2 children are adopted from war-ravaged Bosnia. They are brought back to live in Thebes, Minnesota as part of the wealthy King family. But once they become adults, they both have a hard time dealing with their past. Paul goes MIA and Angela, after finishing her Harvard law degree, is summoned home by Christopher King to help find her brother. But not all is right in the King family and the town of Thebes is not very immigrant-friendly. But Christopher King is hiding many secrets which Angela must uncover in order to find her brother.

I couldn’t get into this book at all and therefore DNF’d it at 55%. At this point in the book the main story line still was barely getting going and the timeline was jumping all over the place (via the main character’s flashbacks). I was having trouble following along, or even caring for that matter.

Thank you to netgalley and RB media for the chance to listen to The Dig in advance of its release in exchange for my honest review.

This was a story that had family loyalty and betrayal at the center, that weaves the past and present together. I listened to the audiobook but at times grew bored with the book overall unfortunately.

*Thank you High Bridge and Netgalley for the gifted copy

This book was a quick & thrilling read! I absolutely enjoyed it! Antonia was a strong & amazing women! The twist and turns were fantasying & I couldn’t put it down!

I listened to this book, hoping that it would be an intriguing, complicated story about family and sibling relationships. However, it fell a bit flat for me. Most of the characters were one dimensional - either all victim, all villain, or all saint. I did enjoy that the story touched on the complicated aspects of living as an immigrant, as well as touching on life as a transcultural adoptee. However, I feel like some of the depth that could have been explored on these topics was sacrificed to give us a faster paced plot.

The dig - Anne Burt

Many thanks to the book's publisher and to Netgalley for an eARC of this novel.

From the first page, this novel reaches in, grabs you by your heart and doesn't let go.

The story begins as a female of a Bosnian baby, who, along with her six-year old brother, is bombed and the two children are left alive hiding next to their mother's corpse.

Unaccountably, after bombing the family, two US brothers take the children, and one brother adopts them, bringing them "home" to the US, hoping they are young enough to completely assimilate, and forbidding them from speaking of their "earlier" lives.

The children become adults, the boy becomes an activist and the girl a corporate lawyer.

Secrets of all kinds are due to be unearthed as this suspenseful story unfolds!

Siiri Scott is a WONDERFUL melodic and rich choice for the audiobook,, so if you need to choose between hard copy or audio version, go for the audiobook for added richness.

Until next time, let's help make this novel the success it should be by buying it, reading it, and reviewing it!

Anne Burt weaves a story that connects a traumatic past with a tumultuous present in "The Dig." Toni is a Bosnian orphan who along with her brother is adopted by an American former soldier. As an adoptive parent, I struggle with unrealistic portrayals of international adoption and this idea that some random American guy can just bring home children on a whim is not accurate. That aside, I was interested in learning more about the war in Bosnia. I was left wanting more of that history throughout the book. Because the main character was a young child in Bosnia, the story is told through that lens, even though the character is now an adult. I listened to this book rather than read it and it was interesting and quick, but parts felt rushed and other parts were problematic. I can't decide if the protagonist's lack of reflection was intentional because she is a young adult or was an oversight on the author's part. The book was entertaining, but didn't have big surprises and felt rushed at the end when everything was wrapped up very quickly and all loose ends tied together.

This book was a slow burn but I enjoyed it! The ending surprised me and it kept me interested. I would read more by this author!

I got about halfway through this and decided to stop. It was honestly pretty boring. The first half of the book felt like it was going nowhere. Maybe it picks up and actually has some action later on, but I didn’t care enough to find out. The most interesting parts of this book were her reflections on her Bosnian heritage and history, but the rest of the book fell pretty flat.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Family loyalty, secrets, betrayals and lies are at the heart of Anne Burt's debut novel The Dig. Siblings rescued after territorial bombings kills their parents, raised in Northern America by the very same contractors who rescued them. Although adopted at a young age, the siblings were never treated the same as their American "cousins". One sibling becomes a lawyer and the other an activist.

Antonia is just beginning a bright career as a lawyer when her brother Paul goes missing. When Antonia comes home to find Paul, she finds more than she bargained for. She grapples with many decisions throughout the book she never anticipated. Loyalty can have many shades of meaning. How far will the family go to get what they want?

Lots of twist and turns in this fast paced novel.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This took me a bit to get into but once I did, I really enjoyed it. For one thing it took place in a [fictional] northern Minnesotan town and there were many references to things in Minnesota that I know. In addition to that, the themes of justice, capitalistic corruption and immigration felt especially relevant to our time. Also, throughout my entire time listening I felt some familiarity, aside from the MN connection, and It wasn’t until after reading that I saw it was inspired by the Greek tragedy Antigone, which was one of my favorite reads in high school.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance reader copy.

