Buried Road

by Katie Tallo

Three years ago, Gus Monet’s partner Howard Bayliss disappeared while they, along with Gus’ then-nine-year-old daughter, Bly, were camping in Eastern Ontario’s Prince Edward County. He was a reporter following an investigative lead when he vanished, along with the camper van the three of them had been staying in.

Howard’s parents, who operate a nearby winery, invited Gus and Bly to stay with them while the search for Howard was going on.

But Howard is never found, despite the best efforts of the local police and Gus’ own frantic investigation. The police got sick of Gus, who kept demanding progress and insisted on pursuing her own investigation: driving around, searching, asking questions, passing out flyers. The local officers took to calling her the “cuckoo bird,” the uppity woman from the city telling them how to do their job.

And Howard’s parents, at first totally united behind Gus’ efforts to find Howard, gradually lose heart as the months wear on. They turn cool toward both Gus and her daughter: Gus and Howard were never married, and Bly is not their granddaughter. Both are a reminder of the son they have lost, and who everyone but Gus is already assuming must be dead.

Gus and Bly return to Ottawa, to the house they shared with Howard. Bly goes to school. Gus continues her investigation from a distance, pasting articles, photos, and police reports on an evidence wall in their dining room.

Then Gus reads an obituary of Howard in the newspaper, and realizes his parents have given up: they are holding a “celebration of life.” Irate, she pulls Bly out of school and they head back to the town of Picton in Prince Edward County. There they learn that Howard’s camper van has been found, though there is still no sign of Howard. Gus plunges back into investigative mode.

The story is told through the eyes of twelve-year-old Bly, who is a terrific character. She shares Gus’ green eyes and red hair, but they are very different people. Bly is organized, neat, self-reflective and a keen observer. Gus is impulsive, undisciplined, and quick to anger.

Bly is as heartbroken by Howard’s disappearance as Gus is: he has been the closest thing to a father she’s ever had. Gus is certain that Howard is still alive; Bly hopes she’s right. She is dragged along in her mother’s wake as Gus’ investigation progresses. Bly is increasingly eager to help; she loves her mother and admires her determination, though she recognizes that Gus can go off the deep end. As their investigative activity moves them into more and more questionable areas, the story gets more complicated and risks pile up, leading to a twisty and suspenseful —and surprising—climax.

The Buried Road of the title has a literal meaning, which is explained in the book, but it’s also a metaphor for the hidden depths beneath the surface appearance of many people’s lives and relationships, and secrets to be uncovered.

This novel is third in an excellent series featuring Gus Monet, and this one may be the best yet. Each of the books in the series can be enjoyed as a standalone, and they can be read in any order. All three examine layered mother-daughter relationships, with past and present intertwining. All are fast-moving and suspenseful, with a strong sense of place rooted in the Eastern Ontario landscapes that the author loves.

Katie Tallo is an Ottawa writer whose life as a novelist didn’t start until she was well into a successful career as a screenwriter and director.

She’d long wanted to write a novel, but only took the plunge after being inspired by Stephen King’s book On Writing. In 2013 she submitted a completed manuscript to Mslexia’s competition for unpublished women writers. To her surprise, she won top prize, and that win ultimately resulted in her signing with a literary agent based in New York.

Though that initial manuscript did not find a publisher, largely because its genre was unclear, Tallo subsequently landed a publishing deal with Harper Collins for her debut thriller, Dark August, which appeared in 2020. Introducing the character of Gus Monet, and set in Ottawa’s Wellington West neighbourhood, that novel became an international bestseller and was chosen as an Apple Book of the Month and New York Times Editor’s Choice.

She followed up with two more thrillers featuring Gus Monet: Poison Lilies (2022) and Buried Road (2024). All three books in the trilogy have been enthusiastically received by readers and reviewers alike.

Tallo lives in Ottawa with her husband and daughter. She is currently working on a fourth mystery thriller which introduces a new protagonist.

[Click here to sign up to my book club, to get periodic updates on my writing journey, along with notices of new book reviews when I post them.]