Sunday, November 6, 2011

Review: THE UNDERTAKER by William F. Brown

4 of 5 stars

Peter Talbott is a systems engineer living in Boston. He is still grieving over his wife, Terri, who died a year ago of cancer. When a hit man surprises him in his car and shows him an obituary for both he and Terri, his anger spins out of control. How dare anyone disrespect the memory of his wife, never mind the fact, that he isn’t dead. He goes to Columbus, Ohio to attend the bogus funeral and finds himself in the middle of a sinister plot involving an undertaker, the local sheriff and a high-powered lawyer. Instead of walking away and returning to his ho-hum life in Boston, Peter keeps digging around for more information. The more he digs, the more he uncovers and now his life is truly in danger. He races to piece the clues together and uncover the truth. If he doesn’t do it fast, he’ll be the next victim on the embalming table. 

This is a fast-paced, action-packed story that doesn’t let you catch your breath even for a moment. Just when you think the main character is safe, the author throws something else into the mix and the race is on again. The characters are well fleshed out and the descriptions of the cities make you feel like you’re actually there running through the streets with Peter and his romantic interest, Sandy. I especially liked the Boston scenes although there isn’t any elevated freeway anymore near the North End. 

I read this book in 2 sittings. It could be excellent with the eyes of a good editor. I found a fair number of typos and felt like the dialogue could be crisper in some parts, especially the middle of the book. Some of the dialogue bogs down the action too much. I also thought that the petite 5’ tall Sandy was a little unbelievable taking down the bad guys with her karate kicks. All in all though, this was a very good page-turner. If you like a lot of action, you’ll definitely enjoy this book. Recommended.

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