Review: The Undertaker by William F. Brown

Description:
Curiosity can kill more than cats, but when Pete Talbott found himself at the wrong end of Gino Parini's .45 reading his own obituary, it was a mystery he couldn't leave alone. From the cornfields of Ohio to the gritty slums of Chicago, a bloody kitchen in a Back Bay townhouse, New York's Washington Square, and the nation's Capitol itself, the hunt is on. Someone with a penchant for sharp scalpels and embalming tables is planting bodies under other people's names, and if Talbott doesn't stop them, he and his quirky new girlfriend Sandy Kasmarek will be next on the Undertaker's list.

Details:
ebook, 322 pages
Published February 1st 2011 by William F. Brown
ISBN: 1617505110 (ISBN13: 9781617505119)
 
Review:
The Undertaker has the humor of a Stephanie Plum novel, with the action, blood, and gore that men appreciate.  So, dudes, take note, this is a book you would like.
 
So, I have to get my biggest complaint out of the way: there are some major rookie editing mistakes.  Brown is a fairly accomplished author and there are some quite inexcusable editing faux pas.  The Undertaker should have been edited again.  And maybe again.
 
We open with a very sinister vibe.  With the feelings of horror and of terror.  As the story progresses what unravels, and I feel that maybe the plot unraveled in a bad way, is a mystery/suspense/government conspiracy type of thing.  Not a bad thing, per se, but maybe a little off kilter from where the book started.  I had expected something more serial-killer than officials on the take.
 
I read this easily, and could have read it in a couple of sitting had life not interrupted so often.  Peter has wit and charm, balanced against Sandy’s cynicism and bravado.  They worked well together and their developing romance (you see this coming from a mile away) provides a nice break from the running, guns, Mob, Tinkerton, whatever was chasing them at the moment.  The story progressed easily from the action, to the non-action, and back again.  I was never bored
 
I was, however, perplexed by a couple thing, things that I don’t feel were discussed or used to their full potential.  1. Peter was in the Army, even if for a short time, and it was mentioned a couple times that his “training” came to his aid, but there were times where his Army background should have made a bigger impact, and it just didn’t. 2. Why did Tinkerton et al. decide to do what they did?  I won’t give anything, but I just don’t think this was fleshed out enough.  There’s enough there to wrap the story up, but just left some unanswered questions.
 
What might have been a 4 Tree book, ended up being 3 Trees.  I was not disappointed in the story or the plot, but surprised by the overall quality of the the finished book.
 

3 Trees: let this one take you under, you will enjoy it!

Get to reading,

*This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review*