Oof, this book. This book was pitched as dark humor- it is not. It is a straight up 'thriller'- though it was so confusing that it wasn't actually that heart-pounding or thrilling. The author does not do multiple povs well and none of the characters were rooted strongly in the narrative, something that is essential if your novel is filled with awful people. Though the premise was interesting, I found it lacking in execution.

Thanks to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for this e-arc.

Gilbert has dementia and lives in a care home. When one of the carers, Will Cavanagh, overhears him mentioning a murder that he committed, he decides to investigate.

Jolene is another carer, who is still struggling with the disappearance of her sister, Dolly. Yes - you did read those names correctly!

I felt that the book started off well, but my interest started to wane sadly. This was due to the amount of characters in the story, it was difficult to keep up with them all.

The story was somewhat confusing, which wasn’t helped by the fact that it’s meant to be “darkly satirical”, when in fact, it’s not.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

3.5⭐️

This book has the title and the premise that just sucks you in.

It started strong - i was hooked and very intrigued what will come next, but then it was just too much of everything. Don't get me wrong, book was interesting and there were few twists that surprised me but it left me with a lot of questions too.
The story has multiple POVs which was ok but all these characters were too weird, i guess - i didn't felt like i got to know them.
I think that the serial killer with dementia was the only sane one in this bunch. And the ending was too abrupt, it was building, building, building and then whoosh done.

I loved the writing - it was really well written, words were flowing, sentences were abstract but on point.

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

Remember Where You’ve Buried the Bodies by Julie Lancaster drew me in right away with its clever title and intriguing concept. I was excited to dive in, and there were definitely moments where the story hooked me. However, overall it wasn’t quite the book for me.

There’s a lot happening in this novel, with multiple threads and perspectives weaving through the plot. While that made for a busy, layered story, I sometimes found it hard to follow and a bit overwhelming. Personally, I think the book would have been stronger if it had stayed more focused on Gilbert’s storyline, which I found to be the most engaging and compelling part of the narrative.

Even though it didn’t fully work for me, the writing shows creativity and ambition, and I’m glad I gave it a try.

i had just watched the Thursday murder club so was in that light and breezy but give me something quirky and murderous vibes. so i fell into this book. lets put it this way this is no Thursday murder club but i still got my smiles from it for whole different but what a great story vibes.
this is the story about a man in later years, in his care home telling someone he has killed someone a long time ago. so what would you do? dismiss this elderly gentleman as being a little confused? i know my nan or any of her friends in the home never said anything like this! so is he telling the truth? one care home worker sets out to find out.
this book is full of intriguing characters. it felt a bit like a cosy mystery but with those dark undertones that somehow still managed a few key humour points in it too.
i liked how we also got to glimpse into the past. we got to see the timelines and events become clearer and also delve into the characters and unlayer just what happened.
books like this are good as you follow a plethora of characters and stories. you are on a real mystery tour. and often they are all goodies or even likeable .you are just invested in the story unfolding before us bit by bit. you never quite know what character development might be key.
a good book with such a good premise to hook you in and then you get involved in solving it alongside the more layered moments of the characters within.
pacing was great in this book too. you get given enough information. then a little more. you aren't ever given too much but you can sometimes hold key moments where you might think aha.and this gradually gets more and more as you move along in the book.
this was a clever and well thought out book with a great start. the originality of the serial killer forgetting he was one? brilliant.

I really wanted to like this book but I struggled to read it. I’m not sure what it was but the plot just didn’t really grab me. I know others have loved it but it just wasn’t for me. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and the author for the chance to review.

I wish I had loved this one more.....it sounded so good and like it was going to be brilliant, but it fell a bit flat for me. There were some amusing bits but overall I think I was expecting something it wasn't.

Sadly i was unable to get through the book. I found myself getting confused within different characters. The premise of the book attracted me.

Remember Where You’ve Buried the Bodies by Julie Lancaster is a story based in a care home and tells the stories of some of the residents and staff.
The Sunset House Care Home is home to many residents but Gilbert Williams talks to support worker, Will Cavanagh about killing someone. When he mentions other names Will decides to go to the police with his concerns. The problem with many of the residents is they can’t remember their own names most of the time, let alone if they have murdered anyone in the past.
A humorous, dark story of serial killers and victims and what happens when the murderer forgets what he has done.
Recommended

I felt a bit confused while reading this. The multiple POV:s are not in favor of this book. The different POV:s are hard to separate because they all sound alike.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Remember Where You’ve Buried the Bodies is not the book to read if you’re looking for a serious suspense, because while the humor in the book is subtle and undeniably dark, it’s ever-present. With a detective who has an addiction to broadway musicals bordering on the pathological and a care home manager who is mind-bogglingly inappropriate, this is not a book that takes itself all that seriously.

