The Hearse Case Scenario (Hearse Series) [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Tim Cockey (Author), Bruce Reizen (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 10, 2003 | Series: Hearse Series (Book 3)

Nightclub owner Shrimp Martin has been shot, and Hitchcock Sewell already knows who-done-it. It's his friend, Lucy Taylor, who went directly to Hitch's funeral home and placed the smoking gun on his desk. As it happens, Shrimp survives the gunshot wound, but he doesn't survive the knife that is plunged into his heart as he lies in his hospital bed. The police would like to question Lucy Taylor. But she has slipped away from Hitch's custody, hooked up with Hitch's ex-wife Julia, and the two have disappeared. Matters get more complicated when Shrimp's younger brother, also a friend of Lucy's, turns up dead. Is Lucy on a rampage? Is Julia somehow involved? As Hitch begins to nose about, he is joined by a private eye named Pete, who is in the full bloom of a mid-life crisis. A felonious painter, a Miles Davis wannabe, an Ida Lupino look-alike, the Great White Hope of Baltimore professional basketball, and one very angry dance instructor are just some of the characters Hitch and Pete encounter in this tale of greed, obsession, and misplaced loyalties.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This third novel starring hapless Baltimore undertaker Hitchcock Sewell puts Hitch in the middle of a puzzle that gets weirder by the minute. His old friend Lucy has shot her lover, sleazy nightclub owner Shrimp Martin, and disappeared. Shrimp's gunshot wound isn't fatal, but a mysterious hospital visitor delivers the coup de grâce, a direct stab to the heart. Naturally the police think the loopy Lucy must be the killer. Hitch tracks Lucy to a beach house where she's hiding out in the company of Hitch's ex-wife Julia, and a private detective tracks Shrimp's missing stepbrother to some pungent underbrush, where his body's been since before Lucy shot Shrimp. Meanwhile, Hitch has found an informant, a sexy but oddly hostile waitress from Shrimp's club, who drops dark hints of illegal gambling and hidden bags of cash.

Add to the mix a sultry nightclub singer, a cocky trumpet player, a bad-boy basketball pro with a mean punch, and assorted other oddballs and suspicious characters, and you might almost think you've fallen into the Baltimore version of a Janet Evanovich novel. But hold your hearses--Hitch's wisecracking style is entirely his own, and it's a pleasure to read. --Barrie Trinkle --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In Cockey's third well-paced, unpredictable hearse novel (after 2001's Hearse of a Different Color), Hitchcock Sewell, Baltimore's wisecracking mortician/sleuth, sets out to exonerate his hapless childhood friend, Lucy, accused of murdering her low-life boyfriend, Shrimp Martin. Sure, Lucy shot him, but she wasn't the one who killed him. Hitch's search begins with Shrimp's nightclub and the cast of characters who worked there the captivating, no-nonsense singer; the jazz trumpeter who speaks in circles; and the contemptuous bartender with a hidden agenda. When Arthur, Shrimp's stepbrother and the club's photographer, goes missing, Hitch cajoles the hangdog private detective who's looking for Arthur into helping him find Shrimp's real killer. Together they stumble onto an elaborate gambling scheme, an unorthodox and very one-sided business partnership and the details of the year-old murder of an all-American college girl (whose body was found at Shrimp's club). Although there are a few too many pointless asides with Hitch's bouncy ex-wife, Julia (who, we are constantly reminded, is very sexy), some of the other characters are so endearing you'll want to buy them a round of beer and crab cakes. Pervading the book is Cockey's humor, which at times veers toward the cornball but never without knowing that it's going there. This quirky book is sure to delight existing fans and send new readers in search of the first two in the series. (Feb. 6)Forecast: With a six-city hearse driving tour, a teaser chapter in the mass market edition of Hearse of a Different Color (Feb.) and a well-designed promotional site at TimCockey.com, expect this one to build further momentum for this offbeat series.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio Paperback Audiobooks; Abridged edition (January 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587887975
• ISBN-13: 978-1587887970
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,885,306 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sorry, weaker than expected, March 3, 2003

By 

Alistair Scott (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hearse Case Scenario (Hitchcock Sewell Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Having thoroughly enjoyed the two previous Cockeys I was a bit disappointed in the latest offering. This is not a bad book in the genre but given the strength of the first two in the series, I felt that this one needed a bit of tightening. The jazz ambience worked well and Pete the hapless husband also struck the right note but I found that both Lucy, the dupe, and the poison dwarf failed to engage. Overall a slight sense that the same book but 50 pages shorter may have made more of an impact. That said, this remains a series to watch and fingers crossed for the next one...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amateur sleuth and undertaker make this read a blast!, May 31, 2002

By 

J. Martin (CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Hearse Case Scenario (Hardcover)

Hitchcock Sewell makes his living burying the dead-but he also seems to love trying to solve a good murder mystery. His newest problem arises when a childhood friend shoots her lover, the slightly sleazy nightclub owner Shrimp Martin. When Shrimp dies in the hospital, it isn't from the gunshot wound, but from being stabbed through the heart. Hitch's friend is arrested for the murder, but Hitch just can't believe that she killed him. Hitch is determined to find out who killed Shrimp to get his childhood friend off the hook. Of course things are never easy in the death business as Hitch soon learns while he searches for the real killer.

Tim Cockey has written a darkly humorous book that had me alternately laughing and groaning at the outrageousness of Hitch's antics and bad jokes. Hitch is one of those characters that you can't help but love and tuning in to read his newest antics is a fantastic way to spend a few hours. I look forward to many more Hitchcock Sewell mysteries brimming with undertaker humor.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting amateur sleuth, January 26, 2002

By 

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

This review is from: The Hearse Case Scenario (Hardcover)

At Baltimore's Sewell and Sons Family Funeral Home, mortician and wannabe private detective Hitchcock Sewell receives the call from nightclub owner Shrimp Martin during a slow period in which Death takes a vacation. Shrimp, barely able to speak, mumbles that before Lucy Taylor left him she shot him. Later Shrimp is found dead.

The police have one prime suspect Lucy. Though he believes Lucy shot Shrimp, Hitch refuses to accept his childhood friend as the murderess. He begins an investigation using his most incognito vehicle, the hearse. His inquiry leads Hitch to Pete Munger of Munger and Associates private investigation company who has been hired to find Shrimp's missing stepbrother. The amateur and the licensed agree to partner their resources to uncover the truth about a murder (or two) and a missing person.

The third Hearse amateur sleuth tale is a weird case that contains Tim Cockey's all over the place sense of humor as the hero is parts reverent, parts street smart, and parts corny. The who-done-it entertains the audience thanks to a strong secondary cast that propels the plot forward and enables the fans to better understand Hitch. Fans of amusing amateur sleuth stores will want to read THE HEARSE CASE SCENARIO and the previous two novels due to Hitch, who knows that sooner or later he will get his man or woman.

Harriet Klausner