FINAL RESPECTS by F.M. Meredith

FINAL RESPECTS by F.M. Meredith
The Fiction Works - 2001
ISBN: N/A - Ebook
Police / Detective

Reviewed by Elaine Broome, MyShelf.com
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F.M. Meredith's FINAL RESPECTS tells the story of two men, Doug Milligan, a dedicated police officer and Stuart Honich, a secretive man who hates all police officers. As the story opens, neither man has any idea that their lives and fates are set on a collision course. Doug is the kind of officer that every police department would love to have: professional, willing to do whatever it takes, totally committed to his job. His wife, Kerry, is unfortunately not as enthralled and relentlessly worries about him. Stuart, a funeral home embalmer, has spent a lifetime nursing a grudge against the police and is waiting for just the right time to take his revenge. He now spends hours wrapped in hatred of his boss's children and fantasizes about scaring them - to death. It's not long before Stuart steps from fantasy to murder.

FINAL RESPECTS is very effectively told through the eyes of both Doug and
Stuart. We see a murder committed in Doug's house and then watch his shock and horror at the discovery. We watch Stuart glory in his crime, all the while seeing the police frantically search for the murderer. And, we watch Doug's marriage crumble, as his wife is unable to accept his love for his job.

Although there were many positives about FINAL RESPECTS, it was an unevenly written book. I really liked the way F.M. Meredith showed the daily routine of police work; the calls, the paperwork, the traffic accidents, the stress. I did wish that the characters were as strong as the story line. They were more cardboard than flesh and blood which is unusual for this author. Overall, it was an interesting but flawed mystery.