Official Review: Grave Misdeeds by Raymond P Cowie

[erasmus]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Grave Misdeeds" by Raymond P Cowie.]

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Grave Misdeeds by Raymond P Cowie is a short story, set in the 19th century, (of which the title is a pun) about two thugs who become grave robbers. It begins in The Leper's Arms, a seedy bar full of seedier characters. In it are our main characters, Ebenezer Crockett and Archie Dobbs, both of whom are thugs.

Archie was complaining to Ebenezer about his wife, Nellie, who wanted him to remove himself from his criminal ways and look for a legal job with a steady income, when a gentleman made his way towards them. We are introduced to Doctor Victor Finkelstein, a anatomical pathologist from St. Judas hospital.

Dr. Finkelstein hires Archie and Ebenezer to help him with producing bodies for him by way of grave robbing. With each body, he would pay them handsomely. With no reason to refuse and the tempting offer on the table, both of them accepts the job readily. Of course, grave robbing is not such an easy job that one would walk away without encountering a police constable or two.

I rate Grave Misdeeds 2 out of 4 stars.

In the synopsis, I was given the impression that Grave Misdeeds was a humorous short story, but I hardly find it funny. The premise of this book, though, is fascinating and the plot at the beginning is just that little bit on the side of humorous. However, I find the descriptions at the start tedious. I got it the first time that the setting was dirty, with vile, unknown characters that occupy the alleys. The author had no need to continuously describe the different kind of crooks that never saw a bathroom and the unsanitary places they frequent.

I also dislike that there doesn't seem to be a link between the rising action, and the climax and resolution, other than that their setting is the same (in the graveyard). This gives a sense of disjointedness, and the reader is left wondering how one plot point is related to the other. However, I was surprised at how well the story flowed, and how the characters were just a little deeper at the resolution.

In the end, Grave Misdeeds fell short of my expectations. When I first began to read it, I was looking forward to having a good laugh and perhaps one, or if I’m lucky, two plot twists. Instead, what I got was a not-really-funny, albeit a little intriguing, short story that doesn't seem much in terms of plot especially when the ending was quite disappointing. Disappointing not because of the ending itself, but because I expected more in the first place.

Nonetheless, Grave Misdeeds was pretty interesting for a short story that could fit in murder (at the very end), corpses, and criminals. If you're not looking for anything too serious to read, I would recommend this short story for you to pass the time.

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[Ray Cowie]

I appreciate your constructive criticism, even though I obviously don't agree with most of it.