The Cool Room

This novel is based on a twenty-year-old criminal case from the author's hometown. South of the New York State Adirondacks lays a small town on the edge of non-existence. Near the center of town is Frank's Funeral Home, and has been in business for as long as the town's people can remember. With the town's growing elderly population, Frank hires Emily, a recent graduate from a large university who is looking to jump-start her career as a mortuary technician.
Becoming part of a staff of two, she begins working with Jonathan, who is considered an artist of mortuary reconstruction. But Frank is harboring a secret. In spite of the town's shrinking population, Frank's income is falling and as a result, has been forced to engage in an ill-fated plan. Under the threatening eye of an unnamed man, his life is turned upside-down and he soon learns that not every plan works as intended.
And with the recent death of his wife, Frank's stress peaks as he tries to keep his business safe from the man who would use it for sinister purposes.