Three Graves Full by Jamie Mason
Three Graves Full by Jamie Mason is a twisted, inventive, and darkly humorous thriller about normally mild-mannered Jason Getty, who kills a man and buries him in his yard only to have landscapers come and dig up two other bodies — whose deaths Getty had nothing to do with.
The first lines of the book set the tone: “There is very little peace for a man with a body buried in his backyard. But it could always be worse. . . .” Although the main subject is murder, Mason handles it lightly yet darkly while weaving together this carefully plotted, generally fast-moving novel.
I loved the first half of the book as the background story all fell into place, but just as the action was heating up, I lost some interest. The pivotal scenes in the latter half of the book could have been sharper, and although much of the writing is original and delightful, it did get a bit heavy and clunky in parts, also slowing down the action. The changing perspectives on the same scenes didn’t help move things along either. I think all of those aspects could have been trimmed and tightened in favor of further developing the characters of the police officers assigned to the case.
Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this peek into the lives of some seriously messed up people in a seriously messed up situation. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys twisting and turning thrillers laced with dark humor — and I do mean dark. The description says this book would be great for those who enjoy Coen Brothers’ films, and I wholeheartedly agree.
I very much look forward to Mason’s next effort.
** NOTE: I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley; the opinions expressed are my own. The link in the post above is an affiliate link, which means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission.
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