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Buried
Hoarding is about to take a sharp left turn into the macabre.
Priscilla Wyatt is a nursing assistant who lives behind the Sommerville FuneralHome. When her dachshund, Weenie, returns home with a ghastlyfind, Pris's life spirals out of control. What was once a troublesomedisorder soon dissolves into a hellish nightmare from which she attempts to escape.
Gerald Zenith, proprietor ofSommerville, is too busy running scams and keeping tabs on hisnecrophiliac subordinate to notice what is really happening during thewee hours of the morning in the cemetery. While he was certain hisghoulish past would never catch up with him, he never realized the deadcould actually return.
Some secrets are too big to stay buried.
Priscilla Wyatt is a nursing assistant who lives behind the Sommerville FuneralHome. When her dachshund, Weenie, returns home with a ghastlyfind, Pris's life spirals out of control. What was once a troublesomedisorder soon dissolves into a hellish nightmare from which she attempts to escape.
Gerald Zenith, proprietor ofSommerville, is too busy running scams and keeping tabs on hisnecrophiliac subordinate to notice what is really happening during thewee hours of the morning in the cemetery. While he was certain hisghoulish past would never catch up with him, he never realized the deadcould actually return.
Some secrets are too big to stay buried.
226 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 21, 2019
1 person is currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Sue Rovens
13 books30 followersSue Rovens is an indie suspense/horror author who lives in Normal, Illinois. She has written five novels and two books of short horror stories.
Track 9, her second novel, received a starred review in Publisher's Weekly (May 2018), her short story, “Coming Over”, from her book, In a Corner, Darkly (Volume 1) was turned into a screenplay and short student indie film by the theater department of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and another short story, “When the Earth Bled”, won 2nd place in the Support Indie Authors short story contest. Her three most recent books (Buried, Rage, and Sanctum) are under Plump Toad Press.
Sue owns a blog (suerovens.com) which includes interviews with authors, musicians, podcasters, and artists. She is also a current member of both the Chicago Writers Association and the Alliance for Independent Authors (ALLi).
Track 9, her second novel, received a starred review in Publisher's Weekly (May 2018), her short story, “Coming Over”, from her book, In a Corner, Darkly (Volume 1) was turned into a screenplay and short student indie film by the theater department of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and another short story, “When the Earth Bled”, won 2nd place in the Support Indie Authors short story contest. Her three most recent books (Buried, Rage, and Sanctum) are under Plump Toad Press.
Sue owns a blog (suerovens.com) which includes interviews with authors, musicians, podcasters, and artists. She is also a current member of both the Chicago Writers Association and the Alliance for Independent Authors (ALLi).
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 3, 2021
Thank you Netgalley, BooksGoSocial, and Author Sue Rovens for this ARC.
WHOA! Just . . . Wow! Firstly, if you like to munch on snacks while reading . . . Don't! This is a no-food, appetite-stealing, stomach-churning book. Secondly, if you have a line drawn in the ghoulish/gruesome categories I strongly suggest you brace yourself--those lines will be crossed and then some. Lastly, I think most people understand (at least to an extent) that odd, even frowned-upon things happen in small towns--the lack of careful eyes watching and scrutinizing and all--but this story takes that idea to a whole other nightmarish level. If you don't have chills and nausea after reading this, there's something seriously wrong with you.
Rovens graduated to one of my top five favorite horror authors within the first fifteen pages of this book. It was sooooo good. Normally that omniscient, God-like narrative simply doesn't work in modern day fiction but Rovens knocked it out of the park; I can't imagine the story being told in any other way. It added a light-heartedness, a sort of comic air to the grotesque nature of the tale. It also gave an interesting and fitting perspective to the cast of outlier characters.
Excellent book! Go read it NOW!
WHOA! Just . . . Wow! Firstly, if you like to munch on snacks while reading . . . Don't! This is a no-food, appetite-stealing, stomach-churning book. Secondly, if you have a line drawn in the ghoulish/gruesome categories I strongly suggest you brace yourself--those lines will be crossed and then some. Lastly, I think most people understand (at least to an extent) that odd, even frowned-upon things happen in small towns--the lack of careful eyes watching and scrutinizing and all--but this story takes that idea to a whole other nightmarish level. If you don't have chills and nausea after reading this, there's something seriously wrong with you.
