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GRAVEROBBERS WANTED (NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY)
by Jeff Strand
Hard Shell Word Factory, September 2002
175 pages
$10.95
ISBN: 0759927359


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Imagine Dave Barry after a psychotic break. Tim Dorsey on angel dust. Carl Hiassen after a bad night drinking tequila, without the political agenda.

Now you're getting close to the world according to Jeff Strand.

GRAVEROBBERS is the story of a man getting in over his head. Andrew Mayhem has drifted for years, never settling into a single job, never really finding a path. At the moment, he's decided to try private investigating. It doesn't go well.

Sitting in a coffee shop nursing his bruises, Andrew and his best friend Roger are approached by a beautiful blonde offering cash in exchange for performing an odd job. Andrew always needs money, but there's something of a catch: the odd job involves digging up a grave. Tempted by the $20,000 payoff, Andrew recruits Roger and agrees to help.

It really isn't so unpleasant a task. The blonde has provided everything from shovels to liquid refreshments, the grave is far enough off the beaten track to give them some sense of security, and the coffin isn't buried very deeply. As a matter of fact, everything is going swimmingly until the corpse turns out to be both alive and armed.

Thus, like everything Andrew does, it backfires. He ends up caught in a deadly treasure hunt filled with twisted clues and grisly puzzles, playing a game designed by a psychopath with a lust for bloody body parts. And it's so hard to find a babysitter.

GRAVEROBBERS is a quick, easy read, both fast-paced and entertaining. It pokes fun at the horror industry and spoofs some of the most common conceptions of what a mystery thriller should be. Be careful, though. If Jeff Strand's humor doesn't suit you, you won't get past page three.

This book breaks every rule imaginable. It doesn't always play fair, it's totally unbelievable and there are plot holes a mile wide. I'm really looking forward to the next one.

Reviewed by Jenifer Nightingale, April 2003

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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