The Life We Bury

Twenty-one-year-old Joe Talbert is trying to turn his life around, but the confining cage that has formed around him allows for little movement. He has never known who his father is. His mother is a long-time alcoholic who has become more and more violent, neglectful, and frequently disappears on benders or gets herself arrested. His younger brother, Jeremy, is autistic and needs almost constant supervision. Barely able to afford to do so, Joe leaves his home in Austin, Minnesota, "sneaking off like a boy running away to join a circus," to become a student at the University of Minnesota. The only English class open to him of any interest is a biography class in which he must "interview a complete stranger" because he doesn't want to interview his mom and there is basically no one else in his family who he knows. The thought occurs to him to go to a nursing home to interview a resident there... someone with a long life they can relate to Joe for his required class project, but his plan is dashed when he is informed that most of the residents "cannot take care of themselves. Most of them are suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia or some other neurological condition. They can't remember their own children, much less the details of their lives." There is, however, one exception. The Department of Corrections has paroled a prisoner and sent him to Hillview Manor because he is dying of pancreatic cancer--a convicted murderer who viciously "raped and killed a girl and then burned her body in a shed;" a real "monster" according to the Home's director. Joe Talbert's life is about to take a totally unexpected change of direction. The Life We Bury (2014) is the startling and skillful debut novel by Allen Eskens. Eskens' writing is done with flare. His choices of descriptions are fascinating and vivid and bring to life both time and place. For example, when describing an old apartment building he focuses upon the smell of the place, not the physical structure or its condition. The "odor that permeates" the air gives visitors a "split second of corruption as the taint of decay hits them square in the face." His characters are both realistic and enticing; they are complex individuals whose actions and words often do not reveal their true motivation. The very title of the novel has within it a sense of metaphor. Joe buries "thoughts deep inside, hiding them where they would remain undusted." His mother's drinking and carrying-on reflects an unfulfilled life of deep-seated frustration. Joe's new neighbor, Lila Nash, hides a humiliating past and is an enigma--cold and elusive with Joe, but warm and out-going to his mentally impaired brother. Foremost among the characters with a buried life is Carl Iverson--a former Vietnam veteran and decorated hero who, once accused of the heinous murder of Crystal Marie Hagen actually does all that he can to hasten his trial although doing so is likely to lend itself to him being found guilty. At Hillview Manor Iverson, who is in his mid-sixties but looks "closer to eighty," often refuses his pain medication just as he refuses chemo and spends every day just staring out the window. In Stage Four of his cancer, he may have "less than three thousand hours of life left to live." Surprisingly, after turning down requests for interviews for years, Iverson, knowing he is near death, agrees to be interviewed by Joe Talbert. He tells the young student: "this is my dying declaration. I don't care if anybody reads what you write. I don't even care if you write it down at all... I have to say these words out loud. I have to tell someone the truth about what happened all those years ago. I have to tell someone the truth about what I did." Eskens unveils his story in adroit fashion as Joe, the novel's narrator, learns not only about Carl's past from the dying man, but from transcripts of his trial and a diary written by the victim, some of which is in code--code that was never broken or utilized in the trial. Joe talks to Carl's defense attorney who admits that "it seemed to me that Carl Iverson wanted to go to prison" and also meets a man, Virgil Gray, who served in Vietnam with Carl. Virgil is the sole individual who believes in Carl's innocence--Carl having risked his life to save Virgil in a firefight with the Viet Cong. Further conversations with Berthel Collins, the policeman on the original murder case, and conversations with Detective Max Rupert about the thirty-year-old case further fuels the air of intrigue surrounding Carl Iverson and the sadistic murder of an innocent young girl. Half way through The Life We Bury it becomes obvious that the reader has been plunged into a full-fledged mystery. With Carl's enigmatic declaration that there is a difference between being a killer and a murderer and that he has been both, new evidence that is unearthed, and a second, previously untold terrifying story about an event in Vietnam in which Carl participated, Joe and Lila, become more and more certain that Iverson did not kill the Hagen girl. Even as events escalate in the tension between Joe and his mother over Jeremy's well-being, Joe and Lila set about to discover who is guilty of the teen's murder to clear Iverson's name before he dies. Adding to the allure of Joe and Lila's quest is another long-hidden story about Joe's youth--one that personally, obsessively drives him to uncover the truth. Filled with unimagined revelations, staggering plot twists, unforeseeable violence, and unbridled suspense as time is running out for Iverson The Life We Bury and its readers are propelled by the author to an amazing conclusion--one which is guaranteed to both please and move even the most jaded reader. It is hard to conceive a more satisfying reading experience from a first novel (or many other mystery thrillers) than what Allen Eskens delivers in The Life We Bury. [In his "Acknowledgements" Eskens states a "follow-up novel tentatively titled In the Path of the Beast" is scheduled for release in the fall.]

