Dark Undertakings

West Country Murder Mysteries #2

by Rebecca Tope

Fifty-five-year-old Jim Lapsford makes an unusually healthy-looking corpse. A life-long devotee of vitamin pills and herbal remedies, it seems almost ironic that he has succumbed to a heart attack.But his GP is convinced that this is the case. Trainee undertaker Drew Slocombe isn t so sure. As an ex-nurse, Drew is convinced that there is enough conflicting medical evidence to merit a coroner s inquest. And then there s Jim s personal life: in addition to a long suffering wife, two sons and a grieving terrier, Jim appears to have left behind a series of scorned mistresses. Even so, Drew may have plenty of suspects but he has no proof. And Jim s cremation is days away

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Suspense

302 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Rebecca Tope is best known as the author of over twenty crime novels. She has also recently produced the e-book entitled 'The Indifference of Tumbleweed'. She has every intention of continuing with the murder stories, as well as a variety of other kinds of fiction.

She has experienced many different kinds of work in her time - running antenatal classes, counselling troubled couples and being an office girl for an undertaker, for example. There were also several years monitoring the output of dairy cows, as well as every sort of task associated with book publishing. In 1992, she founded Praxis Books, a small British press.

She lives surrounded by trees she has planted herself, tending her own sheep.

Reviews

[Ape · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm glad I picked this book up for free. I keep seeing packs of her books and wondering. At least I can wonder no more. I've now read a Rebecca Tope book, and I wouldn't touch another with a barge pole. This was just dreadful. It drivelled on and felt like it would never end. The style of the book wasn't engaging at all, felt a bit muddled, and as though a few of the characters and conversations had been lumped in as filler. It starts off by throwing stacks of characters at you and continues like that. It means that there isn't a main character or person you are following through this story, neither is the plot itself strong enough to lead you, so it ends up feeling a little muddled. Plus there's no atmosphere or sense of place; and no character depth as such. It was all just a bit dull and lukewarm.

Then there's the plot and the people. Jim Lapsford dies in his sleep in his early fifties. It's a big shock for everyone because he was so fit and well. But the doctor signs it off as a heart attack, saying there's no need for a post mortem. Ok, not brilliant... but here comes the ridiculous bit. Ex nurse Drew, who has started his new job with the undertakers, thinks this is a bit off. Does he alert the authorities? No. Does he go to the police? No. He goes down on his own to the body before embalming and interfers with it, taking stomach contents and sneaks it off to an old chum at the hospital. But he thinks it's blindingly obvious that the man had been poisoned!!!! Yes, it's bad that there wasn't a post mortem, but that was a lazy doctor. Not necessarily a sign of murder. But he dones his little deerstalker and plays at super sleuth - even in this he is lame and unconvincing. He had the personality of an old dried out dishrag. So irritating. The only good thing I can say on this point, is thank god there wasn't a main character we had to follow the whole time through the book, because if there had been, it probably would have been him.

The solution is not impressive either.... I won't write about it here, but for 500 pages of drivel-mystery, it really wasn't worth it.

[Pam Baddeley · Rating 3 out of 5]

First in the Drew Slocombe series - I've only read the later volumes previously, when he encounters Thea Osborne and is gradually subsumed into the Cotswold series. In this opening volume, Drew is at the start of his sleuthing career and has been working for a few weeks at an undertaker's where he is the new boy, so is far off from starting his later struggling natural funeral business. Similarly, he and wife Karen are trying to start a family, whereas I've only seen him with his later family situation (which I won't explain to avoid spoilers for anyone who hasn't read those books).

This book has a different style than the Thea Osborne books because we don't just follow Drew around - there are a lot of scenes from other points of view and so we learn things that he is still in ignorance about. Sometimes this can lead to head hopping in a scene or things being developed perhaps more slowly than otherwise.

Drew is unsatisfied about the cause of death of a man his firm is called in to 'remove' and later to arrange the funeral for - the doctor has made a perfunctory examination and chalked it up to a heart attack, in a previously healthy 55 year old man. As Drew investigates, we gradually learn that the dead man had quite a colourful existence with more than one woman 'on the go' at a time, something his wife deliberately shut her eyes to, especially as she had had an unspecified affair herself at some point. Drew tries to obtain evidence against the deadline of an impending cremation, as he feels his suspicions and various circumstantial evidence and hearsay are not enough to convince the police.

