Thursday, May 30, 2013

WEEKEND REadCAP: The Death of Bees and Three Graves Full

The WEEKEND REadCAP 
is rather late this week on account of jury duty and a cold 
(I did not sneeze in the courtroom, which I consider triple chocolate brownie points).


Three Graves FullThe Death of BeesBoth The Death of Bees and Three Graves Full involve bodies buried in the backyard. In The Death of Bees, Marnie and Nelly bury their parents in the backyard, while in Three Graves Full, Jason buries one body out back, only to discover that two other bodies rest in his flower beds.


The Death of Bees
on  Goodreads            

Three Graves Full





First let me ask, why bury someone in the flower beds? Dogs are likely to dig those limbs right up, which they do in both books. Despite the easy-to-find location, the flower bed seems to be the go-to place for burying bodies in fiction.

Second, let's discuss accomplices. In The Death of Bees, Marnie and Nelly share the secret of their parents' whereabouts. In Three Graves Full, Jason is the only one who knows about his hidden body. Would it be better to live in anguish alone, never having anyone to confide in, or to share the secret with someone, never knowing if they're going to spill the beans?

Lastly, I want to introduce a writing exercise. Imagine you character is caught in the middle of moving a dead body from the backyard, what would he say or do? Would he tell the truth, provide some elaborate excuse, run, cry? Once you've written this out. Try it with another one of your characters. How would this second character's reaction differ?


2 comments:

  1. Hmmm, that's an interesting writing exercise.

    In my genre, spy thrillers, the likelihood would be that they'd leave the dead body in whatever godforsaken dock, warehouse, or moor they shot it in!

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  2. Ha! As would many mobsters, but what if they had to move it? I guess that could be an exercise in itself - to determine why they would have to return to move the body.

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