Dearly Departed (Holland Taylor Mystery) [Hardcover]

David Housewright (Author)

Book Description

Series: Holland Taylor Mystery | Publication Date: October 1999

St. Paul private eye Holland Taylor is back in Edgar Award-winning author David Housewright's third lively tale. Private investigator Holland Taylor has a low opinion of sleazy lawyer Hunter Truman and listens reluctantly to Truman's plea to help him find the missing Alison Emerton, whom the police suspect has been murdered. But when Truman plays the tape Alison left and shows Taylor her photograph, the elusive woman captures his curiosity. Could it be that Alison is not dead but has disappeared to start life under a new identity? If so, why? As Taylor investigates, he meets people who loved her, or hated her--sometimes both. They include her secretive parents; her handsome, angry ex-husband; a wary former lover; her very loyal women friends; and the man the police had once held as the chief suspect. Taylor's investigation leads him to a rural Wisconsin town, where he meets two men very much involved in Alison's life and uncovers big-money plans involving a resort and proposed gambling casino: schemes with stakes high enough that they will cost not only fortunes but lives. As Taylor exposes the motives of the players and untangles Alison's strange story, events come together in an explosive finale.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sleazy lawyer Hunter Truman sends cop-turned-Twin Cities PI Holland Taylor after a missing woman in Housewright's disappointing third novel. Alison Emerton has either been murdered by Raymond Fleck, a convicted rapist who was stalking her, or has left to start over someplace far from Fleck and her insensitive husband, a man clearly more concerned with collecting the insurance money for her presumed death than with grieving for her loss. Taylor is smitten by an alluring photograph of Allison and quickly becomes emotionally involved in the case. His search leads out of St. Paul to a lakeside town enveloped in a debate over Native American casino rights. Housewright's Penance (1995) won an Edgar for best first novel, and once again he shows a sure narrative touch through the voice of his engaging and quirky shamus. Yet the novel hits several wrong notes. An overly dogmatic antidrug tirade, an obvious final twist and a murky series of legal/business machinations over casino and water rights all detract from what has been a singularly pleasurable series filled with light crime tones. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Housewright's third entry in the Holland Taylor series is an entertaining missing-person yarn. St. Paul private eye Taylor is asked by low-life lawyer Hunter Truman to find the lovely Alison Emerton, who has mysteriously vanished from her home. After listening to Alison's tape-recorded message (to be played in case anything happened to her), Taylor quickly finds himself attracted to and fascinated by the missing woman--shades of the movies Laura and Vertigo. Housewright endows his protagonist with an annoying habit of dismissing his boorish or chauvinistic behavior with an annoying, "Gee I'm a guy, what do you expect?" While this is unlikely to appeal to the predominantly female mystery audience, women readers will appreciate how much smarter the female characters are than Taylor--or any of the other male characters, for that matter. Overall, this is an enjoyable mystery with a corker of an ending. Jenny McLarin

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393047717
• ISBN-13: 978-0393047714
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,134,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A reformed newspaper reporter and ad man, Housewright's book "Penance" (Foul Play Press) earned the 1996 Edgar Award for Best First Novel from the Mystery Writers of America and was nominated for a Shamus in the same category by the Private Eye Writers of America. "Practice to Deceive" won the 1998 Minnesota Book Award (it is currently being developed as a feature film) and "Jelly's Gold" won the same prize in 2010. His 11th novel -- "Highway 61" -- will be published in June 2011 (St. Martin's Press Minotaur). Housewright's short stories have appeared in several anthologies including "Silence of the Loons," "Twin Cities Noir," "Resort to Murder," and "Once Upon A Crime" and publications as diverse as Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and True Romance. Website: www.davidhousewright.com as well as Facebook.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A droll storyline, September 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dearly Departed (Holland Taylor Mystery) (Hardcover)

As with PENANCE and PRACTICE TO DECEIVE, Holland remains a fabulous detective whose insolent, running narrative spices up DEARLY DEPARTED. The story line engages the reader when it focuses on the lead protagonist's investigation into the life of Alison. However, moral preaching on drugs and the casino business, leads to disjointed moments that occasionally overwhelm the jocularity that Holland provides the audience. Still, David Housewright continues to provide readers with an entertaining, lighthearted series that deserves fan attention.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent whodunit, June 13, 2002

By 

Fred Camfield (Vicksburg, MS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dearly Departed (Holland Taylor Mystery) (Hardcover)

This the third novel in the author's series about private investigator Holland Taylor, and the best so far. While some people prefer to read a series in order, these can be read as stand alone novels. Like Sherlock Holmes and other good series, each is an entirely separate case. This novel is a fast paced mystery that is hard to put down. It kept me up late.

Holland is hired to investigate the disappearance of a woman seven months earlier. The door to their house was standing open when her husband arrived, and she was gone with nothing but the clothes on her back. Foul play is suspected. There is a list of suspects including her husband (who is trying to collect on a life insurance policy) and former co-workers. She was young, pretty, and extremely intelligent.

As the investigation proceeds, it goes through twists and turns, right up to the last page. Every time you think you know the solution, there is another twist. I was reminded of an old song refrain, "Never, never trust a woman. You'll be sorry if you do." There are a lot of sleazy people involved. One has to wonder at the end if everyone really got what they deserved.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great plotting, June 18, 2001

By 

M. S. Butch (Katonah, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dearly Departed (Holland Taylor Mystery) (Hardcover)

This is the first of the series that i read, and I thought it was exceptional. (I agree, however, with the reviewer who disliked the virulent anti-marijuana preaching). The best feature is a plot that keeps moving and twisting. The characters held my interest. Looking forward to more.