BURIED by Robin Merrow MacCready

I recently finished the 2007 Edgar Award-winning novel, BURIED, written by Robin, my fellow blogger over at The 5 Randoms

Claude has it all together; she's smart and organized, and even her alcoholic mother and chaotic homelife doesn't seem to get to her. But when her mom takes off after another drinking binge, Claude can't seem to admit the truth to her friends. She goes to the extreme to keep up the guise of her mother being away at rehab, and slowly unravels under the pressure--and the truth--of what really happened to her mother.

I was completely enthralled with Claude's story, right from the get-go. Robin knows how to tell a story, delving deep into her protagonist's mind, and yet keeping the reader far enough away so that the mystery of what happened to Claude's mother doesn't even really become a mystery until about halfway through. Does that make any sense? There was a clear moment for me when I set the book down and thought to myself: "Oh my god. This book is heading THERE??" I also loved how Claude wrote a letter to her mother at the close of each chapter. It was those letters that really showed me Claude's mental illness for what it was.

BURIED is definitely a worthwhile read.

I actually ordered two copies (by accident!) from Amazon and would love to have a contest to give one away. Leave a comment to enter, and I'll post the winner on Jan. 1!