Grave Undertaking

✍ Scribed by Castrique, Mark de

• Book ID: 108270246
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 155 KB
• Series: Buryin' Barry 2
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN-13: 9781615950409

✦ Synopsis

Barry Clayton has left the Charlotte police force to manage his ailing father's funeral home in the peace and quiet of the Appalachian mountains. But Buryin' Barry is an undertaker with a problem--he keeps finding unwanted business.

Moving a grave on a snowy mountainside should be routine. Routine until Barry unearths an unexpected intruder, a skeleton lying atop the original occupant. A bullet hole in the skull piques his ex-cop curiosity; the photograph of his girlfriend Susan Miller in the murdered man's wallet makes the case very personal.

Joining forces with his pal Sheriff Tommy Lee Wadkins, Barry sets out to find the real killer. But a terrible secret had been buried in that mountain grave and one murder is only the down payment someone is willing to pay to keep it hidden. Barry is torn between discovering the solution to the crime and uncovering a part of Susan's past that could destroy their relationship.

"a first-rate installment in an excellent series." --Booklist

From Publishers Weekly

The North Carolina mountain country in winter provides the atmospheric setting for de Castrique's second well-crafted mystery to feature undertaker-sleuth Barry Clayton (after 2003's Dangerous Outing). While moving the old grave of Pearly Johnson, Barry unearths a skeleton lying on top of Johnson's casket with a bullet hole in the skull. In the wallet of the victim, Sammy Calhoun, is a picture of Barry's girlfriend, Dr. Susan Miller. As Barry and his friend, Sheriff Tommy Lee Wadkins, dig for the truth, Susan's status as the prime suspect in Calhoun's murder puts considerable strain on her relationship with Barry. The revelation of past secrets that some highly respected citizens would prefer to remain hidden poses an even greater threat to Barry's well-being. Realistic and sensitively drawn characters, including Barry's Alzheimer's-afflicted father, together with a neat plot that builds to a powerful ending, help lift this poignant novel above the common run of regional cozies.
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From Booklist

It's not every day that the second entry in a series trumps the debut--but de Castrique accomplishes just that with this follow-up to Dangerous Undertaking [BKL My 1 03]. Set in the Appalachian mountain country of North Carolina, the novel again stars undertaker Barry Clayton, who left his police career in Charlotte to help run the family funeral home. With his dad suffering from Alzheimer's, more of the responsibility for the business falls to Barry. Then trouble develops with his girlfriend, Dr. Susan Miller, when the skeleton of one of her ex-boyfriends is discovered with a bullet hole through its head and a photo of Susan in a pants' pocket. The plot is nicely layered with suspense and will certainly hold readers' interest on its own, but what really stands out about this series is de Castrique's rich yet respectful portrait of life in the Appalachians. Add to that his poignant take on how Alzheimer's affects a family, and you have a first-rate installment in an excellent series. Jenny McLarin
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