The plot summary suggests that the book is about Gilbert, a geriatric with dementia in a home for the elderly who suddenly begins making puzzling and disturbing statements to the staff that lead them to believe he may have been a serial killer, and the staff’s subsequent efforts to get to the bottom of it. However, as the story unfolds the reader learns that only one member of the staff, the hapless Will, actually hears Gilbert’s ramblings. Becoming suspicious, Will decides to investigate on his own, which is not only darkly funny but leads the reader to unexpected discoveries about Will’s own creepy idiosyncrasies and troubling past.

Meanwhile, Will’s coworker Jolene, who is a special brand of erratic all her own, eventually comes to believe that Gilbert was responsible for the disappearance of her sister Dolly many years prior and begins her own investigation with the aid of a private investigator who has taken up temporary residence in the care home. The results of her investigation lead her to a logical (but incorrect) conclusion, and she takes drastic action only to be confronted by her mistake.

While these two are bumbling about causing general mayhem, the police, in the form of DI Rex Spencer and DS Cathy Daniels, are on the hunt for those responsible for the disappearance of a local woman (the news broadcast of said woman’s disappearance being what prompted Gilbert’s stumble down a fog-shrouded memory lane). An odder pair than Rex and Cathy would be difficult to fathom – quirky doesn’t begin to describe it – but you find yourself following along anyway as this mismatched pair navigate personal and professional crises in their circuitous search for answers.

All of these plot lines eventually converge with Will in the hospital in a coma, Cathy with a concussion, and Jolene being rescued from her kidnappers but said kidnappers in the wind. The book is, in short, a free for all of kidnapping and killing.

But it works, surprisingly enough. I will freely admit that at the end you’re left with a minor case of whiplash, because this book is rambling journey that takes you from point A, past point B, and winds up at C. It did manage to surprise me a couple of times, so full marks for unpredictability. Fast paced, well written, and entertaining, it keeps the reader engaged until the very end. But be prepared for a bumpy ride, because this thing’s got more twists than Escher’s House of Stairs.

4.3⭐️

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am leaving a voluntary review.

I really enjoyed this and flew through it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Part crime-thriller, part contemporary fiction, this book told in multiple POVs twists and meanders along, bouncing from victim to victim, case to case. Threads of different missing girls all pull together towards the end, everything seemingly unrelated then completely entwined. What can be done when an apparent serial killer slowly loses his memories to dementia in an old peoples home? Will the truth ever come out? At times the broad cast of characters felt detrimental to the story flow, but each was compelling and interesting so would hook me back in again. Unlike many standard thrillers, this didn’t feel like it had a satisfying conclusion, but it also didn't necessarily need one. Some questions were answered while others remain open-ended - and that's the way of life!

Release: Sept 19, 2025
Author: Julie Lancaster
Publisher: Harper Collins

Rating: 3.75 ★ 

At a quirky little care home called Sunset House, nothing is quite as it seems. The tea’s weak, the staff are checked out, and glitter somehow ends up everywhere. Most of the elderly residents quietly pass the time with bingo and biscuits—until one of them, Gilbert, casually drops a bombshell: "When I killed her..."
Everyone brushes it off as just another odd remark from a man with dementia. Maybe he’s confused. Maybe he’s quoting a TV crime show. But then strange things start happening, and it’s clear that not everything from the past is staying buried.
Amid lazy caregivers, gossip, and games that are a little too intense, someone starts to wonder—what if Gilbert isn’t confused at all? What if he really did do something terrible? And what if the killer is still very much present?
This is a darkly comedic mystery full of sharp wit, oddball characters, and twisted secrets, where the line between memory and murder gets blurrier by the day.
This book was everything I want in a thriller—fast-paced, clever, and full of twists that kept me guessing the entire time. From the very first page, I was hooked. Every chapter pulled me deeper into a story packed with secrets, lies, and jaw-dropping turns. Just when I thought I had it figured out… bam—another surprise!
What really sets this one apart is the unique setting. A care home might not seem like your typical backdrop for murder and mystery, but it works brilliantly. There’s a perfect balance of dark humor, eerie tension, and emotional depth. I genuinely laughed out loud more than once, and still found myself on edge during the more intense scenes.
The characters are another huge highlight—quirky, suspicious, and completely unforgettable. I loved how layered and unpredictable they were. You’re constantly wondering who to trust, and that makes the mystery even more gripping.
If you're into thrillers with a twist of wit—think The Thursday Murder Club, but darker and less cozy—this one is a must-read. It’s got murder, mayhem, unreliable characters, and a finale that seriously delivered. I already want to read it again.