Rovens graduated to one of my top five favorite horror authors within the first fifteen pages of this book. It was sooooo good. Normally that omniscient, God-like narrative simply doesn't work in modern day fiction but Rovens knocked it out of the park; I can't imagine the story being told in any other way. It added a light-heartedness, a sort of comic air to the grotesque nature of the tale. It also gave an interesting and fitting perspective to the cast of outlier characters.
Excellent book! Go read it NOW!
February 6, 2020
A Fun Ride! Clever, Creepy, and Creative!
From the start of this book it was obvious the author was thorough in the research of her subject matter - She really knew her stuff.
Now let’s talk about the characters! I felt like I knew these ladies. One specifically reminded me, in a way, of my own mom. All the characters were well developed which made it easy for me to become emotionally vested early on.
Lastly, and I need to be careful not to spoil anything, I found the story to be original and unsettling with a hint of humor and a big ole dose of disturbing. Buried takes hoarding to a whole new level!
From the start of this book it was obvious the author was thorough in the research of her subject matter - She really knew her stuff.
Now let’s talk about the characters! I felt like I knew these ladies. One specifically reminded me, in a way, of my own mom. All the characters were well developed which made it easy for me to become emotionally vested early on.
Lastly, and I need to be careful not to spoil anything, I found the story to be original and unsettling with a hint of humor and a big ole dose of disturbing. Buried takes hoarding to a whole new level!
April 22, 2021
Honestly, it was so ridiculously awful. Both the characters and the plot were just terrible and hard to believe.
April 28, 2021
I found this book in the Horror section on NetGalley, but I would not call it horror, to be honest I don’t really know what section it should be in.
I like this book, more than I expected, it is well written and easy to read, and has a ‘Fargo’ feel to it, both the movie and the TV series, but not as violent, it was a bit ghoulish, but that is to be expected, and it also has a hint of murder mystery feel, but it also had a light mood.
I recommended this book for anyone looking for something quirky and creepy but not too gory.
*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.*
I like this book, more than I expected, it is well written and easy to read, and has a ‘Fargo’ feel to it, both the movie and the TV series, but not as violent, it was a bit ghoulish, but that is to be expected, and it also has a hint of murder mystery feel, but it also had a light mood.
I recommended this book for anyone looking for something quirky and creepy but not too gory.
*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.*
April 16, 2021
Thank you Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the eARC.
This was a strange read for me. The subjects of hoarding, necrophiliac and the dirty doings of the owner of a funeral home were graphic and I found them unpleasant. For some reason I thought this was going to be a gothic novel, but I wouldn't classify it as that.
The writing was good, but the subject matter too uncomfortable.
This was a strange read for me. The subjects of hoarding, necrophiliac and the dirty doings of the owner of a funeral home were graphic and I found them unpleasant. For some reason I thought this was going to be a gothic novel, but I wouldn't classify it as that.
The writing was good, but the subject matter too uncomfortable.
April 28, 2021
Full thoughts: https://fictionmajorette.blogspot.com...
This book was only 224 pages, but it sure managed to pack a lot into a relatively small space. I think a lot of my issues with the book could have been alleviated if we had about 100 more pages, but I still liked this book a good amount.
I really liked the characters in this story - I thought they were all interesting and complex. Pris is described in the book's summary as being middle-aged and I was really expecting her to be like 35ish so I was pleasantly surprised when she was 50. I also loved her friendship with Wanda and Kelly and how supportive the women were of each other. Especially how Wanda kept trying to help Pris even with Pris didn't want to be friends anymore. The men of the book - Gerald the funeral director, Ethan who is Kelly's husband, and Bruce the necrophiliac funeral home worker - are unique in their own ways. I do wish we would have gotten more of all the characters interacting more before the main events of the book kicked off especially since it is a small town. I think that could have been a good way to get some extra characterization in, especially if there were tensions already there for other reasons.
