Mark Arsenault, Grave Writer

Grave Writer

Mark Arsenault

Dunne, December 2006, $23.95

ISBN: 0312335962

In Providence, Rhode Island, Daily Pen obit writer Billy Povich knows his gambling habit has cost him plenty. His wife Angie left him before she died in a car accident; he feels grief and guilt, as he shares a residence with his father and his son. He owes loan sharks plenty that a busted leg or knee cap will not come close to paying off his gambling debt. Feeling helpless, he plots to kill retired cop Charles Maddox, who he blames for Angie's death, as he drove the police car involved in the deadly accident that claimed her life.

However, Billy is sidetracked from his murderous musings when he is called to serve as a juror on the homicide trial of Peter Shadd, who allegedly killed criminal Garrett Nickel when they escaped prison together. Politically motivated Assistant District Attorney General Ethan Dillingham has a perfect case against Shadd, until defense attorney Martin Smothers begins poking tiny holes in it. Billy starts questioning whether Shadd is being set up, but is stunned when the only other doubting juror falls to his death, and someone stalks him as if he is next.

Combining humor with an urban noir, Mark Arsenault provides readers with a delightful legal thriller mostly from the perspective of a juror whose personal problems seem overwhelming as demons own his mind. The storyline is action-packed once Billy begins to believe Shadd, a punk who he believes deserves the worst, might be innocent of this particular crime, and it never slows down as the hero assumes he is targeted for death by those who want to ensure Shadd is convicted. Readers will enjoy this fine twisting Rhode Island thriller.