Buried Thunder

by Tim Bowler

What secrets lay buried in the heart of the forest When Maya strays into the forest she also walks straight into a nightmare. It's not just the horrific discovery she makes among the trees, it's what's waiting for her at home. Something too terrifying to believe in. She's not even sure she believes it herself. Perhaps she's going mad, only imagining the sounds in the night and the feeling of being stalked. Maybe she didn't see anything in the forest after all And there's another what was she doing there in the first place . . .alone . . .at dusk All she knows is that the eyes of a fox drew her there. They will do so again.

Genres: Horror, Mystery, Young Adult, Fiction, Thriller, Teen, Supernatural

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Tim Bowler is one of the UK’s most compelling and original writers for teenagers. He was born in Leigh-on-Sea and after studying Swedish at University he worked in forestry, the timber trade, teaching and translating before becoming a full-time writer. He lives with his wife in a small village in Devon and his workroom is an old stone outhouse known to friends as ‘Tim’s Bolthole’.

Tim has written twenty books and won fifteen awards, including the prestigious Carnegie Medal for River Boy. His most recent novel is the gripping Bloodchild and his provocative Blade series is being hailed as a groundbreaking work of fiction. He has been described by the Sunday Telegraph as ‘the master of the psychological thriller’ and by the Independent as ‘one of the truly individual voices in British teenage fiction’.

Reviews

[lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole book I was so intrigued..... I just wanted to read on and find out what was really going on. Well we found out 2/3 of the mystery. We found out who was behind the murders and the decapitation of the foxes and headless trees, but why was the fox communicating with maya? And what happened at the beginning with the bodies? It said the figure was Maya herself... But what, did Maya go in to future? Or what? I never really understood that part. Then there's the title.... It literally has NOTHING to do with the plot or story at all.

[Jil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vond het niet heel spannend of bijzonder verhaal. Het is een jeugdthriller dus misschien verklaart dat het, dat andere leeftijdsgroep meer van dit boek zou genieten.

[Lotus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Op de voorkant van mijn paperback staat 'absoluut een briljant boek', nou dat vind ik dan ook wel weer mee vallen.

In het begin leek alles voor mij best wel vaag en zorgde het bij mij niet per se voor de spanningsopbouw om door te blijven lezen.

Toch wilde ik wel verder blijven lezen om het boek uit te krijgen.

Na iets meer dan de helft merkte ik dat ik het toch wel interessant begon te vinden om te weten wat er nou allemaal gebeurd was, stond te gebeuren en waarom.

Toen ben ik ook in lange stukken door gaan lezen tot aan het einde.

Met de uitdrukking 'briljant' ben ik het dan ook weer niet eens. Maar toch vond ik het wel een leuk boek en ook een leuke vakantie 'read'.

[Tenzing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het is heel spannend maar ik vond het einde een beetje raar.

[Cheyenne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wat een vreemd boek. Totaal geen connectie met de karakters. Waar die kus met Ronnie op t einde vandaan kwam, geen idee. dat was echt het meest random iets wat ik ooit heb gelezen. Er was totaal niet gehint naar dat ze hem leuk vond.
Het feit dat ze die lijken had gezien is ook niet bekend geworden. En wat heeft die hele vos met het verhaal te maken?
Ondertussen jaagt Maya alle klanten weg met haar gekke gedrag en geschreeuw maar niemand lijkt het erg te vinden…

Als je de achterkant van het boek leest klinkt het erg spannend allemaal, maar wat een anticlimax. Die lijken bleken niet eens echt lijken te zijn en iedereen overleefd het. (Behalve die mevrouw Vlim dan)

Als het boek voor een jongere doelgroep was bestemd had ik het misschien nog 3 sterren kunnen geven, maar voor een YA was dit erg teleurstellend.

[Christine Charliers]

Ik geraak er echt niet door. Ik krijg geen connectie met het hoofdpersonage (erg vlakke personages). Er zit geen vooruitgang en logica in, laat staan een verklaring voor de vreemde gebeurtenissen. Je zou op zijn minst een kleine vooruitgang op de helft van het boek (ontdekking voor het vreemde) verwachten zodat je mee bent. Maar dat gebeurt niet waardoor alles kan en je niet mee kunt voelen. Net als het vreemde gedrag van Zep. Je kunt er niets mee als lezer.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buried Thunder is the first of Tim Bowler's books that I have read and I now intend to find as much of his back catalogue as possible, and read the lot. Aimed at teenagers, this story is a pychological thriller that is dark, intense, compelling and at times a little disturbing. It is clear to see why Tim Bowler is a previous winner of the Carneigie Medal - this is original and compelling stuff.

