Double Plot

This is the second of a mystery series with an undertaker as the main character. A client hires him to prove that her husband did not commit suicide. The investigation leads undertaker Bill Hawley into an intricate web of Russian art forgery, illegal immigrants, double-crosses and triple-crosses. The story is faced-paced and well written, but the main character is a little hard to believe as a funeral director - he has a volatile temper, is a former alcoholic, and deals with many personal demons. Not exactly what one would expect, however I suppose funeral directors come in all types. His private eye sidekick Larry Fizner is entertaining as a grizzled old cuss who wears loud plaid and drinks too much but is tough as nails. There's a thread of dark humor that runs through the story also. One learns interesting details about the funeral business and dead bodies - for instance that you can get a voice analysis from a dead person by pumping air into their lungs and then pressing on the chest so that they go "huh..." I do think that the main character tends to jump to intricate conclusions (which turn out to be right) a little too easily (even if he is supposed to be a genius). But otherwise I find this to be an entertaining series.