Review of 'Stay Buried' by Jane R Miles
Review of 'Stay Buried' by Jane R Miles
Release date: July 28th, 2026
Publisher: HQ Fiction
REVIEW
Stay Buried by Jane R Miles is a terrifying and eerie, psychological thriller that draws on a piece of Darwin history. Christmas Eve 1974 a catastrophic category 4 cyclone named Tracy hit the city and destroyed 80% of its buildings and killed 66 people. For this story, the author writes about four girls who disappear on a camping trip in the bush at the same time. Nobody knows what’s happened. Added to this event is another frightening occurrence. There has been a killer on the loose assumed to have killed two women whose bodies have been found. If that is not bad enough, this complex plot adds another disappearance: a teenage mother named Sally who went missing the same time. Is there a connection between all these missing women? With all these facts in the mix, a startling concoction of horror begins to unleash. Stay Buried is definitely an unsettling and dark tale of secrets and sorrow that involve a violent killer, a hidden bunker, a View Master, a ghost and some disturbing marks on a wall.
The tension progressively ramps up throughout the two storylines (1974 and thirty years later). The anxious atmosphere continues throughout both as events snowball in this creepy and sinister tale. The characterisation is well delivered as it delves deep into the psyches of those particularly trapped. The descriptions make it easy to imagine the surroundings and what it would be like to be imprisoned in a bunker, struggling for survival and trying to hold on to sanity through horrid conditions. As the girls attempt to cope with the situation, one of them named Miranda reminds the others of an essay they had to write in Social Studies class about what happened to the crew on the Endurance sailing to Antarctica. The men got trapped in ice and the severe isolation and hopelessness took over their minds. They saw things, did things and spoke about things that were odd. Miranda compares their circumstance but says it is worse for them as they have been plunged into darkness in a confined unhospitable space. Danger lurks in every nook and cranny and the potential for agitation, aggression, suspicion, forgetfulness, and seeing strange images becomes very real. We have to wonder how they will each react as they face the unreal trials before them. And when one of the girls swears she sees a ghost and carries on a correspondence with this entity, we cannot help but wonder if this is a coping mechanism. Is she being affected by her closed environment?
There are two narrators of this story. The first thread and point of view is by Von (Evelyn) in 2004. Her mother Sally disappeared around the cyclone time and she has never stopped hoping Sally will return. One day a woman is discovered near the location where two women’s bodies were found and Von cannot help but wonder if she is her mother. Suspicions heighten when they meet and Von discovers this woman is carrying something of her mother’s. Her hopes are lit but others caution her eagerness. We teeter back and forth with Von wondering if she is Sally. I won’t say more and all is revealed eventually but in the meantime lots of emotional upheaval occurs between characters in that timeline.
The second timeline of 1974 is narrated by Lisa-Marie, one of the four missing girls. She provides the eye witness accounts of events in the bunker and takes us through some emotional experiences. A number of unfortunate things happen to these girls and we see what each one endures (from Lisa-Marie’s perspective). We learn of their fears, sympathise with their plight and wonder how they can make such mammoth difficult decisions.
Stay Buried is a roller coaster of emotions. But when the two threads come together, we learn as much as we can about the fate of each. It is an incredibly compelling unsettling story that will keep the keen lover of psychological-thrillers in its clutches. 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks to HQ Insiders for a review copy.
