New Hope for the Dead

Written by Charles Willeford

Narrated by Stephen Bowlby

Homicide detective Hoke Moseley is called to a posh Miami
neighborhood to investigate a lethal overdose. There he meets the alluring
stepmother of the decedent and begins to wonder about dating a witness.
Meanwhile, he has been threatened with suspension by his ambitious new chief
unless he leaves his beloved, if squalid, suite at the El Dorado Hotel and
moves downtown. With free housing hard to come by, Hoke is desperate to find a
new place to live. His difficulties are only amplified by an assignment to
reinvestigate fifty unsolved murders, the unexpected arrival of his two
teenage daughters, and a partner struggling with an unwanted pregnancy. With
few options, and even fewer dollars, he decides that the suspicious and
beautiful stepmother of the dead junkie might be a compromised solution to all
of his problems.

Packed with atmosphere and humor, New Hope for the Dead is
a classic murder mystery by one of the true masters of the genre. Charles
Willeford’s tour de force is an irresistible invitation to become acquainted
with one of the greatest detective characters of all time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio
• Release date: Jun 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483002286

Reviews for New Hope for the Dead

[ecw0647 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I like Willeford. I like his characters, especially Hoke's sardonic and realistic view of the world, but there was something about this book that kept nagging at me. Scenes appeared familiar ,and I kept wondering if I had read the book before. Possible, I suppose, although I couldn't find any notes or other indications of that likilihood.

It's the grind of normal life that makes this book interesting as the investigation plot lines are rather thin. Hoke's ex-wife has dumped the two daughters on him so she can run off with a baseball player; he can't find a place to live within the newly-required city limits; his new partner is pregnant, and to top things off, he has to give his girls "the" sex lecture (which, surprisingly, probably ought to be copied and handed out to most teenagers.) One other reviewer noted that when reading Willeford's novels you don't have to suspend disbelief. Exactly right.

[bjkelley · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I know I've read this book before, but I had forgotten most of the details. Charles Willeford had a writing style that shouldn't have worked, but somehow it did giving his characters depth and his story realism. A great read and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO ALL.

[datrappert · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A lot of fun to read, but more rambling and less intense than its classic predecessor, Miami Blues. New Hope for the Dead lacks any equivalent to that book's memorable villain, so while the Hoke Moseley character is still interesting, there isn't any great suspense or sense of danger.

[readingknitter01 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Miami seedy detective; improbable; but the characters are engrossing

[thomaspluck · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

No one writes like Willeford.