Rating: 
Summary: A winner
Review: Nearly eighty, retired private detective William Riskin goes to the nearby off track betting parlor to sweep the floor, read a throwaway newspaper, and place a bet or two. As he reads the obituaries, he finds the name of his former partner Jean Golblum. Jean, a war hero and concentration camp survivor, William, and Santini formed the Three Eyes Detective Agency in which they backed each other up and finished all cases. William has never forgotten that Jean assigned him to watch a cheating wife. However, the spouse was William's wife doing it with Santini. Though the agency stayed together, it was never the same.William attends the funeral in which only the deceased's landlord arrives. William receives some junk from the landlord and soon realizes that his former partner was on a final case that he never completed. Honor makes William continue the investigation, but as he follows Jean's list of names with addresses, none match up except an obscure post card. Though seemingly futile, William continues to dig deeper and begins learning things he does not want to know about. EPITAPH is a unique and entertaining investigative story in which the lead character struggles with his mental faculties to concentrate on the case. William makes the story because he is handicapped by his aging body and mind, but he keeps plugging away. Though the use of flashbacks proves bewildering and makes the story line difficult to follow at times, James Siegel has written an intriguing tale that hopefully is the start of more inquiries by William. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Exciting Ending But Took MUCH Too Long To Get There!
Review: The last fifty pages or so of James Siegel's first book were very exciting but I almost gave up on this book several times because it was too slow moving and took Siegel much too long to develop his plot. In addition, his senior citizen characters, while not uninteresting, were a bit too stereotypical. I gave Epitaph a three star rating not because of the quality of the book per se (which only deserves a 2-2 1/2 star rating), but because of the potential Siegel demonstrated as a writer of exciting fiction. This potential has been more than lived up to in Siegel's newest book, called Derailed. Derailed is one of the best thrillers I've read in quite awhile, and is a book I'd highly recommend to you. As for recommending Epitaph, I'd say read Derailed first (like I did) and than decide if you want to read his first book to see how far he's progressed from his first effort. If after reading Derailed, you decide you didn't like it, than my recommendation would be to skip Epitaph. Even if you do decide to read Epitaph, I'd recommend you borrow it from the library.
Rating:
Summary: An Unexpected Surprise
Review: This debut novel is outstanding and on so many levels: as a PI story, as a treatise on aging and for the sheer fun of the author's use of the English language. Skillfully and thoughtfully written with many unexpected twists, my fervent hope is for Epitaph to become the summer sleeper hit. Don't miss this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Infamous Last Case!
Review: William Riskin is an old fogey - full of memories, self-mockery & self-pity until he pays his respects at a funeral home & stumbles upon the deadly case his old-time partner was working on. This partner was from another time of Paris, France in the pre-WWII years. He has a history veiled & dark that only one other person in all of America knows & William is about to meet that person & discover who this partner really was. Epitaph is not just a good thriller - it is a work of fast, funny, furious deception as the hero walks the slower pace of the aged & infirm even as his mind races a mile a minute! With a tantalizing view of life from the rocking chair of retirement, James Siegel weaves a horrid, humorous & taut tale of desperate times feeding desperate hungers. William Riskin is a grandfather with whom I enjoyed keeping company!
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