Three Graves Full

This book had one of the best opening lines that I have read in a while, "There is very little peace for a man with a body buried in his backyard". It created such a wonderful image and started off the story with all kinds of questions, which I liked. However, it quickly lost my interest after a few chapters and I had a difficult time finishing it.

I think that Mason had a wonderful idea for a story with her main character killing a man, burying him in his backyard only to have the people planting flowers find two additional bodies that he did not know about. It creates a problem for him since he knows there is a third body out there in his yard that no one knows about except him. That part of the plot was strong and could have went any number of different ways. However, the path that Mason took was not as interesting and I quickly became less invested in it.

My biggest problem was the character development. Jason Getty, the main character, seemed insipid as the story went on and I wished he had a little more spine, so to speak. As Mason brought more information about him to light, I began to view him as a victim and not the ruthless serial killer I was looking for. She also had several storylines going on that did converge, but it seemed a like she may have taken on a little too much and nothing was really developed extensively. The side story of Leah looking for her dead fiancé who also happens to be stepping out on her quite often, wasn't really needed. I think it would be a much better story if Mason would have stuck to Jason, the killer of the two people found in the flower bed, and the detectives on the hunt.

Overall, I thought it was a decent novel, but not one that I will reread over and over like a good Austen novel. If you enjoy a decent caper with a few twists that are not over the top, then you may like this book. If you need something that has more action to keep your attention, then you may want to pass this book up.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

This book was borrowed from my local library; I was not asked to write a review.

Image was taken from Good Reads.