--- product_id: 8305385 title: "The Life We Bury" price: "₹ 2460" currency: INR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.in/products/8305385-the-life-we-bury store_origin: IN region: India --- # The Life We Bury **Price:** ₹ 2460 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Life We Bury - **How much does it cost?** ₹ 2460 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.in](https://www.desertcart.in/products/8305385-the-life-we-bury) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description A USA Today bestseller and book club favorite! College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe's life is ever the same. Carl is a dying Vietnam veteran--and a convicted murderer. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home, after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder. As Joe writes about Carl's life, especially Carl's valor in Vietnam, he cannot reconcile the heroism of the soldier with the despicable acts of the convict. Joe, along with his skeptical female neighbor, throws himself into uncovering the truth, but he is hamstrung in his efforts by having to deal with his dangerously dysfunctional mother, the guilt of leaving his autistic brother vulnerable, and a haunting childhood memory. Thread by thread, Joe unravels the tapestry of Carl’s conviction. But as he and Lila dig deeper into the circumstances of the crime, the stakes grow higher. Will Joe discover the truth before it’s too late to escape the fallout? Review: Excellent First Novel -- Deeply Felt and Unforgettable - It is rare a book gets under my skin like this, really makes me forget I'm reading "a book," and stays with me for so long. This is even more surprising considering that this is not only Eskens' first novel, but it clearly had subtle flaws throughout it that shouted "first novel" -- e.g., grammatical errors like "a couple minutes" instead of "a couple OF minutes," slightly stilted dialogue at first between Joe and Lila, and an initial portrait of Carl Iverson that predicted he'd be just another predictable Grizzled Tormented Vietnam Vet With A Heart of Gold. (He wasn't.) But I was pulled into the book steadily and surely -- and I ended up enjoying it immensely. I was deeply moved by the characters' journeys. I wanted the poignant story to continue, and I wanted to hang out more with the protagonist, Joe Talbert. When I read "The Life We Bury," I was on a trip to Europe, and usually when I'm traveling I discard books as I read them -- leave them in the hotel or give them to someone -- to save room in my suitcase. I couldn't bring myself to do that with "The Life We Bury" -- which was emblematic of the fact that I didn't want to let go of the characters, the story, the depth of feeling with which Eskens writes. I ended up mailing it home to myself in a box of souvenirs! Although Esken's next book, "The Guise of Another" doesn't seem to have gotten as many good reviews so far, I am definitely going to read it and his upcoming one, "The Heavens May Fall." No matter what, he clearly established himself to me as a novelist who puts his true heart into the story and characters. That's not something you find often in fiction, especially crime fiction. Well done, Mr. Eskens. Review: 4 Stars - 4 Stars. This is a great, fast read. It completely held my attention from cover to cover. SYNOPSIS Joe Talbert is not your average, happy go lucky, 21 year old college student. He has overcome many obstacles to become a student at the University of Minnesota; most of which are related to his mother and her combination of bi-polar disorder and alcohol abuse. He manages to work, make it to all his classes, live on a very tight budget and serve as back up caretaker for his autistic 18 year old brother. When Joe is assigned a paper in his biography class and has to find an older person to write about, he heads to a retirement home and is introduced to a Vietnam veteran who is also convinced murderer and rapists, Carl Iverson, he is hesitant to engage. He decides, at the very least, it will make an interesting biography project. But once he starts digging into the case, he realizes that things are not as they seem. Joined by his new friend/ love interest next door neighbor, he becomes fixated on finding out what really happened on the day in 1980 that Crystal Hagen was murdered and Carl's life changed forever. WHAT I LOVED This is not your average psychological thriller, it has many other elements as well: family struggles, escaping ones past, mental disorders, abuse and love. While the mystery unraveling is the main plot of the story, there were many other things going on in the characters lives. I liked Esken's writing style; he kept the plot going and didn't waste many words describing scenery, feelings, people etc., just enough so the reader gets the idea. I think I've been reading too many books lately where I have to skim page after page of overblown descriptions, it was refreshing to not have that in this book. I liked how none of the characters were perfect but they all had redeeming qualities. All of the characters had their own baggage / secrets, most of the characters (with the exception of a couple) used their past mistakes and struggles to become stronger and better. The plot was very very solid, well thought out and didn't have an excess of well placed 'coincidences' like many other books of this genre tend to have. I really couldn't find any plot holes. Again, loved to plot. It kept me completely engaged. WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE There was only scene in the book I didn't find believable (I'm not going to be specific because it would be a spoiler). Joe, who is normally pretty street smart, does something so blatantly dumb that it was hard to believe and was out of character for him. Ill leave it at that. When you read this book ( which you definitely should if you like this genre even a little), you'll know what I'm talking about. I was able to ignore it and still enjoy the story. OVERALL Don't miss this one. It's completely worth your time. