I enjoyed this book and would recommend it. For the most part it flowed well and kept me wanting more but I guessed who was behind it do four and not five stars.

An engrossing suspenseful novel that will keep you guessing until the very last page!

Kudos to Barbara Sissel, author of "THE TRUTH WE BURY" for such an exciting and descriptive and entertaining story. The genres of this novel are Women's Fiction, Adult Fiction, Mystery and Suspense.

The author describes her characters as conflicted and complicated. and flawed. The story is narrated by the alternating perspectives of two mothers , whose children are about to get married.  Both families are dysfunctional in many ways and have SECRETS. Shea and AJ are engaged to be married in a few weeks.  Both mothers find fault with their children's significant other, and are truly not happy about the impending marriage.

One of the girls in the Bridal party is found dead in AJ's apartment and all clues seem to indicate that AJ might be responsible. AJ has PSTD from being in Afghanistan, and in the past he has made some bad choices and has a temper. There is a major problem that no one seems to know where AJ is.  Is AJ guilty?

This novel has twists and turns, and some characters are very suspicious. There are other murders, and threatening actions that takes the reader on some suspenseful adventure. 

Barbara Sissel brings up questions that are so relevant today. How should victims of PSTD  be accepted and treated? How can family secrets of the past affect family relationships? How should a person accused of a crime be treated? How do you show acceptance of differences in physical appearances and social status?

I love the way the author discusses, family, friends, community, secrets, betrayal, loyalty, support, love, hope and and faith.  This is an amazing and captivating novel that I highly recommend. Thank you to Lake Union Publishing, NetGalley and Barbara Sissel for the Advanced Reading Copy(ARC) for my honest review and opinion.

A murder mystery is my favorite kind of book and any time it takes me less than one chapter to get into it I know to strap myself in and get ready for the ride.

Although the book is a murder mystery it is also a family drama that focuses on what it takes to be a mother, the worry, the sacrifice, the conflict. A quick read that makes a summer day go particularly fast.

This book, The Truth We Bury, held my attention more at some points than others. I liked it well enough but wanted to like it even more than I did. It did take me until close to the end to start figuring things all the way out, though.

I did like that the author touched on PTSD, particularly as it relates to our military personnel, and I wish that more had been said about that, particularly at the end of the novel. I know I would like to know more about this particular issue and I was left wondering. I will research it further on my own.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing house for the opportunity to read the ARC of The Truth We Bury. They choose great writers and stories to publish and I am excited to read more of their offerings. All opinions in this review are my own.

Holy Cow! This was such a wonderful surprise! Two mother's believing in their child and all the disappointments that follow.

The characters were well written with lots of depth and personality. This was a fast paced mystery/thriller that I was not able to predict until all was revealed.

My thanks to netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this advanced readers copy.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. Great book. Enjoyable read. This Author always gets it right!!

What a great book. I absolutely loved this book it has a great plot and well developed characters.

A suspenseful atmospheric novel that pivots around 2 families grappling to hold onto their family secrets at moment of tragedy and desperation.

Lily receives the phone call. A female body is found in her son's apartment. Not just anybody but his fiancee’s bridesmaid and his ex-girlfriend. Lily feels an overwhelming sense of dread overcome her. This is not AJ's first brush with the law and he is no where to be found.

Dru is the mother of AJ’s fiancee Shea. She has never liked AJ and fears that his PTSD from the war has been left unchecked. But anxious bride Shea knows her fiancee’s heart and is desperate to find her AJ, despite her mother's protective clutch.

Suddenly there is a turn of events. Secrets are being kept. The truth always comes out. Even if they are buried. Can the two mothers reconcile the past to help secure their children’s future?

I really enjoyed this book but within the first two chapters I counted well over 15 characters. However, after processing their relevance and relationship to the story I started to engage with great inquiry. The characters in the novel were cleverly developed and each relationship well deleniated. The narrative is well written building a rich stage for a suspenseful plot with obscure twists and turns. I highly recommend this book by Barbara Taylor Sissel.

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"The Truth We Bury" revolves around a murder mystery and a wedding. When one of the bridesmaids dies in the grooms apartment, all fingers point to the groom. From there, we see the investigation play out and unravel. I found the plot to be interesting but it just couldn't hold my attention. I was skimming through the book 50 pages in. I had a feeling about who the murderer may actually be and I was right! The author does add a nice twist that I did not see coming.

This is one of my favorite books so far in 2017.
Barbara Taylor Sissel has written a love story full of warmth, courage and unimaginable horrors happening.
It's written like a slow dance, turns to salsa and ends like a love song.
She writes like a master!

Great story! Looking forward to reading more by this author! Highly recommend!