The story revolves around Maya and her family; Mum, Dad and brother Tom. The family have recently moved into The Rowan Tree, a small hotel in a sleepy village. Maya can't settle, she senses a presence in the hotel, something evil that is with her all of the time - accompanied by scratchings, growls and the glint of those yellow eyes, she is beginning to lose her mind.

Maya is drawn to those fox eyes and when she follows them and fnds herself in the forest, looking at two dead bodies, she is terrified. This is just the start of what is really a spine-chilling and eerie story. The story is tense, menacing and gripping. The twists and turns in the story throw up so many questions that it is not until the very end that the mystery is solved - and even then - is it really sold? There was a sense of darkness and terror in the last sentence that was quite chilling.

The reader is left with so many questions; what exactly did Maya see? Why did she see it? Was it all fantasy - or real?

A brilliantly clever author and a gripping story.

[Femke · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ik heb het wel gewoon helemaal gelezen van begin tot eind, maar het boeide me gewoon totaal niet. Klaar.

[Kagama-the Literaturevixen]

This book does have some scariness,I mean really scariness going on but it doesnt quite pull through ending rather weakly when the evil is revealed and then resolved in a too neat way.

[summer · Rating 2 out of 5]

i really liked the writing of the book (creepy af), the building of the mystery, but the ending felt a bit meh. and it also was never explained why maya saw a vision of the bodies before any of the events transpired or why she knew someone was going to die, which kind of left me confused because i was expecting the book to be building to a supernatural explanation for the weird shit going on, but then it just turned out to be a fifteen year old girl murdering people. so… yeah, i just don’t get what’s going on there at all. it felt like the author just wanted to be creepy and spooky and mysterious. which he was, but also if you’re going to end the mystery by having basically all the ‘supernatural’ stuff explained away, but not explain why the main character of your book had a vision at the beginning… then🧍‍♀️

like i dont even need an explanation, if she can see visions thats fine, but bro, at least have her wonder about it. like wow i had a vision of all this, how strange??? its like she just forgot it was a thing.

it felt like the author wrote the first half of the book with the intention of it being supernatural, but changed his mind halfway through and didnt go back to edit. because youre telling me, my home girl maya went into the woods, saw three bodies in detail, right down to jewellery theyre wearing and clothes, only to later find out none of it was real and see those people walking around alive and well…. AND THEN all of what she saw comes true a few days later????? with the bodies in the exact spot with the exact clothes and the exact positions??? and you expect me to be satisfied with the end of the mystery being “well a crazy 15 year old was running around the woods murdering people” NO, something supernatural was going on there, maya was having fucking visions.

oh and also, i dont feel like the events leading up to the reveal of the murderer really supported the reveal. it was like ???? aight whatever. it was so underwhelming finding out it was a secret half-sister who’d come back to town for revenge. like it just felt so💀ugh. i was half expecting it to be jake who’d get revealed as the killer and like maybe he had an accomplice in the fox-mask. it would have been cool if he had been revealed because it would make a lot of sense what with him living in the rowan tree and knowing so much about it, etc. but as it was the half-sister thing came out of fucking nowhere. like we got told his parents split up but that’s basically all the foreshadowing that exists.

honestly this book only gets three stars because everything was so creepy and cool….. ring up until the reveal. and now thst im writing this i think im gonna bump it down to two.

[k ✿ · Rating 3 out of 5]

— NO SPOILER REVIEW —
When maya and her family move to Humbury to run The Rowan Tree, a local hotel located in the village, their lives turn completely upside down…
Buried Thunder is a thriller novel written by Tim Bowler, and the story starts off when one day, Maya was wondering through the forest, incapable of remembering how she got there. When she finds three dead bodies lying on the ground and a yellow-eyed fox watching her. To Maya’s surprise, she sees the exact same people she saw lying dead in the woods, walking around in the village. Was maya imagining everything she saw in the forest? or was she possibly seeing the future? From that day on, more bizarre stuff happens around the village and Maya’s life turns into a complete nightmare.

If you like thriller, suspense, mystery, and maybe even horror novels, this book is definitely for you. I read this book with my class and although it wasn’t my favorite book, i liked it. I liked the plot of this book and how there was mystery after mystery, leaving you with so many questions wanting to continue reading. However, I hated the ending. The book ended of kind of a cliffhanger, not explaining all the mysteries in the book, except for only one, and it was kind of predictable. We also never find out anything about the bodies in the beginning or the yellow-eyed fox that was spying on her, and there were so many other thing that remained unrevealed that i wish the author explained more inside the book.
Overall i rate this book a 3/5.

