Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme created by Renee @ It’s Book Talk. This meme is an awesome way to share old favorites that were published over a year ago or even books that you’re finally reading after much time has passed. I have plenty of those to share! If you have your own Throwback Thursday recommendation feel free to jump on board, and you’re welcome to use Renee’s pic as well. Please link back to her by using the link above.

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This Week’s Pick:

The Life We Bury (Detective Max Rupert #1)

Summary from Goodreads: College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe’s life is ever the same.

Carl is a dying Vietnam veteran–and a convicted murderer. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home, after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder.

As Joe writes about Carl’s life, especially Carl’s valor in Vietnam, he cannot reconcile the heroism of the soldier with the despicable acts of the convict. Joe, along with his skeptical female neighbor, throws himself into uncovering the truth, but he is hamstrung in his efforts by having to deal with his dangerously dysfunctional mother, the guilt of leaving his autistic brother vulnerable, and a haunting childhood memory.

Thread by thread, Joe unravels the tapestry of Carl’s conviction. But as he and Lila dig deeper into the circumstances of the crime, the stakes grow higher. Will Joe discover the truth before it’s too late to escape the fallout?

My Thoughts on this book…

Loved it from beginning to end!

Joe, a college student, has an English assignment to complete that requires him to interview someone for a biography. He chooses a man named Carl, a Vietnam veteran who’s also a convicted rapist and murderer. Carl has an interesting background including some secrets. He’s been released from prison only because he’s dying of cancer. Everyone already knows his story–or do they? As Joe discovers more about Carl and gets him to open up about his past, he realizes that there’s a lot more going on and must uncover it all.

Joe and Carl are the main characters and the book focuses primarily on these two. There’s so much happening with Carl’s story in addition to Joe’s struggles with his alcoholic mother and autistic brother. I truly enjoyed all the characters, the plot with the twists, and the suspense. The characters are all well written and everything felt realistic to me. I had to find out what the outcome would be and for that, this will always be a favorite. 5-stars

Find this book on Goodreads and Amazon: 

• Paperback: 303 pages
• Publisher: Seventh Street Books; First Paperback Edition edition (October 14, 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1616149981
• ISBN-13: 978-1616149987

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About the Author:

Allen Eskens is the USA Today-bestselling author of The Life We Bury, The Guise of Another and The Heavens May Fall. He is the recipient of the Barry Award, Rosebud Award, and the Silver Falchion Award and has been a finalist for the Edgar Award, Thriller Award, Anthony Award, and the Minnesota Book Award. His debut novel, The Life We Bury, has been published in 16 languages and is being developed for a feature film.

Allen has a journalism degree from the University of Minnesota and a law degree from Hamline University. After law school, he studied creative writing in the M.F.A. program at Minnesota State University-Mankato, as well as the Loft Literary Center and the Iowa Summer Writer’s Festival. He is represented by Amy Cloughley of Kimberley Cameron and Associates Literary Agency, and published by Seventh Street Books

Allen grew up on the hills of central Missouri. He now lives with his wife, Joely, in out-state Minnesota where he has been a practicing criminal defense attorney for 25 years. – Goodreads

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More Throwback Thursday Picks Around the Blogosphere…

Jill at Jill’s Book Cafe

Deanna at DeesRadReads and Reviews

Amanda at Literary Weaponry

Susan at Susan Loves Books

Cathy at What Cathy Read Next

Lynne at Fictionophile

Annie at The Misstery

Cathy at Between the Lines

Amy at Novel Gossip

Diana at A Haven for Booklovers

Laurie at Cozy Nook Books

Ann Marie at LItWitWineDine

Laura at Snazzy Books

Nina at The Cozy Pages

Virginia at Rose Point Publishing

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Thanks for checking out today’s Throwback Thursday. Do you have some throwbacks to share? Please feel free to comment below with thoughts or suggestions. 😁