I read a review wherein the reviewer believed the characters were not well developed. I respectfully disagree. We are viewing the world through a strong first person narrator and so our view of other characters is filtered by the character of our protagonist. I thought it was well done. ( )

mystery, grew up in group home — surfer advisor — dies, asks 6 to be Pallbearers — he saved them — Calif. setting, they find murderer / + save home

Abandoned by his parents as an infant, Scully was reared in an orphanage, Huntington House. The only positive thing in his young life was the attention of the Home’s director, Walter “Pop” Dix. Pop, an avid surfer, would take a small group of kids for early morning surfing. He was the father none of them had ever had.

Ready to head out the door with his wife for a two week vacation in Hawaii, Shane Scully receives word that "Pop" Dix, director of the orphanage where Scully was raised, committed suicide. What's more, Scully has been named in Pop's will as one of his pallbearers. It turns out that the six who have been named as pallbearers all share one trait in common. By nature they are obstinate, rebellious, and constitutionally unable to acquiesce to authority. It figures then that they immediately question the conclusion of the investigating detectives and coroner that death was by suicide.

This book represents somewhat of a comeback, following as it does On The Grind, the Shane Scully novel that preceded this book. Not all the way back though; Three Shirt Deal is a much more interesting read. Cannell develops the plot at a pedestrian pace and many of the developments are completely predictable. For example, it is quite predictable from the very beginning that Scully will find that Pop Dix did not commit suicide and that the Hawaii vacation will never happen. Once the six pallbearers are introduced it is a foregone conclusion that they will form a "dirty dozen" type team to solve the murder. Once introduced, the mastermind behind the murder is also predictable.

Despite this, the book does introduce some unexpected elements and it maintains some suspense. The motive for the murder comes as a surprise and the introduction of the Native American reservation is unexpected. I found the final legal outcome to be cliché; don't all of the bad guys that are not killed by the protagonist eventually hire a superb lawyer evade justice? This is an, "I had no trouble putting it down" book but not one I regret reading through to the end. Too bad Scully didn't just shoot the primary culprits and have done with it. ( )

Shane Scully has found out that the one man who took care of him as a child had killed himself. The man wanted Scully and 5 other people to be his pallbearers. As the six met, they understood that they were hand picked special. As the six of them looked in to "Pop's" death, and couldn't believe that he killed himself. The six of them decided that they'd look more closely into their childhood protectors death. If he was murdered, they would figure out who did it and why, and that person would defidently pay.

Stephen J. Cannell provides his fans with a deep look at the hero's childhood through his adult eyes looking back to the time that shaped the man he is. ( )

great read with a twist and happy ending. ( )