premise of the mystery, but I will admit that I found it hard to follow at times so it didn't hook me in. The perspective and time period shifted a lot, not made any clearer in the ARC by the lack of section breaks, so it took a while to work out where the perspective changed.

I did finish this and there were things I liked (the characterisation of Will, Ivy and Detta, for example), but I found the historical element a bit far fetched and the motives puzzling. It's an engaging enough book, but not one that would get me to read more by the author.

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Disappointed by this book. It had the potential to be so much more but the style it was written in didn't work for me. I found it odd and disjointed.

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If you're into psychological, creepy thrillers then this is definitely a book you should read. There are two strands to the story, the first involves Will Hardy, a New York based psychologist whose wife is killed by someone who he has tried to help, Will and his daughter then move to Abbeville, a small town in Ohio where they move into an old mansion Will has inherited. The second strand starts in Amsterdam over a century previously when Rinus Van Laar's wife dies after being killed and he moves to Ohio with his son and sets up a successful farm. The two strands collide in Abbeville and another important character, Ivy Holgate, (the local Chief of Police who is investigating the disappearance of young girls over a long period of time) is introduced. The creepy atmosphere, and the fact that William's daughter, Detta, looks as though she could also disappear adds to the intrigue.
I liked aspects of this book but found it confusing at times when it skipped from character to character and time to time and didn't enjoy the book as much as I was expecting to because of this.

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Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review

Richard Montanari is one of my favourite authors ever and even though I enjoyed this book it is certainly not up there with his best

Will’s wife is killed and he decides to move away to a house he has inherited from a long lost relative with his daughter

Girls are going missing and then all of a sudden his daughter disappears!! This doesn’t turn out to be half as exciting as it sounds unfortunately

There is also alot of far fetched scenes in this book which seriously has you wondering what the hell has actually happened

I always re-read Richard’s books but I won’t be reading this one again

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I found this book a bit confusing, kept jumping back and fro, not what I was expecting, I've read all the previous books by this author, couldn't really equate this one with his previous work, not for me.

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I found this book a bit confusing as there was a diary that kept being referred to from Eva Larsen, I believe she was a missing girl but it did note it was from her. Then we had we had the pieces from Chief Ivy Holgrave and Dr Will Hardy, it took a long time for these two to come together. Then Ivy and Will worked together on solving the missing girl case.

It took a very long time for me to get into the book and I think this worked against my enjoyment of this author's work which I usually enjoy unfortunately. It will not stop me reading his work though.

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An interesting book, an intriguing book. When Will Hardy arrives at Godwin Hall he finds that he knows details about the place that he shouldn't - he'd never been there before - had he? Girls have been going missing for over a century, Police Chief Ivy Holgrave has been researching the missing girls since her sister Delia, became one of them. Together she and Will are sorting through the evidence linking the girls together, but in all of this was Will's daughter Bernadette to become one of them?

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This is a stand-alone thriller and not part of the Byrne and Balzano series as the heading suggests.
It took me a while to get into as the story is told from the past and the present.
In the present, Will and his daughter Detta, are dealing with the aftermath of a terrible tragedy. They then move to Abbeville, after Will is left a house in a will. This is a small town with a dark past that still lingers in the present time.
Then in the past there is a haunting tale which seeps into the present and then the two collide.
Will meets Ivy who is investigating some murders of young girls in the village and the two get on very well.
I’d like to know what happens with Will and Ivy so hopefully they’ll be another story about Abbeville.
This is a bit of a slow burner but overall is a good read.
Thanks to Little Brown Book Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

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A good read, not his usual in my opinion. His earlier books are superb. This is a good read. Three stars,

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This is a stand-alone psychological thriller. Abbeville is a seemingly innocuous small town in Ohio. The chief of police is Ivy Holgate who has spent years piecing together the cases of vanished and murdered girls. Will Hardy and his daughter, Detta, have lost their wife/mother in terrible circumstances in New York. Abbeville could be a new start for them.

I found this book very difficult to get a hold of at the beginning. There are several different threads which are quickly introduced and switched around making the story very disjointed. I don’t think I had the story clear in my mind until about a quarter of the way through. However, once I got into gear & had all the threads straightened out the book really took off. It was worth continuing & I am pleased that I did.

This book is written from several different view points and follows different people at different times. This did get a bit confusing in places as this wasn’t always clearly defined. One thread which was quite clear was that of diaries from the nineteenth century. I enjoy books which use a variety of texts such as stories, letters, documents and so on.

This is a good plot which is well constructed. I will point out, however, that not everything is fully explained. The reader is still left in the dark over some motives and understanding some characters. I have no doubt that this is the intention of the author & I am still thinking about the book a couple of days after completion.

This book is slightly different to my usual book. Although I enjoy psychological thrillers I don’t read many American books nor ones which are police proceedural. It was good to stretch myself and enjoy a book that perhaps I wouldn’t normally pick up.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

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Richard Montanari is one of those rare writers that I get so ridiculously excited about when I hear his latest book is about to be published, and The Buried Girl, his latest standalone, is even better than his previous novels; I never thought that was possible, but he just keeps getting better. Suffice to say Montanari is one of the best in the business, and a master of suspense. This captivating, gothic-tinged tale is as atmospheric as they come and has a cast of engaging characters to boot. I was blindsided time and again by the twists and turns, and the creep factor is here in abundance.

This is a real page-turner where the perpetrator is beautifully concealed right to the end of the story and there is action aplenty. An intricately plotted tale from a criminally underrated author it requires concentration to keep up with the multiple threads and characters, but it's never a chore. It is an intelligent and more profound thriller than most and that really appealed to me. I am certain this will satisfy his long-time fans but also gain him new readers in the process; in my opinion, neither will be disappointed. I look forward to the next novel.

Many thanks to Sphere for an ARC.

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One of my favourite authors and what a book !!!!
I am an avid reader of this authors work and I am glad to say I have never been disappointed. This book is a psychological thriller that is creepy, with touches of the gothic. This is a captivating and intriguing read which had me reading late into the night. I read this amazing book in one sitting, turning the pages faster and faster. I just had to know. This book like all the rest of this authors work does not pull any punches, it is packed to the rafters with tension and suspense. This author manages to twist you into knots, you think you know who the perpetrator is then WHAM you got it wrong yet again. This read draws you in and only lets you go when you have read the last page. Another masterpiece from this author and so highly recommended.

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I haven't read anything from Richard Montanari for a while but I think after reading the buried girl , I might have to go back and read the ones I'm missing. This story is a standalone novel but I think it could easily become a series. It jumps around a bit from the past to the future but at the end it all pulls together well. I don't like to give too much away but the story follows Dr Will Hardy who whilst trying to help a young lad unwittingly unleashes something devastating into his family life but because of this he ends up meeting Police Chief Ivy Lee Holgrove a police officer who has been trying to solve a baffling series of murders of young girls and ropes in Will because of his psychology back ground.
But really if you like thrillers with a creepy edge then this is the book for you.

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I could not get into this book, I found it confusing and hard to follow.. I did not like the writing style either.

I see that there is a lot of great reviews for this but It is just not for me.

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