4 Stars. This is a great, fast read. It completely held my attention from cover to cover. SYNOPSIS Joe Talbert is not your average, happy go lucky, 21 year old college student. He has overcome many obstacles to become a student at the University of Minnesota; most of which are related to his mother and her combination of bi-polar disorder and alcohol abuse. He manages to work, make it to all his classes, live on a very tight budget and serve as back up caretaker for his autistic 18 year old brother. When Joe is assigned a paper in his biography class and has to find an older person to write about, he heads to a retirement home and is introduced to a Vietnam veteran who is also convinced murderer and rapists, Carl Iverson, he is hesitant to engage. He decides, at the very least, it will make an interesting biography project. But once he starts digging into the case, he realizes that things are not as they seem. Joined by his new friend/ love interest next door neighbor, he becomes fixated on finding out what really happened on the day in 1980 that Crystal Hagen was murdered and Carl's life changed forever. WHAT I LOVED This is not your average psychological thriller, it has many other elements as well: family struggles, escaping ones past, mental disorders, abuse and love. While the mystery unraveling is the main plot of the story, there were many other things going on in the characters lives. I liked Esken's writing style; he kept the plot going and didn't waste many words describing scenery, feelings, people etc., just enough so the reader gets the idea. I think I've been reading too many books lately where I have to skim page after page of overblown descriptions, it was refreshing to not have that in this book. I liked how none of the characters were perfect but they all had redeeming qualities. All of the characters had their own baggage / secrets, most of the characters (with the exception of a couple) used their past mistakes and struggles to become stronger and better. The plot was very very solid, well thought out and didn't have an excess of well placed 'coincidences' like many other books of this genre tend to have. I really couldn't find any plot holes. Again, loved to plot. It kept me completely engaged. WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE There was only scene in the book I didn't find believable (I'm not going to be specific because it would be a spoiler). Joe, who is normally pretty street smart, does something so blatantly dumb that it was hard to believe and was out of character for him. Ill leave it at that. When you read this book ( which you definitely should if you like this genre even a little), you'll know what I'm talking about. I was able to ignore it and still enjoy the story. OVERALL Don't miss this one. It's completely worth your time.

