Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

It is the story of two ladies, Cordelia and Felicity and skips between the years 1967 and 2010. During a storm in 1967 a tree collapses onto a tomb and a suited body tumbles out. The story which follows is full of twists and turns leaving the reader emotionally drained as they are lead through tragedy, terror and murder. David Mark never lets me down with his dark tales and this is another book that once picked up you won’t be able to put down until you reach the end.

I was finally in the right frame of mound to give this story a read. So glad I did!

What’s going on with the disappearing dead body that shouldn’t have been in the tomb?

Cordelia and Felicity are the only two to see the dead body and come to find nothing is as it seems.

Multiple POVs and timeframes.

Was there a body? Was there a murder? Was there an accident?

Give this story a fair shake and you be delighted.

This was the first book I read by this author and loved it.
It's a gripping and entertaining read, a well plotted novel that kept me guessing.
Good character development, I found the character interesting.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A fantastic and twisted tale.

Set in a sleepy town, the melodrama is perfectly balanced by the intriguing characters and darkly twisted mystery.

The characters are well balanced, although not always likeable they are true characters and well constructed throughout the course of the novel.

The shocking and dramatic events of the plot contrast fantastically with the quiet rural setting, increasing the shock as the impact of a murder, a mystery and ever increasing danger rock the little, life-long community to its core.

The structure is also fantastic, with the main story encapsulated by events occurring years later.

Acute Sense Of Foreboding.....
Compelling and macabre mystery set in a small village in the sixties. When Cordelia Hemlock sights a body in the village graveyard which later seemingly disappears she finds that no one has any belief in her sighting. Small village gossip and secrets abound whilst Cordelia along with friend and ally Felicity try to make sense of the finding. Credible and carefully drawn characters and a solid cast together with an acute sense of foreboding and tension make this a satisfying read.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for a copy of this book to review.

The Burying Ground
by David Mark

Mysterious and atmospheric novel set in post-war England. During a visit to the cemetery a flash storm sends two women running for shelter. However, before they make it to safety, lightening strikes causing a mausoleum to break open revealing a freshly dead body that shouldn't be there. As they set about sending for the police, the body has mysteriously disappeared and a neighbor has died. Each woman goes about investigating who is the mystery man and what has happened to him. Multiple layers to the story that keep you on your toes.

Slow start but a good mystery !

This might seem an odd book for History Corner, but it deals with an aspect of WWII that many of us may not be familiar with- POW Camps and French resistance. What seems simple- a body in a tomb, soon becomes the catalyst for breaking open secrets long held hidden in this small English village. Thanks to the base nearby, the village's residents have many tales to tale, and unfortunately the second death suddenly starts to seem suspicious and related to those secrets. As the unlikely duo of Felicity and Cordelia search out the truth, they find more than they bargained more and set their lives on paths very different than what they expected. Along the way the reader gets a healthy dose of WWII stories that could very well be true. Which makes for an interesting combination of historical and cozy mystery!

really enjoyed reading this book. The plot was good. I often thought I had figured out where the story was going only to find i was wrong! Very enjoyable read.

I have to say that I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I was going to. I am not sure if it is my age! or what, but I found it a confusing story and often had to check back a page or two to see who was narrating which part. The constant flicking around and the convoluted plot left me wishing it would end. I did persevere to the end, but for me it was an endurance test. Sorry about that, down to personal preference.

A totally different read to the Aector McAvoy series and nothing at all in anyway like those but this historical mystery is just as gokd a read

Set in 1960s north england the story starts in the year 2010 with 2 elderly women sat at the bedside of a dying man trying to get him to open up about events that occured in 1967 when tbey all met

The story revolves round secrets that were deeply buried but now set to be revealed

A gokd read

I found this book hard to get into. I have read some of David Mark’s previous books and really enjoyed them. I did not enjoy this book as much but I would still read more books by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an unbiased review.
First publication I've read by this author and likely to follow it up with others.
Set predominantly in North England this story commences in Second World War and goes up until 2010.
The two main characters Felecity and Cordellia are thrown together as a result of taking shelter during a storm in 1967 and it sparks off a set of events that conclude in 2010.
Interesting story that kept my attention and a few subtle twists along the way.

