"Dark Undertakings"
This is a mystery by Rebecca Tope. She's a writer from England who has a history of interesting jobs, from marriage counselor to funeral director, and this range of experience pays off in her storytelling. This is her second book, following "A Dirty Death".
The main character is Drew Slocombe, an undertaker trainee who was once nurse. His regret over the loss of a young patient caused him to give up his job and seek employment elsewhere. He and his wife Karen are starting a new life and trying to start a family in the midst of the turmoil that ensues when a local businessman, Jim Lapsford, seemingly blooming with health, dies in his bed of an apparent heart attack.
I enjoyed this story because it was a "one voice against the crowd" type of book. Everyone involved seems content to let Jim's death go uninvestigated. But Drew knows from his previous medical experience that the dead fellow doesn't quite fit the profile for this type of death, and Drew has to carefully snoop around to prove that Jim was murdered. He finds out that Jim was a womanizer, too, which opens up all sorts of motives for revenge, jealousy, and anger. Jim leaves behind a frustrated wife and two sons who react to his death in different ways.
Drew Slocombe is a likable, fallible character whose determination and dogged sleuthing are bound to impress you. The setting , a small English community is just the right size for the story, neat and easy to keep track of. I recommend this story, and look forward to more from this writer.
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