The Undertaker - William F. Brown

Title: The Undertaker
Author: William F. Brown
Genre: Thriller
Published: 2011
Formats: Ebook

Available at:
Amazon
Amazon UK

"The Undertaker" is an exciting, action-packed thriller that had me hooked from the first page. There is romance, mystery, intrigue and superb humour spread throughout the novel which has been written in a fast paced and engagingly witty style.

The story is told form the perspective of Pete Talbott, a programmer who is recovering from the loss of his wife, Terri, to cancer. He is basically just trying to get by, but soon his life is thrown into chaos when a man puts a gun in his face and starts asking questions and Pete realises that somebody has been buried under his name as well as his late wife's. Angered by the use of his wife's name Pete decides to investigate and starts an adventure that uncovers corruption, murder, danger and along the way a little romance.

The plot is actually rather basic which does make the novel into more of a light read when you compare it to some of the more convoluted thrillers that are out there. Brown doesn't distract us with multiple sub-plots or red herrings, instead he concentrates on progressing the overall story in a pacey and enjoyable manner. If you do like the more complicated stories full of twists, sub-plots and characters then you may be disappointed, but I think this book makes a great read for on the beach or whilst travelling as it is fun, light and entertaining.

I found the story enjoyable as the thrills, humour and fast pace kept me coming back for more any time I tried to put the book down. The novel is also packed full of action and violence, however it isn't overly graphic and I don't think anyone will be offended by what they read. In fact, to be honest, considering there is some torture involved in the story, Brown does a great job in portraying the character's fear and actual mechanics in an action scene rather than any gory, sickening details that are just there to shock a reader. In addition to the action though, suspense and intrigue were also present by the bucket load as there were times in the novel the where I had no idea what would happen next and I was constantly trying to work out what was really going on. When the ending was finally revealed I was happy to find that it was both very satisfying and plausible which I think helped to round the novel off nicely.

I really liked the main character Pete who is portrayed as a genuinely nice and ordinary character who pretty much stumbles his way through his investigation. I actually though that this added to some of the realism as he isn't some crack detective or investigator, he just blunders through confusing many of the antagonists who don't believe he could really just be an angry regular guy. In addition, I loved the sarcastic and witty humour that Pete has been imbued with; it made me laugh out loud multiple times throughout the story. Basically, I think that William Brown has captured him really well, and his fear yet determination to investigate is portrayed in a rather engaging manner. I have to admit though that I wanted to tell him many times to walk away as I couldn't believe how he was letting his indignation push him into taking such great risks when it became obvious to me that there was links to organised crime.

The other main character in the story is Sandy who Pete teams up with during his adventures. She has a caustic wit which I loved and it worked incredibly well with Pete's own witty style. I think I could have spent hours reading amusing dialogue between these two if I had the chance. She also added a more youthful and feminine viewpoint to the story which helped introduce an enjoyable little difference to the later half of the novel.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book as it was funny, entertaining and exciting. The one thing I did note is that it was quite a light read so if you looking for a complex book with deep and hidden meanings then you may want to give this book a miss. However, if you do want a fun and light story with likeable characters and packed with thrills and action then I don't think you would regret picking this book up.