A lot of the story is the quite realistic interactions of a 50 year old widow with her grown up sons, one of whom is 'difficult' and as it transpires is actually her husband's deceased sister's child. The various muddled motives, thoughts, emotions and misunderstandings between people in real life are quite well portrayed though will undoubtedly irritate some readers who just want to get on with the plot and find out 'whodunnit'. But I quite enjoyed the story although it is perhaps a little longer than necessary, and therefore award it a 3 star rating.

[Kirsty Darbyshire]

i've got really behind with updating around these parts. i remember enjoying this book, which is the first in a series featuring drew slocombe, the new boy at a funeral directors. obviously he's going to end up poking into the deaths he comes across in the business. i wasn't really convinced there was a series in this after this book but i did spend half the book saying "no drew, leave it alone, you'll only get yourself sacked, stop sticking your nose into things!" which is probably a sign of good writing really. i'll certainly try another in the series to see how drew gets on.

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was somehow surprised to enjoy this. It felt slow, yet In a very gentle and slow way I became very intrigued by the characters. Unusually I didn't worry about the story not moving on quickly, but felt immersed in the simple way the story developed as if I were there. Pleasantly surprised.

[Vicki Cantwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Day 6 of the 2016 Advent Calendar.

I liked the writing and the development of the characters and the small town/everybody connected theme. I'm interested to try other books by this author.

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not love this. 500 pages of not a lot happening. Characters were nor particularly likeable. Just a dull story.

[Lainy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 510

Publisher - Allison & Busby

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

Fifty-five-year-old Jim Lapsford makes an unusually healthy-looking corpse. A life-long devotee of vitamin pills and herbal remedies, it seems almost ironic that he has succumbed to a heart attack. His GP is convinced that this is the case but trainee undertaker Drew Slocombe isn't so sure and he is convinced that there is enough conflicting medical evidence to merit a coroner's inquest at least. And then there's Jim's personal life: in addition to a long suffering wife, two sons and a grieving terrier, Jim appears to have left behind a series of scorned mistresses. It seems everyone else is happy enough to accept the doctor's verdict and Drew shouldn't really rock the boat, but can he really turn his back on murder? Jim Lapsford may already be dead but surely he deserves to have his killer caught? Even so, Drew may have plenty of suspects but he has no proof. And Jim's cremation is days away...



My Review

Jim Lapsford is the last person you expect to die in his sleep, or die at such a young age. A picture of health it is a shock to the town that he has died. Trainee undertaker and ex nurse Drew Slocombe isn't as convinced and feels something is a miss, no postmortem no one seems concerned by him, Drew starts investigating himself. Could someone have killed Jim? As Drew starts digging it becomes clear there are many with potential motives for taking Jim out but has someone really committed murder or is Drew just hung up on his own past?

I flipped back and forth on 2.5/3 stars for this, the majority of characters I just couldn't get my head around their attitudes. Even with the coroner being told to cut down on post mortems, this is a relatively young gentleman who has died unexpectedly. Then when concerns are raised the families attitude, anyone close to him, no one seems fussed. Some of their reactions are perplexing, irritating or out right annoying.

Drew really goes a bit on the ledge for this one, to the point of obsessive but even some of his actions or reactions you are like, really??? Then things that come to light or happen after Drew shakes it up and people's behaviour is just really bizarre. I did wonder if it was to make you think X person was guilty hence acting like they were. I just found the whole thing, from the living characters, their behaviours, attitudes, actions all a bit hard to swallow.

Other than that I was pretty curious as to what had happened, if it was some kind of skulduggery. I would read this author again but this wasn't one I loved at all, 2.5/5 for me this time. Have you read it? What did you think?

[Janet Sketchley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting mystery, set in England. Great opening line.

Drew, the newest staff member for the local funeral home, believes a supposedly natural death was murder. Part of the tension for readers is watching the new widow finding and disposing of evidence... how will Drew ever prove it was murder? And should he, as he gets to know the potential suspects?