I stumbled upon this book as a happy accident. I was perusing books on Amazon and in the “Based on Your Purchase History” section I saw it, read the description, and decided to buy it. I am so glad I did. What drew me to it was fact that the main character had an Autistic brother and I have an Autistic sister, so I was curious to see how the author would handle their relationship. He did an extremely good job of conveying the fear, protectiveness, and fierce love someone with an Autistic brother or sister feels toward their sibling. I also loved that he captured the weight of responsibility someone has when caring for a family member who is disabled, and the guilt that they have for feeling burdened by them at times. The main character, Joe Talbert, is a college student who is desperate to make a better life for himself than the one he grew up in. He has a very tumultuous relationship with his alcoholic mother, feels the weight of responsibility for his eighteen year old Autistic brother Jeremy, and his father has been absent his whole life. From a young age he had to be a parent to not only his brother, but also his mother, who would be gone for days at a time and the responsibility fell on Joe to find her and drag her back home from whatever bar she was holed up in. Always busy with class and working the door at a local bar, he finds himself increasingly close to his deadline for an assignment for which he has to find someone older and write a brief biography. Without anyone in his life to interview, he decides to head to a local nursing home, Hillview Manor, and ask if he can interview one of the residents there. Based on the notion that the residents there have led long lives, he thinks surely they would have lots of stories they would be willing to share with him. At first, the receptionist he speaks with is reluctant to let Joe meet with any of their residents, reasoning that the majority have dementia or severe memory loss and wouldn’t be able to share what little memories they have left. Joe persists and asks to speak with the director of the home, and it is then that the receptionist suggests that he could speak with a resident by the name of Carl Iverson. The director quickly dismisses the idea, telling Joe that Carl is a convicted rapist and murderer who has served thirty years in prison and has only recently been paroled due to the fact that he is dying of cancer and only has months to live. However, since Carl is simply a resident and not a prisoner she cannot deny him visitors. After hearing this, Joe is reluctant to pursue this any further, but due to his deadline he asks the director to speak with Carl and convey his request for the interview and call him when she has an answer, to which she agrees. Upon leaving Hillview Manor, Joe is called back home when things start to spiral out of control with his mother as they have many times before. His mother is arrested for a DUI, and again Joe is responsible for the care of his brother, which will seriously inhibit his ability to attend classes and work. Joe brings Jeremy back to his apartment and sets him up with his favorite movie of the moment and tries to get back to work on his assignment. Later, Joe comes home to find his attractive female neighbor, Lila, watching Jeremy’s favorite movie with him and connecting with him in a way few people are able to do. Joe invites Lila to come back for dinner, and to his delight she agrees, but she makes it clear she is only doing so because she enjoys Jeremy’s company. After being granted his request of the interview with Carl, Joe starts to research the rape and murder of Carl’s victim Crystal Marie Hagen on October 29, 1980. He finds out that Crystal was murdered and then set on fire in the shed on Carl’s property, which was next door to where she and her mother, step-father and step-brother had lived. He is able to obtain the transcript of the murder trial and sees the photos of the evidence presented by the prosecution, all of which seem to make it clear that Carl was indeed guilty of the heinous crime. Joe goes back to Hillview Manor to begin his interview with Carl. Expecting to see a hardened criminal, he is taken aback when he sees a withered man who is quickly succumbing to his disease. He begins to talk to Carl, who is weary of Joe’s intentions, but agrees to tell him his story as long as Joe agrees to be truthful, telling him that he wants someone to know what really happened before he dies. Joe learns that Carl is not just the villain he appears to be, but he was also a decorated Vietnam war veteran and his only ally in life is his best friend Virgil, who served alongside him in the war. After his first meeting with Carl, Joe is pulled back to his hometown to attend his mother’s hearing for her DUI where she is given the decision to either pay three thousand dollars to be released or can pay nothing but be hooked to an alcohol monitoring bracelet. Joe’s mother refuses the bracelet because she is adamantly unwilling to abstain from alcohol and cruelly tries to guilt Joe into paying the money, which will leave him unable to pay for school the next semester. However, if his mother doesn’t get released from jail, he will have to leave school to take care of Jeremy, so he pays the money and returns Jeremy and his mother home and heads back to school to at least finish this semester. Joe continues to meet with Carl, who maintains his innocence, and delves deeper into the information he is able to obtain from Carl’s attorney. Although all of the evidence points to Carl as the perpetrator, he begins to see that there are discrepancies that make him start to believe that maybe Carl wasn’t guilty after all. After another altercation with his mother and his mother’s new boyfriend who has begun abusing Jeremy, he brings Jeremy to live with him in his apartment near school. All the while Lila and Joe become closer, and she not only helps Joe with his research into Carl’s case but helps with the responsibility of caring for Jeremy. The deeper Joe’s conversations with Carl become, and the more he learns about the murder of Crystal Hagen, he becomes increasingly doubtful that Carl could have committed the crime. Joe starts to reach out to those involved in the trial including Crystal’s boyfriend at the time, who was the last to see her alive, and her step-father who had allegedly been at the car dealership he owned the afternoon the murder took place. Joe is bombarded with new information and theories and begins to believe in Carl’s innocence, which sets him on a dangerous path to finally find the truth after thirty years. This book has amazing twists and turns and keeps you guessing until the very end. It’s very well written with rich characters and storylines, and is definitely a book that you have to set aside the time to read because it is extremely difficult to put down. For anyone who is a fan of the thriller or murder-mystery genres, I highly recommend this book. Even if you aren’t a fan of those genres, it’s still an amazing story. Hope you pick up a copy of your own and enjoy it for yourself! Taken from my blog:[...]

