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Buryin' Barry Mystery #3
Foolish Undertaking
The night before a funeral that will thrust the mountain town of Gainesboro, North Carolina, into the national spotlight, the body is stolen from the embalming room and funeral director Barry Clayton is knocked unconscious. Ouch. How will Clayton & Clayton deal with the relatives of Y’Grok Eban, the Montagnard hero who aided US troops during the Vietnam War, or the U.S. Senator, three-star general, and famous Hollywood star en route to Y’Grok’s service?
Barry’s friend, Sheriff Tommy Lee Wadkins has a very personal interest in the missing Y’Grok—the Montagnard had saved his life. So does the Boston detective who also owes his life to Y’Grok and received a death-bed summons from the cancer-stricken old man: “Raven has come home.” The three men pledge to crack Y’Grok’s code, recover not just the body but a piece of a long-buried past, and deal with new death and betrayal. Is it a heroic or a foolish undertaking?
Barry’s friend, Sheriff Tommy Lee Wadkins has a very personal interest in the missing Y’Grok—the Montagnard had saved his life. So does the Boston detective who also owes his life to Y’Grok and received a death-bed summons from the cancer-stricken old man: “Raven has come home.” The three men pledge to crack Y’Grok’s code, recover not just the body but a piece of a long-buried past, and deal with new death and betrayal. Is it a heroic or a foolish undertaking?
- GenresMystery
265 pages, Kindle Edition
16 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Mark de Castrique
29 books166 followersMark de Castrique is an author, playwright, public speaker, and television producer living in Charlotte.
Through his company MARK et al., he writes, shoots, and edits projects for a variety of clients.
His work has earned CLIO, TELLY, and EMMY awards.
Mark has scripted stories aired on PBS and commercial network affiliates, as well as created video presentations for major corporations.
Through his company MARK et al., he writes, shoots, and edits projects for a variety of clients.
His work has earned CLIO, TELLY, and EMMY awards.
Mark has scripted stories aired on PBS and commercial network affiliates, as well as created video presentations for major corporations.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 31, 2018
Barry Clayton comes from a line of funeral directors, but he's never heard of a body being stolen from the funeral home. But that's what happens to a heroic Montagnard who has come to North Carolina to die. And he's brought his friends with him, including a three-star general, an action movie star, and a U.S. Senator, all of whom served in Vietnam and who had, they believe, their lives saved by the dead man. As their fellow veteran, local sheriff Tommy Lee, and Barry investigate, they find clues that the dead man left to a secret hidden in his past, a secret that a Boston detective Kevin Malone, a close friend of the dead man, also wants to discover.
October 9, 2025
Truth and Healing......
When a hero is killed, and justice is challenged, the Undertaker takes charge. The thrill ride you are taken on, leads you on a tour of what loyalty stands for.
When a hero is killed, and justice is challenged, the Undertaker takes charge. The thrill ride you are taken on, leads you on a tour of what loyalty stands for.
December 29, 2018
Interest held
Writing was detailed with history and mystery along with little plots. My interest was held. The interest was held the entire time.
Writing was detailed with history and mystery along with little plots. My interest was held. The interest was held the entire time.
February 3, 2015
This would actually have been ★★★ 1\2.
Third in the Burying Barry series. Former cop in Charlotte but came home to Gainesboro, somewhere in the Asheville area, to help in the family undertaking business when his father developed Alzheimer disease. He works with Uncle Willie now that Dad is unable to work.
Here, he is preparing a body, Y'Grok, a Montagnard from Vietnam's Central Highlands. The Montagnards aided the Green Berets and then the GB left. The Montagnards apparently had to be smuggled out of the country and primarily came to North Carolina. However, most of them went to Greensboro, Charlotte and Gainesville. I think they are mostly on the other side of the state. Asheville is in Western NC. I go there several times a year. And de Castrique refers to a picture taken of Barry and Susan at one of my favorite waterfalls, Looking Glass Falls in the Pisgah Forest.
The body is stolen. And there are people coming from all over for the funeral. Oh! What to do?
Barry spends most of this book getting bashed, battered and attempted shooting. Plus a romantic complication. Both Barry and Susan are convinced that the other is involved with another and about to dump him/her. It is an amusing hook.
The basis of this book is a project known as the Raven Project, named for a betrayed soldier. One of the people attending the funeral is the betrayer. Others attending want to find him and hold him to account.
Although this has taken me about a year to read, close to 70% was read in the last two days. So it kind of dragged in the beginning but really picks up once you get into it. Or, it did for me, anyway.
Third in the Burying Barry series. Former cop in Charlotte but came home to Gainesboro, somewhere in the Asheville area, to help in the family undertaking business when his father developed Alzheimer disease. He works with Uncle Willie now that Dad is unable to work.
