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The Life We Bury

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The Life We Bury

By: Allen Eskens
Narrated by: Zach Villa
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About this listen

College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe's life is ever the same. Carl is a dying Vietnam veteran-and a convicted murderer. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder.

As Joe writes about Carl's life, especially Carl's valor in Vietnam, he cannot reconcile the heroism of the soldier with the despicable acts of the convict. Aided by his skeptical neighbor, Lila, Joe throws himself into uncovering the truth. Thread by thread, he begins to unravel the tapestry of Carl's conviction. But as he and Lila dig deeper into the circumstances of the crime, the stakes grow higher. Will Joe discover the truth before it's too late to escape the fallout?

©2014 Allen Eskens (P)2015 Tantor
Amateur Sleuths Detective Psychological Suspense Fiction Exciting Mystery Thriller Student Stranger Psychological Suspense

Critic Reviews

"More complications ensue, until the novel's satisfying resolution." ( Publishers Weekly Starred Review)

What listeners say about The Life We Bury

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    4 out of 5 stars

Great narration, a decent story

This was a pretty straightforward story and unfolded as expected. Easy listening if you’re doing some odd jobs as it’s very easy to follow.
The narrator was great.
One thing I will note as distasteful is Joe’s inability to take the answer ‘no’ from Lila, I would have liked to see the relationship evolve differently rather than Joe just wearing Lila down until she said yes to a date.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A great who done it

I really enjoyed this book. Listened to it within 2 days.
Good twist, good villains, feel good ending.
I think I’ll check out the rest of the series.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Great free book

This book is great. Interesting premise with likeable characters. Part war story, part crime/detective novel. All fantastic . Well worth the time invested . Will check out this authors other work

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it.

From the very beginning I was hooked. Narration excellent. Highly recommend this story with its twists and turns.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Totally recommend this

Really enjoyed this book. Excellent storyline and narration. Wasn't sure what to expect and was delighted with my choice

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

a fabulous story

started slow but gosh what a great book. twists and turns, mixed storylines beautifully entwined.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great story a real page turner

I loved the complex emotional ride the twists and turns of the mystery overlaid with the complex personal stories of the characters

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Riveting story line

Narrator was great. Listened to it in a couple of days hard to put down

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Surprising

I got far more out of this than I expected. Good story with some twists. Took me time to get used to the narrator but yes, overall an enjoyable read.

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    3 out of 5 stars

It was good enough to hold me throughout- but not great.

This title is free so it’s hard to complain. I finished it and it was ok.

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