Buried Above Ground by Mike Ripley

An early review of the novel that's about writing crime novels. Discover what it was like to read the story with five unreliable narrators.

The author (Mike Ripley) introduces the book and explains that it's 'not a conventional crime novel, rather a novel about writing crime novels.'

That's the best part - the insights into writing and publishing and the relationships between the people working in those worlds.

There are dozens of references and name checks for famous crime fiction authors, books and tropes. These have been weaved into the story and work best if you get the references. Some of them were obvious, but others went over my head.

But the story itself didn't work for me. It felt like a slow meander down a country lane with the destination right known from the start. I wasn't hooked by the story and didn't care what happened to the characters.

Thanks to Severn House and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions are my own.