rachel_abby_reads's review
1.0
Getty is a small, quiet, shy, man. You know, the kind that neighbors would say, "He was always so quiet; kept to himself. Never made a scene or a mess. Who knew?" His life is checkered with weakness and disappointments. His one anxiety is the body he's buried in his back yard. His one moment of spine, of passion, and the result is this. . .body. . .lying in the back yard, waiting to be discovered.
Imagine his surprise when a body is discovered in his back yard. Not his body, but a body. And then another. What is a man supposed to do? Cops sniffing around, crime scene investigators, and that body still to be discovered at the back of the garden. It's mad, he knows, but he must make some wild, last ditch effort to move the body before it's found.
(Some mild spoilers ahead)
Mason(the author) did his best to make you empathize with Getty, a passive, weak-feeling man who is so pathetically desperate for approval that he accepts the bullying friendship of a chance acquaintance. He makes the victim as unappealing as he can: he'a foul-mouthed criminal who uses Getty's home as a way station for stolen goods. The victim is so nasty, we are invited to wonder what we would do, were we Getty.
Contrast him to our other killer, a self-righteous redneck who killed his adulterous wife and her lover (more on him in a minute), and then hid in a shack in the woods, blaming them for his actions, justifying himself with some quasi-religious mumblings. Clearly, we are not to empathize with this killer.
Finally, complicating the mix of anti-hero characters, we consider the fiancee of the dead wife's lover. He was never faithful, and truthfully, she wasn't sure she wanted a lifetime of him, but he came with the delightful family circle that she was willing to tolerate a fair amount of philandering to have. Provided she could rub his nose in the mess when he was discovered.
She wants to rub her hands in the dirt at the site where his body was found, a last psychic "ah-HA! Busted!" when she has the misfortune to encounter Getty and the Redneck as they are battling over the remains that Getty is attempting to exhume and relocate.
I had difficulty empathizing with Getty because his choices are so alien to my own. Every time I felt invited to consider "What would I do in his place," the answer was invariably, "Not THAT." The author did a good job maintaining tension in the story, and the crisis definitely felt written for visual story telling (do all authors now write with an eye to potential film rights?). But the anticlimax was weak and flat, for me.
Imagine his surprise when a body is discovered in his back yard. Not his body, but a body. And then another. What is a man supposed to do? Cops sniffing around, crime scene investigators, and that body still to be discovered at the back of the garden. It's mad, he knows, but he must make some wild, last ditch effort to move the body before it's found.
(Some mild spoilers ahead)
Mason(the author) did his best to make you empathize with Getty, a passive, weak-feeling man who is so pathetically desperate for approval that he accepts the bullying friendship of a chance acquaintance. He makes the victim as unappealing as he can: he'a foul-mouthed criminal who uses Getty's home as a way station for stolen goods. The victim is so nasty, we are invited to wonder what we would do, were we Getty.
Contrast him to our other killer, a self-righteous redneck who killed his adulterous wife and her lover (more on him in a minute), and then hid in a shack in the woods, blaming them for his actions, justifying himself with some quasi-religious mumblings. Clearly, we are not to empathize with this killer.
Finally, complicating the mix of anti-hero characters, we consider the fiancee of the dead wife's lover. He was never faithful, and truthfully, she wasn't sure she wanted a lifetime of him, but he came with the delightful family circle that she was willing to tolerate a fair amount of philandering to have. Provided she could rub his nose in the mess when he was discovered.
She wants to rub her hands in the dirt at the site where his body was found, a last psychic "ah-HA! Busted!" when she has the misfortune to encounter Getty and the Redneck as they are battling over the remains that Getty is attempting to exhume and relocate.
