The subject matter of Loren Estleman's latest book may diminish the size of his fan club.

The Undertaker's Wife follows the fortunes of undertaker Richard Connable and Lucy, his wife, as Richard pursues his ambitions and restless dreams in a series of western frontier towns. (And let's face it, raw young frontier towns were good for his business.)

Pages of minute details regarding the undertaker's craft, as well as supplies and tools needed to perform his work in each new setting, will deter many readers. Of wider interest is Estleman's unromantic depiction of early San Francisco and Hays, Kan., where lawlessness, graft and corruption ruled. His portrayal of "Wild" Bill Hickok as kind of a gun-toting Oscar Wilde lends an interesting element to the Connables' Kansas story.

Estleman also gives Lucy a story. This pliant wife who remains quietly in the supportive background while her husband follows his dreams has two loves: a gentle Italian coffin maker who briefly worked for her husband and her beloved daughter. When both are lost to her - he leaves out of honor and the child dies in a blizzard - Lucy's life becomes only a pale existence.

While the outline of the story sounds intriguing, the book suffers from its split intentions. Those interested in embalming and doing business on the frontier will have little patience with Lucy's story. While those who warm to the emotional impact of Lucy's story are likely to fidget through the painstaking details of an undertaker's craft.

Another warning: The novel's introduction, which calls Connable to "patch" up a wealthy suicide victim, has little relevance to the bulk of the novel.

Joan Hinkemeyer is a Denver librarian and freelance writer.

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