Here, he is preparing a body, Y'Grok, a Montagnard from Vietnam's Central Highlands. The Montagnards aided the Green Berets and then the GB left. The Montagnards apparently had to be smuggled out of the country and primarily came to North Carolina. However, most of them went to Greensboro, Charlotte and Gainesville. I think they are mostly on the other side of the state. Asheville is in Western NC. I go there several times a year. And de Castrique refers to a picture taken of Barry and Susan at one of my favorite waterfalls, Looking Glass Falls in the Pisgah Forest.
The body is stolen. And there are people coming from all over for the funeral. Oh! What to do?
Barry spends most of this book getting bashed, battered and attempted shooting. Plus a romantic complication. Both Barry and Susan are convinced that the other is involved with another and about to dump him/her. It is an amusing hook.
The basis of this book is a project known as the Raven Project, named for a betrayed soldier. One of the people attending the funeral is the betrayer. Others attending want to find him and hold him to account.
Although this has taken me about a year to read, close to 70% was read in the last two days. So it kind of dragged in the beginning but really picks up once you get into it. Or, it did for me, anyway.
August 19, 2007
FOOLISH UNDERTAKING (Amateur Sleuth/Former Cop-North Carolina-Cont) – VG
de Castrique, Mark – 3rd in series
Poisoned Pen Press, 2006- ARC
Barry Clayton has returned from the police force and returned home to run the family funeral parlor. Y'Grok Eban, is a Montagnard and a hero to the US troops he helped during the Vietnam War. A U.S. Senator, three-star general, and famous Hollywood star are among those en route to the funeral. But the night before the service, Barry is knocked unconscious and Y’Grok’s body is stolen. Will the tattoos Y’Grok recently put on his own body be the clues to finding him and to uncovering a secret from the past?
*** What a good series. Berry is a terrific main character, a former copy—a patrolman, not a detective—with a strong relationship to his family and friends. I enjoyed the secondary characters but a weakness was that his girlfriend Susan seemed unsympathetic in this book, so you didn’t quite understand the ending. The sense of place is well done, there’s good tension and a couple twists along the way. I particularly liked learning about the Montagnards of Viet Nam, about whom I had never heard. This is a very good series, well written series and is perfect for those who like some action but nothing overly dark
de Castrique, Mark – 3rd in series
Poisoned Pen Press, 2006- ARC
Barry Clayton has returned from the police force and returned home to run the family funeral parlor. Y'Grok Eban, is a Montagnard and a hero to the US troops he helped during the Vietnam War. A U.S. Senator, three-star general, and famous Hollywood star are among those en route to the funeral. But the night before the service, Barry is knocked unconscious and Y’Grok’s body is stolen. Will the tattoos Y’Grok recently put on his own body be the clues to finding him and to uncovering a secret from the past?
*** What a good series. Berry is a terrific main character, a former copy—a patrolman, not a detective—with a strong relationship to his family and friends. I enjoyed the secondary characters but a weakness was that his girlfriend Susan seemed unsympathetic in this book, so you didn’t quite understand the ending. The sense of place is well done, there’s good tension and a couple twists along the way. I particularly liked learning about the Montagnards of Viet Nam, about whom I had never heard. This is a very good series, well written series and is perfect for those who like some action but nothing overly dark
July 29, 2011
Berry is a terrific main character, a former copy-a patrolman, not a detective-with a strong relationship to his family and friends. I enjoyed the secondary characters but a weakness was that his girlfriend Susan seemed unsympathetic in this book, so you didn't quite understand the ending. The sense of place is well done, there's good tension and a couple twists along the way. I particularly liked learning about the Montagnards of Viet Nam, about whom I had never heard. This is a very good series, well written series and is perfect for those who like some action but nothing overly dark.
May 12, 2015
#3 in the Buryin' Barry series. Barry Clayton returned to his family funeral home in Gainsville, NC from his Charlotte PD job after his father is stricken with Alzheimer's.
Barry Clayton is preparing for the burial of a Montagnard resistance fighter when the corpse is stolen. Y'Grok Eban had fought with Tommy Lee Wadkins in Viet Nam. His funeral was to be attended by a Senator, a General, an actor, and many members of the Montagnard and Special Forces communities. To complicate things, his son is murdered and his body reappears.
Barry Clayton is preparing for the burial of a Montagnard resistance fighter when the corpse is stolen. Y'Grok Eban had fought with Tommy Lee Wadkins in Viet Nam. His funeral was to be attended by a Senator, a General, an actor, and many members of the Montagnard and Special Forces communities. To complicate things, his son is murdered and his body reappears.
January 31, 2010
This is the 3rd book in the series. I really like the characters so I slogged through this book, not really caring about whodunnit or why. One more book in the series, I have it here from the library, so I am finishing it up, but this was not an enjoyable read. I'm sure the author really needed to get out the story about the Viet Nam resistance fighters, but maybe it should have been a separate book with different characters instead of forcing the two threads to exist together.
July 24, 2009
Barry Clayton #3
October 29, 2009
Library find... not the best in the series. I found the Vietnam aspect to be dry.
March 1, 2013
This is a very well crafted series with solid, fleshed-out characters, good drama, interesting twists and turns in the process of working and solving the mystery. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews