"Graveland" by Alan Glynn / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

With his previous works, author Alan Glynn has already proven himself to be a great writer.  With “Graveland,” he seals the headstone.

It’s not safe to be a powerful executive in New York.  In a world of crooked deals and underhanded companies, “Graveland” is a credible, fast-driven, plot-twisting story of multiple characters who eventually come together in one spell-binding plot.  It is a complicated story, which is what I like.

It’s hard to write too much without giving away the plot.  That must have been what the publisher was thinking.  When I read the publisher’s synopsis on the book itself, I can’t say that I was as impressed as I might have been, but going on that knee-jerk reaction would have been a mistake. Now I see why the synopsis was so general because I’m finding myself in the same boat.  You don’t want to give anything away and, yet, having you skip this because of a less-than-informative synopsis would also be a mistake.

Here’s what I can offer:  It is the story of crooked deals, unscrupulous companies, pitiless drive, conspiracy theories, and unrelated murders.  Maybe.  The story is credible in this world of Haves and Have-Nots.  Author Alan Glynn is Irish and I have to wonder at his take on New York and America.  Kind of makes me ponder in the mindset of Robert Burns:  “O wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us.” This book definitely weighs in the balance the conflict between the welfare of many and the greed of a few.  Highly recommended.

Clay Stafford

– Clay Stafford is an author / filmmaker (www.ClayStafford.com) and founder of Killer Nashville (www.killernashville.com). He reviews books daily for Killer Nashville’s Book of the Day. Publishers Weekly has named Stafford and Killer Nashville as one of the top 10 Nashville literary leaders playing “an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers” not only in middle-Tennessee, but also extending “beyond the city limits and into the nation’s book culture.”  (PW 6/10/13)  Having over 1.5 million copies of his own books in print, Stafford’s latest projects are the feature documentary “One of the Miracles” (www.oneofthemiracles.com) and the music CD “XO” (www.jefferdeaverxomusic.com).

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