The Burying Ground is a change of tack from the previous books that I have read by David Mark but it was still an enjoyable read that kept me fully entertained.

Set in 1967 in Cumbria but with flash backs and forwards the story is about 2 women who are the only people to see a corpse before it disappears.

David Mark is an excellent author and in The Burying Ground he should hopefully have another success.

Recommended

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Canongate - Black Thorn, for the ARC.
This is just such an intriguing book, cleverly constructed with writing which exudes atmosphere and menace, well-drawn, interesting characters, and clandestine undertones all underpin a complex story with unusual twists.

This took me a little while to really get into this book, starting off with elderly Cordelia and Felicity in 2010 at the bedside of an old, dying man, from whom they both wanted an answer to a question. The reader is then taken back to 1967 when Cordy and Flick first met in a churchyard in a small village on the northern borders. A violent storm erupts and a lightening strike splits an ancient yew tree in two, resulting in the destruction of a a crypt. Expecting to see old bones appear, instead they saw the body of a man in a blue suit. Both doubting what they saw Felicity's neighbour and friend Church Warden Fairfax takes off in his incongruous sports car to take a look - but the body disappears.
Told between Felicity's and Cordelia's points of view as they progress their own investigations into the mystery man but this is an almost forgotten part of the world; the villagers are insular and reluctant to help but both women - Cordelia the driving force - are determined to get to the truth.

And the truth is gradually revealed once layers of deceit are peeled away. Through transcripts of recordings Felicity is making in 2010, through extracts of recorded interviews that Fairfax had been compiling from the villagers and Cordelia's investigations, we are taken to activities during and post WW2 where this isolated area was used to house prisoners of war, and where an RAF base was built to test the Blue Streak missile programme..

How much do the villages know about their neighbours? Why would the secret services be involved?

Absolutely engrossing.

Cumbria, 1967. Grieving the loss of her son, Cordelia Hemlock is in a village graveyard when lightening strikes a tumledown tomb and gives her a glimpse of a new corpse that doesn't belong among the crumbling bones. But when the body vanishes, the authorities refuse to believe her. Cordelia persuades Felicity Goose to join her in her investigation into the missing corpse.

Felicity was the only person along with Cordelia to see the corpse. The villagers are not happy at Cordelia's interference and believe that the village secrets should be kept quiet. The pace is steady 8n this eerie twist filled read. It's descriptivley written. the characters are well rounded and and believable.. I quite like stories setcaround small villages where the locals all stand arm in arm against people trying to change their culture. I will be looking out for this author in future.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Black Thorn and the author David Mark for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not my cup of tea. Too long before it got interesting. Parts of it seemed unbelievable and unrealistic. Characters were boring.

A story about two women whose lives are poles apart and met under bizarre circumstances. The story takes the reader backwards and forwards between the two of them and evolves around the tragic events at the end of WW2 which happened during the Nazis final retreat. A really well crafted story, thoroughly enjoyable read. Well recommended

The Burying Ground by David Mark
5 Stars
I enjoyed the story - eventually. A fan of this author for some time, it was not in any way what I expected.... and that was my problem.

Starting in one time frame then harking back to earlier time frames, it was somewhat confusing. In many respects the story is a social commentary on life in a small village in post-war England.

Having been a young adult in the earlier period, it read like decades before the era I remembered. However, once I recognised the differences of my urban life and village life, the social attitudes had resonance.

For those who enjoy an insight into that period and the impact WW2 continued to have decades after it ended, this is a must read. I’m not sorry I have read this book but my preference is for the author’s contemporary offerings.

1967, Cumbria.

There's a body in the village graveyard which doesn't belong there. And then it disappears.

Cordelia saw it. Felicity saw it.. The trouble is that nobody belies them....