[Nick J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts out with a young girl that wants to go on an adventure, but finds 3 dead bodies in the woods, next thing she knows, she tells the cops about it, and this book gets very intense and you would for sure like it if you like mystery books. This book is also very weird when this girl named Meg, finds dead foxes, I know it seems weird but there everywhere, and she finally founds out why later on.

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook. I think reading the book myself would probably improve its rating.
I feel Maya could come across as a strong character if the narrator didn't give her such a simpering, whiny sort of voice. Spoiled it for me. In fact all the female characters. He does not do female voices well.

[J K · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a quick somewhat a little scary type of read. It was ok..... but like....

Maya= she was being very... babyish? I can’t think of a better wood. Honestly I would relate her to s piece of wood. Very flat🥯

Ok I’m too lazy to do other characters. Honestly, if you have read a lot of horror books.... don’t waste your time. It’s not a terrible book,
It’s just kind of...

[Lillie-Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

love this book!

[Rory · Rating 1 out of 5]

the ending twist was okay. i just wish the whole book had been more developed and thought out. overall it was just too confusing and didn’t make much sense.

[Mieke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ik heb dit gelezen veel te jong dus begreep er sommige dingen niet van, maar mijn zus vond het kei mooi dus zeker een aanrader ❤️

[mariam]

not bad

[Linn Van Duppen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Werd er niet heel warm van. Ik denk ook dat de jeugd (aangezien het een jeugdthriller is) hier niet perse van geniet.

[hugo van der wildt · Rating 4 out of 5]

De Nederlandse versie gelezen, vergelding.
Een mooie kaft en de juiste titel.
Een jeugdthriller.
Misschien iets teveel SF en magie.
Spanning:4
plot:4
leesplezier:5
origanaliteit:3

[makki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Underwhelming. I was excited to read this because I was excited by the description for some sort of murder mystery with possibly some type of paranormal aspects. I feel like the description on the back of the book was a bit misleading. We also found out nothing about the beginning scene, at all, which was disappointing and confusing. Not to mention the ending was weak. Also it wasn't expected but it was in a terrible and not satisfying way with Jake's half-sister being the killer.
Also any scene with Zep hitting on Maya and definitely when he tried to rape her were absolutely disgusting, uncomfortable, and not needed.

[Daphne Sneek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this a long time ago, I don't really remember what I thought about it, but I do know I liked it. I thought it was scary and read very easy.

[Imre (serieuzeboekenverslaving) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ik las dit boek in een erg snel tempo uit.
Het was spannend, waardoor ik steeds maar verder en verder wilde lezen en wilde weten wat er nou allemaal precies aan de hand was.
Sommige momenten gaven me echt de rillingen!
Wat ik dan wel weer erg jammer vond, is dat sommige vragen helaas onbeantwoord bleven.
In het begin bijvoorbeeld, vind ze dus drie ‘lijken’ en een onbekend iemand die over een van die ‘lijken’ heen gebogen staat.
Later in het boek komt ze er achter dat zij zelf de persoon was die over het ‘lijk’ stond gebogen.
Maar hoe kan dit nou? Kon Maya in de tijd reizen? Kon ze gebeurtenissen zien die nog zouden moeten gebeuren? Jammer genoeg werd dit niet meer uitgelegd in het boek, maar ik was er erg nieuwsgierig naar.
Verder vond ik het een snelle read en ook al word niet alles in het boek beantwoord, ik vond het erg leuk om te lezen !

[Hylary Locsin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog: http://libraryladyhylary.blogspot.com ! Check it out for more reviews!

Fourteen-year-old Maya Munro and her brother Tom have just moved with their parents to the Rowan Tree, an old inn and restaurant in a small English village. Determined to turn the inn into a thriving business, Maya’s parents quickly work to establish themselves while Maya and Tom get to know the area. Several days after their arrival, however, Maya begins to notice a strange presence in and around the Rowan Tree. A pair of glowing yellow eyes belonging to a mysterious fox appear wherever she goes, and, one night, lead her into the woods where she discovers the lifeless bodies of three village residents. Maya alerts the police and quickly leads them back to the clearing where she found the bodies, only to find that they have disappeared. To make matters worse, two of the people she saw lying dead in the woods are still very much alive, and now the close-knit village believes that Maya is delusional and seeking attention. Although Maya is relieved that no one has died, she begins to worry if her vision may have been a warning of what’s to come. Strange scratching sounds emanate from the walls of her room in the Rowan Tree, foxes keep turning up mutilated in the village, and headless effigies are being carved in the trunks of trees in the woods. Who or what is responsible for what’s going on, and is there anything Maya can do before someone is actually murdered?

