The first of Deaver's "location scout" novels...Pelham is scouting a new little town and finds bad things. Despite resistance from the local constabulary, he solves the crimes and moves on to book #2. Characters are pretty well developed and easy to follow. A thoroughly easy and enjoyable read/listen. ( )

Shallow Graves by Jeffery Deaver writing as William Jefferies

A Pocket Star Book published by
Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Shuster, Inc.
Copyright 1992 by Jeffery Wilds Deaver

Jeffery Deaver is a new author for me and Shallow Graves did not disappoint. This is a very fast paced story and right from the beginning it had an earie feeling about it (you know those movies you watch that have you feeling like there is something terrifying just around the corner).

There were two main characters in Shallow Graves who are location scouts for a movie studio, John Pellam and his side kick Marty Jacobs. Pellam once made his living by being a stunt man until an accident that left him not able to do stunts any longer now as a location scout he is still able to be around people in the film industry and participate somewhat in a career that he once loved. John and Marty find themselves in Cleary; a small town home to a cemetery that they believe will be perfect for the movie they are scouting locations for. Some of the town’s people are put off by the idea of a film being made in their town, too many strangers and too many chances for secrets to come to light.

When warnings are sent to the pair of newcomers they are quickly ignored which starts off a domino effect of more serious incidents for John and Marty. But just how serious can these incidents become? As Pellam and his faithful sidekick find out, they can become much more serious, possibly even deadly.

As I said at the beginning, Shallow Graves by Jeffery Deaver writing as William Jefferies is a fast paced murder mystery. Enjoyable and hard to put down, from the very start I had a funny earie feeling while reading. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a great mystery and will definitely read more books by this author.
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I love Jeffery Deaver's books and this is the first in a new series for me. Really enjoyable.

Back Cover Blurb:
John Pellam had been in the trenches of filmmaking, with a promising Hollywood career - until tragedy sidetracked him. Now he's a location scout, travelling the country in search of shooting sites for films. When he rides down Main Street, locals usually clamour for their chance at fifteen minutes of fame.
But in a small town in upstate New York, Pellam experiences a very different reception. His illusionary world is shattered by a savage murder, and Pellam is suddenly centre stage in an unfolding drama of violence, lust and conspiracy in this less-than-picture-perfect locale. ( )

kind of slow ( )

Shallow Graves is the first of Jeffrey Deaver’s Location Scout novels. John Pellam is the location scout in question, and his job is to scout for suitable locations at which to shoot movies. He is doing just that in the small upstate New York town of Cleary when he is injured as a pedestrian and his assistant, researching a different location, dies when the gas tank of his hire car explodes. The speed of the “investigation” and the hasty disposal of the burnt car wreck cause Pellam to suspect foul play. The presence of bullet holes in the car body near the gas tank firm these suspicions. In the course of his own investigation, Pellam encounters a hippy, an attractive real estate agent, a pharmaceutical manufacturer, an apple fair, a junkyard, a jealous land developer, guns, drugs and quite a few fists at close range. Plenty of plot twists keep it exciting to the very end. ( )