Dead and Buried by Anne Cassidy
The Murder Notebooks Series (Book 4), Bloomsbury, 2014. ISBN:
9781408815533.
Recommended for 14+. Themes: Justice; Murder Mystery; Crime and
punishment. This is the concluding episode in The Murder
Notebooks series and could easily be the source for an English
television drama. In this book, a body of a teenager is discovered
in the garden of the former home of the two young protagonists. The
connections to their missing parents, (who were former police
officers and who are missing - but have been revealed as rogue
undercover agents, meting out their own justice against criminals
who escape the justice system) causes the young people to
investigate in order to clear their parents' name and to prevent
them being unearthed by a contemporary police investigation. As a
consequence, the young couple themselves become embroiled in the
investigation. [Note: although they are not related, they grew up as
if they were brother and sister, but now a blossoming romance is
developing.]
Some suspension of disbelief is necessary at various points in order
to overcome uncertainty about some plot details, however sometimes
fiction does ask us to travel the roller-coaster without asking too
many questions and just enjoy the ride. This will definitely be
enjoyed by readers who enjoy police drama on Television. Solving the
threads of the crime will keep them reading. I have only read the
last two books of this series, but was given enough background
detail to understand what had gone before. But I would encourage
reading all books in the series in order. Anne Cassidy does create
interesting characters, sometimes the descriptions of their small
idiosyncrasies are a quirky feature; and the idea of administering
justice personally does raise interesting moral questions. Would it
ever be right to kill in order to prevent more killing? Would you
reveal the truth if you knew this was happening? Would avenging the
death of a friend feel just?
Note: there is violence - but in a book where you cannot see it, it
does feel less confronting.
Carolyn Hull