The Life We Bury

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens, narrated by Zach Villa, 303 pages.

Really well-paced thriller that worked for me. I liked the characters and I liked how even the seemingly extraneous plot pieces fit well into the story and moved it along. Joe runs off to college as soon as he is able, leaving his alcoholic bi-polar mother and his autistic brother behind. It's his first foray into freedom and he doesn't get far enough and as the book opens, his mother is manipulating him back into their rather toxic relationship.
Joe is working a couple of jobs, and has never been a stellar student, plus he registered at the last minute and all the good classes are full. He ends up in an English class he doesn't care about. It's no surprise that he has put off his biography assignment for longer than he should. He supposed to write about an older person who has had an interesting life. After checking at a local nursing home to see if he can set up a interview with someone there he ends up talking to Carl. Carl, it turns out, has served thirty years for a rape / murder. It was a gruesome crime, but Joe's unfazed. It's a little contrived how this all comes together, how the book gets started, but the rest of the book more than makes up for this mildly clunkybit of plot. Joe's relationships with his mother and brother are solid, and he becomes a much more sympathetic character as he realizes where his loyalties lie, and what he must do to be true to himself. His growing relationships with both Carl and with his neighbor, Lila, bring out the best in him. There are just enough plot twists, and the author sells you on the story, helping you leap over any plot holes.
I really enjoyed this.