My first experience of Jody Gehrman, and it wont be my last, I was on the edge of seat throughout the whole book! Thoroughly enjoyable and gripping read! recommended!

In 2019 my health started going down hill and I didn't take into consideration what that would mean for my book reviewing. Sadly, I've been trying to play catch up for years and it's been affecting my ability to keep up with present day tasks. So I greatly apologize for this but I am going to clear out all these older review books and focus on present day. I will come back and update this review if I end up reading the book, which is very possible as a lot of these books are still ones I would like to read, I just don't think the pressure looming over me is helpful. Thank you for giving me a chance to early read these books and I am so sorry I wasn't able to provide what was needed.

Something happened that summer, all those years ago, but Tansy left all that behind her and is now trying to live a quiet life, under the radar. But when someone from her past ones barreling back in, Tansy has to relive all of the drama and manipulation of the past and try not to get sucked into it all over again.

This book was part mystery (what happened all those years back) and part domestic drama sorting through the characters' relationships. I think that the characters were extremely complex and well-developed and the plot was very compelling. Great themes on motherhood and how far you would go for someone you love. I could not put this book down.

Thank-you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my advanced reader copy.

Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mystery: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Writing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Friendship, Secrets, and Abuse

The Summer We Buried is a great read for those who enjoy psychological thrillers with complex characters and dark, twisty plots. Jody Gehrman’s ability to weave together past and present traumas makes for an engrossing narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

This was an interesting read by an author that I was not familiar with having never read their work before. I always enjoy a new to me author and I wasn’t disappointed.
I found the characters interesting and really had a depth to them with lots of details described for me to portray them in my mind and really get inside them.
The story line took me to a place I wasn’t expecting and kept me intrigued right until the end.
I would recommend to anyone interested in this genre and will be reading more.

This is a slow burn that moved at a glacial pace, with an unnecessary sex scene and histrionic drama filled to the brim. But, there’s something about Gehrman’s writing that kept me turning the pages.

Was I disappointed overall? Kind of. Was I entertained enough to stick it out to the end? Apparently. The ending was such a massive cheesefest though.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

A great slow binging thriller. This book is packed with emotions but also kept me on the edge of my seat.

Tansy is a college guidance counselor that gets a visit from a frenemy of the past with a request...
Her ex friend Selene has demanded Tansy talk to her daughter, Jupiter, into leaving an abusive relationship but when Tansy refuses, Selene threatens her with a secret from their past...


This book was dark, mysterious, with great character development.

The cover really drew me in wanting to read this book, but the execution was fine. It was a good book, but not some I'll look back to remembering so much.

Not every thriller is thrilling. The Summer We Buried is not Jody Gehrman’s first rodeo, but it does not exactly speak to a deft handle on her material. If you want nearly everything laid out for you in advance, The Summer We Buried may be rewarding – otherwise you can tell you don’t need to dig it up at a mere glance.

Tansy is a guidance counsellor at a college. Selene, a friend that she hasn’t seen in seventeen years, tells Tansy that she must try to convince a student – Selene’s own daughter Jupiter – to break up with her seemingly abusive boyfriend, or the truth of seventeen years ago will be revealed.

That summary is the proper vagueness that you want from a blurb. If you read The Summer We Buried, you will find out what happened on that fateful summer eve almost instantly. Where other contemporary authors might drip feed the events of the past, interspersed through a novel either in alternating chapters, or gradual revelations through dialogue, Gehrman plays her hand at the very first opportunity. The power of blackmail is that you can’t reveal the terms to anyone lest you get exposed; Tansy shares her secret so widely that it’s amazing that Selene has any power over her at all.

Later revelations stretch the bounds of credulity, making one wonder how Selene and Jupiter had managed to function in society in the years prior to Tansy’s reappearance in their lives.

With a cavalier endgame that suggests that the criminality of every crime is relative, The Summer We Buried collapses into its own ridiculousness. A thoroughly unsympathetic cast of characters and a near terminally foolish narrator make The Summer We Buried an eminently forgettable novel – degrees of sameness do not matter if it’s a good version of the same, but The Summer We Buried synthesises none of the good and leaves only the ashen remains of a thriller’s bones.

An ARC of The Summer We Buried was provided by Crooked Lane Books in exchange for review.

‘What he doesn’t know—what nobody knows, except Selene and me—is the leverage she has over me. The secrets neither one of us can afford to say out loud.’

An interesting ride of secrets and lies in THE SUMMER WE BURIED by Jody Gehrman. Overall I enjoyed the story, though there are sections of the book I admit I skimmed through that I found a bit repetitive.

Love The Ending!

Thank you, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books, for providing me with an eBook of THE SUMMER WE BURIED at the request of an honest review.

I think if I had known this book was more romantic suspense than thriller/mystery, I probably wouldn't have picked it up to read. This was definitely not a thriller as it was a very slow burn. The character development was okay, but I just could never really get engaged in their story.

This was a gripping read that dealt with multiple elements of friendships, past trauma, and memories, all narrated superbly with a dual-timeline narration. Tansy and Selene have not seen each other in a long time, but when Selene's job brings them both face to face, they need to stop running away from their pasts, and do their best to grapple with the consequences of their actions. The pacing was fast and gripping, and I loved the characterization of both Tansy and Selene. I had a good time reading this book. My thanks to Gehrman, and the publishers Crooked Lane Books for gifting me with a copy of this book.

I received a copy of this to review. The plot sounded amazing I just could not get into the book and characters I wanted to like the book it had a lot of plot twists and I set it aside a lot

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC - It's a good thing I've downloaded all my books ahead of time before they were all archived. I know it's late but here is my review. This was a slow burn for me however as much as I want to give it 5 stars I can only give around 3.5. It's not the kind of story that gets stuck in my brain but it still perked my interest as I was able to finish the entire book and didn't DNF it. I will still recommend this to those thriller lovers who likes twists and turns. TW Sexual assault and Domestic violence.

A story with twists and turns and secrets of the past that are fairly predictable. The main character has a lot of trauma and in turn her bond to her old friend and coconspirator makes her question her own personal validity. TW: physical abuse, sexual assault, pregnancy loss, manipulation, mental/emotional abuse

Make a whole pot of tea because you aren’t going to want to put this one down! My favorite of Gehrman’s books, this gripping story of female relationships and the way our past can catch up to us is a scintillating tale of how sometimes there is no good choice.

Gehrman’s scenes transport me into the Northern California summers of her youth, imbuing them with the magic of memory and tragedy in a complex thriller about friendship, motherhood, hard choices, and a refreshing dose of romance.

Find a comfy chair and a good drink so you can get lost in the world of The Summer We Buried.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This was a wild read for sure! would recommend and reread but would really love to see this as a tv series!

This was a fast read with dual timelines one focusing in past and one in the present and the crime that changed everything for Tansy and Selene. The two friends have not seen each other in a long time, but when Selene decides to visit her former best friend at her job, the memories resurface and cause Tansy to have to deal with the consequences of the choices she made that memorable summer.

This was a fast read with a not very memorable story, but it was interesting enough that I finished the book in a couple of sessions. I like the characters and while Selene comes off as extremely off-putting at first, she evolves as the story is told. The story line was somewhat predictable, but it had enough twists to keep it interesting.