Plot wise, there was just a bit too much happening in such a short amount of pages for me to really feel satisfied with how things turned out. It was almost like once we got started, the book was wrapping up. I normally reach for books that are at least 300 pages but 400ish seems to be my personal sweet spot for thrillers, specifically. Since I don't normally read shorter fiction, this might be 100% a me-issue, but I had an issue with the pacing. This book felt like the first half of a really solid thriller. We get a good amount of set up, some initial conflicts that build tension and throw other plot points into action, and then there's a big event that ends up as the catalyst for all the different plot threads to come together. The 'big event' happened around the 75% mark in this book and the story wrapped up pretty quickly from that point. I was expecting to have to sit in the consequences of that event for longer, see how characters might initially try to deal with the fall out.
For me, this book was a pretty good level of gore but I was surprised there wasn't more. I know everyone has their own limits to horror, especially gore, but I felt this was a pretty mainstream level of gore that I think most readers would be okay with. The descriptions were short and to the point and almost clinical in nature which was interesting. I think because of these descriptions of the more gore heavy elements, the part that actually grossed me out the most was the descriptions of Pris's living situation.
Now onto the sort of elephant in the room - the necrophilia. The necrophilia is on-page and I believe there are about 4 very short scenes where, again, the description is very clinical. Obviously, necrophilia is a very taboo subject and I didn't feel like it was glorified or glamorized in any way. I do wish we would have gotten some more explanation in to Bruce's feelings or maybe how this all started for him, but there just wasn't enough book to explore all that. It almost felt like it was added in as a plot device simply to further the story (Bruce needed to have a reason to be alone with a body late at night for certain plot events to happen). Because of this and because of the types of descriptions we get of these scenes, it would be pretty easy for a reader to skip over these mentions if they wanted to and it wouldn't cause them to lose out on any of the other plot points in the book.
Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC in exchange for review.
This book was only 224 pages, but it sure managed to pack a lot into a relatively small space. I think a lot of my issues with the book could have been alleviated if we had about 100 more pages, but I still liked this book a good amount.
I really liked the characters in this story - I thought they were all interesting and complex. Pris is described in the book's summary as being middle-aged and I was really expecting her to be like 35ish so I was pleasantly surprised when she was 50. I also loved her friendship with Wanda and Kelly and how supportive the women were of each other. Especially how Wanda kept trying to help Pris even with Pris didn't want to be friends anymore. The men of the book - Gerald the funeral director, Ethan who is Kelly's husband, and Bruce the necrophiliac funeral home worker - are unique in their own ways. I do wish we would have gotten more of all the characters interacting more before the main events of the book kicked off especially since it is a small town. I think that could have been a good way to get some extra characterization in, especially if there were tensions already there for other reasons.
Plot wise, there was just a bit too much happening in such a short amount of pages for me to really feel satisfied with how things turned out. It was almost like once we got started, the book was wrapping up. I normally reach for books that are at least 300 pages but 400ish seems to be my personal sweet spot for thrillers, specifically. Since I don't normally read shorter fiction, this might be 100% a me-issue, but I had an issue with the pacing. This book felt like the first half of a really solid thriller. We get a good amount of set up, some initial conflicts that build tension and throw other plot points into action, and then there's a big event that ends up as the catalyst for all the different plot threads to come together. The 'big event' happened around the 75% mark in this book and the story wrapped up pretty quickly from that point. I was expecting to have to sit in the consequences of that event for longer, see how characters might initially try to deal with the fall out.
For me, this book was a pretty good level of gore but I was surprised there wasn't more. I know everyone has their own limits to horror, especially gore, but I felt this was a pretty mainstream level of gore that I think most readers would be okay with. The descriptions were short and to the point and almost clinical in nature which was interesting. I think because of these descriptions of the more gore heavy elements, the part that actually grossed me out the most was the descriptions of Pris's living situation.
