Sunday, January 26, 2020

Buried by Ellison Cooper

Buried (Agent Sayer Altair, #2)
Happy Sunday!  On Sunday's, I feature a book that I was unable to when it was released.  This week I picked Buried by Ellison Cooper.  Ellison Cooper is the author of the Agent Sayer Altair series.  The first book in the series is Caged
Skyline Drive seen from Stony Man - Best Day Hikes in Shenandoah National Park
Buried by Ellison Cooper has Max Cho hiking near Rockfish Gap in Shenandoah National Park when Kana, his human remains detection dog, alerts.  Max investigates and ends up falling into a cavern with multiple skeletons along with two newer corpses.  Senior Special Agent Sayer Altair is called to the scene along with her team.  Kyle Nelson, Rockfish Gap Chief of Police, wants to know if one of the victims could be his sister who disappeared seventeen years ago.  When they exam the newest corpse, they discover “Help Us” written on the body.  A local woman and her daughter were recently kidnapped.  Sayer and her team must work quickly to unravel the clues if they are to save them.  The killer, though, is aware of their efforts and does what he can to disrupt their investigation.  Sayer wonders who is the killer and how does he know what they have learned.  If Sayer is to rescue the woman and her daughter before it is too late, she will have to get help from an unlikely source.
Cave in the Woods
Buried by Ellison Cooper is an intense and gritty mystery.  It is the second novel in the Agent Sayer Altair series. If you have not read Caged, you will not be lost.  The author provides background information on Sayer Altair and a summary of what occurred in Caged.  I believe, though, that it would be a better reading experience if the series is read in order.  Sayer Altair is an FBI neuroscientist who studies serial killers’ brains when not in the field.  She has been benched after what happened in Caged, and this new case is her first time back in the field.  Max Cho is enjoying a day off hiking when Kana alerts to the presence of a cadaver.  A wrong step has Max falling into a cavern full of skeletons.  Sayer along with forensic anthropologist, Dana Wilbanks find two fresh victims after a harrowing encounter.  There is plenty of action in Buried as Sayer and the team search for the killer who recently kidnapped a woman and her little girl.  The authors vivid descriptions allowed me to visualize the grisly scene Max found in that cave.   It was interesting to see things from Sayer’s perspective.  I liked that the mystery was complex with one exception.  There are a number of victims over two decades.  The one downfall of Buried is that I could solve the whodunit before I was a quarter of a way through the book.  I prefer a mystery that scatters the clues throughout the book with surprising twists, so I am kept guessing.  Sayer is still investigating the death of her fiancé, Jake.  She has a feeling that what is in the case file is not the true story.  Plus, there still might be repercussions from the case in CagedBuried does contain graphic violence and foul language (these two things seem to par for the course with chilling crime novels).  Buried is a psychological thriller with curious clues, a variety of victims, irksome incidents, a pathological predator, and colossal changes.
Pile of skulls and bones on black background
Buried can be obtained here* (can also get a sample to check it out for yourself).  Caged is the first novel in An Agent Sayer Altair series.  Thank you for joining me today.  Tomorrow I am featuring A Field Guide to Homicide by Lynn Cahoon.  It is the sixth book in A Cat Latimer Mystery series.  May you have a fulfilling day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris
The Avid Reader
Room with a view by blue mountain thyme on Flickr
*This post contains affiliate links.

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