Synopses & Reviews
Someone had tried to kill him. He'd gotten too close to something or someone and they'd tried to kill him. That might have made him defiant, or real determined, or plain stubborn, or just pissed off, but what it actually made him was scared to death. The real world had given him back his fear of death. So okay, he'd keep it. Besides, he owed nothing to nobody.
William Riskin is acquainted with the fear of death. Once one-third of the Three Eyes Detective Agency, Riskin is now well past his seventieth birthday and decades removed from the routine divorce cases that were his stock in trade. The most excitement he gets these days is working at the local Off-Track Betting parlor in Queens, New York, and occasionally playing the ponies himself. Until one day he spots the obituary of his onetime partner Jean Goldblum. He goes to pay his respects and ends up paying more than he could ever have expected.
For Riskin discovers that Jean never really retired, and that he had been intently pursuing a final case one that he died trying to solve. The two partners had never been close, but they did have a pact to finish each other's cases should one of them fail. Out of loyalty and in memory of Jean, Riskin resolves to close this last file.
In his partner's old records, Riskin finds the names of numerous people who have mysteriously disappeared. He follows the trail to Miami and unearths a terrible crime from a Europe of half a century before. At its dark heart is a murderous force born out of chaos that has eluded and killed countless pursuers...and is still claiming lives today. But pitted against this cunning evil, the old foot soldier can only summon long-diminished strength and skills. Now fighting for the epitaphs of hundreds of innocent dead, for Jean and ultimately for himself, Riskin knows he must risk everything in a final endgame that will consume all the players in blood.
James Siegel combines spellbinding mystery with a complexly realized and poignant portrait of old age. By turns wry, chilling, and moving, Epitaph heralds the storytelling brilliance of an original, compelling new author.
Review
"Sometimes it's pleasant to read a tale that unfolds slowly and methodically like the layers of an onion. This first novel is such a story....[R]eaders will be satisfied." Publishers Weekly
Review
"[T]he sharp, fluid, often snidely funny writing and the well-paced plot make this first mystery a satisfying debut. One hopes William will hang on long enough to solve a few more cases." Booklist
Review
"Siegel's repetitive prose and flashback-swollen narrative won't win any prizes. Still, he captures very well the indignities of aging, and his plot is sturdy enough to maintain interest." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"This first novel by the creative director of a New York ad agency skillfully combines a compelling crime story with clearly drawn characters (most over the age of 70) and wry, tart insights about the indignities and humiliations of growing old." Library Journal
Review
"By turns compelling, touching, and terrifying, Epitaph is a fine read. James Siegel is a great new talent, a keen student of the human condition as well as one helluva storyteller. I thoroughly enjoyed it." Christopher Reich, author of Numbered Account
Synopsis
Following a dangerous string of clues, Riskin finds himself in hot pursuit of a little-known World War II criminal named Dr. Petoit, who, after promising sanctuary to hundreds of fleeing Jews in occupied France, led them to death in his own home. As Riskin uncovers his friend's own guilty part in these crimes, he himself comes face to face with the ultimate evil.
About the Author
James Siegel is a Senior Creative Director and Vice President at BBDO, an advertising agency in New York. His work has won numerous advertising awards, including a number of Cleos. He lives on Long Island, NY.