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #12,143 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #309 in Amateur Sleuths #336 in Psychological Thrillers (Books) #400 in Suspense Thrillers | | Customer Reviews | 4.3 out of 5 stars 45,656 Reviews | ## Images ![The Life We Bury - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81LimtXKXyL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent First Novel -- Deeply Felt and Unforgettable *by R***. on August 15, 2016* It is rare a book gets under my skin like this, really makes me forget I'm reading "a book," and stays with me for so long. This is even more surprising considering that this is not only Eskens' first novel, but it clearly had subtle flaws throughout it that shouted "first novel" -- e.g., grammatical errors like "a couple minutes" instead of "a couple OF minutes," slightly stilted dialogue at first between Joe and Lila, and an initial portrait of Carl Iverson that predicted he'd be just another predictable Grizzled Tormented Vietnam Vet With A Heart of Gold. (He wasn't.) But I was pulled into the book steadily and surely -- and I ended up enjoying it immensely. I was deeply moved by the characters' journeys. I wanted the poignant story to continue, and I wanted to hang out more with the protagonist, Joe Talbert. When I read "The Life We Bury," I was on a trip to Europe, and usually when I'm traveling I discard books as I read them -- leave them in the hotel or give them to someone -- to save room in my suitcase. I couldn't bring myself to do that with "The Life We Bury" -- which was emblematic of the fact that I didn't want to let go of the characters, the story, the depth of feeling with which Eskens writes. I ended up mailing it home to myself in a box of souvenirs! Although Esken's next book, "The Guise of Another" doesn't seem to have gotten as many good reviews so far, I am definitely going to read it and his upcoming one, "The Heavens May Fall." No matter what, he clearly established himself to me as a novelist who puts his true heart into the story and characters. That's not something you find often in fiction, especially crime fiction. Well done, Mr. Eskens. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 Stars *by R***R on March 12, 2017* 4 Stars. This is a great, fast read. It completely held my attention from cover to cover. SYNOPSIS Joe Talbert is not your average, happy go lucky, 21 year old college student. He has overcome many obstacles to become a student at the University of Minnesota; most of which are related to his mother and her combination of bi-polar disorder and alcohol abuse. He manages to work, make it to all his classes, live on a very tight budget and serve as back up caretaker for his autistic 18 year old brother. When Joe is assigned a paper in his biography class and has to find an older person to write about, he heads to a retirement home and is introduced to a Vietnam veteran who is also convinced murderer and rapists, Carl Iverson, he is hesitant to engage. He decides, at the very least, it will make an interesting biography project. But once he starts digging into the case, he realizes that things are not as they seem. Joined by his new friend/ love interest next door neighbor, he becomes fixated on finding out what really happened on the day in 1980 that Crystal Hagen was murdered and Carl's life changed forever. WHAT I LOVED This is not your average psychological thriller, it has many other elements as well: family struggles, escaping ones past, mental disorders, abuse and love. While the mystery unraveling is the main plot of the story, there were many other things going on in the characters lives. I liked Esken's writing style; he kept the plot going and didn't waste many words describing scenery, feelings, people etc., just enough so the reader gets the idea. I think I've been reading too many books lately where I have to skim page after page of overblown descriptions, it was refreshing to not have that in this book. I liked how none of the characters were perfect but they all had redeeming qualities. All of the characters had their own baggage / secrets, most of the characters (with the exception of a couple) used their past mistakes and struggles to become stronger and better. The plot was very very solid, well thought out and didn't have an excess of well placed 'coincidences' like many other books of this genre tend to have. I really couldn't find any plot holes. Again, loved to plot. It kept me completely engaged. WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE There was only scene in the book I didn't find believable (I'm not going to be specific because it would be a spoiler). Joe, who is normally pretty street smart, does something so blatantly dumb that it was hard to believe and was out of character for him. Ill leave it at that. When you read this book ( which you definitely should if you like this genre even a little), you'll know what I'm talking about. I was able to ignore it and still enjoy the story. OVERALL Don't miss this one. It's completely worth your time. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ WHAT. A. READ. *by K***A on January 25, 2025* Gripping from start to finish! With each twist and turn this book had me invested and yearning to know more from page one and I had it finished it in a matter of days. Couldn’t have been more well written and I’m actually a little mind blown that it actually has negative reviews. It was PHENOMENAL, one of the best I’ve read! This was my first read from this author and it definitely won’t be my last. The story line of this incredible read would make one hell of a movie!! Looking forward to reading The Shadows We Hide 👏🏼 ## Frequently Bought Together - The Life We Bury - The Shadows We Hide: The highly acclaimed sequel to The Life We Bury - The Guise of Another --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.in/products/8305385-the-life-we-bury](https://www.desertcart.in/products/8305385-the-life-we-bury) --- *Product available on Desertcart India* *Store origin: IN* *Last updated: 2026-05-25*