The narrative tone has a kind of distant feel, which I often find in omniscient voice. There's nothing graphic although some occasional spots of bad language. The characters all seemed uncomfortable and on edge (even beyond it being a murder mystery) and I didn't enjoy spending time with them although the story kept my interest. I felt aspects of the ending came together in a rush and I'm not quite sure the way things worked out concerning Drew's workplace made sense.

I'm not in a hurry to read more although I'd like to see how things work out for Drew and his wife.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another intriguing tale from Rebecca Tope. In this book, the reader is introduced to the life and world of undertakers. Drew Slocombe the trainee undertaker is a likeable character and we learn about his personal life, his relationship with his wife and his past sadness, what makes him tick.

I enjoyed reading this, starting off slowly but getting more exciting as the story progresses. The characters involved are flawed, have secrets, but a sympathetic view is given.

A real page turner, recommended.

[mrs madeline p peters · Rating 2 out of 5]

I quite liked the premise of an ex nurse turned detective but I found Drew an annoying character. He seems to not understand the meaning of the word team… which is strange seeing as he’s supposed to be a nurse!

[Hailstones · Rating 2 out of 5]

I began to read Rebecca Tope's books having found one in a charity shop (in the days between various lockdowns!).
I have enjoyed all of them so far in their own ways but this one was quite different. No humour that I can recall but nearly all of it distressingly sad and sinister.
Rebecca may not know it and if not, the state of the public sector funding has made such situations all too real. The cuts to all services including policing, CPS, Coroners etc. have made such errors of judgment a reality all too often. Add to that the undertakers who seem to lack compassion, headed most of all by Drew who really does come across as a meddling but indecisive weakling. 'If you are going to be an amateur detective, do it properly or not at all!', I was saying to him whilst reading.
The death of Jim, a local 50 something lothario is bound to cause things to slip out of the woodwork but in a small town like this, even more so. The women he was canoodling with and the widow are all victims of a charmer. Resentment all round so was he murdered, or did he really die of over exerting himself whilst in action with the assistance of blue pills?
The death of Jim, the suicide of another, the intrigues and back-stabbing were all too realistic to enjoy but to make it all worse, the death of Jim's dog, Cassie shortly after he dies. It's not so much that the poor dog died but the cold, heartless way it was written about in this book. Nobody cared; it was treated badly before it died and then even more so after. I found it all too much, too close to the truth instead of fun and am tended to say that this book was the least enjoyable so far.

[Susie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A man is found dead at home, in bed. The doctor signs the death certificate as it being a heart attack without doing an autopsy. So an undertaker, who is new to the town, decides that it wasn't a heart attack and takes it upon himself to prove that it was murder and to find out who did it.

This book confused me because NO ONE - not the family, his coworkers, the doctor, etc, no one wanted to find out if it was murder, even though they suspected. And the police weren't brought in to the investigation until the very end.

It just baffles me. Perhaps things are done differently in England, but I would hope that if you notice something suspicious about a death, that a) you'd want to know definitely if it is a murder or natural and b) you'd let the police know of your suspicions! I mean, isn't that their job???

I understood how people who thought they'd unintentionally killed him might want to cover it up (although, hello, accidents happen!), but people who had no care one way or the other considered it meddling.

I just didn't understand the motives of the characters. The end wasn't much of a surprise (there were lots of clues) and I didn't appreciate that the author killed off the dog. I mean really, it didn't even advance the plot!

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally picked this up for my mystery club's "Weddings and Funerals" month. Just now getting around to reading it. Only 1 chapter in and I like it.

For the most part I liked this mystery. I liked Drew and the other guys at the funeral home. I especially liked Roxanne and hope she'll be in future books in the series. The mystery was satisfying and I'm sure I'll read more by this author. My only complaint is that the book seemed unnecessarily long - perhaps 20% could've been cut to keep this moving swiftly along.

[Shriti Chatterjee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm kind of berating myself for having picked up this book at all. The enticing cover promised a lot but 500+ pages are proof that it was all for naught.

The book's plot is awful. It is supposed to be a whodunnit but I was so tired of drudging through the chapters that I couldn't care less whether it was accidental death or pre-meditated murder.

