Better Left Buried

Ages 12 And Up, Grades 7 And Up

KNIVES OUT meets A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER in Mary E. Roach’s debut YA mystery Better Left Buried, in which two girls try to get to the bottom of a town full of secrets, a family full of mystery and an abandoned amusement park where people keep turning up dead.

Lucy Preston just wants to go on vacation. But being the daughter of a famous private detective means that sometimes, your beach vacay goes off the rails a bit. Think: a clandestine meeting at an abandoned amusement park—except instead of a meeting, Lucy and her mom find a body. Because of course they do.

As Lucy’s mom is swept into top-secret detective stuff, Lucy sets out to investigate her mom’s mysterious connection with this town. Lucy’s snooping sets her on a collision course with Audrey Nelson, the mysterious girl on the motorcycle who was there the night they found the body. Lucy has questions, and Audrey has answers, but there’s this tiny problem: Lucy’s mom is investigating Audrey’s mom . . . for murder.

Everyone has something to hide, and if Lucy and Audrey can’t work together to uncover secrets that go back generations, there will likely be another body found at the base of the old roller coaster. And this time it might just be Lucy’s.

Alternating between Lucy and Audrey’s point of view, and filled with suspense as secrets are spilled, Better Left Buried is sure to leave readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page.

About the Author

Mary E. Roach is an author of thrillers and mysteries and a fan of all things spooky. (But ask about true crime podcasts at your own risk. There are hot takes). When Mary is not writing stories for and about powerful girls, she can be found teaching martial arts, baking an unreasonable number of cookies, or taking off on thru-hikes through the wilderness of northern Minnesota.

Author Residence: Minnesota