Book Review: Dead But Still Ticking by David M. Selcer
Disclaimer: I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it.
Warren Barchrist III may have won a big case in the last volume, but his name is still strongly associated with being sued by the Securities & Exchange Commission. So his law business hasn’t really picked up, and he’s considering closing up. Until, that is, he receives a five million dollar cashier’s check from elegant gay lawyer Robert Steinglass, with a promise to explain later. Before that can happen, Steinglass dies under suspicious circumstances.
In addition to his now deceased client, Warren soon finds himself hired by the dead man’s husband because the law firm he belonged to has un-personed him and is supposedly hiding the will. And a toxic client wants to hire the Buckeye Barrister for involvement in drug smuggling. How do a Ukrainian widow and Somali terrorists fit it? After being poisoned himself, Warren is determined to get to the bottom of this.
Warren proves to be a talkative narrator, full of fun facts he wants to share with the reader. (For example, Columbus, Ohio has the second-largest Somali community in the United States, after Minneapolis.) Since I do the same thing when I talk, I can empathize, but it could weary some readers, especially if they read many of the same facts in the previous books. His gluttony and self-preoccupation are weaknesses that come back to bite him more than once in the story.
If you have not done so already, do not read the back cover or the official Goodreads description, as it gives away a huge plot twist. There is some fat-shaming in the book, aimed at the main character. I noticed several spellchecker typos, the bane of small press and independent publishing.
Overall, it’s a fun read I’d recommend to fans of mysteries with lawyers as the main characters, and Ohio residents.