British author Tim Bowler, winner of the Carnegie Medal for his book River Boy, presents a spooky, atmospheric story in his latest novel, Buried Thunder. The mystery begins from the very first sentence, setting the stage for what is a vigorously paced and chilling tale that will appeal to a variety of readers. Since the novel is somewhat short and very succinct in its plot, reluctant readers or those who don’t want to get into something too lengthy will find a lot to enjoy in Buried Thunder. The story will also appeal to male readers who aren’t interested in something with a lot of romance (there is a very brief, somewhat unimportant flirtation in the novel that lasts less than a page). The book will also appeal to those who are interested in mysteries and hauntings, as well as premonitions. That being said, however, Buried Thunder is far from a perfect read. While the first 90% of the novel is really well written and suspenseful, the ending does seem to wrap up at warp speed, leaving a little bit to be desired in explaining what exactly was going on in the book. This may have been the author’s intention, wanting to leave some of it up to the imagination, but for readers who want everything thoroughly explained, it’s far from ideal. Despite this shortcoming, Buried Thunder is a quiet but spooky read with some genuinely creepy moments. Tim Bowler’s skill as a young adult author is evident throughout, and readers will likely seek out some of his other works after reading this book.

This was one of those novels that, for personal reasons, really gave me some serious chills. The whole idea of the woods and the dead bodies was exceptionally creepy to me, having grown up next to a very large forest, and I had a sense of dread throughout the novel. I have to commend Tim Bowler on his ability to create something suspenseful and spooky that let most of the scares be up to the imagination. The entire novel was very well-written, and I enjoyed the setting as well. The ending was a little strange for me, but when it’s all said and done I thought it was a good book. I will definitely look for more of Tim Bowler’s works in the future.

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I definitely didn’t hate it, but I sure didn’t like this book. I read it about 5 years ago and re-read it to see if it held up, it doesn’t. This felt exactly like every single other psychological thriller from this author that I have read. The “teenager sees things, nobody believes them, plot twist they were onto something” is pretty much the formula for a Tim Bowler thriller. This just felt repetitive.

Something I did actually like about this book was that it had short chapters and read quickly, meaning I can quickly move onto something else. I can also say that Tom was a character whoI liked and was original to this story, as all the other books by this author I have read so far followed single children. Glad it’s over 2 stars.

[Lydia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Characters: The protagonist Maya was very childlike for a fourteen year old so it was easy to feel the fear from seeing the dead bodies and foxes through her eyes. None of the characters were really developed much - they were all just there. Zep was quite sinister and Bonny and Mo's situation was also interesting but nothing about them was ever fully explained.

Plot: The book starts off interesting with Maya stumbling through the woods, unable to remember how she got there, when she finds three dead bodies and a creepy shadow figure, and she is constantly watched by a pair of yellow fox eyes. When her family find her, she reports the bodies to the police, but they don't find anything in the woods - and the people she saw dead are alive and walking round the village. Maya gains a reputation as a 'girl who cried wolf' and her parents try to keep her indoors, believing she is just unsettled from the move. Her brother reminds her that before she took off into the woods, she said in a creepy voice 'someone's going to die'. I had to roll my eyes at that, and every other time she does it in the book. I was quite confused by the way her family treated Maya, because I thought perhaps she did have some kind of mental impairment which was why nobody believed her, but she didn't. Her parents and brother just treated her like a fragile six year old for no apparent reason. I actually thought that Maya was a young child from her simple thoughts and actions and the behaviour of her parents. It was quite frustrating how Maya kept on going outside and getting into trouble when there was a murderer on the loose who seemed to be hanging around her house. There are several creepy moments throughout the story but no real build up, and when the killer's identity and location were conveniently wrapped up at the end it was an interesting twist but not really a thriller. There was also the fact that Maya's premonitions, if that's what they were, weren't addressed at all.

Other comments: This book will probably work as a successful horror for younger readers, but not for me.

[Sienna Logan (Lost to Books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

For more of my reviews visit http://losttobooks.blogspot.com

Psychological thrillers are not usually something I enjoy but Tim Bowler is one of the few authors who keep me coming back to the genre. It started with his book Frozen Fire (which is an unbelievably good book that I would highly recommend) and then I have read quite a few of his other books which I loved, leading me to purchase Buried Thunder with big expectations.

