Presumed Dead

[Drado_27]

Often the author chooses to revive someone at the end of the book, so don't be suprised if it happens to be so. That is becoming a little bit too mainstream and predictable in general. However, it keeps the story interesting, so I am still fine with it.

[Mstrtim]

Rarely will the person in question be found dead. And in this case, with so many interested parties in the uncle's activities and personal belongings, there is always more than what appears on the surface. For me, this thread is what kept my interest throughout the entirety of the novel.

[Cynthia_Oluchi]

I would have loved to agree that he might still be alive, owing to other stories like this. But the author's writing style should be considered a whiff. He is full of surprises, so, anything can happen!

[Eutoc]

This is exactly what authors do. We readers have to be convinced that the character is dead for long periods in the story. uncle Randall might very well be alive.

Authors need to find other way to walk around such stories. Most of those authors end up being alive, probably someplace hiding. This gives room for more Creativity. It wouldn't be convenient to outrightly give out his state since it could spoil the book.

[1femi1]

The interesting thing is to read through the book keeping this question in mind. It's very possible it will turn out That he is alive after all. The thrill and twists in the plot keeps me reading for now.

[fancyjg]

Presumed dead? It is a interesting thing to use as an author style since we will read the book more to know if Uncle Randall is dead or alive. What will be the end result curiosity will make you read to the end to know.

[Yvonne Monique]

It would be surprising if the uncle is actual dead, because these kind of story lines normally end up with the character still being alive.

[Nqobile771]

All I can say is that dead or alive, Randal was happy with his "dead" status wherever he was. Readers must read the whole book to find out.

[Bigwig1973]

To answer that would spoil the book - Grant is unwilling to accept that his uncle is deceased, even though he is legally deceased according to the government.
Regardless, the author does a really nice job making practically every character in the book look as if they are a suspect to his murder/disappearance. If the average thief didn't want his money, then it was the greedy lawyer or the ungrateful orphan after his research. Or, it could be attributed to other scientists who wanted his research, or because he was involved with the government (and everyone knows how the government is, much less the Russian government! OMG). Stereotypically, everyone and anyone might have wanted him dead, but the main motivator would have likely been greed.

[zainherb]

Dr. Grant Taylor is called from Chicago to go through the effects of his uncle’s apartment in St. Petersburg. His uncle is “presumed dead” having never returned from an expedition in northernmost Russia. Throughout the novel Grant is tailed by various persons wanting to get at his uncle’s work.
Is his Uncle Randall really dead, or could he be alive?

In many books with this kind if situation, the 'dead' person usually ends up alive somewhere. So, it isn't always much of a surprise anymore-to me at least.