Andrew,Miles Keaton. Final Arrangements

In a whimsical debut, Deadly Arrangements by Miles Keaton Andrew, apprentice mortician Casey Kight has wanted to be an undertaker ever since his parents’ funeral when he was nine years old. Amazingly, Casey seems to have a gift for embalming and enters the employment of Morton-Albright, a family owned and operated mortuary, in the small Florida town of Angel Shoals. He feels right at home with this wacky family and is attracted to Natalie Albright, the girl of his dreams.

The intrigue begins when a huge corporation intends to swallow the small family business whole. This clever, spirited, darkly humorous first novel is rich with dialogue and full of intriguing characters. The author has worked in the funeral trade for the last ten years and brings his experience to the page with a real flourish.

The mystery in this book also becomes Casey's search for his beginnings as he uncovers his memory of the events surround his parents' tragic airplane accident. The author places the clues in an even-handed manner that makes you curious and sympathetic to Casey's emotional dilemma and never makes the main character self-indulgent at all.

The author does not stint in his description of embalming and the preparation for burial, so this is not for the squeamish or those who would rather that undertaking remain a mystery. That being said, if you enjoy Tim Cockey’s Hitchcock Sewell series (Hearse You Came In On, Hearse of a Different Color, Hearse Case Scenario), the handsome Baltimore undertaker and reluctant sleuth, then this debut may be an adventurous follow-up.

Leane M. Ellis, April 4. 2002.