Review for The Things They Didn’t Bury by Laekan Zea Kemp

A Beautiful and Deeply Layered Mystery.

5 Stars. I don’t read a lot of contemporary, but the mystery in this story had me hanging on edge just as much as the paranormal and suspense books I read. This is a deeply layered story. And, even though it’s a historical piece set in Argentina I still felt completely able to relate to Liliana and the things going on in her life.

Liliana’s father moves her and her sister back to Argentina after years of living in the states. They fled to the US after the disappearance of Liliana’s mother and to protect them from the war, but now back at her mother’s childhood home Liliana finds herself sucked into a mystery of lies and deceit that will span generations. After finding her mother’s diary Liliana is shown through her mother’s eyes a time when free thought was persecuted and people feared being abducted from their own beds.

I loved watching Liliana retrace her mother’s footsteps to try and figure out what happened to her. You really feel for her and understand her need to know who her mother was. This book will lead you through the lives of many characters and seeing how the war destroys some of them will break your heart; but Liliana is strong and persistent and won’t stop until she uncovers the truth, even when she discovers that finding the truth may change everything she knows about who she is.

I really felt for these characters, they were well written and fascinating. Even the supporting characters were deep and well rounded. I could completely relate with Liliana and I loved Diego. Getting to see the world through both of their eyes really lets you see the whole story of not only the war, but the mystery they uncover together, and the romance between them. Diego is a really honest, hardworking guy and he gets sucked in to helping Liliana when she asks him for a few simple favors like a ride into town. But, when he sees her venturing into dangerous territory he looks out for her and the two of them quickly become a team. I loved watching the two of them grow closer. The romance between them felt completely natural and I enjoyed the sweet scenes between them. Their relationship helped break up this intense story and really made it feel balanced.

This book had me hooked from beginning to end; I’ve never read anything like it. Definitely pick this one up.