Here Lies Buried

Pilar Sagasta has lost much. After her family is killed in an accident, she has only her grandfather Pete. He’s wonderful, but it isn’t long until he too dies. Pilar is truly alone until she finds relatives of Pete’s living across the country in Arizona. Pete’s sister, Virginia, is still living, and Pilar finds other relatives as well. Bravely, she leaves the comfort of her Cincinnati home to connect with these relatives. What she finds is quite a shock. Her grandfather’s sister, Virginia, is horrendously cruel to everyone around her. Yet all but Sylvie, wife to one of Virginia’s grandchildren, side with Virginia. Sylvie is kind to Pilar, but everyone else is incredibly mean to both Sylvie and Pilar. That very night, Virginia dies and a few days later one of Virginia’s grandchildren, Lenore, is murdered. Soon Pilar is embroiled in a twisted web of lies and deceit, anger and threats, as the supposed fortune of Virginia turns out to be far less than anyone hoped. Due to prior wills and codicils, Pilar ends up with the family home, which some may be willing to kill for.

Confused? This book would benefit greatly from a family tree. It is hard to keep all the characters straight while reading. That said, Cathy Ann Rogers has written a real page-turner with twists and turns galore and a cast of characters that might have been ripped from the headlines of a super-market tabloid. These are such an interesting bunch. Most people will recognize one or two of them as the weird relative from some distant branch in their own family. The book could also use another pass with a good copy-editor, but those are small things that will not keep readers from wanting to solve this mystery right along with spunky Pilar Sagasta.