When Joey Crouch's mother is killed in a car crash, Joey is sent to Iowa to live with his father whom he has never met. Joey, who has lived in Chicago his entire life, has a hard time adjusting to small town Iowa, and the kids at his new high school have a hard time accepting him and his father whom the town refers to as the "garbage man". But Joey soon discovers that his father is not really a garbage man. He is, in fact, a grave robber. Joey's father earns his living by digging up the recently buried dead, stealing jewelry and other valuables that they are buried with, then selling the goods to less than scrupulous pawn shops. Joey's struggles with bullying at school and this paired with his father's vocation soon join to create a macabre scene of revenge.
When I first realized what this book was about, I was repulsed and considered not reading it. Then I thought I'd just read part of it. But I found myself drawn to finish the book. The author succeeds in making us care for these good people who do this awful thing.
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