Hickory, Dickory: An Ed McAvoy Mystery [Paperback]

Bill Stackhouse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 22, 2002

Even with a left leg shattered by a drug dealer's bullet and a medical retirement from the Detroit Police Force, former homicide captain Ed McAvoy feels he's too young to be put out to pasture.

With the slower pace in the Catskills, being Chief of Police in Peekamoose Heights will be sort of like running a country club, or so he thinks. After all, how much crime can there be?

McAvoy soon discovers that his skills as a homicide detective will not atrophy from lack of use in Peekamoose Heights. Murder, as it turns out, is an equal-opportunity crime that not only resides in large bustling cities like Detroit, but in sleepy little Catskill villages like Peekamoose Heights as well.
 
In Hickory, Dickory, the exciting sequel to Stream of Death, McAvoy's friend Sam Douglas has bought a Queen Anne tall-case clock at auction--at a bargain price. Trading it to Kate Winthrop for her lesser-quality Massachusetts clock and then selling the Massachusetts to a third party sight unseen seems to bode well for the antique dealer--until the third party winds up dead and, in her dying breath, identifies Sam as her attacker.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mystery writer and playwright Bill Stackhouse worked as a scriptwriter for a multimedia production firm. His credits include training and promotional videos for NASA, the Army Aviation & Missile Command, and the Corps of Engineers. Four of Bill's seven stage plays have won awards. Hickory, Dickory is his second novel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 290 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (April 22, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595225969
• ISBN-13: 978-0595225965
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 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: #4,683,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in Detroit, Michigan, mystery writer, playwright, and part-time actor Bill Stackhouse has a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from General Motors Institute in Flint, Michigan, and a Masters Degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.

At Ford Motor Company and later, as Director of Quality Assurance & Training at a large automotive parts supplier, Bill became involved in the development of instructional manuals and training films. In the throes of a mid-life crisis, he decided to pursue the most enjoyable aspect of his job on a full-time basis―writing.

Bill's scriptwriting credits include training films and promotional videos for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to name a few. He has also written numerous radio and TV commercials.

Branching out from technical writing into the arts, four of Bill's seven stage plays (The Best Laid Plans, The Early Bird, To Serve and Protect, and A Tradition of Service) have won contests - a local, a statewide, a regional, and a national.

In addition to playwriting, Bill has directed many productions for various community theatres. For a very brief time, he even had a theatre company of his own that toured six mid-size cities in Northern Alabama and Southern Tennessee.

Bill and his wife now live in Central Florida where he continues to write mystery novels and stage plays (when its raining and he can't lay golf).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An antique hunter's delight!, December 15, 2002

By 

Sharon Grant (Dalton, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hickory, Dickory: An Ed McAvoy Mystery (Paperback)

As an avid antique hunter and flea market junkie, this book by Bill Stackhouse almost steps from it's pages onto the floor of a shop cluttered with the trash and treasures of bygone days. Now I make every effort to learn the history behind my eagerly sought purchases and enjoy in imagination that they might harbor mysteries of their own. If ever you have looked through a dusty hall hoping to spot a genuine "find" you will enjoy this masterfully told story! Bill is carefully crafting a web of personalities in his Ed McAvoy series and I just can't wait for the next one. This is a book you'll want to share, and ask folks to return for your permanent collection.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hickory, Dickory, September 25, 2002

By 

AAM Reviews (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hickory, Dickory: An Ed McAvoy Mystery (Paperback)

Ed McAvoy moves to the small town of Peekamoose Heights, New York to get
away from the big city. A former police captain in Detroit, Ed is badly
injured on the job and forced into medical retirement. He chooses the
picturesque town of Peekamoose Heights, which is nestled in the Catskill
Mountains for the sleepy small town atmosphere and lighter workload. Little
does he know that his city police skills will be needed so frequently!

Sam Douglas has worked his way into small business ownership and now he and
his wife own a small antiques shop in Peekamoose Heights. When Sam receives
an invitation to an auction in Florida, he uses the opportunity to secure a
Queen Anne clock for his former employer, Kate Winthrop. Kate has been
seeking such an antique and is willing to trade her existing clock for the
Queen Anne. Sam will then sell the Kate's clock to another customer.

Unfortunately, the plan does not work out quite as planned and soon Sam is
accused of murder. Can Ed McAvoy help to establish his friend's innocence?

Hickory, Dickory is a fine small town mystery. While the cast of characters
was large, I enjoyed the deft characterization and individuality of the
various residents of Peekamoose Heights. Twists and turns galore and
subplots that caught my attention from page one made this book a very full
and satisfying read while the motley cast of characters has me eager to
revisit Peekamoose Heights. Hickory Dickory reminded me at times of a cozy
mystery and others of a police procedural and would appeal to readers of
either genre.
Review by Briana Lambert