by David Prill
Prill paints a world where embalmers and morticians rule the world, well, almost. Andy Archway has always been interested in embalming and has his own setup in the barn, complete with homemade equipment. He embalms friends and neighbors, creating an elaborate diarama around the recently deceased. He is discovered by an embalming school scout, goes off the school, and becomes intangled in a battle between the two mortuary giants of the country. Of course, all ends up well. The characters are somewhat interesting but not really ever developed. The concept is funnier than the actual book. Kinda goofy but not bad for a first novel. Two Gristles!
by David Prill
The second novel by Prill focuses on a small town in Minnesota that seems to be stuck in the fifties. Everything is rosey in this small town except that once a year for the past twenty years, an unknown serial killer kills one of the residents. What do the fine, upstanding townsfolk do about this? Make it the focal point of the annual festival, of course! The characters would be well at home with the Adams Family, looking normal but vying for Scream Queen or searching for the hidden body part to collect the prize. The story centers aroung Debbie Morning, a Polyanna girl who longs to by Scream Queen but just doesn't have "the fear" for the part. She tries everything but is always happy instead of scared. A twisted coming-of-age book with lots of goofy junk that I'm sure made the author chuckle when he wrote it.. A little better than "The Unnatural" with some suspense but the characters are still flat. Almost enough to get 2.5 cubes -o- fat but since I round down, two chunks of fat! Unless I hear great things about his later stuff, I have too much good stuff to read and this will be the last Prill book I read.
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