Backstabber (Hitchcock Sewell Series #5)

by Tim Cockey

Overview

He's suave, he's sexy, he's cool . . . and he's an undertaker. Hitchcock Sewell is back in one of the funniest and most fast-paced novels yet, in Tim Cockey's celebrated award-winning series.

A man has been murdered in his kitchen. And the apparent killer wants Hitch to scoop up the body and take it away . . . before the police have arrived. Meanwhile, across town, Hitch smells a rat—maybe two—in the nursing home where an old friend of his has taken up residence. With his matchless wit and uncommon ability to dig out the truth, Hitch is once again up to his old tricks . . . and mystery readers couldn't be happier.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786867134
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	07/07/2004
Series:	Hitchcock Sewell Series , #5
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Tim Cockey is the award-winning author of the Hitchcock Sewell novels, including The Hearse You Came In On, Hearse of a Different Color, The Hearse Case Scenario, Murder in the Hearse Degree, and Backstabber. He has been a story analyst for many major film and television companies, including American Playhouse, ABC, and Hallmark Entertainment. He grew up in Baltimore and now lives in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

What wisecracking mortician/amateur sleuth could resist the lure of a mysterious nighttime summons? Certainly not Hitchcock Sewell, whose youthful curiosity exuberantly portrayed by reader Lawlor leads him to aid his friend Jonathan "Sisco" Fontaine. Hitch arrives at the house of Sisco's girlfriend, Polly Weischeit, only to discover that Polly is actually a married woman, and her husband has been murdered. Polly and Sisco want Hitch to haul away the body in his hearse and "quietly tuck it into a grave," but he nixes that idea and convinces them to call the police, though not soon enough to avoid becoming a murder suspect himself. Lawlor assumes the same soft, subdued voice for virtually all of the book's female characters, lending them little personality or emotional depth. Fortunately, the story's constant stream of funeral home jokes and its fast-paced plot keep the entertainment level high. Simultaneous release with the Hyperion hardcover (Forecasts, June 28). (July) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

"Cockey's contribution to the genre has less to do with his hero's career...than with his wit, which is ceaseless, remorseless and fun." (Washington Post)

Hitchcock Sewell, Baltimore's crime-busting mortician, undertakes to solve a homicide before the cops know it's happened. Sisco Fontaine was never the yearbook staff's choice as most likely to succeed. Now Sisco has a body on his hands. The stiff is Jake Weisheit, owner of the kitchen floor on which he now reposes, dagger protruding from his back. Also present in Mr. Weisheit's plush suburban home is Polly Weisheit, his relict. In a manner of speaking she belongs to Sisco as well, though lovers have shakier legal standing. All Sisco wants from his old schoolmate Hitch is some help disposing of the corpse. He insists that he's innocent, but he's not eager to dial 911 only a few days after publicly threatening to kill the late Mr. Weisheit. Wisely, Hitch turns thumbs down on Sisco's request, but he can never resist an intriguing homicide. Between prepping corpses and beguiling a nonstop array of local females, he proves once again that when it comes to sleuthing, a ratiocinative funeral director can do more than sniff the formaldehyde. Up till now, Hitch's ebullience has carried the series (Murder in the Hearse Degree, 2003, etc.). But when the energy it feeds on flags in this fifth outing, disbelief sets in. Agency: Arthur Pine Associates

Kirkus Reviews