Dead Is Forever: A Novel of Crime [Hardcover]

David Cray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2, 2005

Blame it on the dragonfish. Exquisitely sculpted in yellow jade, it's a piece that collector and sometimes private investigator Philip Beckett simply cannot resist. To purchase it, against all his better filial instincts, he takes the case, for which his formidable sibling rival, aptly named Regina, with no little contempt agrees to meet his handsome fee. The family, which Philip has scrupulously deserted, has a problem, it seems, for cousin Audrey's wayward husband, Count Sergio D'Alesse, has added an embarrassing $40,000 gambling debt to his long list of dubious accomplishments. All Philip has to do is make it go away—which he does. Only before you can say Sergio, the count is dead. And Philip is the prime suspect. In this smart, suspenseful new crime novel, the enthusiastically reviewed David Cray turns aside from police procedurals to follow the fortunes of Philip Beckett, erstwhile scion of his family's industrial empire, in his attempt to solve Sergio's apparently senseless murder. Not that Philip doesn't learn soon enough who the killer is. It's what he can't determine that's more worrisome, to both him and his family, as it becomes increasingly clear that the shadowy figure behind the killer is one of them.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The pseudonymous Cray obviously wants to be better known—and paid. This is his fifth attempt at starting a new series (after 2004's Partners) and it might just be the one that catches on. There are welcome, wry overtones of such classic high society detectives as Philo Vance and Nick and Nora Charles in Cray's leading character, Philip Beckett, scion of a wealthy New York family who went through Harvard and Wharton before deciding not to take over his father's industrial empire. Now he augments his smallish trust fund with sporadic earnings as a private investigator. His real passion—Chinese antiquities carved from jade—occasionally forces Philip to take cases he would otherwise refuse. That's why he reluctantly agrees to help clear a gambling debt run up by his cousin's husband, a fortune-hunting Italian count. When the count turns up dead, Philip and several other members of the Beckett clan become suspects in his murder. Although there's something of a time warp between what we know of life in today's New York and Beckett's modus vivendi, as well as the occasional need to suspend credibility as the PI gets down to the nittier gritties of the case, Cray brings a considerable amount of wit and nostalgia to his tribute to a sophisticated subgenre many of us thought was dead and buried. (Feb. 8)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Philip Corvascio Beckett is one of the lucky ones. Born into money, living off a trust fund, a sharp dresser with a "positive talent for leisure," he perceives only one character flaw--the desire, from time to time, to do a bit of work as an investigator. As the story opens, Beckett, an avid art collector, has his eye on a particularly beautiful jade sculpture; in order to afford it, he agrees to do a favor for his estranged sister. Unfortunately, she hardly has time say "my cousin's husband has a gambling debt" before the husband is dead, and the finger is pointed at Beckett. Tough, inventive, and a tad self-absorbed, Beckett is a guy we would love to hang out with (it doesn't hurt that "Philip Beckett" is one of the greatest private-eye names ever). The wealthy guy who solves crimes as a diversion from a life of idleness isn't a new idea--the list runs at least from Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey to TV's Banacek--but Cray, the pseudonym for a "well-known mystery writer who lives in New York City," takes the premise in various new directions all at once. The book is just a whole lot of fun; let's hope there are plenty more to come. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 281 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf; First Edition edition (January 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786714409
• ISBN-13: 978-0786714407
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,765,711 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Page Turner, January 27, 2005

By 

Larry D. Sweazy (Noblesville, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead Is Forever: A Novel of Crime (Hardcover)

Dead is Forver is a departure for the venerable David Cray. I appreciate it when an author takes chances and presents a work that goes in a different direction than his previous novels. While not hardboiled, this novel shows Cray at his best with a strong narrative voice, sardonic humor, and a nice touch of spicy romance added into the mix. Who would've thought Cray would be the author to revive the style of Rex Stout with a PI named Phillip Beckett?

This novel takes a knowledgeable tour of New York City's upper class, of which Beckett is a former member who dropped out by choice, and is only pulled back in for his love of jade Chinese antiques. The premise is simple enough: A cousin who is count has a bad gambling debt that needs taken care of. Once Beckett takes the case, things fall into place rapidly, the debt easily addressed. At least until the count the turns up dead, and Beckett himself becomes the lead suspect. From there, Cray twists and turns through the streets of NYC, and ends up face to face with all of the members of his family, each of whom has a reason to want the count dead, and Beckett himself put away for the crime.

This is a sophisticated novel, and a successful one at that. I for one look forward to Cray's next novel because you never know where he's going to take you, but you can trust it will be a great ride.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New direction, same ability to grab the reader, February 2, 2005

By 

NYC "Steve" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead Is Forever: A Novel of Crime (Hardcover)

In Dead is Forever, David Cray creates a Nick and Nora Charles for the new millenium. Not as dark as Cray's previous novels, Little Girl Blue and Partners, this story flies from start to finish as Philip Beckett, the black sheep of a wealthy family, and his girlfriend Maggie Santos, an attorney, join forces to protect his family only to find his family may be deeply involved in the crime. You won't be able to put it down.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars So tedious, it's criminal., January 17, 2005

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dead Is Forever: A Novel of Crime (Hardcover)

David Cray's previous novels were somewhat dark and character driven. I liked the intricate plotting and exploration of the human psyche in Cray's compelling "Little Girl Blue" and "What You Wish For." Therefore, I was happily anticipating his latest effort, "Dead is Forever," thinking that it would be another book along these lines. Unfortunately, this time around, Cray branches out in a entirely new and unproductive direction.

The hero of "Dead is Forever" is Philip Beckett, the maverick son of a wealthy but remote titan of industry. In spite of having a Harvard and Wharton Business School education, Philip refuses to work for his father; therefore Regina, his ambitious sister, has taken over the role of heir apparent to the Beckett mantle of power. Against his better judgment, Philip is dragged back into the family's affairs when his cousin's wastrel of a husband, Count Sergio D'Alesse, is found dead of a gunshot wound. Sergio was a compulsive gambler with large debts that he could not repay. Who killed him and why? Philip, who is a licensed private investigator, looks into the case, fearing that a member of his family may be involved. When other people connected with the case also turn up dead, Philip puts himself and his girlfriend in danger by stubbornly continuing to pursue leads.

"Dead is Forever" has many weaknesses, including cutesy dialogue, pedestrian writing, and a tepid plot. I was never interested in the cardboard Philip or in his venal and selfish relatives, and I was not invested in the outcome of the case. The denouement, in which Philip gathers the suspects in a room and explains his thoughts about who committed the crimes, is reminiscent of a half-baked Hercules Poirot novel without Agatha Christie's wit and cleverness. Please, Mr. Cray, go back to your thriller roots. It's what you do best.