Now onto the sort of elephant in the room - the necrophilia. The necrophilia is on-page and I believe there are about 4 very short scenes where, again, the description is very clinical. Obviously, necrophilia is a very taboo subject and I didn't feel like it was glorified or glamorized in any way. I do wish we would have gotten some more explanation in to Bruce's feelings or maybe how this all started for him, but there just wasn't enough book to explore all that. It almost felt like it was added in as a plot device simply to further the story (Bruce needed to have a reason to be alone with a body late at night for certain plot events to happen). Because of this and because of the types of descriptions we get of these scenes, it would be pretty easy for a reader to skip over these mentions if they wanted to and it wouldn't cause them to lose out on any of the other plot points in the book.
Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC in exchange for review.
May 24, 2021
Trust me when I say there are some strange and highly disturbed folks in this small town. A therapist could make a killing with this many patients.
Sommerville Funeral Home is busy all hours of the day and night, but not all the activities are legal. Two sets of books are kept – one that shows a respectable business and the other contains the real financial transactions. The owner is scamming the public, putting multiple bodies in graves as one example, but the most unsettling occurrence is what happens to some of the customers’ deceased family members. One of the employees is a necrophiliac – see what I mean about disturbed?
Another resident of this town, Pris, is a hoarder – and I’m not talking about just piles of magazines, clothes, etc. Her dog brings home body parts he digs up from the cemetery next door. Can you guess the types of things she begins hoarding? When her friend offers to help Pris clean her house, she makes several discoveries that indicate Pris needs professional help – and it’s not a cleaning service. Warning: You probably shouldn’t be eating while reading about these discoveries.
It’s apparent the author did thorough research for this novel – I can only imagine what someone would think if they saw her Google searches. Surprisingly, it also contains some humorous moments, and I found myself laughing over some passages. Another reviewer stated this story has a Fargo feel, and I have to agree – dark, quirky and bizarre. It’s an unsettling, grisly tale you can’t look away from and is sure to delight horror fans.
Sommerville Funeral Home is busy all hours of the day and night, but not all the activities are legal. Two sets of books are kept – one that shows a respectable business and the other contains the real financial transactions. The owner is scamming the public, putting multiple bodies in graves as one example, but the most unsettling occurrence is what happens to some of the customers’ deceased family members. One of the employees is a necrophiliac – see what I mean about disturbed?
Another resident of this town, Pris, is a hoarder – and I’m not talking about just piles of magazines, clothes, etc. Her dog brings home body parts he digs up from the cemetery next door. Can you guess the types of things she begins hoarding? When her friend offers to help Pris clean her house, she makes several discoveries that indicate Pris needs professional help – and it’s not a cleaning service. Warning: You probably shouldn’t be eating while reading about these discoveries.
It’s apparent the author did thorough research for this novel – I can only imagine what someone would think if they saw her Google searches. Surprisingly, it also contains some humorous moments, and I found myself laughing over some passages. Another reviewer stated this story has a Fargo feel, and I have to agree – dark, quirky and bizarre. It’s an unsettling, grisly tale you can’t look away from and is sure to delight horror fans.
June 24, 2021
Ghoulishly fun!
While it's technically classed as horror, it's horror in the same way that Beetlejuice and the Addams Family are horror; I suppose you could call it horror adjacent? It's very light in tone... as someone who works in a nursing home, it reminds me of those "old lady mystery novels" my residents are always reading, just with more necrophilia and grave-robbing.
This was a quick, entertaining read that I buzzed right through. If I went to the beach more, this would have been the perfect beach read! Easy to put down and pick back up, some fun character study and development but nothing extraordinarily in-depth.
If you're looking for a fun and fast read and you're into horror-toned things, I'd recommend this one.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
While it's technically classed as horror, it's horror in the same way that Beetlejuice and the Addams Family are horror; I suppose you could call it horror adjacent? It's very light in tone... as someone who works in a nursing home, it reminds me of those "old lady mystery novels" my residents are always reading, just with more necrophilia and grave-robbing.
