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FOOLISH UNDERTAKING is the third book in the series that features former police officer-turned-undertaker Barry Clayton. The funeral of Y'Grok Eban was bound to be a special event that would have propelled the mountain town of Gainesboro into the national spotlight. However, when Clayton is knocked unconscious and awakens the last thing to occur to him is that somebody would have stolen the corpse. Eban had been a Montagnard hero who had risked his life during the Vietnam War for US servicemen. Once again, Clayton joins forces with his friend and local Sheriff Tommy Lee Wadkins to try to locate the offender and the body as well. They are joined by a Boston detective Kevin Malone who received a deathbed call from Eban with the cryptic message that the "Raven had come home." For both Wadkins and Malone the disappearance of Eban's body becomes a personal matter because Eban had saved both their lives. Soon they find themselves investigating a 40-year-old secret that touches all the veterans and makes them realise that the war not only bound many of them together as comrades but also resulted in some bitter enemies with very long memories. The author has managed to create a stellar cast of characters whose actions complement the storyline. From Clayton's continuing reluctance to become involved in the local law to dealing with his father's Alzheimer's disease, and to the hard-bitten Boston cop and the local sheriff as well as the local news reporter all the characters are unique and unforgettable. FOOLISH UNDERTAKING is an atmospheric tale that is able on the one hand to draw the reader into the graceful surroundings and life of the Appalachians and on the other take a deep long and harsh look at how damaging a 40-year-old secret can be and the lengths one will go to hide it. De Castrique is not a melodramatic writer but he does manage to include subtly an intensity and sadness in this novel that makes it very thought-provoking and appealing. Certainly, this book will no doubt be read and enjoyed by those who prefer their novels to have a sense of place as well as to be a good old-fashioned crime novel.
Reviewed by Ayo Onatade, December 2005
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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