The Life We Bury

College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe's life is ever the same.

Iverson is a dying Vietnam veteran--and a convicted murderer. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home, after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder.

As Joe writes about Carl's life, especially Carl's valor in Vietnam, he cannot reconcile the heroism of the soldier with the despicable acts of the convict. Joe, along with his skeptical female neighbor, throws himself into uncovering the truth, but he is hamstrung in his efforts by having to deal with his dangerously dysfunctional mother, the guilt of leaving his autistic brother vulnerable, and a haunting childhood memory.

Thread by thread, Joe unravels the tapestry of Carl's conviction. But by the time Joe discovers the truth, it is too late to escape the fallout.

Commended for Minnesota Book Award (Fiction) 2015
Commended for Thriller Awards (First Novel) 2015
Short-listed for Anthony Awards (First Novel) 2015
Short-listed for Edgar Allan Poe Awards (First Novel) 2015

“AWARD RECOGNITION FOR THE LIFE WE BURY : WINNER! Left Coast Crime Rosebud Award, BEST DEBUT MYSTERY WINNER! Barry Award, BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL”

AWARD RECOGNITION FOR THE LIFE WE BURY

WINNER! Left Coast Crime Rosebud Award, BEST DEBUT MYSTERY WINNER! Barry Award, BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL WINNER! Silver Falchion Award, BEST FIRST NOVEL: traditional 2015 Edgar(R) Award Finalist, BEST FIRST NOVEL Minnesota Book Award Finalist, BEST GENRE NOVEL Anthony Award Finalist, BEST FIRST NOVEL ITW Thriller Awards Finalist, BEST FIRST NOVEL

MysteryPeople 2014 BEST DEBUT NOVEL Suspense Magazine BEST BOOKS OF 2014/DEBUT AUTHOR

PRAISE FOR THE LIFE WE BURY

"Thriller fans should keep their eyes on Eskens; he's a comer." --BOOKLIST

"Compulsively suspenseful." --BOOKPAGE

"[A] masterful debut...." --PW STARRED REVIEW

"An intelligent and compelling story with characters that will capture you from the start.... This debut novel never lets the reader off the edge of the seat--the mark of a great story." --THE BIG THRILL

"Set against the backdrop of a brutal Minnesota winter, The Life We Bury is much more than a satisfying, suspenseful novel.... This story kept me turning the pages, and it touched my heart. The characters are as real as my next-door neighbors, the story compelling, and the writing superb." --SUSPENSE MAGAZINE

"Eskens delivers interesting puzzles, clever problem-solving, and plenty of stay-up-all-night-reading suspense." --REVIEWING THE EVIDENCE

"Eskens's first-person narration grabs the reader and never relinquishes its hold." --LIBRARY JOURNAL EDITOR'S FALL PICK

"Eskens' debut is a solid and thoughtful tale of a young man used to taking on burdens beyond his years--none more dangerous than championing a bitter old man convicted of a horrific crime." --KIRKUS REVIEWS

"A mesmerizing debut, unfolding decades of secrets in a rewarding tale of redemption." --JULIE KRAMER, Minnesota Book Award winner

Allen Eskens has been a criminal defense attorney for twenty years. He honed his creative writing skills through the MFA program at Minnesota State University as well as classes at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival and the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. He is a member of the Twin Cities Sisters in Crime. He is currently working on a follow-up novel to The Life We Bury.

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