Buried Book by DM Pulley.
Introduction
In Buried Book by DM Pulley, nine-year-old Jasper Leary finds his missing mother’s childhood diary in 1952. He searches for her using the clues in the diary, but faces encounters he never knew existed. His travels take him from his uncle’s farm in Michigan to downtown Detroit and to an Indian Reservation. Will he find her alive or dead?
Summary
The Buried Book by DM Pulley starts with Jasper Leary’s mom taking him to his Uncle’s farm. Jasper is nine-years-old and lives with his mom, Althea, in Detroit, Michigan. Uncle Leo’s farm is in Burtchville, Michigan. It’s 1952. She leaves Jasper at the farm and promises to return after she takes care of some important things. Althea doesn’t trust her husband Wendell to watch after Jasper.
The farmhouse is small. Jasper shares a bed with his twelve-year-old cousin Wayne. Uncle Leo and Aunt Velma have their bedroom. Jasper learns the farm life, does his chores, and goes to school. He has issues with Wayne. As the days go by, he wanders around the farm, looking for answers about his mom’s disappearance. He finds the burned-out family house of Althea and Leo. Inside a drawer, he finds young Althea’s diary.
Jasper uses clues from the diary to search for his mother. He travels to a rough neighborhood in Detroit and an Indian Reservation. What he discovers surprises him.
Recommendation
I liked The Buried Book by DM Pulley. Jasper is an interesting viewpoint character, and I thought the mystery surrounding his mother fits together well. The life on the farm sections was detailed and exciting. I wondered about the age of Jasper. His thoughts read to me like an older child. I don’t see a nine-year-old being as independent and resilient as depicted in the novel. The bus driver’s scene surprised me. It didn’t seem to fit with the story to me. The mob connection to the Indian Reservation seemed to cliché to me. I felt that the strengths of the story overweighed my concerns.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Buried Book by DM Pulley.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29105591-the-buried-book
In No One’s Home by DM Pulley, the Spielman family buys a mansion named Rawlingswood in Shaker Heights, Ohio, in this ghost suspense thriller. Will the Spielman’s survive the mansion, unlike the four families that preceded them?
Unclaimed Victim by D.M. Pulley connects the stories of Ethel from March 1938 and Kris from April 1999 through the Torso Killer of Cleveland. They are targets. Can they survive? Link to review.
This is the link to my review of The Dead Key by D.M. Pulley.