I got the audiobook version of this, and it was pretty well done. It's a good story for that format, as it's simple, not too many characters, and no problems with the reported bad editing, so I wasn't distracted by that. It took me only a day to read, kind of like a short story. It was an enjoyable, feel-good story, but lacked depth. It sounded good from the description, and I will probably try at least one more in the series (the first two Kindle versions are free).

From the description, it compared the protagonist, Sam Prichard, to Jack Reacher. I could see some similarities in some fairly superficial ways, but Reacher seems edgier to me, and if you've read his books, he's really not that edgy. But I suppose Reacher may be a bit too edgy for some, always seeming to want to get in a fight to prove how tough he is. Sam Prichard is more the opposite, it seems. But they both like to help others, and they do what they believe is right.
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A Decent, Feel-Good Book, But Not My Style

The Grave Man is the first book in the Sam Prichard Thriller series, introducing us to Sam, a private investigator and former police detective, now medically retired due to an injury sustained on the job. We also meet Indiana (Indie) Perkins, a computer hacker of extraordinary skill, who I suspect is a recurring character. Her skills have as much or more to do with Sam’s success as a PI as he does.

I have to admit I’m not a big fan of the down-home, somewhat macho, and trite-heavy tone of the book. For example, early in chapter 1, Sam says, “Excuse me, sir, I ain’t no politician! I prefer to be honest and work for my livin!” The book plays on social stereotypes and urban myths to a significant degree. And what’s with all the exclamation points? It seems like the characters are always shouting. The investigative procedures Sam uses are a bit simplistic as well. If he thinks he has the upper hand, he threatens the witness/suspect, who then gives up everything he knows. If Sam doesn’t have superior abilities, he tells the witness/suspect the gravity of the situation, and he caves anyway. Don’t look to this book for a good police procedural.

As characters, both Indie and Sam strain the limits of believability. Indie, for example, is the beautiful, single mother, educated at MIT but unable to find any job except working the counter at Dairy Queen. Really? She’s also the perfect cook and housekeeper, game for anything even when it involves having a gun put to her head. And it’s truly amazing how in a matter of minutes, hacking primarily Facebook and email accounts, she can discover information on crooks that have eluded law enforcement for years.

While it may sound like I hated the book, I didn’t. As a somewhat simple, feel-good, change of pace, it wasn’t bad. And if the homey, slightly macho, too good to be true tone is what you seek, look no further. You’ll find The Grave Man a worthwhile read. ( )

Sam Prichard starts out the book as a broken man. Due to an injury at work, he's been released from the police force--the only job he wanted to do. Eventually, his neighborhood starts sharing their expertise among each other. Sam is a fair mechanic so he trades those services for things like lawn mowing etc. Eventually, one of his neighbors comes to him with a tale of a missing granddaughter and asks Sam to track her down. Thus is born Sam's PI career.

Sam decides he needs the help of a computer hacker. Indie applies for the job. I admire the author for not having them fall into each other's arms from the get go. At the same time, I hope a relationship develops between the two as the series progresses. I like the two of them together. ( )

This physiological thriller had me flipping the pages trying to find out what was going to happen next!

After Sam got shot on the job in a police shootout, his career was over. He had no idea what he was going to do now. That is until an elderly neighbor asked him to find her missing granddaughter. Her father had taken her for the weekend but didn't bring her back. Sam said he'd try to find the child, but no promises.

Once Sam learned that the child's father, Allen Rice, was trying to move up in the drug dealing world he hired Indie, a computer whiz to help him track Rice. This story gets more thrilling as it moves along. Once Sam finds the girl and returns her, Rice's boss hires him to find Rice. Apparently, Rice has a very valuable product that has to be returned. Sam finds Rice but learns he didn't have the whole story before. Now Rice's boss - who actually is a bad guy - is after both of them.

I really liked this incredible story. It was so well written that even with all the twists and turns in the story I easily followed it. Not only was the story riveting but the characters were good too. Sam was a great PI. Even though it was his first case he had so much experience as a cop that he knew how to find the information he needed. So we've got a tough, seasoned cop/PI who was also very kind and caring when it came to Indie and her 4-year-old daughter, Kenzie. Indie was the absolute best computer hacker I've ever seen. She was a wonderful mother who did just about anything to provide for her daughter.

The only thing I had any kind of a problem with was that I felt there was too big of an age difference between Indie and Sam for them to have a romance. I liked this book so much that I'll definitely be reading more in this series. ( )

Entertaining and fast-paced with just enough twists and turns to keep me off balance and wanting to read more. The characters are slightly simplistic which opens this for the enjoyment by many age groups for reading. ( )