The narrator felt a little too much and over the top at times, especially in the beginning but overall, I liked her voice and enjoyed the production of this audiobook!

I really liked the Bosnian representation that we don’t often see in fiction. I was hoping that this novel would dive more into the past and into the plot in Bosnia but it didn’t go as deep into that story line as I was hoping.

This book was suspenseful and I wanted to know about her past from start! That's the point, right? It was intriguing and I enjoyed that aspect.

This novel took place in alternating timelines which will keep the reader wanting more. Unfortunately for me, this is my least favorite approach to suspense and thriller novels and I always feel a little disappointed in the execution but I am more critical of this technique than others.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the political aspect to this because it felt a little in your face.

I’m giving it two stars because it just wasn’t for me but not every book is. I think this will find it’s audience and I think could be a popular book.

Thank you again for the ARC!

The Dig
By Anne Hurt

Narrator: Siiri Scott
Length: 8 hours, 54 mins.


Antonia (Toni) and her big brother Paul are rescued after the bombing of their Sarajevo home. Orphaned, they are taken in by wealthy American brothers who built their fortune on monies made in 1990’s Bosnia as contractors. The “one with the beard” Christopher King tells them to forget everything that happened in Bosnia. He tells them that by all accounts their real life began when they moved to Thebes. Eddie King is the one with “kind eyes” who they learn to call dad but is soon out of the picture. The story unfolds with Toni as a recent graduate of Yale Law School on the cusp of starting a high-powered legal career. Rebellious Toni refuses to work for the family business and is cut off. Her brother Paul is an activist and went missing after a demonstration got violent. Paul was protesting on behalf of Bosnian immigrants whose cultural center is scheduled for demolition. You guessed it, the Kings’ are planning to build on the site and that’s when things get complicated.

I requested The Dig because I’m a fan of complicated families and mythological retellings and it was loosely inspired by Antigone. Unfortunately, this one fell short for me in many ways, but I will only share some of my concerns. First off, it had the potential to be a poignant family drama and a strong immigrant story with a window into the Siege of Sarajevo. Instead, the characters’ Bosnian identity is under-explored and is used as convenient window dressing for the (expected) final twist. The supporting characters are one dimensional and the small town stereotype was far too simplistic. Toni as a main character was entirely unlikable and the author conveniently excuses morally reprehensible behavior as girl power (i.e., justifies a sexual relationship between a 16 year old and a 23 year old engaged coworker because the age of consent in Minnesota is 16. Don’t worry, she googled it). In general, I think the author was trying to do too much - is it a family drama, an immigrant story, a mystery or a thriller? In my opinion, the author lost the one thing that is at the core of any great story or Greek tragedy - heart.

Unfortunately, the narrator Siiri Scott, had her work cut out for her and didn’t have a chance of saving this one.


My thanks to author @HighBridgeAudio and @NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this ALC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you High Bridge Media for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. The narrator did a good enough job but I felt bad that she had to imitate a male Somalian accent LOL... That's an uphill battle of I've ever seen one. The premise was interesting and had tons of potential, but the execution fell short for me.

The Dig is a book that touches on some big topics but fails to fully do each one the justice it deserves. Two Sarajevo-born siblings are saved and adopted by a midwestern family, but that was only the beginning. We follow one sibling, Antonia, during the story.

Antonia is now a lawyer and is on a mission to find her missing brother and uncover secrets in both the present and the past. I was interested in a lot of the plot points but there were just too many to flush them all out fully. I wish more time would have been spent on Antonia’s past than on the problems going on in the present.

Even with my issues, this was still a fun read. It's fast and will be over before you want it to be. You will hope it's a little longer so you can get more exposition on some of the more interesting story threads that are barely explored.

I do recommend this book and will definitely look for more from this author in the future.

Thank you netgally, rbmedia and the author for the #gifted ALC in exchange for my honest review. I had high hopes that this book would blow my mind but instead was simply underwhelmed and left wanting more.

2.5/5 rounded up

This was beautiful. The narration was perfect. I felt this story.
I felt the bond between the siblings and the cousins. I felt the betrayal.

I reccomend this one for sure.

A good fast paced thriller. Good storyline and fairly quick read. I connected with the characters and enjoyed the plot twists (kept me guessing). I would read more from this author.

****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****