ITW Thriller Awards Finalist, BEST FIRST NOVEL Minnesota Book Award Finalist, BEST GENRE NOVEL WINNER! Silver Falchion Award, BEST FIRST NOVEL: traditionalĢ015 Edgar® Award Finalist, BEST FIRST NOVEL WINNER! Barry Award, BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL WINNER! Left Coast Crime Rosebud Award, BEST DEBUT MYSTERY But by the time Joe discovers the truth, it is too late to escape the fallout. Thread by thread, Joe unravels the tapestry of Carl's conviction. 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. 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.Īs 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.

Iverson is a dying Vietnam veteran-and a convicted murderer.

There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe's life is ever the same. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person.

A young man, caught in the dark maze of circumstances surrounding a crime that occurred thirty years ago, must confront several ugly truths as well as direct threats to his own life.Ĭollege student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class.

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens