Three Graves Full by Jamie Mason
This novel starts with one of the best opening sentences ever: There is very little peace for a man with a body buried in his backyard. It is a sentence that establishes the tone of the whole story. Dear reader, you will not find peace until the very end.
Jason Getty buried a man at the back edge of his property. He has his reasons. Ever since the day he put that man in the ground he hasn’t been able to face a shovel, his shed or any gardening whatsoever. Concerned that the neighbors may start getting upset over the state of his landscaping he hires a crew to tend the front and side yard. To trim the bushes, mow and plant flowers in the flowerbeds. Imagine his concern when the foreman comes to his front door ashen and shaking. A human skull was unearthed in the flowerbed on the side of his house. Imagine his greater concern when the police come and unearth ANOTHER skeleton in the flowerbed on the other side of his house. And neither one of these corpses is the one he put in the ground. One he doesn’t want anyone to find.
At turns, twisty, scary and just plain gross (trust me, one of the grossest scenes ever is in this book) it’s a thrilling mystery. The author writes from various points of view including a dog. And the dog is a good and believable dog that amazingly adds to the narrative. I’m waiting for the author’s next book.
