John is determined to resurrect the ailing company by legitimate means, though he recognizes that this project will take considerable time. A ray of hope arises in John’s mind when he learns that his bid has been accepted to build the new terminal complex at the Port of Miami. Being the cynic that he is, however, John can’t help but think that this is too good to be true. Of course, he is absolutely correct.

Many years ago, his father did what he maintained was legitimate business with a local mobster named Lucky Rhodes. Now his son has appeared demanding that John hand over the money Lucky had given to Barton Deal for safekeeping. Unfortunately for John, Richard Rhodes has the means to force John to help him. He has some taped conversations of John speaking to some less than honest types, which suggest, albeit erroneously, that John is on the take. As John is reluctantly plunged into the search for the missing money, he is learning things about his father’s past that are gradually changing his perception of his enigmatic parent.

As a rule I am not a big fan of books in which there are two simultaneous story lines, especially when one follows a chain of events that took place some time ago. Deal With the Dead is a happy exception to my rule. In the first place, I usually get confused as to which story line we are following as each chapter begins, but author Standiford had neatly solved this problem by dating the chapters. Secondly, it is often difficult to see the relevance of the various stories to each other, but it is blatantly obvious in this book. It is particularly interesting to see the younger Deal’s perception of his father change as he learns more about the man he thought was a coward that committed suicide.

The most outstanding feature of this novel is Standiford’s careful depiction of his characters. All the individuals in this book, both major and minor, are complex people that grow and evolve as the plot progresses. They are presented with difficult choices where it is not obvious which is the right course of action. I’m sure a rereading would present even more clever tidbits that carefully develop characters motivations for their actions.

Deal With the Dead is a literate book. The author expects the reader to have a vocabulary of words of more than three syllables not routinely used on television talk shows or on movie screens. I improved my vocabulary reading this volume, while enjoying myself immensely. Standiford’s descriptive passages of the south Florida landscape add to the reader’s enjoyment. Other scenes involve descriptions of physical confrontations using firearms or other weapons, but it is clear that these scenes are integral to the plot and not inserted merely for their shock value.

Appearances are deceiving aptly describes much of the action of this book. In John Deal’s quest for the missing money, there are numerous instances in which a given individual has one name in part of the book and another later on. In addition, various pieces of written information can be interpreted in several different ways. The reader is thus provided with chances to solve several intriguing puzzles for himself.

Obviously, this book is one of many featuring John Deal. There are references to events that took place in Deal’s life prior to this volume. These references do not detract from the present offering, and are not necessary to understand this particular work. However, the author certainly does tempt the ignorant reader to remedy this deficit in their education.

--Andy Plonka