Recommended to no one as it was one of my worst reads of this year.

[Angela Perkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read and nice to see a crime novel written from an original viewpoint. Will definitely read some more of Rebecca Tope's books.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Undertaker and amateur sleuth Drew muddled his way through investigating a suspicious death in this cozy mystery.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who’d live in an English country town eh! There are always dirty secrets hidden behind those pristine net curtains.

Seriously though, this book has come in for a lot of criticism because of its meandering plot and cast of many characters. In a way, I agree, but I think the point of this book is much more about how we, as people in communities, function. It’s almost a critique of those quintessential small English towns where everybody knows everybody going back generations, but there’s no real human connection. There’s a sense of loneliness and disconnection about it. This is what really stood out for me and I think Tope did an excellent job of recreating that feeling of isolation and desolation that can come from being surrounded by people you know, but still being alone.
If you’re looking for a thrilling, pacy crime novel, this isn’t for you, but it’s a great ‘people study’ novel.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Interesting Story Line

I enjoyed this book as the plot was very unusual. The characters flawed and the ending unexpected, but made sense. Drew, the protagonist and undertaker was very sympathetic. This was a bit of a departure from the traditional British Crime and cozy mystery I typically read. It held my interest to the very end. I recommend picking it up. The book itself is a quick read and I didn't feel like I had wasted my time by the time I finished. The ending was a well designed wrap up. Not rushed but well though out. This far from a heavy read. Light reading and entertaining. Nice escape reading, if that's what you are looking for.

[Andrew · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that I didn't finish this book, I probably read 2/5ths of it. The premise of the crime was good and most of the background characters were interesting but I hated the main character (Drew) and the things he did just came across as ludicrous. Whenever it switched to his part/ pov I just really wanted to skip through to the next bit, but as he was the main character I felt I would miss things I needed to know so I made the decision to quit. I have previously read all the Lake District series by this author and thoughrily enjoyed them and the first in this series (A Dirty Death) I enjoyed as well, but this book, no.

[June Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is just ridiculous. The characters are unlikely and not well-drawn, and their actions are so unrealistic. A man of only 55 dies suddenly and nobody apart from the undertaker's new assistant thinks there should be a post-mortem! My mother was 102, and they still considered doing one, because her death was sudden! The writing is, at times, quite bad, and the book is way too long. I won't be making the mistake of reading any more Rebecca Topes; there are too many good books out there waiting to be read

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

first pub 1999 Main character is a nurse turned undertaker.
The plot was good, but I felt it was too drawn out with extraneous detailing. The suspense and mystery were there, and much of the need for Slocombe to do his own sleuthing can be laid at all of the budget cuts (on both sides of the Atlantic).
A middle-aged man was dead in bed no medical history and no postmortem but Slocum was the only one to question a seemingly natural death.

[Natalie Gaunt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Life it too short to read books you don't enjoy. This was on my shelf for about 10 years before I took the plunge. I read it out of duty because it was given to me and I thought I should read it.
It was just slow and didn't keep be gripped... I give it 2 stars because I was at least was able to finish it rather than DNF

[Trish Goodgame · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow and drawn out

Very rarely do I give a review so few stars, but I found this book really tedious to get through. The pace was so slow with nothing much happening for chapter after chapter. The story could have been told in half as many pages. I'm surprised I managed to finish it. The ending was also a little anticlimactic. The most exciting part was the name of the novel!

[Lisa Arnold · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read several of the Thea Osbourne series I was very disappointed by this novel, if this was the first of her books that I had read would never have picked up another definitely prefer the cotswold series.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intricate small town mystery investigated by a trainee undertaker. It's very light, nobody swears, and we learn a bit about the undertaker's trade. I quite enjoyed it.

[Ewa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book was OK, characters were OK. However plot was predictable and ending didn't surprise me.

[Michael Lottamoza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had some difficulty reading through this one. It was an okay read. Too many coincidences in the story lines to make it believable.

[Kel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brill

[Carla Senior · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Fiona Booth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really struggled to get into this book. The chapters were too long, one of them was nearly 60 pages.