In Keith Snyder's "Coffin's Got the Dead Guy on the Inside" three latter-day musketeers set out to teach the bad guys a lesson they'll never forget--while occupying a very funny and technologically up-to-the-minute novel. I was surprised to find I even understood a lot of the technological stuff (in a vague sort of way.)

The story begins with musician/composer Jason Keltner being hired by mysterious Norton Platt to spy on Jason's one-time friend, who is hanging out with a seedy group Platt has suspicions about. Jason doesn't want the job, but he is perennially in need of money. Pretty soon, there's a dead body to worry about and Jason, together with his cohorts and house mates, Robert and Martin, are off and running, sometimes away from the bad guys, sometimes in pursuit. There's violence from time to time, but this trio's unique detecting methods provoke laughter as well as suspense. Jason Keltner and his friends are expert at driving potential killers out of their minds.

There's some lovely writing all the way through this novel. Here's a sample, early on: "Two women were walking on the other side of the street with a baby carriage. The front wheel of the carriage had a faint white mark on it, and the mark played a visual rhythm every time the wheel spun. The wheel's movement over the regular intervals of the concrete sidewalk grooves made a second visual rhythm. Jason tried to hold both rhythms in his head."

The author puts words together in unusual patterns quite often, which is a treat for the reader. For example, Jason doesn't avoid running over a rabbit--he avoids co-operating in the suicide of a despondent rabbit.

Keith Snyder is a musician/composer/graphic-artist/computer whiz who is also an excellent writer. All of these skills combine to make the novel a satisfying and entertaining success. All in all, Coffin's Got The Dead Guy On The Inside is a highly original and entertaining novel that treads with insouciance the narrow line between comedy and life-threatening danger. If someone were to ask me what kind of novel this is, I'd have to say it's a Keith Snyder novel. Nothing else quite compares to the rhythm, the beat, the surprises and the originality of this arresting story.