The Undertaker [Kindle Edition]

It isn't often I'll give a four star review to a book with this many copyediting misses. If your internal editor is relentless and unforgiving, you'll spot a problem every few pages. The errors, although covering the full gambit of homonym errors, typos, and misspellings, are mostly not those, but minor issues. Things like missing little words that many people will blow past without noticing (although I did wonder what was going on when I read about "homeless guys laying a bench") or an occasional extra or out of order word ("When they finally put the out flames ...").

If you ignore the frequent little issues, you'll be left with a good book. There are some great characters in the protagonist, Pete, and his eventual love interest, who are likeable, sympathetic, and very funny. I thought I'd figured out the plot early on, but still wanted to see where it went. I discovered that what I thought was obvious, was, but it was only the tip of the iceberg. If you're a fan of thrillers, The Undertaker would be a good choice for your next read.

**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **

The Undertaker introduces us to Peter Emmerson Talbott, a recently widowed, self professed computer geek, who has the misfortune of finding out that he is dead - or at least that someone has pronounced him dead! Peter sees his obituary (and that of his already dead & buried wife) in a Columbus, Ohio newspaper & goes there to investigate. While attending his own memorial service Peter realises that there is more to this than what seems to be on the surface (even more than a man being buried under his borrowed name & identity) & makes the mistake of deciding to investigate further, almost losing his life in the process.

I throughly enjoyed The Undertaker - it kept me glued to the edge of my proverbial seat from the first chapter onward. Brown has a style of writing which makes the book flow, dragging you into the story. His characters were likeable & easy to relate to - even if you personally had nothing in common with them - & you find yourself rooting for them to succeed at all cost. The character of Peter Talbott was very well written & Talbott came across as a funny, sarcastic, pain in the ass kind of guy that we have all had as a friend at one time or another, which is perhaps why you can't wait for him to show up these people & make them pay for what they have done to him & to the memory of his departed wife, Terri.

My only argument with the book (and it is a minor disagreement) is that there are a couple of places where Talbott cracks jokes that I just didn't get & that really bugged me. The first time is when he checks into a Motel 6 & tells the Front Desk agent that "...Dave sent me & asked if they really left the light on..." It's obviously a reference to an advert(?) for Motel 6, but never having seen the ad, I found it annoying & frustrating, instead of funny - because I didn't get the joke & it made me feel thick! The second one was also an American reference, only a lot more obscure. Talbott has just picked up a Cleveland newspaper & inside on page 4 is a story about him, featuring the photo from his California driver's licence next to the story. Talbott "...made a mental note to cross Arnold Schwarzennegger off my Christmas card list." Huh? I don't get it....I suppose it's something to do with Arnie's being the governor of California, but I don't really understand the reference & it bugged me because I was reading it at a time when I didn't have access to the internet to google for an answer. I know that they are small things & probably the average American would get them & would think Brown very witty for including these references, but I don't think non-americans are going to get the jokes. I'm Canadian & I didn't!

Don't misunderstand me, though. These 2 examples were minor distractions & certainly didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of The Undertaker. I think that Brown is a very talented author, I loved The Undertaker & I can't wait to read something else by Mr. William F. Brown!

I was undecided between 4 and 5 stars for this. The story is excellent and fast paced, and the characters well described - I particularly liked Sandy, a pity she does not enter the story until half way through. The debate on star rating is really only on the point of editing - there are quite a number of missing or superfluous words which an eagle eyed proofreading could eliminate - that said it did not seriously reduce my enjoyment and I have bought Mr Brown's next book!