Review: The Living, the Dying and the Dead

The Living, the Dying and the Dead by George G. Gilman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The 29th entry in the ultra-violent Edge series finds the sullen anti-hero hired to guard the casket of a rich gentleman’s wife, which of course turns out to be far more complicated than it seems. Edge’s psycho-assholery and brutality are on fine display here as he shoots a guy in the back, blows off a woman’s head, then shoots off her husband’s testicles after being insulted. Edge does have some sympathy for the rich guy who hired him since he still pines for his own murdered wife, Beth, giving Edge a small touch of humanity. I’m mostly fond of mindless action and gore as long as the story is compelling, so I liked the book okay in general, although a little more character development across the board would have helped. It’s hard to get invested in a story if the only characters are unsympathetic or caricatures.