Cemetery Plot

by Tom Bender

A reporter, Brian Morrison, covers a grave robbery in 1986 for a newspaper in downstate Illinois. The tombstone says the grave is that of a fifteen-year-old boy buried in 1941. In the cemetery Morrison finds graves of several other teenage boys buried within a couple of years of this interment. Morrison goes to the local funeral home to find out what happened to the boy, but the undertaker says he knows nothing about him. Morrison tells another reporter, Lee Ann Thomas, a newcomer to the paper, what he’s learned—and what he hopes to dig into. She is hooked by the mystery and wants to help cover the story. The two seem ill-suited to work together. He’s a lackadaisical old pro who learns things more by poking around than by orderly research. She’s a young hotshot, orderly of mind, looking for action. The two chase a story that could bring down the British government—and, just maybe, win them a Pulitzer prize. Meanwhile, they fall in love.

356 pages, Paperback

First published July 18, 2014

Reviews

[Robert M. Galbraith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining reading with lots of subplots and an unusual outcome. It could have ended in a variety of ways and I could have made a case for different conclusions. The author really leaves it open as to how several of the subplots could have ended and who did what. Very enjoyable reading, I look forward to reading more by Tom.

[Jane Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written and constructed, Tom Bender creates a realistic page turner mystery that keeps the reader on her toes. The story begins in 1986 in Stanton, Illinois, when reporter Brian Morrison is tapped to investigate a grave robbery in nearby Goddard County. What he and another reporter, bright and sassy Lee Ann Thomas, discover unearths a web of murder and subterfuge spinning back fifty years. As each puzzle piece falls into place, Brian and Lee Ann find themselves stalked by a killer. In a story full of action and intrigue, Bender weaves in humor, history and love.