Customer Reviews

New Hope for the Dead

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4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
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So often, you come across a series of books of a certain detective or private investigator and there is no character growth. Well, this book brings about a refreshing change in that procedure. In fact, Willeford gives us a whole novel's worth of character study and you wish it would never end. Hoke Moseley is arguably the most realistic, honest, and likable police detective created in this genre. If you are looking for fluff, do not read this. If you are looking for an intelligent, creative, and interesting read, this is the book for you.

In this second book of the Hoke Moseley series, our loser-pants police detective must deal with various sleazoids while figuring out how to raise his two daughters who have been sent back to him because his ex-wife's pro-ball-player novio finds them distracting during his spring training. Sound Familiar? It's not. Funny and amoral, Hoke's counseling sessions with his daughters are not for the timid or politically correct. Lacking the outrageous antagonists of MIAMI BLUES or SIDESWIPE, this is not the strongest book of the series, but it is an essential set-up for the next tale. Buy it.

'New Hope for the Dead' is one of Charles Willeford's comic-mystery novels starring Hoke Moseley, a crusty yet lovable member of the Miami police force. It is hard to not enjoy the trials and tribulations of Moseley: work partner getting pregnant, his own love life on the skids, two teenaged daughters arriving at his doorstep, etc. Always interesting; I never felt like I was reading the script to a soap opera. However Willeford forgot to include a strong crime element. Yes, there is a dead junkie and a sexy step-mom. But the story itself compares badly to 'Miami Blues', a much superior Hoke Moseley novel. And compared to Willeford's early masterpiece 'The Woman Chaser' one senses the Hoke Moseley series was not the best way for Willeford to end his career.

Bottom line: more of enjoyable literary junk food rather than quality stuff. Recommended for Willeford fans only.

Charles Willeford wrote only four novels featuring his unique policeman, Hoke Mosley. New Hope for the Dead was the last in the series, and Willeford died before writing anther of these classic mysteries. All four novels took place in Miami during the early turn of the Century ending in 2003. This novel was published by the rather classic Vintage Crime/Black Lizard series.
Hoke Mosley had an answer for every problem, from the most intricate to the mundane. He may not have been right (and was rarely polically correct), but he lived by a strong personal set of beliefs. Beyond presenting complex mysteries, Willeford defined a hardboild cop who offered advice and help to everyone he encountered (whether they wanted it or not), including a bevy of women, from teenage daughters to female coworkers who looked to him for advice and guidance.

New Hope for the Dead was my favorite of the four novels, but none are to be missed. There is a certain quaintness to these stories, and they all evoked nostalgia for a plainer, simpler time. I miss Hoke. I miss Willeford. They both ended their careers far too soon for me.

Loved Miami Blues and Sideswipe: A Hoke Moseley Detective Thriller but New Hope For The Dead was totally lacking in any compelling crime element. Charles Willeford should never have deviated from his tried-and-true formula of alternating chapters between a hilariously evil criminal and hilariously crusty cop Hoke Moseley. That formula made solid gold out of both Miami Blues and Sideswipe, a magic which is missing here. However, to Willeford's credit, he is such a fine writer that even the lack of a powerful antagonist for Hoke can't stop him from turning out an enjoyable read this time. Definitely read Miami Blues or Sideswipe first, though, because then you'll be hooked on Hoke and willing to accept a nearly 300-page character study on him. If, like me, you love Willeford's criminals, don't miss The Woman Chaser, which is right up there with Jim Thompson's classic nasties Pop. 1280 and The Killer Inside Me.

The main character, Hoke Moseley, is a man after my own heart. He just wants to simplify his life--that's why he has two jump suits that he rotates in use. However, nothing is ever simple, and Willeford knows the anything-but-simple life. Given the task of solving cold cases (hence New Hope for the Dead), Hoke goes about it in the context of his life. The story is NOT about solving cases. It's all about Hoke coping in this dark but refreshing novel. Hoke is not Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marples or Nero Wolfe--he just happens to be a cop with problems that have little to do with his work or solving the cold cases. If you like your reading with rich characters, you'll not be able to put this down.

Charles Willeford's Hoke Moseley series was perhaps what got Willeford attention as a writer (rightly or wrongly, as he had been producing crime novels for many years).

New Hope for the Dead was the second in the series and is certainly different crime fiction fare.

The thing is that Willeford adds the dialogue that other writers don't use, he gives the mundane dialogue that is so ordinary it is different. It is not easy to explain but with Willeford there is no suspension of disbelief, it is almost as if he writes at a level that is so run of the mill it is clever.

In this novel, Willeford steers away from the central crime story and looks at Hoke's life, the living in a seedy motel, the poverty and the loneliness. We get Hoke organising his wardrobe, cooking his meals, giving advice on his daughters potential jobs, Hoke's partner is kicked out of her parents home for becoming pregnant.

Everything in the book just comes across as easily understandable. I enjoy the Moseley series although I could see how others might dislike it or find it dull.

Hoke Moseley lives in a residential hotel in Miami Beach. He turns over half of his pay to his ex-wife. He is a sergeant in the Miami police force and needs to move into Miami. Suddenly he has his two teenage daughters staying with him and his partner is pregnant. He cannot afford decent housing and has been tasked, along with two others, to solve ten out of fifty cold cases in two months' times. In the meantime he wonders if his last homicide case was accidental death or, well, homicide. The book is excellent--a thoroughly professional job.