Customer Reviews

Epitaph

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The last fifty pages or so of James Siegel's first book were very exciting but I almost gave up on this book several times because it was too slow moving and took Siegel much too long to develop his plot. In addition, his senior citizen characters, while not uninteresting, were a bit too stereotypical. I gave Epitaph a three star rating not because of the quality of the book per se (which only deserves a 2-2 1/2 star rating), but because of the potential Siegel demonstrated as a writer of exciting fiction. This potential has been more than lived up to in Siegel's newest book, called Derailed. Derailed is one of the best thrillers I've read in quite awhile, and is a book I'd highly recommend to you. As for recommending Epitaph, I'd say read Derailed first (like I did) and than decide if you want to read his first book to see how far he's progressed from his first effort. If after reading Derailed, you decide you didn't like it, than my recommendation would be to skip Epitaph. Even if you do decide to read Epitaph, I'd recommend you borrow it from the library.

I bought this book based on the reviews I read and boy do I feel let down. That pace was too slow and the plot took forever to develop.If you like your reading to act as a sleeping aid, this might be the book for you.

It's important to point out before reviewing this novel that this is Siegel's first published novel and he has written two masterpieces after this being Derailed and Detour, as well as although not as good as those two, a worthwhile read with his fourth book Deceit. Epitaph is slow paced (it does have a 70 year old main character so obviously scenes involving him won't be as fast paced as action scenes in the other books) but Siegel does take a little bit too long describing scenes and even William, than was needed. If this is your first book of Siegel's don't let it put you off or paint a picture of how this great author can write.

In Epitaph, William Riskin is a lonely old man who has no one to interact with and whose highlight is pretty much doing stuff like reading the obituaries. He has a painful bullet stuck in his shoulder from a night quite some time ago as a security guard where the owner upon walking on the scene screamed at him about the security firm hiring useless old men. One day through the obituaries he finds that his old partner from the Three Eyes Detective Agency has died, so decides to get on public transport and pay his last respects. Along the way humiliated by street punks he realises he is an old defenceless joke so when he is forced to take possession of a box of his old partner's possessions he learns there is a case Jean never finished and to prove he is still worth something decides to pick up where Jean left off, only he doesn't know exactly where that is.

If you like novels with an old aged person as the hero also check out Gerald Hammond's novel On the Warpath.

Having read Derailled and Detour I thought I would try Siegel's earlier book. It is very different and painfully slow paced. A retired detective (William) reads about a former co-worker's death in the newspaper and decides to go to his funeral. When he gets there and looks in the casket, he sees something about his friend (Jean) that makes him want to visit his friend's apartment house.

At the funeral he meets Jean's super who tells him he has a photo he wants William to have. He goes to the super's apartment and something about the photo makes William track down some information that was in a box of Jean's personal effects which later makes William talk to Jean's neighbor (Mr. Weeks) who gives him a file. Jean decides to track down a bunch of names of people listed in the file to addresses in Florida.

As the book progresses William keeps following one lead after another to seemingly dead ends for no apparent reason. Obviously the reader knows there is a reason because that is why there is a book but the reason never manifests itself till about 300 pages into the book.

The book may be slow paced but it interesting just the same. It shows that someone with a detective's sense should trust their instinct to help them discover clues and be relentless in pursuing them. It is only because of the slow pace that I didn't give the book 5 stars.

I read this book even after having read some of the more negative comments here (I tend to let those things influence me!) but thoroughly enjoyed it. While it might have been just a bit slow in the beginning, I think all of it was necessary to set the mood and background of the characters. The ending was unexpected. A really good read. His second book "Derailed" is even better -- another surprise ending! I can't wait for #3.

Nearly eighty, retired private detective William Riskin goes to the nearby off track betting parlor to sweep the floor, read a throwaway newspaper, and place a bet or two. As he reads the obituaries, he finds the name of his former partner Jean Golblum. Jean, a war hero and concentration camp survivor, William, and Santini formed the Three Eyes Detective Agency in which they backed each other up and finished all cases. William has never forgotten that Jean assigned him to watch a cheating wife. However, the spouse was William's wife doing it with Santini. Though the agency stayed together, it was never the same.

William attends the funeral in which only the deceased's landlord arrives. William receives some junk from the landlord and soon realizes that his former partner was on a final case that he never completed. Honor makes William continue the investigation, but as he follows Jean's list of names with addresses, none match up except an obscure post card. Though seemingly futile, William continues to dig deeper and begins learning things he does not want to know about.

EPITAPH is a unique and entertaining investigative story in which the lead character struggles with his mental faculties to concentrate on the case. William makes the story because he is handicapped by his aging body and mind, but he keeps plugging away. Though the use of flashbacks proves bewildering and makes the story line difficult to follow at times, James Siegel has written an intriguing tale that hopefully is the start of more inquiries by William.

Harriet Klausner

James Siegel is a wonderful new talent. His first novel displays great writing and plotting along with a contant sense of threat to William, its septagenarian protagonist, that is at first low-key, but builds to terrifying levels as the story develops. This novel is much, much more than a detective story. It's stunningly compelling first-rate fiction.

EPITAPH by James Siegel is quite simply one of the finest horror novels ever written. Rarely before, except in the occasional Stephen King novel, have I encountered such prose, diction, and sheer POETRY infused into a thriller.

This book is an absolute page-turner. It will grip you, and the realism that comes off of it will make your own life seem false, contrived, in comparison.

Enjoy this great book, and many others by James Siegel. He's easily one of America's finest living authors at present.

James Siegel is a very talented author. I loved his other books starting with Derailed. I was so suprised to see "The Epitaph" available for Kindle. Like his other books this one is well written and once you start you do not want to stop reading. Characters are likeable, plot is unique, and, this book caught me off guard. I was not expecting the story I got. I highly reccommend this and any other James Siegel books.

William Riskin is an old fogey - full of memories, self-mockery & self-pity until he pays his respects at a funeral home & stumbles upon the deadly case his old-time partner was working on.

This partner was from another time of Paris, France in the pre-WWII years. He has a history veiled & dark that only one other person in all of America knows & William is about to meet that person & discover who this partner really was.

Epitaph is not just a good thriller - it is a work of fast, funny, furious deception as the hero walks the slower pace of the aged & infirm even as his mind races a mile a minute!

With a tantalizing view of life from the rocking chair of retirement, James Siegel weaves a horrid, humorous & taut tale of desperate times feeding desperate hungers.

William Riskin is a grandfather with whom I enjoyed keeping company!