I had difficulty empathizing with Getty because his choices are so alien to my own. Every time I felt invited to consider "What would I do in his place," the answer was invariably, "Not THAT." The author did a good job maintaining tension in the story, and the crisis definitely felt written for visual story telling (do all authors now write with an eye to potential film rights?). But the anticlimax was weak and flat, for me.
boleary30's review
1.0
The jacket sounded good, but this book has nothing to offer except the concept you can read in the jacket.
mads0527's review
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
bedknobsandbookmarks's review against another edition
3.0
"There is very little peace for a man with a body buried in his backyard" - the opening sentence of this book was probably the best line in it. The idea of this book was really cool but the writing wasn't all that great. The story was alright. The blurb on the back of the book made it sound way more interesting.
lorenzomagnus's review
5.0
AWESOME! This book has that Hitchcock quirk with a hint of Patricia Highsmith. I absolutely loved it. I look forward to reading more by Mason.
hvmariano's review
3.0
I really enjoyed all of the plot twists and the imagery. I couldn’t put the book down! At first, it was difficult to read because of all the different character perspective changes. But it eventually got easier. Sadly, the ending was a little disappointing and slightly lacking. Other than that, it was overall a good read and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys murder mysteries, crime fiction, and dark novels.
wrkennedy94's review against another edition
2.0
I kept reading because I wanted to get to the end but I don't think it bodes well for a story if my favorite character was the dog... Too many points of view. It was hard to keep up with it all
jeannemurray3gmailcom's review
4.0
This was a very different type book for me to read. I believe I will always remember it because the circumstances were so outrageous. Originally, I thought it might be funnier, but the humor was subdued, but there.
In a nutshell, Jason kills a bully who was abusing him. He buries him in the backyard. He hires landscapers to fix the front yard. They find a body buried underneath the flowers. The police find another body. So...three bodies.
The story revolves around Jason, the police, the killer of the two bodies in the front yard, and the fiancee of one of the victims. Lots of action.
I liked the book.
In a nutshell, Jason kills a bully who was abusing him. He buries him in the backyard. He hires landscapers to fix the front yard. They find a body buried underneath the flowers. The police find another body. So...three bodies.
The story revolves around Jason, the police, the killer of the two bodies in the front yard, and the fiancee of one of the victims. Lots of action.
I liked the book.
junekramin's review
5.0
I read an author interview before I dug into the book. (Sorry, no pun intended.) I love to see where a writer's mind goes from one simple idea, or in this case, a newspaper headline. Every detail that played out had you waiting to see where it would go from there. Each character was so unique - you wanted to know more about them. I love when books aren't written chapter by chapter - in order. You want to know what's next & you have to go back & find out how they got there. Love it. It's not a gory murder mystery - it's truly a unique, fabulous read. I don't share many books with my husband. We both enjoyed this one. I look forward to more from this author for sure!
happy_hiker's review against another edition
2.0
I am torn -torn between the decision of whether to give this book one or two stars. I had a hard time getting into this audiobook - the shifting points of view were sometimes a bit confusing for this format. One of the POV was Tessa; Tessa was a dog. A review I had read called it a mystery, but we were told right away who done what. I guess I don't really mind finding out whodunit early and then having the why and how revealed, but I have to care about the characters for that to work; I didn't really care about the characters. I had also read a review that said this was darkly humorous, I didn't find it to be so, but thought of it more of a somewhat overwrought caper (and since I was not invested in the characters....). I almost always finish books, but I did turn up the speed on this overdrive audiobook (borrowed from the library) to get through the last two sections/disks.
Why not just one star? Well, my last several books have been rated 1-2 stars, so maybe it just my current mood that is making me dislike or not love the books I am reading/listening too right now. Although not likely (and I have revisited the past several reviews and they still stand in my mind) it is possible. Also,there were some interesting turns of phrase in this book, especially in the beginning, so maybe this book would have been better for me in print rather than audio. No way of saying for sure. Finally, if I rank this book against a couple of my overall standards for a one-star, this book probably stands somewhat above. So two stars it is. I may revisit this after I have had more time to contemplate.
Why not just one star? Well, my last several books have been rated 1-2 stars, so maybe it just my current mood that is making me dislike or not love the books I am reading/listening too right now. Although not likely (and I have revisited the past several reviews and they still stand in my mind) it is possible. Also,there were some interesting turns of phrase in this book, especially in the beginning, so maybe this book would have been better for me in print rather than audio. No way of saying for sure. Finally, if I rank this book against a couple of my overall standards for a one-star, this book probably stands somewhat above. So two stars it is. I may revisit this after I have had more time to contemplate.