On the Shelf: Three Graves Full

THREE GRAVES FULL | JAMIE MASON | SIMON & SCHUSTER | FEBRUARY 2013

More than a year ago, mild-mannered Jason Getty killed a man he wished he’d never met. Then he planted the problem a little too close to home. But just as he’s learning to live with the undeniable reality of what he’s done, police unearth two bodies on his property—neither of which is the one Jason buried.

Jason races to stay ahead of the consequences of his crime and while chaos reigns on his lawn, his sanity unravels, snagged on the agendas of a colorful cast of strangers. A jilted woman searches for her lost fiancé, a fringe-dweller runs from a past that’s quickly gaining on him, and a couple of earnest local detectives piece it together with the help of a volunteer police dog — all of them in the wake and shadow of a dead man who had it coming. As the action unfolds, each discovers that knowing more than one side of the story doesn't necessarily rule out a deadly margin of error.

This book was out of my literary comfort zone as I don't usually read mystery/thriller. However, the premise sounded like some great black comedy (seriously, how much would it suck to have two other dead bodies in your backyard aside from the one that you put there?), so I gave it a try.

It's difficult to comment on the plot - it is a mystery story, after all - but the story did move at a decent pace, presenting twists and red herrings at just the right moments. I loved the emphasis on backstory. I'm a bit of a character fiend in that I love discovering everything there is to know about the people mentioned in a book. Three Graves Full tells the story of everyone, even seemingly supporting characters, to tell a tale that goes far beyond a "who-did-it" murder.

The prose is quite pleasant. Mason definitely has an understanding of her style. I think the writing shifts the book away from a genre piece. The descriptions were vivid (particularly when dealing with the inner thoughts and fears of some of the characters), but the story was easy to follow. A quick, enjoyable story for those who seek a little bit of murder and confusion.

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"There is very little peace for a man with a body buried in his backyard. Jason Getty had grown accustomed to the strangling night terrors, the randomly prickly palms, the bright, aching surges of adrenaline at the sight of Mrs. Truesdell's dog trotting across the lawn with some unidentifiable thing clamped in its jaws. It had been seventeen months since he'd sweated over the narrow trench he'd carved at the back border of his property; since he'd rolled the body out of the real world and into his dreams."