Better Left Buried BY Mary E. Roach

Knives Out meets A Good Girl's Guide to Murder in Mary E. Roach's debut YA mystery, Better Left Buried.

Lucy Preston’s vacation plans are derailed when her famous private detective mom drags her into a sinister mystery. Instead of a relaxing beach getaway, Lucy finds herself at an abandoned amusement park, where a clandestine meeting quickly turns into a discovery of a body. Naturally, her mom is soon entangled in top-secret detective business, leaving Lucy to unravel the mystery on her own.

As Lucy investigates her mom's cryptic connection to the town, she crosses paths with Audrey Nelson, a mysterious girl on a motorcycle who was present when the body was found. Audrey holds key answers, but there’s a hitch—Lucy’s mom is investigating Audrey’s mom for murder. Trust is scarce, and secrets are abundant in this town.

Lucy and Audrey must navigate a web of deceit and danger as they dig into long-buried secrets and unearth hidden motives. With each revelation, the stakes rise, and their partnership becomes crucial. As the investigation unfolds, it becomes clear that the abandoned amusement park harbors dark truths that could lead to even more deaths—perhaps even Lucy’s.

Alternating between Lucy and Audrey’s perspectives, Better Left Buried is a suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat mystery filled with twists and turns. Readers will be hooked from the first page to the last, eager to uncover the truth hidden beneath the town’s façade.