Never Trust a Dead Man

by Vivian Vande Velde

Book Overview

When Selwyn is accused of murdering his rival, Farold, he is sealed in the village burial cave with Farold's moldering corpse to await starvation--or worse. Worse comes along quickly in the form of a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0152018999
• ISBN13: 9780152018993
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Fun read

Young adult book about seventeen year old, Selwyn Roweson. The story begins with Selwyn being accused and convicted as a murderer. It's kind of hard to protest when they've gagged your mouth and you have no say in the matter. Because there is no executoner in the small town and the townspeople don't want to have to wait for the authorities, they decide to bury Selwyn with the dead body in a local burial cave. The dead, Farold, was never a friend of Selwyn. As a matter of fact, the two boys were both vying for the hand of the same pretty girl. (She chose Farold.) But when a strange witch shows up inside the dark cave and shows Selwyn the way out (after agreeing to payment), Selwyn finds himself with a chance to find the real killer (with the help of the witch and the dead Farold). Wittily told. I laughed throughout.

Hilarious and Original!

Never Trust a Dead Man is a highly entertaining, humorous and original. An intriguing mystery. Vivian Vande Velde has written a tight knit mystery, with a host of characters-most of them suspects. With puzzle pieces all over the place, I could not wait to finish the tale to see what the final picture displayed.Selwyn is a young man, working the farmland with his father when a mob from the village shows up. Selwyn has been accused of murdering Farold. The villagers have all the proof they need. Both had been courting beautiful Anora. Recently, Anora chose Farold to marry. Perhaps embarrassed, Selwyn started a fight with Farold, in which Farold won. To make matters worse, it was Selwyn's knife found at the murder scene.Selwyn, in front of a Star Chamber proceeding, is sentenced to be sealed with Farold's corpse in the community burial. Thought to be doomed, Selwyn cannot believe when he encounters a witch. With hasty promises made, the witch agrees to help Selwyn out of the tomb. She also agrees to bring Farold back, so he can tell Selwyn who the true murderer is. The spell goes awry and Farold is returned as a bat. Worse, he does not know who killed him. Promising to serve the witch as a slave for many years, Selwyn and Farold set out to find the killer and to let Selwyn's family know that he is all right. The witch, for a price, provides the two with disguises. Selwyn has only one week to solve the crime before he must return to repay his dent to the witch.Never Trust a Dead Man is just full of laugh-out-loud bantering dialogue, hilarious situations and an insistent sense of urgency to figure out who is responsible for killing Farold. This is a spry and witty, a solid mystery. Vivian Vande Velde is quickly becoming my favorite young adult novelist.--Phillip Tomasso III, author of Third Ring, Tenth House & Mind Play

Now My Favorite Book

I am about 2-3ds into this book. It is now my favorite book no matter what happens at the end. Poor 17-year old Selwyn is accused of murder because he loved a girl Farold loved. After Selwyn found out that the girl had chosen Farold to be her husband Farold was found dead and stabbed in the back;with Selwyn's knife! Some villigers put him to death in a place he would starve. He met a witch there and now they are trying to figure out who the REAL murderer is. GREAT BOOK!

Never Trust a Dead Man

Never Trust a Dead Man is about Selwyn (17 year old) who is convicted of a murder. For punishment he has to sit in the burial cave with Farold (dead man). A witch comes to the rescue and helps Selwyn find the true murderer. The witch brings Farold back from the dead. The true murderer was ... You'll have to find out yourself. I would recommend this book to people who like witchcraft and to anyone because I thought it was a GREAT book!

Her best book yet! A must-buy from a wonderful author!

I've always been a fan of Vivian Vande Velde. For those of you who don't know, she writes YA and J books, most fantasy, one vampire book, and a couple of historical ghost stories. She's very prolific--I think she had three hardbacks(at least three that my library purchased) published last year, and I'm slowly attempting to catch up with them all.Her newest book is called "Never Trust a Dead Man", and I think it is her best one yet. It's billed as a "Mystery-Horror-Comedy about Love and Life After Death. Sort of." It's definitely a mystery, there is some horror and slight fantasy elements, and plenty of comedy. If you don't buy this book, check it out at the library, just to read the end of Chapter 13. Luckily, I was on break when I read that part, or else I would have been laughing in front of the whole library. There's also a very interesting punishment for murder, too.