Better Left Buried by Mary E. Roach is a fun YA mystery with a twist that will have you shocked but will also take you on a crazy ride getting there. 

This story begins when Lucy finds out her mom Katy is stopping to investigate a crime scene in the town of Haeter Lake, Tennessee instead of driving to the beach for spring break.  The location… an abandoned amusement park with a previous history of death there. While in Haeter Lake Lucy meets Audrey who is around the same age and rides a motorcycle. Audrey’s mom is being charged for the murder of multimillionaire, Pierce Anselm who owned the park. There is a history with Audrey’s family and the Anselm’s, but Audrey is confident her mom didn’t do it and sets to prove that. Together the girls do their own investigating, sneaking around, and finding out clues to the current and past deaths. Along the way they find Katy has kept her own secret past with this town. Who can Lucy trust… her mom, the Anselm’s, or Audrey? Seems everyone has something to hide.  Once another victim is murdered, the girls realize digging too deep puts them at risk.

This dual pov book was such an easy and fun read. The mystery of the town, who you can and can’t trust, the imagery of all the places visited, and the chemistry of Lucy and Audrey had me not wanting to put the book down. I could really see this book coming to life in a TV series with all the action and mystery surrounding this town and it’s abandoned amusement park.

The Anselm’s live in an old mansion and great detail went into describing it and the secret passages. It really helped bring me into the world as I read it, and I felt like I was hiding in the walls eavesdropping.

I’d like to thank Mary E. Roach for this ARC through NetGalley.