"The Life We Bury", is a popcorn read of sorts. From the angle of story telling, it gets an A. It has an immaculate pace, and I never felt that I was yawning while reading this. There are different reasons why people like to read a novel, and I try and review accordingly and not blanket describe a book. This is a a great novel if you want a coherent, fast paced story that will keep you interested, which in my view is the most important element of a good novel. That said, I can't give it four or five stars, as I find the story relies to heavily on over done formulas. The young person meets the old person, and listens to the story of that persons past, and learns something along the way, and/or solves a mystery. I say "How Many Times"? Though I very much liked the admirable qualities of the main character, most notably his loyalty to his autistic brother, and his inner battle about where to draw the line between him liviing his own life, or being responsible to take care of his disabled brother, it wasn't explored nearly enough. Most notably when involving his alcoholic mother and the role that she played in this dilemma. Somehow the elements of the story that really could have added a lot of meat to the bone, were treated more as passing thoughts, then fully realized aspects to what otherwise is a pretty engaging story. This novel suffers from an over edit content wise. It's too short I say, and sometimes that is a good thing, but in my opinion, not in this case. That is also a compliment of sorts, as I did enjoy this authors style of writing. Very direct and clean.

The Life We Bury – Allen Eskens I have discovered a new author that I hold in high esteem upon reading Allen Eskens’ The Life We Bury. I definitely hope to read more Eskens’ work before class dismisses. He is a joy to read, whom heavily engages his plot to serve up the reader a very well-thought, credible, wonderful story. Please put a very heavy emphasis on “wonderful story.” If the reader is looking for a bang-bang, shoot-them-up, high body count, in contention with the next Marvel Super-hero movie, The Life We Bury will not be their cup of energy drink. This guy has game to spare. The book is written with the thoroughness of a thesis paper and Eskens dots all of the I’s and crosses all of the T’s, and then he carefully thinks what could happen, what should happen, what would happen and then derives at the actual theme and what will happen. Wow, what a story, wow what a plot, and wow what a good book is The Life We Bury. Off the record, I should also mention that I had no idea at the wealth of great authors hailing from the Minnesota-Wisconsin-Iowa triangle of the United States. It must have something to do with the weather. This book received great reviews and was in the running for better than five hefty awards. The University of Minnesota, College student Joe Talbot is assigned a brief biography for an English class. Joe must write a brief biography on someone whom is a complete stranger to him. Procrastinating somewhat, Joe finally drums up the idea of going to a nursing home to see what kind of folks are currently in-residence there. So, Joe goes to a nearby nursing home to chat with some of the nurses and aides to see what he can come up with. Joe was not sure what to expect but after some talking back and forth Joe decides on a Vietnam Vet who served a sentence for murder and rape and is dying of cancer. Moreover, the person, Carl Iverson also agrees to this arrangement. Carl has two reasons – he wishes to clear his conscience, and he is innocent. Say what? However, Carl’s time remaining is measured, so Joe needs to get busy on this project. So, thus, with the above situation laid before the reader, Eskens spins out a luscious and wonderful tale. Joe’s neighbor, Lila, gets wind of the assignment and she anxiously wants to be on board with Joe. Joe and Lila team up as two of the most unlikely protagonists imaginable, but it folds together nicely. Unrelated background material of the past, and family, and work also are very interesting reading. Lila tells Joe how to lay claim to the court files of Carl Iverson’s case since they are Carl’s property. Joe acquires these files and he and Lila hungrily delve through these during Joe’s somewhat busy life. Armed with knowledge, Joe and Lila visit Minneapolis Cold Case detective, Max Rupert. He is intrigued but with a heavy backlog, he needs a bit more evidence and information to move this case to the top. He refers them to a Professor Sanden, and things start to happen. The case is re-opened. The interviews with Carl prove to be very worthwhile and interesting. Joe meets Virgil, an old army friend of Carl’s, and really the only living friend that Carl has, and even more leads and information surfaces. By now, Carl definitely appears to be innocent. The only questions are who did murder and rape 14-year old Crystal and will the case be solved before Carl passes? Of course, by this time, Rupert and the Minneapolis police want Joe and Lila to cease all involvement, but of course this falls on deaf ears. I was very impressed with The Life We Bury. Allen Eskens has written a fine book here. I believe that anyone who likes to read this type of a mystery will be delighted with the book, too. Eskens gets an easy 4-1/2 stars on this one, an unusually high rating from me. Thank you, Mr. Eskens.

This was an amazing novel! This novel had been on my TRL for quite some time. I had recently seen it mentioned in a Facebook group in, which prompted me to move it up to my next read. I am so glad I did! This is a must read for those who enjoy Mysteries, Crime, or page burning thrillers! The book summary tells us that a college student named Joel Talbert is given a writing assignment for an English class at the University of Minnesota. This assignment requires he write a brief biography of a person he doesn’t know. So he heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. As luck would have it, he is directed to a dying convicted murderer who was paroled from prison after 30 years because he is dying from cancer. This is the first novel I have ever read by Allen Eskens but I will be most definitely be reading more. The author does an amazing job with character development. These characters in the story come to life, these are people I feel I know. Joe Talbert is a highly loveable character that bite his way out of a poor upbringing, saving money to get out of his hometown, get accepted at the university of Minnesota to get a college degree and make something out of his life. However, Joe has a younger brother who is autistic and still lives at home with their useless mother. Joe’s love for his brother’s palpable, and his brother Jeremy is endearing. There is so much I could say about this story, but I don’t want to give away anything. If you are reading this review, do yourself a favor and start reading this novel! One of my favorite quotes from this novel that really stuck with me, and it’s something I think everyone should remember came from Joe’s biography, subject, Carl Iverson: “What if, in all the eons of eternity, this was the one and only time that I would be alive. How would I live my life if that were the case? Know what I mean? What if this was all there is?” “Well, I guess there'd be a lot of disappointed dead priests,” I said. Carl chuckled. “Well, there's that,” he said. “But it also means that this is our heaven. We are surrounded every day by the wonders of life, wonders beyond comprehension that we simply take for granted. I decided that day that I would live my life—not simply exist. If I died and discovered heaven on the other side, well, that'd be just fine and dandy. But if I didn't live my life as if I was already in heaven, and I died and found only nothingness, well…I would have wasted my life. I would have wasted my one chance in all of history to be alive.” What a great way to look at life!!!

It’s rare to find a mystery where you care just as much about the protagonist's personal life as much as you do about the crime they are solving. Joe Talbert is an incredibly relatable and sympathetic lead character. His chaotic home life and his protective instinct over his autistic brother, combined with his mother’s issues makes you feel that his struggle was raw and real. Carl Iverson, the dying, convicted murderer Joe interviews, is beautifully layered. Eskens does a brilliant job of making you question Carl's guilt while keeping him deeply human, and intriguing. I loved the plot twist and I will be reading more books by Allen Eskens!

Author did a great job setting the stage, building the story and shining light on an old rape and murder charge. There were some twists that kept the book a page turner. You like Joe and I look forward to reading more.

This book kept you on the edge of your seat. Stumbled across this author by chance and glad I did. Now on to my second book of his.

Um suspense de alto nível. O personagem principal , Joe Talbert , um estudante iniciando a faculdade , tem que fazer trabalho biográfico. Por um acaso do destino , o entrevistado é Carl Iverson, veterano do Vietnam, que cumpria pena de 30 anos por assassinato. Ao longo das conversas entre os dois , e através de pesquisas do estudante , muita coisa é descoberta e com isto a história vai se modificando . O autor tem um estilo muito interessante. Procura não cair no lugar comum . O livro prende o leitor . Ótima leitura e distração para os que gostam do tema .

The book came on time and was in very good condition (new), but I guess it won't stay long this way because it belongs to the kind of books who want to read and re-read. Although the whole plot was not really original (you can quicly guess what's going to happen), the characters that are depicted are really realistic and go under your skin. The hero is not a good-looking guy, Mr. perfect, but he is not a bad-boyish "ugly duckling" either. He is just someone who struggles a lot but try to keep its shit together. He has envy, he can be jealous of his autistic brother, just because he has better looks. And yes, he wants to impress the girl, living next door, who has quite a story herself too. She is not that pretty cheerleader, but she is not that dark lost soul either. She is just someone who had a hard time, but does not blame the world for it. And she has brains too. In all, without saying too much: alone for the main character's backstories, you should definitely buy this book. I di not say on purpose too much, to not spoil the story. But there is way more behind this two persons. The author knows the human nature as it really is (far away from clichés) and knows how to write a good story.

I read the entire book in one sitting. Unlike many thrillers, it had a beautiful literary narrative and thoughtful nuggets of philosophy making it a great read.

The crime story part of this book may be a bit straightforward: it reminded me of the Hardy Boys books I used to read as a kid. But the characters in this adventure story come to live in an extraordinary touching way. I would have loved the book to go on a bit more.