This took me two bites at the cherry to finally get to grips with, I read about 20% of the book initially and just wasn’t getting to grips with it at all, so I laid it down and left it for a few days, giving myself the opportunity to forget the niggling doubts that had been running rampant during my first read through.
So, this is the review of my second attempt and I have to say that I did the right thing putting the book down because when I actually read the whole story it was a great read. While this is not necessarily my cup of tea, I will admit that, that has nothing to do with the quality of the book itself that is just my reading preferences.
From start to finish you need to keep your wits about you, there is so much going on that little snippets could slip past you if you are not alert. The author crams so much in that you need to take your time and give every word the opportunity to sink in. Especially the first few chapters, the detail those contain are crucial.
I liked the fact that this was absolutely unique, it had a scenario that I hadn’t come across before and one that would make a darn good film. Deacon joined the Gravediggers, an illicit group of mercenaries that are recruited to carry out the roles that everybody wants undertaken but nobody wants to be responsible for. The guys that plagued the terrorists that had a strangle hold on the world, but in order to undertake this role he first had to cease to be…he had to fake his death.
Ok, so this had my attention, I mean how “mission impossible” was this going to be?
Well, I don’t think that the job was his only concern because his role also came with stipulations and one of those was the fact that he couldn’t have a relationship for the period of enlistment and for Deacon that was a decade and right up until he met Tess a feisty red-headed mortician that might have been a walk-in park but once he made his mind up that he can’t wait any longer he was more, the consequences of that decision for them both could be catastrophic.
Tess, runs the funeral home that Deacon’s boss owns. And while he and his colleagues both live and work with her she isn’t involved in what they do but that doesn’t mean that she isn’t suspicious.
Life for Tess is complicated enough, an mother who is an out and out gambling addict and a Russian grandma who because of the situation with her mother seems to rely heavily on Tess. But if she thought she had her hands full before, she ain’t seen nothing yet because Deacon isn’t the only one that is struggling with their emotions!
I thought the build-up of emotion and the creative unveiling of the mysterious Gravediggers was great. I liked that the author injected a strong vein of humour into the story and that the banter between them all was superb.
I would have liked a little more time and for the author to apply the brakes every now and then, I got the feeling at times that the story was running away from me but all that being said I will read the next book.