Undone

Rating:
Summary: A MASTERPIECE OF INFIDELITY, BETRAYAL AND MURDER!
Review: UNDONE, by Michael Kimball, is the story of a not so typical couple (Bobby and Noel Swift) that lives in the small town of Gravity, Maine. Bobby and Noel moved there three years before, bidding their time, making preparations for their "plan" to escape the watchful eye of the IRS and their fellow partner in crime who's due to get out of prison. It was seven years ago that Bobby and his partner were caught in a multi-million-dollar bank loan scam. Bobby received a slap on the wrist and a small fine, while the partner went to jail. Over two million dollars was never accounted for. Now, the time of reckoning is close at hand. To escape free and clear with the money, Bobby has devised a plan in which he will simulate his own death by faking a coronary. Bobby needs the help of his wife, Noel, and Eliot Wicker (the local undertaker) to pull off the scam of the decade. It will be Wicker's job to make sure the local coroner isn't called in to check the body; and, once Bobby is properly buried, with tanks of oxygen hidden in his coffin, it will be Noel's task to dig him up. Sounds perfect in theory. The only problem with the scenario is that Noel has her own plans, which include killing her husband, as well as Eliot Wicker. Filled with sex, deceit, betrayal, and murder, UNDONE is a masterpiece of suspense that will continuously surprise and shock you. I started reading this novel at lunchtime, found myself hooked without even realizing it, and was unable to put the book down until I finished the last page at three in the morning. At no time was I able to guess the ending. The novel had me riveted with its multitude of richly drawn characters, the perfectly captured small-town atmosphere, and the eagerness Noel Swift would display when seducing or killing someone in her way. UNDONE is like a beautiful seductress that slowly lures you in, breath by breath, until you finally have no choice but to succumb to her dangerous advances. This is certainly a book I highly recommend, and Michael Kimball is definitely a novelist to watch out for! He has clearly demonstrated his unique skill as a writer by producing a book of such complexity and darkness that I can't help but wonder how he'll surpass it. I'm now looking forward to reading his newest novel, MOUTH TO MOUTH.

Rating:
Summary: great plot, not so great writing
Review: When reading Undone I couldn't help but think that Michael Kimball was trying to imitate Stephen King. It seemed like he was trying to write in a way he hasn't quite mastered yet. Although it could have been writeen better, the story line was great. I couldn't put it down. I just had to know what was really going on.