How to Bury Your Brother

April 1, 2020

DEBUT Just before her childhood home in Atlanta is to be razed, Alice Wright finds seven sealed letters hidden in a crawl space. The letters are written by her brother, Rob Tate, who died nine years earlier. Despite her disappointment that there is no letter for her, she sets out to deliver each of them, hoping to learn about Rob's life and--especially--why he disappeared from home just before turning 16 and never returned. She and Rob had been particularly close, despite their five-year age difference, and she looked for him while his absence irretrievably damaged their family. Now, with her father dead and her mother in assisted living, Alice must face her own marital problems and family conflicts while struggling to stop the pattern of convenient lies. VERDICT Although the title suggests that this is a mystery, it's actually literary fiction about a particularly dysfunctional Southern family with dark secrets, featuring a woman who confronts hard truths. This is an accomplished, insightful debut ideally suited for book groups, with reading group guide and author interview included.--Michele Leber, Arlington, VA

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2020
Alice was ten when her beloved older brother Rob left home. While she never gave up hope that he'd return, she rarely spoke of him, even to her husband and children. Now, 30 years after his disappearance and almost a decade after his funeral, Alice reluctantly returns to their childhood home in Georgia on the eve of its demolition. Hidden in a crawl space and labeled with her name, she finds boxes of Rob's personal effects, including an autopsy report and seven sealed letters addressed in her brother's handwriting. Determined to finally discover the truth about his disappearance and his death, Alice sets out to deliver the letters. But as she pieces together details about his life, she also is forced to confront secrets about their family that cause her not only to question her own childhood memories but also to reevaluate her present-day relationships. Part mystery, part Southern gothic, and wholly original, Cook's debut novel establishes her as an author to watch. Recommended for fans of Celeste Ng and Joshilyn Jackson.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)