Grave Undertaking

Rating:
Summary: The series Continues in "Grave Undertaking"
Review: Author Mark de Castrique brings readers back to the small mountain town of Gainesboro, North Carolina in this enjoyable sequel to "Dangerous Undertaking." As his father's Alzheimer's worsens and a buyer is making noises about wanting the family funeral home, Clayton and Clayton, Barry Clayton has another problem.

Finding a loose skeleton on top of a closed casket, which was buried a number of years ago is bad enough. The fact that the skeleton has a small bullet hole above the eyes is indicative of the nature of death. What is unexplainable, as Barry watches at graveside, is why the dead man's wallet contains a picture of the woman he loves, Dr. Susan Miller? Why is a gun registered to her father buried with the skeleton?

As a circumstantial case against Dr. Susan Miller and her father, Walt, begins to build, Barry Clayton begins to investigate with the help of his friend, Sheriff Tommy Lee Wadkins. Faced with a hot shot District Attorney with serious political ambitions using the case for his own purposes instead of justice, the situation is stacked against them. Then there is the fact that Susan isn't telling all she knows, their relationship is in jeopardy on many levels, Barry's father wanders away from home lost in his own mind, and the buyer wants a fast decision. Not to mention that a killer still walks among them and is beginning to clean up the loose ends the only way possible-by killing again. Barry should have stayed on the police force up north where it was safer.

This is another enjoyable read by the author who combines interesting and realistic characters, a good mystery, and elements of real life that touch us all. With so many familiar with Alzheimer's, either directly or indirectly, it is nice to see a storyline concerning the subject handled so well in the first two novels of what promises to be a good series. The author gracefully and with tact, details the hard choices so many families have to deal with today in handling the situation and never raises the subject to preaching nor lowers it to condescension or amusement.

This sequel, which could be read as a stand alone, showcases the same deft touch in regards to the depictions of funerals and the grief of the survivors. These characters though they may only appear for brief snippets, a few pages at most, are just as real as the main characters of Sheriff Wadkins, Barry, Uncle Wayne and others. All are family and the result is a read with characters and scenes that flow at a steady pace towards a satisfying ending that culminates another good read.


Book Facts:

Grave Undertaking
By Mark de Castrique
Poisoned Pen Press
www.poisonedpenpress.com
2004
Hardback
266 Pages
$24.95 US
ISBN # 1-59058-116-4


This review previously appeared online at The Mystery Morgue.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2005


Rating:
Summary: Really nice mystery with great characters
Review: It's just an ordinary day for funeral director Barry Clayton--moving a casket from one location to another to meet the needs of the dead man's family. But when he comes across a skeleton that shouldn't be there--a skeleton with a bullet hole in the middle of its forehead, the ordinary becomes extraordinary. No funeral director put that body in the grave--and no suicide could cover himself so well. When Barry's girlfriend's picture is found in the skeleton's wallet, Susan, and even Barry himself, become suspects.

The sheriff seems willing enough to push forward with the obvious case and Susan's lies and her confrontation with the dead man only days before he vanished, give her motive, opportunity and means. Barry needs to dust off his ex-police skills to get to the bottom of the mystery. It doesn't help, though, that Susan is lying to him as well as to the police. Could it be that she has more to hide than Barry is willing to accept?

When he starts pulling on the case, Barry finds hints that something is rotten in the criminal justice system--that maybe the Sheriff has a good reason to point fingers anywhere but within his own department. Suspecting is one thing, though. Staying alive long enough to find out the truth becomes a major challenge.

Author Mark de Castrique creates an engaging story with enough red herrings to fill the Atlantic and a charming romance betwen Barry and Susan. I especially enjoyed the way de Castrique deepened Barry's character through his evolving relationship with his Alzheimer-suffering father and with the community he somewhat reluctantly serves as funeral director. de Castrique's strong writing kept me glued to the pages. Good stuff.

Rating:
Summary: exciting regional mystery
Review: When his father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, Charlotte police officer Barry Clayton leaves the force and returns to Gainesboro, a North Carolina mountain town. He helps his parents and his uncle run the family business, the Clayton and Clayton Funeral Home. He is there when Pearly Johnson's coffin is exhumed so it could be moved to the family plot. State Senator Richards paid a lot of money to be buried in Pearly's plot, which is next to Caleb Turner, a Union sympathizer.

Before they reach Pearly's coffin, they discover the skeleton of another man on top of the coffin, a bullet in his head. A wallet is found with four hundred dollars and a picture of Barry's girlfriend Susan Miller. They identify the body of Samuel Calhoun, a private detective who was buried with the gun of Susan's father. Both Susan and her father become suspects in the death of this sleazy blackmailer. When Barry makes inquiries, he is shot. Still he thinks the killer is someone in the justice department and Barry and his friends better find out who it is before someone else dies.

Mark de Castrique has written an exciting regional mystery that gives readers feeling of what it is like living in a small southern mountain town. The protagonist is a hero in the truest sense of the word as he gives up his job to take over the family business that means everything to his mother and uncle. He's patient with his father, tries to protect his girlfriend, and find a murderer. GRAVE UNDERTAKING shows the importance of the funeral home in the community as neighbor helps neighbor in time of need.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: exciting regional mystery
Review: When his father was diagnosed with Alzheimer?s disease, Charlotte police officer Barry Clayton leaves the force and returns to Gainesboro, a North Carolina mountain town. He helps his parents and his uncle run the family business, the Clayton and Clayton Funeral Home. He is there when Pearly Johnson?s coffin is exhumed so it could be moved to the family plot. State Senator Richards paid a lot of money to be buried in Pearly?s plot, which is next to Caleb Turner, a Union sympathizer.

Before they reach Pearly?s coffin, they discover the skeleton of another man on top of the coffin, a bullet in his head. A wallet is found with four hundred dollars and a picture of Barry?s girlfriend Susan Miller. They identify the body of Samuel Calhoun, a private detective who was buried with the gun of Susan?s father. Both Susan and her father become suspects in the death of this sleazy blackmailer. When Barry makes inquiries, he is shot. Still he thinks the killer is someone in the justice department and Barry and his friends better find out who it is before someone else dies.

Mark de Castrique has written an exciting regional mystery that gives readers feeling of what it is like living in a small southern mountain town. The protagonist is a hero in the truest sense of the word as he gives up his job to take over the family business that means everything to his mother and uncle. He?s patient with his father, tries to protect his girlfriend, and find a murderer. GRAVE UNDERTAKING shows the importance of the funeral home in the community as neighbor helps neighbor in time of need.

Harriet Klausner