Chop Shop by Andrew Post

Well - this was a stimulating and gory read.

An unusual story, dark and often humorous, about an ex-con former doctor and two young women who run an undertakers - not very well. They are linked together because they are struggling financially and get caught up in a bit of gang warfare. When the ex-doctor unexpectedly finds himself with a dead man in his home, it is suggested that he takes the body to the debt-ridden undertakers as part of an operation selling body parts. Neither the undertakers not the doctor are keen, but they find themselves in particularly sticky situations that force their hand.

For a book with so much blood congealing over carpets and people, the gruesome cutting up of human beings both alive and dead, this story has quite a bit of emotion and I did feel a bit sorry for the doctor's predicament. There are the usual hard-as-nails gun wielding two dimensional characters, but fortunately these are only a few. The story kept me engaged until the very end reminding me of the old horror films of a couple of decades ago. Almost farcical in places but with mystery and tension, this well written novel is a surprisingly great read. 

Published by Flame Tree Press 13 June 2019. Available to buy from Amazon.

Advance review copy supplied by the publisher.