Three Graves Full
3 journalers for this copy...
I got this fair-condition softcover from Better World Books, attracted by the rather twisted-sounding plot, which reminded me of some of Patricia Highsmith's work. It opens with "There is very little peace for a man with a body buried in his back yard," which I imagine is true {wry grin}.
Later: Yep, some definite Highsmith vibes here, though a bit heavier on the grue than she usually gets. The story opens with Jason Getty still fretting about the body he buried - who the person was and the motives for the clandestine burial aren't revealed until well into the story. But when a yard-cleanup crew uncovers a different body in Jason's flowerbed - a body he has no knowledge of at all - things start to get interesting. And then yet another body turns up...
Between his panic at these discoveries and his fear that the investigation will turn up the body he *is* responsible for, he makes some very questionable decisions. And he's not the only one; the girlfriend of one of the more recent victims is stunned to realize that her "missing" boyfriend has been dead all this time, and she feels a need to see the crime scene for herself for some kind of closure. The cops discourage this, but she decides to do it anyway, leading to some darkly hilarious (and often terrifying) scenes of several different people (including a local lawman and the murderer of the surprise victims) sneaking around Jason's property with different motives, expectations, and levels of desperation.
The author provided some amount of sympathetic back-story for each of the characters, such that my sympathies tended to shift around a lot. Add this to the scuffles-in-the-dark, the increasingly-over-the-top tramplings of a very long-dead body, and the near-psychic intervention of a law officer's dog, and you get a tense, dramatic, and darkly funny climax. I enjoyed the book very much indeed, and can't help thinking that it would make a dandy film in the right hands!
Later: Yep, some definite Highsmith vibes here, though a bit heavier on the grue than she usually gets. The story opens with Jason Getty still fretting about the body he buried - who the person was and the motives for the clandestine burial aren't revealed until well into the story. But when a yard-cleanup crew uncovers a different body in Jason's flowerbed - a body he has no knowledge of at all - things start to get interesting. And then yet another body turns up...
Between his panic at these discoveries and his fear that the investigation will turn up the body he *is* responsible for, he makes some very questionable decisions. And he's not the only one; the girlfriend of one of the more recent victims is stunned to realize that her "missing" boyfriend has been dead all this time, and she feels a need to see the crime scene for herself for some kind of closure. The cops discourage this, but she decides to do it anyway, leading to some darkly hilarious (and often terrifying) scenes of several different people (including a local lawman and the murderer of the surprise victims) sneaking around Jason's property with different motives, expectations, and levels of desperation.
The author provided some amount of sympathetic back-story for each of the characters, such that my sympathies tended to shift around a lot. Add this to the scuffles-in-the-dark, the increasingly-over-the-top tramplings of a very long-dead body, and the near-psychic intervention of a law officer's dog, and you get a tense, dramatic, and darkly funny climax. I enjoyed the book very much indeed, and can't help thinking that it would make a dandy film in the right hands!
I'm sending this to BCer spoiledrotten in NJ as part of the US/Canada wishlist tag game. Enjoy!
This has arrived safely in NJ! My son recommended this and I am looking forward to reading it. Thanks so much.
07/04/15 Both my husband & I read this while on vacation. I must agree with everything goreydetails previously said about the book. It was very entertaining and not the type of book I would generally read. It is now available.
07/04/15 Both my husband & I read this while on vacation. I must agree with everything goreydetails previously said about the book. It was very entertaining and not the type of book I would generally read. It is now available.
Journal Entry 4 by spoiledrotten at Somewhere in the USA, -- Wild Released somewhere in USA -- USA on Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Released 8 yrs ago (8/28/2015 UTC) at Somewhere in the USA, -- Wild Released somewhere in USA -- USA
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Adding to the new release bookbox.
This book was one of the titles that arrived in the second round of the New Releases Bookbox!
