Risky Undertaking

August 4, 2014
The planned expansion of Heaven’s Gate Gardens, a cemetery outside Gainesboro, N.C., causes conflict in de Castrique’s engaging sixth mystery featuring funeral director and deputy sheriff Barry Clayton (after 2010’s Fatal Undertaking). The discovery of Native American bones and artifacts at the site pits Luther Cransford, one of the project’s major supporters, against Jimmy Panther, a member of the Cherokee tribe. When Luther’s wife, Eurleen, suddenly dies, Panther leads what turns into a violent protest at her burial. Soon after, Panther’s body is found sprawled across Eurleen’s grave, and a potential powder keg is lit. Complications abound when a New Jersey hit man enters the scene, followed by a Boston cop. The kidnapping of a young Cherokee boy ratchets up the tension. The author offers insights into the political, economic, and cultural ramifications of Indian casinos, along with a large cast of believable characters with a wide emotional range. Agent: Linda Allen, Linda Allen Literary Agency.

October 1, 2014

In his sixth outing (after A Fatal Undertaking) ex-cop Barry Clayton, now a part-time deputy and a partner in his family's North Carolina funeral parlor, is up to his neck in trouble. He's investigating a case that pits modern casinos against Native American traditions. Cherokee artifacts are found during the expansion of a local cemetery and Cherokee activist Jimmy Panther leads a protest during the funeral of a prominent local citizen. When Jimmy is murdered, suspicions fall on the deceased's family. Further investigation reveals that Jimmy's activities threatened the development of a casino on tribal lands. VERDICT De Castrique's latest mystery continues the irreverent wit and independent spirit that has marked the series thus far. The focus on the beautiful setting of western North Carolina and its Cherokee traditions is well crafted. While there are a number of other series featuring sleuthing funeral directors, this is a complex and well-executed police procedural as well.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2014
Workers involved in expanding the Gainesboro, North Carolina, cemetery discover Cherokee remains, prompting Cherokee activist Jimmy Panther to lead a protest. When Jimmy's body turns up on a dead woman's grave the next day, Barry Clayton, Gainesboro deputy sheriff and undertaker, has a murder case on his hands. When Boston cop Kevin Malone, a friend of Sheriff Tommy Lee Wadkins, looking for a hit man who recently arrived on the Cherokee reservation, shows up, matters get more interesting, especially after the discovery that the dead man, a believer in preserving tribal traditions, had made enemies with his opposition to building a casino on reservation land. With the help of his elderly uncle, Wayne, and his childhood rival, Archie Donovan, Barry goes undercover to find the killer. An agreeable mix of suspense and social issues.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)