This was a quick, entertaining read that I buzzed right through. If I went to the beach more, this would have been the perfect beach read! Easy to put down and pick back up, some fun character study and development but nothing extraordinarily in-depth.
If you're looking for a fun and fast read and you're into horror-toned things, I'd recommend this one.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
June 9, 2021
A macabre soap opera.
Buried by Sue Ravens centers around a funeral home and the occupants of the small town it’s located in.
The writing was quite good, and the author told quite a story. The characters were strange and yet somehow, realistic of small town living. The plot was outrageous and yet, somehow believable. The final 20 percent of the book was crazy, and yet quite satisfying. You want to read something different, this is your book.
My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions are my own.
June 2, 2022
As a general rule, horror books are usually not my thing, but this book kept me captivated.
So many interesting events intertwined throughout the story. I couldn’t stop thinking about it as I read….
He did what?!?!?!
Why would she do that?!?!?
I am cancelling my trip to visit a small town this summer!
The short chapters were a perfect fit for my busy life. I was able to pick up the book and read through a few chapters easily while being able to put it down as I progressed through my day. As a result, I was able to read the whole story in 1 day which was a relief as the plot line was so disturbing that I needed to see how it all came together in the end.
Sue Rovens’ writing style pulls the reader in from the start and keeps us all intrigued as we peek into the lives of some disturbing characters.
So many interesting events intertwined throughout the story. I couldn’t stop thinking about it as I read….
He did what?!?!?!
Why would she do that?!?!?
I am cancelling my trip to visit a small town this summer!
The short chapters were a perfect fit for my busy life. I was able to pick up the book and read through a few chapters easily while being able to put it down as I progressed through my day. As a result, I was able to read the whole story in 1 day which was a relief as the plot line was so disturbing that I needed to see how it all came together in the end.
Sue Rovens’ writing style pulls the reader in from the start and keeps us all intrigued as we peek into the lives of some disturbing characters.
January 22, 2025
This was loaned to me by a friend when I confirmed that I enjoy horror novels.
And this is definitely a type of horror novel. lol. I enjoyed it even if I was reading it with wide eyes and a shaking head every now and then. If you are not cool with dead bodies and things happening to them (not zombie), then I might suggest avoiding it. If, however, you are not squeamish and enjoy some horror and intrigue, I’d suggest giving it a shot!
And this is definitely a type of horror novel. lol. I enjoyed it even if I was reading it with wide eyes and a shaking head every now and then. If you are not cool with dead bodies and things happening to them (not zombie), then I might suggest avoiding it. If, however, you are not squeamish and enjoy some horror and intrigue, I’d suggest giving it a shot!
May 19, 2021
This is the 1st book I have ever read by Sue Rovens. And just, Wow! This one took me by surprise. The characters were interesting. The plot was definitely different, and certainly kept my attention the whole time. I had a lot of fun reading this story. I'll be buying more of her work soon 😁
December 10, 2023
Another twisty disturbing read from Sue Rovens. This is the third book of hers that I have read and I have enjoyed them all. If you love the weird and macabre like I do, definitely pick up any books by this author. 🖤
May 5, 2021
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview Burried by Sue Rovens. This was a classic scary story and not for the weak of heart.
Quick read, graphic, and had a good plot.
3 stars.
Quick read, graphic, and had a good plot.
3 stars.
Read
May 23, 2021*DNF*
Copy kindly received via NetGalley for an honest review.
This one just wasn't for me. I couldn't get into it. Unfortunately had to DNF.
Copy kindly received via NetGalley for an honest review.
This one just wasn't for me. I couldn't get into it. Unfortunately had to DNF.
November 3, 2024
Weird, different but not tobad
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 8, 2023
This one was rough, as you can see by my rating. I found the writing slightly amateurish and there were some pretty large plot holes. There was a part near the end where I said out loud "That is just ridiculous."
I've also read Rage by this author and found that to be slightly better than Buried. I did meet the author in person and she was very nice, but I don't think her books are for me.
I've also read Rage by this author and found that to be slightly better than Buried. I did meet the author in person and she was very nice, but I don't think her books are for me.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews