Paul’s job is a demanding one, requiring him to spend a great deal of time apart from his family, thus certain family rituals are adhered to without question. Holidays are spent with each other, and Sunday evening dinners are a special occasion for the family to spend time together.

Looking forward to an evening at home, Paul calls Julie to report he will be a bit late. He learns that Kyra, who was due home by 8:30 after a session at the library, has not yet returned. More than a little miffed, Paul prepares to go off shift when an emergency call comes in. The location is an old house that Paul had bought to gradually renovate and give to Kyra when she marries. Distraught, Paul joins the crew answering the call, not knowing what to expect and dreading the worst.

To Bury the Dead is a book about people. The major protagonist, Paul Kelly, has been dealt some pretty rough blows by life. How he confronts the situations he faces produces (excuse the overworked phrase) a page-turning read. Mr. Spector has a knack for character development and puts this talent to good use in presenting the reader with an in-depth look into the mind of Paul Kelly.

As Paul himself remarks, “If a good person does a bad thing for a good reason, does that automatically make them bad?” Watching Paul wrestle with his demons forces one to imagine how he himself would react in a similar situation. The other players in the story, Paul’s wife, Julie, his co-workers, and his friend on the police force are not as well developed, but are given sufficient depth to render them true to life. All the characters are basically good people, some more capable of facing life’s hardships than others, but none of them are perfect. They smoke, drink too much, swear, and have less than pure thoughts about each other, making them believable individuals.

Mr. Spector has also gone into considerable detail about the nature of different kinds of fires, fire fighting techniques, and life saving skills. The attention to factual information not only makes the tale more realistic, but also serves to educate those unfamiliar with the profession. He uses several different methods to communicate this information to the reader. Italicized short quips, presumably Paul or others remembering what they learned during training is one method. Another method is using extracts taken from books or journals Paul has consulted to gain expertise in areas unfamiliar to him. Lastly through dialogue among the firefighters, fire fighting techniques and strategies are presented.

There is no indication whether this novel is the start of a new series. I, personally, hope it is not. The story is complete as it stands and Mr. Spector has ably demonstrated that he is capable of writing a novel that encourages his audience to think. I would look forward to more of Mr. Spector’s books, but with a different cast of characters by whom he would undoubtedly do justice.

--REVIEWER NAME