THE SUMMER WE BURRIED
GENRE : Psychological thriller, mystery
Opposite characters or qualities attract each other. This was exactly the reason for the inseparable friendship of Selene and Tansy. Tansy was ten years younger than Selene and quite naïve while Selene on the other hand was quite bold and extrovert. But Selene by chance made Tansy a part of a crime without actually intending to do so. Not being able to handle this burden, Tansy parts ways from Selene. Twenty years have passed. Both Tansy and Selene have lost touch of each other.
Tansy is a college guidance officer now. She is doing well in her work. But incidentally she comes across Selene’s daughter, Jupiter, who is suffering from an abusive relationship with her boyfriend, Colton. After all these years, she finds Selene standing in her office to talk about her daughter whom they need to help come out from that relationship.
To get Tansy’s help Selene threatens her by saying that she would unravel the dark secrets of their past if Tansy refused to help her.
The characters are quite well developed. It’s a slow-paced psychological thriller. Rather I would prefer to call it a psychological mystery.
Even though the start was quite slow, I eventually started getting a grip on my characters. It is a unique read. The story is narrated from Tansy’s perspective. Events unfold themselves in the form of flashbacks.
The story is steeped in toxic relationship, negativity and abuse. But it really has some essence of buddy ro,mance.
(P.S: it has a steamy sex scene)
Ratings: 4/5

Tansy (main character) and Selene, a free spirited women 20 years older than Tansy, are close friends until a murder is covered up one summer night 20 years ago, which they have ties to. After that event, Tansy removes herself from the situation and cuts all ties to Selene.

Guilt ridden from that summer night, Tansy tries to redeem herself and 20 years later becomes a college guidance counselor. After 20 years passes, Selene shows up at Tansy’s home and demands that Tansy intervene in Junipers’ (Selena’s daughter) relationship with her boyfriend, who Selene believes is toxic and abusive.

While the story is a slow burn until about 30% thorough the book, it is worth the read till the end! The toxic/dark relationship that Selene has with Tansy was both intriguing and disturbing. Tansy has to navigate the situation with Juniper while attempting to remain ethical. The second half of the book was faster paced, which kept you want to know more and find out how everything was going to play out. There were several plot twists that you just don’t see coming!

***** I received an ARC from NetGalley, the publisher and the author, in turn for my honest review.

Kind of a slow burn book, not fast paced at all. Took a while to get in to the story and was finally drawn in. Just okay for me.

While this book was a slow starter - it delivered in the end!! I was expecting one of those books that hinted at the "mystery" till the last chapters - but bam - there it was early in the book. The characters and their interactions were well written. One plot twist after another leads the reader to a satisfying ending that neatly ties up all the threads.

There are a few types of thrillers. On one end of the spectrum we have fast paced nail biters, on the other end we have slow burns. This is what I would consider a slow burn. Tansy experiences some guilt inducing events in her teen years and becomes a college guidance conselor in hopes to redeem herself. Selene pops back into Tansy's life and basically asks Tansy to go against her ethics and take advantage of her position. I liked this book because it goes into the dark depths of friendship. I enjoyed the pace of this book and was content that I wasn't going to find out everything at once. This is a great read!

I enjoyed this book although it wasn’t as much of a thriller as I was expecting from the description. I will say the first half of the book moved pretty slowly and I found myself turning to other things, but about halfway things picked up quite a bit and I finished it quickly. The writing was good and while none of the characters were completely likable they did all feel real.

Tansy is currently a guidance counselor at a university and her life is pretty stable. One day her old friend Selene uses a fake name to make an appointment with her. Tansy is shocked because while they were friends a long time ago there was a traumatic incident that occurred and she cut Selene out of her life. Selene references being “owed” and asks Tansy to violate all of her professional ethics by talking to Selene’s 18 year old daughter and get her to break up with her possibly abusive boyfriend. Tansy makes plenty of ethically questionable decisions throughout this story which as someone who has been a therapist and social worker did bug me a bit.

I could not get into this book. I read about 40% of the book without knowing the ultimate big secret they were burying so I gave up.

This book started our promising for me. I really felt connected to the main character and her back story of loss. She redeemed her sad past by working in education which leaves Lots of interesting ways the story could go.

Where it fell a little flat for me was as I got deeper into the story and some of the side characters felt a little one dimensional. The relationship between the main character and Selene’s brother seemed a little hasty and flat. I didn’t buy in to their quick love at first sight.

Overall, the story and plot flowed well. I enjoyed the main character and felt she was very fleshed out and authentic.

Another great book from author Jody Gehrman! Exploring the darker side of friendship, this book is a total page-turner.

This is more a mystery than a thriller. Tansy has a quiet life, but soon, all this will be shattered by Selene. What happened 20 years back?
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author of this book.

Quick read although slower paced at the beginning, it develops nicely. The characters and story itself were very compelling!

An intriguing slow burn.

