NEW HOPE FOR THE DEAD

by Charles Willeford ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 31, 1985

The very welcome return of Miami's Sgt. Hoke Moseley (Miami Blues), who's a little less crazed and even more likable this time--as he tackles several cases, looks for a new home, tries to activate his dormant sex-life, and becomes a father again. . .to his two long-estranged teen-age daughters. Hoke, sardonic and downbeat as ever, would like to concentrate on a brand-new homicide case: the drug-overdose death of sleazy suburban youth Jerry Hickey, apparently a suicide. But poor Hoke's efforts in that direction--quizzing Jerry's drug contacts, his rich stepfather, his sexy stepmother, Loretta--are constantly interrupted by engaging subplots. First, there's his farcical search for an affordable abode in crowded Miami. (Because of police-department rules he has to give up his free room at the shabby Eldorado Hotel in South Miami Beach.) Then come assorted woman troubles: Hoke's new partner, Ellita Sanchez, a near-virgin at 32, has gotten haplessly pregnant--and has been thrown out by her fiercely old-fashioned father; at the same time Hoke's two kids, deserted by his flaky ex-wife, show up on the doorstep--hungry for junk-food and love. (Ellita will become a quasi-mom to the girls--and vice versa.) Meanwhile, Hoke and Ellita are ordered, for no good reason, to re-investigate a slew of old, unsolved murder cases--a few of which are wrapped up with ironic ease. And Hoke, through it all, lusts after the above-mentioned Loretta Hickey. . .until their long-awaited foreplay supplies a crucial clue to Jerry's murder. The action here, then, is much less focused than it was in Miami Blues--with a loose mixture of detection (neat), police-procedure (amusingly haphazard), police politics, black comedy, and offbeat family sentiment. But, while some readers may be put off by the shambling format and the raunchy flavorings, fans of dark-humored police stories and true Miami grit will find this a rich, easy-going diversion.

Pub Date: Dec. 31, 1985

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1985

Categories: FICTION