Burial: Soon to be a major ITV crime-drama called THE SISTER

by Neil Cross

*Read the book that inspired THE SISTER, the major ITV drama starring RUSSELL TOVEY*

'Stunning'  Peter James
'Creepy, unsettling, and subtle'  Guardian
'For fans of Hitchcock '  Independent

Nathan is desperate to escape his past. If only his past was willing to let go . . . 

He has never been able to forget the worst night of his the party that led to the sudden, shocking death of a young woman. Only he and Bob, an untrustworthy old acquaintance, know what really happened and they have resolved to keep it that way.

But one rainy night, years later, Bob appears at Nathan's door with terrifying news, and old wounds are suddenly reopened, threatening to tear Nathan's whole world apart. Because Nathan has his own secrets now.   And Bob doesn't realise just how far Nathan will go to protect them . . .

Don't miss the book behind the major ITV drama THE SISTER f rom Neil Cross, the highly acclaimed writer of LUTHER and HARD SUN .

PRAISE FOR  BURIAL

'His most terrifying . . . scariest and most satisfying yet'  Time Out
 
'A terrifically scary and all too believable tale. It's brilliantly written in taut, humorous prose, while being exceptionally well observed and paced. Quite brilliant'  Daily Mirror
 
' Burial  is not only a page-turner, but also a sensitive and atmospheric portrayal of a man at the end of his tether . . . Creepy, unsettling, and subtle'  Guardian
 
'This compulsive page-turner is a thrilling read and you can see why Neil Cross is the lead scriptwriter for the incredibly successful  Spooks '  The Sun
 
'An intelligent, tightly written page-turner’  Daily Mail
 
'A skillfully-told and macabre story for fans of Hitchcock . . . Cross marries literary values to the page-turning crime narrative'  Independent
 

304 pages, Paperback

Published October 15, 2020

About the author

Neil was born in Bristol in 1969. He lived in Edinburgh, Brighton, Leeds and London before settling down. He is the author of several novels including Always the Sun, Burial and Captured as well as the bestselling memoir Heartland. He was lead scriptwriter for the acclaimed series 6 and series 7 of the BBC spy drama series Spooks and is the creator of the forthcoming BBC crime thriller Luther, which is scheduled to appear on BBC1 in 2010, starring Idris Elba. Following the British publication of Captured in January 2010, he is working on his next novel and continues to write for the screen. He lives in New Zealand with his wife and two sons.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

An easy but unsatisfying read. I realised early on that I had watched the TV adaptation last year. I preferred the TV version as the plot was better ordered and it had a less ambiguous ending.

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

An ok read....

Overall I feel this is an ok read. I decided to read the book after watching the ITV series 'The Sister', which is based on this book by Neil Cross. I quite enjoyed the drama series and wondered what the book would be like.

I don't want to give too much away and spoil either the drama or the book, however I did feel the TV adaptation was slightly better than the book.

I found the book a little slow to begin with and struggled to connect with the main character Nathan. I also found it hard to connect with him in the drama, which may of affected how I perceived Nathan in the novel. I ended up neither really disliking or liking him as the main character.

I thought the plot had the scope to be quite different to other books written in the same and similar genre. However, I just feel, sadly, this book could of been a bit better.

The novel centres around a party, that is filled with loud music, drugs, alcohol and sex and concerns the disappearance of a young girl Elise. Nathan and Bob are also central to the storyline and plot. The book also tackles different relationships between the characters, namely Bob and Nathan and Nathan and Holly and ultimately how they are all connected to Elise and each other. Again, I dont want to give away too much and spoil anything.

The writing appeared a little clunky in parts and the writing style made it a little hard for me to read and follow the story. I also would of liked a little more drama and suspense built into the plot.

Additionally, I feel the theories on supernatural phenomena and ideas of ghostly appearances and encounters could of been explored more, as this was an intrresting aspect to how the plot was evolving and developing.

Overall I found this novel to be an alright read.