Read this for the May fiction review committee in Peel.
Selwyn Roweson is accused of murdering Faldor by the villagers, and found guilty after three pieces of evidence make him the logical suspect. First of all, Faldor and Selwyn both vied for the attention of Anora, but she chose to marry Faldor, secondly the knife found in Faldor's back happens to belong to Selwyn, and thirdly, when questioned about his whereabouts on the night of the murder, he lies and says he was home in bed, and then someone steps forward and reveals that he was seen close to Faldor's house. After hearing this, Selwyn recants his story, but by then it is too late, and he is sentenced to being sealed inside the burial cave with the dead man, and all the other bodies who have been buried there. How Selwyn survives and then tries to prove his innocence makes up the rest of a very entertaining story. ( )

Never Trust a Dead Man is another slim volume by Vivian Vande Velde. This lovely little book is a mystery. Farold is dead and Selwyn is found guilty of murdering him; no villager actually wants to kill Selwyn so they blockade him in the tomb with Farold so he can die on his own...alone in a cave with lots of dead bodies from fresh to ancient.

A witch brings Selwyn out of the cave and brings Farold back as a bat and the two men set out to solve the mystery of Farold's murder. Selwyn has been very naive and has never applied deep motives to anything the other villagers have done. In disguise he reenters the village and gets an education on how the other villagers are real people with their own petty intigues and problems. Instead of instantly finding the culprit and becoming a hero, Selwyn founders deeper and deeper in possible suspects until the suddenly obvious ending.

Well written and hilarious. Not creepy.