review: no rest for the dead edited by andrew f. gulli and lamia j. gulli

As No Rest for the Dead begins, Rosemary Thomas is about to be executed for the murder of her husband. For reason not made clear, Rosemary has decided not to fight her wrongful conviction. She does have a dying wish though: she wants a memorial in 10 years. And 10 years later that memorial is about to happen; it also creates the perfect opportunity for the real killer to be discovered.

No Rest for the Dead brings 26 well-known authors together to concoct a murder mystery with almost as many suspects as the book has authors. With so many authors, the plot could have continuity issues, but the editors bring it all together and insert a few transitional paragraphs between chapters when necessary. There are some shifts in perspective (third-person versus first-person) as the authors change, but those weren’t terribly jarring. The biggest drawback is that most of the action of the plot has already taken place. The murder, the investigation, and the trial have already taken place with only the horrific execution taking place on the page. After that it isn’t until the book is almost over before more action happens at the memorial.
4/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Touchstone.