John Pesta

Safely Buried John Pesta

FIRST PLACE IN FICTION
2012 BEST BOOKS OF INDIANA CONTEST
SPONSORED BY INDIANA STATE LIBRARY

Set in the low hills of southern Indiana, "Safely Buried" is a riveting mystery featuring newspaper reporter Phil Larrison, whose well-intended act of kindness soon lands him in a tangled web of murder and corruption. Author John Pesta gracefully balances strong character and plot development with an action-packed storyline. Though a first-time author, Pesta's background in journalism is readily apparent through his immense storytelling ability that rivals that of seasoned mystery writers.

While we would recommend this book to mystery enthusiasts, it is also a great book for novices due to its well-developed characters and swift, suspenseful pace. It is the ideal choice for the 2012 Best Fiction Book of Indiana award due to the book's entertaining, compelling, and suspenseful storytelling, as well as its setting in southern Indiana.

--Judges' Statement


A Kirkus review:

Veteran journalist turned mystery author Pesta explores an extensive network of crime in a supposedly bucolic countryside.

Small-town newspaper editor Phil Larrison knows better than to pick up a young female hitchhiker late at night, but he can't leave the broken-legged woman limping down the road. Vague with the details of where she's going and why, tipsy Paula Henry ends up taking Phil on the ride of his life. After the pair's gruesome discovery of the bodies of Paula's friends Cheryl and Wayne Garth in their deserted rented farmhouse, Paula disappears, leaving Phil with a sketchy story of how he happened to break into the rural property late at night, although it does give his newspaper a scoop. While visiting the crime scene the following day, Phil's car is stolen, and he knows that somehow the elusive Paula is responsible. Recovering his car allows him to meet Paula's mother Edna Mae and get a lead on another story, this one involving decades-old sexual abuse in the local foster system. Continuing his investigation into the Garths' murders also introduces Phil to the large Brandon family with their extensive banking, legal and waste management connections. What Phil might never have suspected is that their vast network extends as deep underground as above, and that the drug connection with the Garths that he suspected from the start is only the tip of the iceberg. Very well-written and generally well-paced, the novel's long, drawn-out denouement degenerates into a painful drawing-room drama of the trailer park variety. As with so many mysteries, the overabundance of characters with convoluted connections makes the reader yearn for a road map, or preferably fewer people to track. Still, the main characters--Phil and Paula, in particular--are finely drawn, complex and will stay with the reader long after the book is over.

A riveting journey into the depths of rural Midwest corruption and scandal.