Richard Montinari writes crime thrillers – see here for my review of another book of his that I read recently. The Buried Girl is a stand alone crime novel with a touch of the gothic about it and it includes what is possibly a supernatural element.
Will moves into a dusty mansion in a small town in Ohio with his teenaged daughter. His wife has recently died and his relationship with his daughter is difficult. His home was destroyed in a fire and he is determined to make a new start. Unfortunately, it doesn’t turn out that way and it soon appears that he has been followed to his new home by an enemy who means him harm. The town where he has come to live has a history of dead girls and when another young woman goes missing the sheriff is convinced that there is a serial killer at work who has been active for many years – she also suspects that this person is responsible for the death of her own sister.
The start of this book is good and the author builds up the atmosphere brilliantly, if maybe a little slowly. When Will and Ivy, the sheriff, start making connections, however, the story moves from unlikely to improbable. There are far too many coincidences, the bad guy knows stuff and we are never told how he comes by his knowledge, people seem to inherit evil from their family, the killer is staging his murders as reproductions of paintings, and the murderer seems to be able to make people do what he wants very easily. It’s fast paced and action packed but it doesn’t do to examine the plot and motivation of the characters too closely.
I would also point out that I have now read countless crime novels where the main investigator has had a close relative, usually an infant or teenaged sister, go missing in the past – it’s either that or the murder of their spouse. It’s not original now.
I enjoyed this book well enough but, if you decide to read it, don’t expect too much of it and remember to suspend the disbelief.
Anne Is Reading 