Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’m going to put my negative comment here then move on, I’m at the point where I want to roll my eyes at anything that mentions the pandemic etc as I want to move on from it so I nearly DNF this book but I told myself to stop being silly and read it.

Now for the positives because I did really enjoy this book, I am a fan of dark humour so this book appealed to me straight away. There are also themes of domestic violence and found friendship/new family which I felt was covered and handled in a really good way. I think it could be triggering for some people so possibly isn’t suitable for everyone .

Following the intertwined lives of four women trapped with their abusive husbands during peak lockdown in the UK.

The story successfully uses dark humour of a very real and serious topic.

Very tongue in cheek, Thursday Murder Club-esque vibes on how realistic and believable things would be.

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking.
4/5 ⭐️

I really liked this book, there were a few parts I struggled to read. I liked the writing style and I enjoyed the book.

The Best Way to Bury Your Husband was one of my favourite reads this year! Set during lockdown, the book follows a group of women from different backgrounds who are all trapped in abusive relationships. This book was filled with female friendship and dark comedy with an undercurrent of real issues faced by many women. The characters were really well developed and I felt each one had their own clear personality. I found the book fast paced and the story flowed well, the ending was satisfying and tied up the story nicely. Although I read it in a couple of hours, I feel the story and its underlying message will stay with me for much longer.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advance copy to read.

The starting statistic that in the UK one female is killed by a male every 3 days is harrowing.

The story follows Sally and her story after accidentally killing her husband during a domestic fight. She happens upon 3 other women in similar situations.

The story is told from Sally's POV and is interwoven into the lives of the other three women and their families. Whilst the subject matter of domestic violence is dark the author has very cleverly added in humour.

I really enjoyed the characters, their thoughts and their realisations especially surrounding how well they thought they hid the violence from their loved ones.

It's left me feeling extremely emotive about the situation and grateful that I don't suffer in anyway from domestic abuse. It's truly terrifying to think what so many go though and to think back to lockdown and the impacts it had on such situations.

A truly unique read.

4 stars.

I was drawn to this book by the title, as I thought it was going to be funny. It was humorous, but I found I could only reach the humour once I had got past the triggering aspect of the story, which I hadn't been expecting. Unfortunately, this didn't motivate me to want to read the book, and to carry on I had to find a little 'courage'. When I did start to get into the book, I enjoyed the style of writing, the main group of characters, and the plot. I enjoyed the air of suspense and the ending. In fact, once I got going I couldn't put it down. Overall I enjoyed this book, and I'm glad I read it.

Loved the premise of this one and was very intrigued to see where it would go, and it definitely opens well with grannies skillet! But I did find it slow and harder to connect with later on in the story. I enjoyed the characters, and there was humour that worked well but overall a little slow for me.

A very, very clever way of highlighting an horrific reality by using dark humour. At times I was laughing out loud but the reality of domestic violence was always bubbling under the surface. The characterisation was excellent, the women were so different but each of them was so interesting and their unlikely friendship was heart-warming. A really good read and highly recommended.

DNF at 20%. The book has really short chapter that feels like nothing much happens in each, the book doesn't make me want to come back for more and I think reading about the lockdown makes me very uncomfortable

This story is set during the pandemic about 4 women with an unfortunate thing in common.

My go to genre is romantic comedy and really have to be in the mood to change it up, this one just hit it out the park. With domestic violence being the main part of the story line the balance between that, the killing/dying of the husbands and the bond the individual situations created was so well done.

There was moments I wanted to cry, laugh and many points where I was on the edge of my seat.

I also really like the authors notes at the end of the book, giving an insight and understanding about the reasons for the choice of topic.

Thank you to NetGalley for the download.

The subject matter is dark & heavy but it's full of dark humour & wit. A book full of tragedy, love, friendship & growth. I really enjoyed it.

With thanks to #NetGalley and publishers for an #ARC of #BuryYourHusband.
Sally is married to Jim, a controlling and violent man. As lockdown occurs Sally and Jim's relationship deteriorates-to death.
A dark humour take on domestic violence, the author, a journalist with a background in domestic violence, brings us back through stages of their life while Sally attempts to dispose of her Husband's remains.
This book is an eye opener into life with domestic violence, and brings in other stories as well. It feels wrong to say I enjoyed this book, however it uses dark humour to bring laughs to an otherwise highly stigmatised subject. As huge must read from me.