The last time Tansy saw her former BFF, Selene, was twenty years ago. They were complete opposites: Tansy was 10 years younger and naive. Selene was brassy, bold, and - quite frankly - a b...well, I’m sure you can assume! Tansy couldn’t handle having her in her life after Selene made her an accessory to a terrible crime.

Now, Tansy is a college guidance counselor. Who walks into her office? Selene. She’s still the 3 B’s...and she wants something from Tansy.

Selene’s daughter, Jupiter (Ugh...I hate that name), attends college there, and Selene thinks Jupiter’s boyfriend is abusive. She wants Tansy to intervene and convince Jupiter to dump him.

If Tansy doesn’t do as Selene wishes, a long held secret may be revealed that will destroy her life.

I really enjoyed this one, and I’m not quite sure why. It’s a slow burn through and through, and even though there are moments that steer away from the main plot thread (ex. a bit of romance), it completely worked for me. Granted, those moments all tie together at one point or another.

Not all the main characters should be likable, but I liked all of them. I felt that they were well written and interesting, so kudos to author Jody Gehrman.

Nothing terribly shocking happens, and this never explodes into a wild thriller...but the simmering and consistent suspense (along with my curiosity) made this a hard one to put down. I also very much enjoyed the ending, and thought that it was fitting. I wouldn’t have minded a few more chapters.

I wasn’t a huge fan of Gehrman’s last release, The Girls Weekend, and I didn’t have high expectations for this one. However, it really worked for me. Each point I made above was the perfect recipe, and I quite enjoyed this meal that Gehrman cooked up.

Right book at the right time? Only time will tell, but I look forward to reading whatever she comes out with next.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date: 3/8/22.

Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com

I like this author's voice and writing style: I'm going to say "very readable" and I mean it as a huge compliment.
The pacing could have been a bit faster in the first half, but the secrets and twists make up for it.

The Summer We Buried by Jody Gehrman is a story about friendship. Especially when those friendships are toxic and one-sided..

Main character Tansy once again lets herself get dragged into Selena's drama and once she is in, she can't see a way out. Secrets from her past are threatening to be exposed and her life feels like it is falling apart.

I enjoyed this book, especially the depiction of the friendship between Tansy and Selena. I think many people have found themselves in toxic friendships or relationships they can't find a way out of (not to this extent though!).

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in return for an honest review.

Full of dark secrets and surprising twists, The Summer We Buried is an intriguing thriller/drama about broken friendships and family love. The story starts as a slow burn, then slowly and intricately winds the suspense tighter through flashbacks to the past, with themes of mental and physical abusive cleverly wound in. Gripping and beautifully written.

I enjoyed the Summer we Buried by Jody Gehrman. It is a quick read but was full of great writing and characters. I would recommend this book and this author if you’re looking for a good weekend read.

Tansy, an academic counselor, is once again tangled in Selene’s web of drama. Selene calls on Tansy to cash in a favor. After all, Tansy owes after what Selene did for her almost 20 years ago.

I felt that this book was okay. It was an interesting story, but I was able to guess every twist and turn because I saw them coming from a mile away. Selene is irrational and constantly causing trouble in the life of her loved ones but the fact she gets away with everything she’s ever done.

The characters were very one dimensional in my opinion. Selene was the only one who was given an in depth back story, and it made the other characters much more boring and unlikeable.

I also didn’t think Tansy’s ex and his new girlfriend added anything to the story, other than to kick Tansy out of her home. Which didn’t make much sense because it added no depth to the overall story.

I was also taken aback by the romance part of the book. I didn’t mind it but it was the last thing I expected from this thriller. I love a good, spicy romance, but it was in the midst of Jupiter’s drama and it felt unnecessary (not the entire relationship, just the one particular scene with Zack and Tansy).

Overall, the story was good, but I felt it was a bit predictable and one dimensional. I would have liked to have seen more details about the characters and less details about some of the irrelevant scenes like making tea (especially when there is a very intriguing conversation going on).

A big thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me to read and review this book.

This was my first book to read by this author but I hope to read more soon! The characters and the story stay with you long after you finish it. Good, fast read. Highly recommend!!

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC!

This was slow paced psychological novel about Tansy who is an academic counselor. Tansy was best friends with Selena almost 2 decades ago when a tragic and shocking incident made it difficult for their friendship to go on. Now, after years of no communication, Selena is suddenly back in Tansy's life, demanding a favor.

This book failed to keep me interested. The story is told only from one POV. I think having multiple POVs would have helped. I would have been particularly interested in Jupiter or Selena's POV. Another thing that I felt was missing in the book was some good character development, the lack of which made it difficult for me to relate with the characters. Also, the intrigue factor was not that great. The book really use a little more development of plot lines to make it more impactful and intriguing. With a little more editing, this can be a much better book.

This book would be a good read for someone who likes slow-paced psychological mysteries.

#NetGalley #TheSummerWeBuried

Thank you Crooked Books for the copy.

I thought this was a fun and suspenseful thriller with a complex plot. It was such a unique read and it held my attention the whole time. Highly recommend this thriller!