Murder in the Hearse Degree

by Tim Cockey

Book Overview

Libby, a former flame of Hitchcock Sewell, has returned to town with her two children, but minus one husband and one nanny. Libby's husband has been accounted for -- she left him back in Annapolis. However, the nanny, Sophie, is truly missing. As soon as Hitch starts to nose around, Sophie turns up -- literally -- in the Severn River. She's quite dead, and just a little bit pregnant. The police suspect suicide, but Sophie's mom is adamant it's murder...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786867124
• ISBN13: 9780786867127
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: Hyperion Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Postsecondary to Grade 12

Customer Reviews

Hearses!

I love this series! I took this one with me on a recent trip and enjoyed it so much that those sitting around me thought I was a loon because I was laughing so hard. You have to love Hitchcock, his sense of humor keeps the plot moving right along and the reader almost winces at times waiting for him to get a smack on the head from his remarks. Great fun and a highly recommended read!

Sewell Charms Again

This is my very favorite of the Hitchcock Sewell series so far. Cockey kept me hanging, kept me interested in the characters, and kept me laughing. I'm not going to tell you the story, Cockey does a brilliant job of that. I can't wait for the next one!!

a most eligible mortician

Witty Baltimore undertaker Hitchcock Sewell brings his healthy sense of fun and his bachelor's eye for the ladies to his fourth case, a favor for an old flame, Libby, who's left her abusive prosecutor husband and wants Hitch to find her missing nanny. When the nanny turns up drowned and pregnant and the police pass it off as suicide, Hitch drags his morose, unhappily married ex-private eye friend Pete Munger into the case and gets a bit of help from his gorgeous, zany ex-wife Julia as well.Hitch's sense of humor and determination never flag as the case leads into a morass of shady dealings, adultery and quasi-religious opportunism. Another murder, a near miss for Hitch and a second missing nanny heat up the action, while Hitch juggles romance and funerals between times. The writing is clever, smooth and fast-paced, the setting is well-drawn, the plot well-paced and Hitch is a strong likable voice. For anyone who likes their noir with laughs.

TOPNOTCH COMBINATION OF MIRTH AND MAYHEM

How refreshing it is when an imaginative author mixes mirth with mayhem and also creates a protagonist who draws readers like a magnet. Such is the case with Tim Cockey in The Hearse You Came In On, Hearse Of A Different Color, The Hearse Case Scenario, and now Murder In The Hearse Degree. Fans will be heartened to find intrepid undertaker Hitchcock Sewell as charming and attractive as ever. He's still on the loose in Baltimore, and up to some new tricks. Sophie Potts, the young nanny employed by one of Hitch's former romantic interests, is found floating in a river. The police say suicide; Hitch says uh-uh. But our merry mortician runs into more than a few road blocks as he tries to get to the soggy bottom of this death. There's the on-the-take former Kentucky governor, a more than questionable right-wing group of religious zealots (ARK, the acronym for the Alliance for Reason and Kindness) headed by a probably on the take and on the make director, a ham-on-wry actor (heavy on the ham), and a probing reporter who's more in pursuit of Hitch's ex wife, Julia, than the story. It's a typical Hitch tale. In other words: terrific. - Gail Cooke

The Best!!

I discovered Tim Cockey's Hitchcock Sewell series a few months ago and since then I've read 'em all. Like it's predecessors, MURDER IN THE HEARSE DEGREE is an ideal blend of action, character, humor and intrigue. A wonderful series that just keeps getting better!