Thankfully this book did not disappoint and was just as good as others by this author. The plot was fast paced, unpredictable and tense. Because it is a sort of murder mystery parts did freak my out, especially when the characters are exploring an old hotel, and the little noises inside my house did play tricks on my mind. The fact that the writing was so vivid that it only added to my nerves, you could picture everything clearly.

The psychological aspect with Maya was great as well, it really gave the book suspense as to what was going on. Normally I don't like the whole "no one believes me" routine of a main character but it worked with Buried Thunder as Maya was not whiney about it. Instead it drove her to figure out what was going on. I really couldn't put it down, I just had to keep turning the pages to find out what was going on and who did what. The fact that it is a short book as kept me reading on as I finished it in a matter of hours

As well as this Tim Bowler tends to use lots of speech in his books which I love as it move the story on quickly and in my opinion is more interesting to read. I wasn't so keen on Tom constantly referring to Maya as "sis" but that's me being picky.

Overall Buried Thunder was just as good as other books I have read by this author and lived up to my expectations. Tim Bowler is a great author that I would highly recommend if you get the chance and I will definitely be checking out the last few books by him I haven't read!

[Aoife · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Maya's family moves to the quaint village of Hembury to run the village's hotel, located next to a picturesque forest, it seems like a new beginning for them. But when Maya stumbles across some dead bodies in the forest and has some close encounters with the village's more shady residents, we know that all is not right.
This book caught my eye because the plot seemed engaging and original. Who doesn't love a good murder mystery? Even better, it had some elements of creepy supernatural happenings to spice things up a bit. The problem with having a great plot, however, is that it's often let down by flat characters and unsatisfactory writing. Tim Bowler had the beginnings of a potentially great novel when he came up with this concept, but it seems to me that he couldn't quite manage to translate said concept into a proper story.
If you ask me, Bowler's characters are nothing but flat. They exhibit no real emotion and their conversations sound forced and stilted, like that of children acting in a play for school. Maya isn't a particularly relatable heroine, but she is a rather dull, uninteresting character. The elements of the supernatural and mystery that Bowler weaves throughout the plot were just about enough to keep me reading to the end of the book, but numerous matters were left unresolved and unexplained.
Why did Maya see Annie and Bryn in the forest before they ever went there? Where did Bonnie and Mo come from? What was the fox Maya kept seeing doing and why? Too many of the story's main features are left to the reader's imagination, making the whole novel seem fanciful and the writer inept.
Buried Thunder is entertaining enough if you're looking for light reading. If you're looking for something intelligent that will leave a lasting impression on you, don't bother with this book.

[Sarah Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was at the beginning of the year I read this book and it is definitely one of the best books I've ever read and one that will stay with me for a long time. I stumbled across it in my local library in the teenage section and at first thought it was a Supernatural story - although it did have supernatural elements (the fox that mysteriously appears and Maya seeing the future) the tale is definitely, a spooky murder mystery. It was a very chilling story that left me a little paranoid and was strangely surreal but it was thrilling and I was unable to put it down.
Maya is exploring the forest of her new home when she sees something and knows she must follow it, it leads her to bodies in the woods and, like any sensible person, she runs home and tells her parents everything but when the police come to investigate they find the people alive and well, then strange things begin happening to Maya, she starts hearing scratches at her door that only she seems to hear and is finding corpses of foxes killed in some kind of ritual all through the forest; also she meets Bonnie and her slow friend Moe; homeless boy Zep threatens her and other strange things happen at the Rowan Tree, where Maya has moved to, like finding an effigy with a nail pushed through it.
This is one spooky book that leads you on to the very last page. It has and epic climax and even then, there is a haunting end to the story. I found this book amazing and recommend it to anybody who loves, thrillers, murder mystery's, action, suspense and the supernatural. It's the whole package.

[Pages and Papercuts · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2 STARS*
I wouldn't say it was bad, it just wasn't good. I was going to give this book 3 stars, but I've decided to lower the rating to 2 stars after thinking about it.

Characters... oh god,you guys know how picky I am about my characters. None were developed enough, and there was so much potential because many had some really interesting traits. Maya was a unipolar little girl and Tom is pathetic. The only characters who didn't annoy me was Zep and Bonny.

Speaking about annoying, I couldn't take them calling each other "sis" and "Tommy" every 2 lines. It drove me crazy. I don't know why, I just couldn't take it.

Writing style wasn't descriptive enough.

On to positives. The plot was original and interesting, creepy in places. Scene building was also decent.

Overall- BURIED THUNDER was average for me.