West Palm: The Undertaker's Apprentice by Joss Cordero is the first installment in a 4-part series. We are introduced to Zach, a weird and creepy apprentice to an undertaker. He believes his role in life is to unalive women to free their souls. We are also introduced to Tara, the first mate on the Rat King, a luxury yacht, after leaving the Coast Guard. One night Zach attacks Tara on the yacht, and she survives, and now they are both trying to find each other.

This story is very easy to read and very gripping. It's a fun take on a thriller by seeing Zach's thoughts and feelings on why he is the way he is. Note, if you are planning on reading this novella be prepared to read all four parts.

This is a quick suspense/mystery seen from the eyes of the creepy psychopath.
Zack is a manic, psychotic ‘nerd’ who obsesses over his “angels” - dead women whom he likes to make beautiful. He is currently working as a security guard for a funeral parlor where he thinks he is helping the spirits of the young women to transition as he decorates the corpses for the holidays. When his boss stumbles upon him lighting the corpses Zack knows he will have to move on...again.

While Zack ponders where he will work next he spots a beautiful young woman on a yacht in the marina. He is sure she is to be one of his angels – even if he has to help the process by delivering the woman to the morgue.

This was an interesting albeit creepy beginning to the mystery. I liked the different perspective of knowing from the beginning who the psychopath is and seeing the scenes from his warped mind and eyes. I particularly enjoyed that this was set in familiar grounds for me since I lived in Palm Beach County for many years. The writing is crisp with an underlying feel of suspense. It was an easy, quick read.

I recommend this to mystery buffs who don’t mind seeing the story from the twisted view of the killer. Also I warn you that you will probably need to plan to get the next novella(s) in the group so you don’t get stopped in the midst of pursuit as happens in this novella. The four book set won't be released until December.