3.5 stars.

A woman is found murdered in the apartment of a man named AJ. He's been in trouble with the police before, and he's missing. All the evidence points to him, and his family and fiancé want to find him and get to the bottom of it all.

I did quite enjoy this book to be fair. I got into it fairly quickly, and it managed to keep me guessing throughout. I thought it was a well thought out story and I quite liked the mix of characters. Some I liked and some I liked to dislike, which made a change, as the last few books I've read, I feel like I've hated all of the characters. It kept me mainly engaged, but I wasn't especially impressed or excited by the story.

The book was just about the right length - I was around 90% through when I started feeling like I wanted it to end. I wouldn't mind reading some more by this author though!

Dru and Lily, mothers of the bride and groom--two women with completely different backgrounds--must come together to protect their children when one of the bridesmaids is found murdered in the groom's apartment and the groom himself is missing. Is he the murderer or is he being held captive against his will? Told from alternating perspectives, we begin to uncover the past and the secrets and lies that complicate the case. Forced to confront their own demons, each woman must reconcile the past with the present to ensure a future for themselves and their offspring. An engrossing novel!

I loved this book, finished it in a few hours. It's a great book filled with suspense and family secrets where relationships and emotions mix together.
The story, which starts with the murder of a bridesmaid, tells the tale of two mothers. Lily whose son, AJ, is accused of murdering the bridesmaid and Dru, whose daughter, Shea, is AJ's fiancée and his staunch supporter.
Both the mothers have had a difficult emotional past which have left scars, and this influences their decisions and outlook. Each mother is trying to protect her own child. Lily feels both pain and and love for her son AJ, with whom she has not been able to connect, since his childhood and especially, after his return from the war. She struggles hard to prove his innocence. Dru, on the other hand, just wants to save her daughter from what she believes to be a grave mistake.

Barbara's words show the angst which the mothers experience. This book is a wonderful play of emotions seen from the point of view of both Lily and Dru. There are a lot of twists and turns, a good whodunit and family secrets, which doesn't fail to thrill.
Barbara's books are always a pleasure to read and she does not disappoint with this book. A great Book Club read too.
Thank you for writing this book..

An entertaining red. I didn't feel completely shocked by any of the twists and this made the pace a little slow, but I was engaged enough to want to know how it would all be resolved. Some things were wrapped up a little too neatly even though the complexities of the various issues seemed thoughtfully presented. Perhaps all the loose ends did not need to be tied up for the reader.

Another great book by this author. I always devour her books.. Loved the characters and the secrets that were buried. Loved the ending! Wrapped up perfectly.

The Truth We Bury draws you in with murder and suspense but it's the characters that really stand out. Two girls are murdered and the prime suspect is missing. This novel could have been cheesy or boring but Barbara Taylor Sissel manages to touch on universal issues like parenting, marriage, family secrets, and dealing with practical things even while chaos swirls around you etc.
The novel begins with Lily being questioned about her son AJ, a veteran with previous run-ins with the law. The cops finally inform her that a girl has been found dead in his apartment and he is nowhere to be found. She is insulted that they would suspect him of the crime. AJ's fiancé, Shea also has an unwavering belief in his innocence. Her mother Dru is more skeptical. Neither mother is a fan of the marriage. Around an increasing body count Dru and Lily now have to deal with canceling a wedding that is scheduled to happen the next week. This book made me laugh it even made me cry (emotional tears not sad tears) - and I don't cry easily. The murderer on the loose came secondary to the interaction between Lily and Dru's interactions with their children, each other and the past. I didn't put the book down until the last page.

Book Reviews for Avid Readers
In Such Good Company by Carol Burnett. Published by Crown

The Truth We Bury by Barbara Taylor Sissel. Published by Lake Union
May 15, 2017 by cayocosta72, posted in Uncategorized

Lily Islay and Drew Gallagher’s lives become entwined when their children decide to marry. Lily seems to have it all, a beautiful home in a posh neighborhood, a wealthy husband and her marine corps son A.J. who is about to marry girlfriend Shea. Drew has been a single mother since her violent ex, suffering from PTSD threatened both Drew and their daughter, Shea. She hopes Shea will find her happily ever after with AJ, but when one of her daughter’s bridesmaids is murdered in AJ’s apartment, and he goes missing, she fears her daughter may be reliving Drew’s own worst nightmare – a violent, unpredictable man. Lily can’t believe her son would hurt anyone, and the two women become unlikely allies, trying to uncover the truth and find AJ.

I tried to read this but couldn't do it. I think the premise and plot were good but too many conversations of the same thing over and over "have you heard from?, No have you heard from?" made it slow and boring.