"A witty and urbane mystery"
At Baltimore's Sewell and Sons Family Funeral Home,
mortician and wannabe private detective Hitchcock Sewell
receives the call from nightclub owner Shrimp Martin during
a slow period in which Death takes a vacation. Shrimp,
barely able to speak, mumbles that before Lucy Taylor left
him she shot him. Later Shrimp is found dead. The police have one prime suspect: Lucy. Though he
believes Lucy shot Shrimp, Hitch refuses to accept his
childhood friend as the murderess. He begins an
investigation using his most incognito vehicle, the
hearse. His inquiry leads Hitch to Pete Munger of Munger
and Associates private investigation company who has been
hired to find Shrimp's missing stepbrother. The amateur
and the licensed agree to partner their resources to
uncover the truth about a murder (or two) and a missing
person. The third Hearse amateur sleuth tale is a weird case
that contains Tim Cockey's all over the place sense of
humor as the hero is parts reverent, parts street smart,
and parts corny. The who-done-it entertains the audience
thanks to a strong secondary cast that propels the plot
forward and enables the fans to better understand Hitch.
Fans of amusing amateur sleuth stores will want to read THE
HEARSE CASE SCENARIO and the previous two novels due to
Hitch, who knows that sooner or later he will get his man
or woman. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted January 26, 2002
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