Favorite Quote: 
"At Sunset House, the tea is barely introduced to a teabag, the carpets are permanently flecked with glitter."

Book review 📖

📜Remember Where You’ve Buried The Bodies
✍️Julie Lancaster
📠Harper Collins/One More Chapter
📚Mystery/Thriller Fiction
🗓️Pub date: September 19, 2025

⭐️⭐️

✨Thank you @NetGalley and @harpercollins @onemorechapterhc for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

✨Jolene, a caregiver to the elderly at Sunset House, would much rather be watching TV than catering to patients that slap, punch, and mutter gibberish. But a paycheck is a paycheck.

✨When Gilbert, an elder in the home, claims “when I killed her”, staff chalk it up as his dementia talking. But it’s anything but.

✨In alternating perspectives of Jolene in present day and Gilbert reliving his past, it’s a quick dive into what happens when you’re trying to remember where the bodies are buried.

✨I was excited for this, reminding me of Samantha Downing’s Too Old For This, and a Dexter wannabe. I thought I would’ve liked this more than I actually did—the bustling activities of everyday life at the nursing home and amount of characters introduced distracted from the main plot, at times leaving me confused.

#netgalley #rememberwhereyouveburiedthebodies #julielancaster #harpercollins #onemorechapter #advancedreadercopy #arc #bookreview #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #fallreleases #thrillerfiction

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I tried to get into it but the writing style didn’t click for me. I often found myself confused about the characters and the story and was unable to fully follow what was going on.

This is clearly a book that will appeal to other readers, but it wasn’t for me.

Unfortunately this book just was not for me. I found it extremely confusing and never knew whose POV I was reading. The premise wasn’t bad, but the execution fell short.

Thank you to Julie Lancaster, NetGalley, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A fast-paced mystery that slowly inches closer to dissolving into a thriller. Remember Where You've Buried the Bodies is filled with various perspectives, which makes it all the more satisfying as the novel unfolds and reveals its mysteries, showing that things aren't always as they seem. All these characters are compelling and fascinating to follow, with an ending that is perfect for this novel; I recommend picking it up.
Thank you to One More Chapter, a subdivision of HarperCollins, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A review is something personal, and it’s the most natural thing in the world that tastes differ. A certain book can be highly praised by many, while for others it’s just not their thing at all. For me, a review is about how I experienced the story, and it has nothing to do with its quality.

I was immediately drawn to the title of the book. That could only mean funny situations, I thought to myself. The blurb also convinced me and sparked my curiosity, so with great interest I opened it.

Some stories throw you right into the action. Others first provide some background information and therefore have a slower start, like this book. I don’t mind that at all, as long as it can still capture and hold my attention. And that’s where the problem lay...

There are a large number of characters, and at times I no longer knew exactly who was who. I was completely confused and in the end couldn’t figure out who was supposed to have done what, or who was supposed to be doing what.

I am not a quitter. I know how much work goes into creating a book, and that’s why I find it respectful to read it all the way through, so I have a complete picture. Unfortunately, this did not bring me any relief.

There were certainly interesting parts, and from time to time a smile appeared on my face. However, I couldn’t find the glue to hold all the pieces together.

With much regret, I can only give 2 stars. Sorry.

Thank you

Gilbert lives in Sunset house care home, and he is also suffering from dementia. He is attending a residents birthday party when one of the carers Will Cavanagh overhears him confess killing someone. He first dismisses it, thinking it is just the Dementia talking but then thinks it might be true. So, at first, he starts his own investigation into it just to make sure that it’s not true.
I was interested in this story from the blurb and even the title intrigued me. I thought it was just up my street. It is a mix of mystery and cosy crime and had a slight tinge of humour to it. Although I did enjoy this story found that there was a lot of layers to this story and lots of characters that I couldn’t keep up with who is who and he spoilt it for me a bit. That I could.t engage to the story as properly as I should. 3 stars from me.