They're good people.
They just have a few secrets.
And one of them is hiding a body.
When Lou discovers a long-abandoned mining town for sale deep in the Australian bush, it seems like the perfect escape. Along with her sister and their oldest friends, she dreams of creating a private retreat where their families can reconnect with nature, leave their problems behind, and give their children a life beyond screens.
But trouble starts before they even arrive.
A freak accident on the road. A hostile neighbour. Unwelcome squatters living by the river.
Then someone dies.
What begins as a tragic accident quickly spirals into something far darker. As the group struggles to keep the truth buried, long-hidden secrets begin to surface: lost jobs, illicit schemes, betrayals, affairs, and financial deception.
Because hiding a body is one thing.
Keeping a secret is another.
As suspicion grows and loyalties fracture, the friends discover that the people they trust most may be the ones with the most to lose.
Sharp, addictive, and packed with tension, The Buried Life is a gripping literary thriller about privilege, friendship, greed, and the lies we tell ourselves to justify the things we want.
Perfect for fans of The White Lotus, The Slap, Big Little Lies, and character-driven psychological suspense.
"Absolutely brilliant. I wish I had written this book." - Hayley Scrivenor, author of Dirt Town Kate Mildenhall is an author, writing teacher and podcaster. Her debut novel Skylarking was longlisted for Debut Fiction in the 2017 Indie Book Awards and the 2017 Voss Literary Prize. Her second novel, The Mother Fault, was longlisted for the 2021 ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year and shortlisted for the 2021 Aurealis Science Fiction Novel of the Year. The Hummingbird Effect was shortlisted for the 2024 ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year and longlisted for the 2024 Stella Prize and the 2024 Indie Book Awards for Fiction. In 2024, Kate released her first picture book, To Stir with Love, illustrated by Jess Racklyeft, shortlisted for the 2025 Indie Book Awards and the 2025 ABIA Children's Book of the Year and Notable in the CBCA Book Awards for Early Readers. Kate co-hosted The First Time Podcast where she interviewed over 200 Australian and international writers. 'Grabs you with both fists and doesn't let go. Eerie, tense, fabulous. I could not put it down.' 'Absolutely brilliant ... going to take the world BY STORM. I wish I had written this book!' 'An absolutely scorching book. At once an evisceration of those who hide duplicity under a mask of good intention, and a propulsive nail-biter of a thriller, The Hiding Place had me turning pages at the rate of knots.' 'A glorious clusterf*ck of a book – a modern-day Don's Party. Except with kids. And bodies ... Kate Mildenhall artfully skewers the hypocrisies and self-delusions of middle Australia.' 'Intense. Incredible. What a banger!!' 'An utterly gripping page-turner.' 'Smart, profound and wildly addictive, The Hiding Place is the perfect page-turner for your next weekend away with friends, the literary mirror in which you'll see yourself – and others – all too clearly ... Think The Slap meets Birnham Wood by way of Liane Moriarty.' 'Absolutely brilliant ... going to take the world BY STORM. I wish I had written this book!' 'An absolutely scorching book. At once an evisceration of those who hide duplicity under a mask of good intention, and a propulsive nail-biter of a thriller, The Hiding Place had me turning pages at the rate of knots.' 'A glorious clusterf*ck of a book – a modern-day Don's Party. Except with kids. And bodies ... Kate Mildenhall artfully skewers the hypocrisies and self-delusions of middle Australia.' 'Intense. Incredible. What a banger!!' 'An utterly gripping page-turner.' 'Smart, profound and wildly addictive, The Hiding Place is the perfect page-turner for your next week
