Buried in Burrywood

Rating:
Summary: A GREAT SUMMER READ!
Review: Be sure to get plenty of sleep before reading this book, it's one of those "couldn't put it down" books. The characters are well developed and interesting. I'm looking forward to meeting them again in the next "Burrywood" book.

Rating:
Summary: A Cozy Mystery
Review: Buried in Burrywood is a truly a cozy mystery. I gained a feeling for small town life. Character development is strong. I became attached to certain characters, while really disliking others. The plot twists and turns, leaving no obvious clues about "whodunit" until the very end. This book meets my criteria for a good read by being an easy read, yet completely captivating. I couldn't put it down.

Rating:
Summary: Buried in Burrywood
Review: Buried in Burrywood takes an interesting look at small-town murders. It introduces the reader to several different and unusual characters such as Annie, a homeless woman; Winona, a diner owner; Reverend Amos, an old church preacher; and Diana, the local newspaper editor. Diana set outs to solve the murder of Burrywood's mayor and then realizes that several other murders are involved.

Rating:
Summary: A recommended read!
Review: Buried in Burrywood was a fun and exiting murder mystery. The author did a great job of introducing the characters without boring you with too many details about them. I really felt like I got to know the characters. I could not put the book down once I started reading it. It was full of twists all the way to the end. I can't wait for the next book!

Rating:
Summary: An inspiring read
Review: Lana Waite credits the Cabrillo Suspense Writers' Conference with being a major inspiration in her writing. She lives in Northern California, but was born in Seattle. She studied Architecture at the University of Washington and married a Navy man.

Burrywood, Washington is a small town with lots of characters living in it. Not all of them are what would be referred to as upstanding citizens. Take Tolly, for instance. He used to be a great principal, but succumbed to the evils of drink. Then there is the mayor, Neal Thomas. No one likes him, and he is the first murder victim. His wife Charlotte isn't too friendly either...she runs the drugstore and is a nurse, which most people don't know. Rose lives in a huge mansion her father won in a poker game. Her brother, Sam, shows up to help her sell its contents...he is the perennial rolling stone. Then there is Reverend Amos...a man in his 80's who wanders around town. His son is the Police Chief. It takes the town newspaper owner, Diana, and her sidekick, restaurateur Winona, to sort things out when dead bodies start appearing:

"Still to search were Neal's desk and the file drawers and cabinet behind it. Big, big job. It exhausted me to think about it. I pulled the desk chair out, intending to sit and think things over. Instead I found myself staring at a green packet sticking out of the crevice between the back of the seat and the cushion. It was money, all neatly done up with a rubber band."

Lana Waite writes a terrifically funky and thoroughly non-violent mystery where character is the driving force. Her townspeople could be characters in a play...they are well-defined and each have their role to play. Diana and Winona are delightfully wise middle-aged women who don't stand for any nonsense and cut to the heart of the other characters' foibles. Diana is the focal point of the book, as she runs the town newspaper. Although she is a down-to-earth character, she does get rattled enough to take action and kick the other characters out of their neuroses.

Buried in Burrywood is a charming story that is about what people are really like. Sweetness comes in the form of ultimate acceptance of their condition. It is when these characters see themselves as they are that they are able to overcome the blocks that have been keeping them from self-acceptance to become contributing members of their little town. An inspiring read.

Shelley Glodowski
Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: Mystery Writing Rediscovered
Review: Now waiting for the next Lana Waite book, I spend time searching for Burrywood and the people who call it home. I find myself looking for it on maps here in the Puget Sound Area. It must be here somewhere.
Written in first person, the story gains immediacy that puts the reader at the heroine's side throughout. It is an enjoyable and intriguing style. All who chalk up this read will fall into the queue behind me.
My home is in Sequim, and I expect to run into Zeke any day.

Rating:
Summary: A GREAT SUMMER READ!
Review: SO ENJOYED THIS BOOK AND THE DESCRIPTION OF PEOPLE AND PLACES IN THIS TOWN. COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN ONCE I STARTED. HURRY WITH YOUR NEXT BOOK.