This was a really interesting book, set during Covid lockdown, the book follows a woman stuck in an abusive marriage, who is pushed to her limit. In her struggles to bury her husband, she finds that she is not alone in her plight. Filled with dark humour but with a very serious undertone, this book is really different to what I have read before and it was great to see a book set in a time that is recent yet distant in all our memories, giving a different sense of relatability to every day life as the main characters trudge through their own lives.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

** 3.5 stars rounded up to 4**

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!

This book deals with the incredibly important topic of domestic violence, specifically during the COVID lockdown period, so it should be noted that there are some trigger warnings for DV.

Considering the subject matter, this was on the whole a pleasure to read. It was very reminiscent of The Thursday Murder Club books, of which I am a big fan. It is full of dark humour which is employed skillfully to strike a great balance throughout and give some respite from the heavy subject matter. It also raises some really pertinent moral questions which I found interesting to think over while reading.

Themes of found friendship/family are strong here and it was empowering to see the development of the Lockdown Ladies' Burial Club and their relationships strengthening as they plotted to dispose of their respective abusers.

I do feel that, other than Sally, the characters lacked a little bit of fleshing out and it would have been great to learn more about their lives and how their experiences shaped them as people. Especially given that there was great cultural diversity, which was explored to some extent, but could definitely have been more.

There is a tiny twist at the end, which I did see coming, and again I feel like this could have been explored a lot more for a deeper emotional impact.

Overall, this is a fun little read handling a difficult topic through (very British) dark humour. I would definitely recommend picking this book up when it is released.

Enjoyed the comedy and darkness of the novel and writing. Was a good read and I think it will do well.

Gifted ARC - The Best Way to Bury Your Husband by Alexia Casale.

I was kindly gifted this arc by @penguinukbooks and Netgalley, and wanted to share an honest and spoiler free review ahead of its publication date next year. Frankly, I loved this book. It dealt with some super heavy and heart wrenching themes, with dark humour, wit and sincerity. I will fully admit that I cried, I laughed, and I ended the book with a happy heart. The authors note at the beginning and the end of the novel was really poignant. The fact that a woman is killed by a man every 3 days in the UK, frankly, isn’t spoken about enough. I thought the way in which it was set during the Covid lockdown - and brought attention to how hard lockdown was for women who were locked in with their abusers was beautifully handled. I also really appreciated the different ethnicities, and communities reflected in the novel. Found friendship and female solidarity was a strong theme, and I thoroughly recommend this excellent and thought provoking read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5*

I would like to thank Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, the reason I wanted an ARC of this book was because I was intrigued by the piece of pie on the front cover and the contrasting green. The title was intriguing, quirky to say the least.

I picked up this book and I consumed it. I want to put into words how clever Casale is but it is incredibly difficult to do. This book is set in lockdown in the UK and unlike other books that have been set in lockdown (Wish You Were Here - I am looking at you), this book does not escape the reality of the COVID lockdown. In fact, Casale uses it to her advantage.

I think the most important part to this book is not the incredibly quick wit, the strong plot or the deep complex characters but actually it's because of the editor notes that sort of 'sandwich' the book. These are so clever. People refuse to talk about these issues but Casale is so intelligent. She uses this inconceivable idea to bring people's attention to things that just aren't discussed. Casale's background has helped her delve into the thoughts and motives by all the characters involved.

As a woman in my late twenties, I have always been set in the mindset - why don't they just leave? Surely, you wouldn't stay there. This book has opened my eyes to the true complexities of domestic violence. This book doesn't try to glorify domestic violence but instead it engages the reader through extremely clever dark comedy and reminds the reader of what is happening out there.

I'm going to leave this review on a quote that is inside the author's note: on average, a woman is killed by a man every three days in the UK.

This book deserves all the glory it is going to receive in March 2024.

I thought this book would be too comedic for me; I'm not a fan of comedy in books, however the amount of dark humour was just right and it explored dark themes in a interesting way.

If I saw this cover in bookstores, I don't think I would pick it up - which would have been a huge mistake!

Definitely give this a read.

Breaking Point…
The story of a woman on the edge and what happens when she is simply pushed to breaking point. There will be no turning back but she suddenly finds herself in a bizarre state of solidarity when she discovers that, remarkably to her mind, she is far from alone. Tense and emotional, bathed in empathy and understanding, and laced with an incredible vein of dark and delicious humour that carries this tale through to the denouement.

This is the first time I've read a book set during the lockdown period, and it's an incredibly important one. The abuse faced by (mainly) women during this time when they were stuck inside with their abusers is an untold story that we don't think about, but is a story that needs to be told. It's dark, but alleviated by snippets of dark humour and female friendships. You can't help but root for all the women.