Five Star First Edition Mystery - The Fourth of July Wake [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Harold Adams (Author)

Book Description

Series: Five Star First Edition Mystery | Publication Date: May 2002

Shamus Award-winning Author

When an old friend invites Kyle Champion to attend a wake, he quickly realizes that it's not going to be a typical affair. P. J. Krueger, the family patriarch, died three months ago, and now his young widow, Sarah, wants to throw a "discreet wingding" in his honor over the long 4th of July weekend. P.J. also left behind a number of resentful children and their spouses, one of whom is convinced that P.J. did not die of natural causes. Add to this gathering an odd, reclusive neighbor with a violent past, and you've got the makings of some very volatile fireworks.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 172 pages
• Publisher: Five Star; 1 edition (May 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786230002
• ISBN-13: 978-0786230006
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,594,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid Adams, as always, May 18, 2010

By 

J. Hundley "katies phil" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Five Star First Edition Mystery - The Fourth of July Wake (Hardcover)

This is solid Harold Adams. Adams has long been dependable for his lean, Cain-like prose and narrative skills. The only shame is his lack of commercial success leading him to have to so often write to spec and library market page limits. IF you have not delved into Adams' mysteries yet, you are in for a treat and owe it to yourself to hunt up his earlier masterpieces The Barbed-Wire Noose and Paint the Town Red.

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting amateur sleuth, May 16, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Five Star First Edition Mystery - The Fourth of July Wake (Hardcover)

Former TV news anchor Kyle Champion reluctantly accepts the invitation from his old college buddy Matt Kreuger to attend a memorial service for the latter's deceased dad. Actually, the invitation was offered because Matt's sister-in-law Marcia demanded he ask Kyle. She knows Kyle has had some success in solving homicides and Marcia wants Kyle to investigate the death of her father in law, P.J. Though officially P.J. died of a heart attack, Marcia feels his four-decade younger second wife Sorah killed him because she inherits everything in his revised will.

Matt drives the three hours from Minneapolis to the remote "Kreugerland" cabins near Bent Line Lake. There he meets the family he met several years ago when he stayed at the cabins. He also finds Sorah to be quite charming and not at all like a murderous Jezebel. As he unenthusiastically discusses the death with everyone remotely involved, Kyle begins to uncover disturbing discrepancies that makes him wonder if perhaps P.J. was murdered.

THE FOURTH OF JULY WAKE is an interesting amateur sleuth mystery that readers will enjoy because of the depth of the ensemble's secondary characters. In spite of his TV exposure, Kyle remains a charming idealist though he loses some of rosy optimism due to the results of his inquiries. Though why the dominating Marcia would stay as a second fiddle seems stretched, this cozy will delight fans that will wonder along with Kyle whether a homicide occurred and if so did Sorah really murder her elderly spouse?

Harriet Klausner