Customer Reviews

Dead Is Forever: A Novel of Crime

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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.

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.

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.