Gravedigger [Paperback]

Joseph Hansen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1985

A mystery of artistry and chilling drama, Gravedigger is part of the acclaimed Dave Brandstetter mystery series.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 183 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Co (P) (March 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805001964
• ISBN-13: 978-0805001969
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,115,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Gets Better With Every Book, August 23, 2001

By 

Randall Ivey "Randall" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gravedigger (Hardcover)

This is book number six in Hansen's acclaimed series of Dave Brandstetter mysteries. Brandstetter is the tough, no nonsense but highly cosmopolitan insurance claims adjuster in southern California who loves a good martini, listens to string quartets, and solves complicated murders.

In this outing a young woman is missing and believed murdered by the crazed leader of a sex cult. Her father has attempted to cash in on an insurance policy taken out on his daughter, and this leaves Brandstetter in considerable doubt, especially since the father himself is no where to be found. He sets out to put all the pieces of the puzzle in place.

This is my favorite so far of the series. It's an absorbing read from beginning to its (literally) explosive ending and is much more gory and gruesome than previous entries. All the Hansen felicities are here: terrific pace, expert characterization, snappy dialogue, and absolutely flawless depictions of scene and atmosphere. An extra treat is the sidelight on Dave's love life, his growing relationship with TV journalist Cecil Harris, thirty years Dave's junior and with ambitions of his own. Their rocky relationship shows a tender side to Dave glimpsed only fleetingly in earlier books.

Hansen is a rare bird among writers of all stripes: he's a stylist who can also tell a story that grips you. Read him, enjoy him, savor him.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Surprising Dave Brandstetter: A Memorable Work, June 18, 2007

By 

Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gravedigger (A Brandstetter Mystery) (Paperback)

With a gift for lean, driven prose, during his lifetime Joseph Hansen (1923-2004) was regarded as one the finest authors working within the classic California private eye genre. His best-known works are a series of twelve novels written between 1970 and 1992 that feature insurance claims investigator Dave Brandstetter, a tough, no-nonsense detective--who also happens to be homosexual and utterly unconcerned about that fact.

Originally published in 1982, GRAVEDIGGER finds Brandstetter employed to verify a life-insurance claim on Serenity Westover, a young woman who may or may not be dead and who may or may not have been murdered by a vicious cult leader with whom she was known to be involved in the years before her death. The already difficult case is further complicated by the claimant: her father, a disbarred attorney in desperate need of money who has gone mysteriously missing along with his son.

Written with Hansen's remarkably precise style, the plot clips along at a terrific pace and to a memorable conclusion, and along the way also allows us glimpses of Brandstetter's private life as well, as he tries to balance the needs of a lover half his age as well as protect a long-time friend against an unfortunate romantic connection. Frequently stark, on occasional unexpectedly witty, GRAVEDIGGER is a strong-arm page turner indeed. Recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Number Six ~ and One of the best Brandstetter mysteries to date, January 1, 2009

By 

Benjamin (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Gravedigger, the sixth Dave Brandstetter mystery, has our likeable insurance claims investigator looking into the murder of a young girl, believed to be the victim of a serial murderer with a cult following. However the body has not been found, and when Dave starts his investigation neither can the girl's father who lodged the insurance claim. Dave sets out to find the father and along the way unearths a few surprises related to the claimant's family.

This is a particularly appealing episode in the Brandstetter mysteries, and what makes it so are developments in Dave's private life, and in Gravedigger they occupy a larger part of the story than is usually the case. With the unexpected reappearance of a brief lover from the past Dave's life takes a turn for the better. There are developments too in his widowed step-mother's life which also affect Dave in a surprising way. The events in his private life are particularly heart-warming and are heightened with the greater than usual dangers of his professional life.

Gravedigger is certainly one of the best Brandstetter mysteries to date.