There is very little peace for a man with a body buried in his backyard.
But it could always be worse. . . .
More than a year ago, mild-mannered Jason Getty killed a man he wished he’d never met. Then he planted the problem a little too close to home. But just as he’s learning to live with the undeniable reality of what he’s done, police unearth two bodies on his property—neither of which is the one Jason buried.
Jason races to stay ahead of the consequences of his crime, and while chaos reigns on his lawn, his sanity unravels, snagged on the agendas of a colorful cast of strangers. A jilted woman searches for her lost fiancé, a fringe dweller runs from a past that’s quickly gaining on him, and a couple of earnest local detectives piece clues together with the help of a volunteer police dog—all in the shadow of a dead man who had it coming. As the action unfolds, each character discovers that knowing more than one side of the story doesn't necessarily rule out a deadly margin of error.
Jamie Mason’s irrepressible debut is a macabre, darkly humorous tale with the thoughtful beauty of a literary novel, the tense pacing of a thriller, and a clever twist of suspense.
Read an excerpt HERE.
Hank says:
"This debut suspense novel tells the story of one crime scene with two crimes, slightly separated in time. The more recent killing was committed by the property owner, against a sociopathic stalker, and successfully covered up until a year later, when landscapers discover a grave he was unaware of. Both backstories are revealed in turn, and midway through, the circumstances collide amid much confusion, in a funny, macabre manner reminiscent of a Coen brothers imbroglio. The rest of the book is a fast-paced struggle to gain the upper hand among a variety of characters, leading to a satisfying and suitably ironic conclusion.
But it could always be worse. . . .
More than a year ago, mild-mannered Jason Getty killed a man he wished he’d never met. Then he planted the problem a little too close to home. But just as he’s learning to live with the undeniable reality of what he’s done, police unearth two bodies on his property—neither of which is the one Jason buried.
Jason races to stay ahead of the consequences of his crime, and while chaos reigns on his lawn, his sanity unravels, snagged on the agendas of a colorful cast of strangers. A jilted woman searches for her lost fiancé, a fringe dweller runs from a past that’s quickly gaining on him, and a couple of earnest local detectives piece clues together with the help of a volunteer police dog—all in the shadow of a dead man who had it coming. As the action unfolds, each character discovers that knowing more than one side of the story doesn't necessarily rule out a deadly margin of error.
Jamie Mason’s irrepressible debut is a macabre, darkly humorous tale with the thoughtful beauty of a literary novel, the tense pacing of a thriller, and a clever twist of suspense.
Read an excerpt HERE.
"This debut suspense novel tells the story of one crime scene with two crimes, slightly separated in time. The more recent killing was committed by the property owner, against a sociopathic stalker, and successfully covered up until a year later, when landscapers discover a grave he was unaware of. Both backstories are revealed in turn, and midway through, the circumstances collide amid much confusion, in a funny, macabre manner reminiscent of a Coen brothers imbroglio. The rest of the book is a fast-paced struggle to gain the upper hand among a variety of characters, leading to a satisfying and suitably ironic conclusion.
Speaking as a person who, later in life than many, has finally developed
an understanding of why people might like having dogs around (or one
particular dog, at least!), I found myself charmed by the mutt Tessa,
who plays an important role. By necessity, Mason uses human language to
get inside her head, but whether or not dogs' minds articulate their
thoughts to that extent, I think she describes a pretty accurate sense
of their perception and information processing. This touch will, I
expect, make the story stand out vividly in my memory."
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