NO BODY

by Nancy Pickard ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1986

Port Frederick's historic Union Hill Cemetery, unused since 1898, resting place of 133 of the town's most revered ancestors, is accidentally discovered to contain not even a single coffin. Chipper, gorgeous Jenny Cain (Generous Death), director of the town's Civic Foundation, is assigned by her board of trustees to Fred out why. A logical starting place for Jenny is the Harbor Lights Funeral Home, whose service to the town goes back generations, but the people managing Harbor Lights are soon embroiled in problems of their own. In the course of burying John Rudolph, one of their directors, it's discovered that his coffin also contains the strangled body of young, promiscuous secretary Sylvia Davis. The next day Rudolph's wife, Miriam, is found dead by the same M.O. Police detective Geof Bushfield, Jenny's long. time lover, is out of town, but she finds an ally in clever, scruffy reporter Lewis Riss. Together they probe Sylvia's tangled relationships with the funeral home's other staffers--blustery headman Spitt Pittman; his son Stall; chic, earthy Beryl Kamiski and constant companion, the impossibly handsome Russell Bissell. Meanwhile, young, punky gravedigger Jack Smith is running some nasty business of his own. Eventually all the puzzles get solved, but one remains to tease the reader--why is Jenny wasting her talents in her present career? Fast, funny, well-constructed, well-written--this is first-class entertainment.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1986

ISBN: 1416583734

Page Count: -

Publisher: Scribners

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1986

Categories: FICTION