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Lee Henry Oswald Mystery #2
The Next Time You Die
How many ways can the past come back to haunt you? Hard-nosed Dallas detective Lee Henry Oswald is about to find out.
When a bourbon-swilling Baptist preacher hires private detective Lee Henry Oswald to recover a stolen file, Oswald figures the job for a quick and painless infusion of cash.
But nothing comes easily in Dallas for anybody named Oswald, especially when a psychopathic hit man from out of town shows up, intent on finding the same scrap of missing paper.
With the police after him for a murder he didn't commit and his every move shadowed by the strange mobster, Hank Oswald gratefully accepts an extortion case in an effort to get out of town for a few days. State Senator Eddie Black, the tree-hugging black sheep of an oil-rich East Texas family, has a problem. Somebody wants him to change his vote on an important environmental bill. If he refuses, Black's long-time friend and his entire family will be killed, one by one, starting with the oldest child, the head-strong Tess McPherson.
In the aftermath of a bloody encounter with the mobster at Tess McPherson's apartment, Oswald finally realizes the chilling connection between the two a dead man named Billy Barringer, Hank's onetime best friend and the firstborn son of an East Texas crime boss.
As the stakes mount, each treacherous step toward the missing file forces Oswald to confront the haunting memory of a split second decision which ultimately cost Billy Barringer his life.
Now it looks like the dead man's family has teamed up with the new player in town, and everybody's got Oswald in their cross hairs. As the clock ticks down to a startling climax, Oswald races across the mean streets of Dallas to find the missing file and the secret it holds.
Once the file is found, the explosive discovery forces a dangerous decision, one full of hard choices Oswald thought had been left long ago in his murky past.
When a bourbon-swilling Baptist preacher hires private detective Lee Henry Oswald to recover a stolen file, Oswald figures the job for a quick and painless infusion of cash.
But nothing comes easily in Dallas for anybody named Oswald, especially when a psychopathic hit man from out of town shows up, intent on finding the same scrap of missing paper.
With the police after him for a murder he didn't commit and his every move shadowed by the strange mobster, Hank Oswald gratefully accepts an extortion case in an effort to get out of town for a few days. State Senator Eddie Black, the tree-hugging black sheep of an oil-rich East Texas family, has a problem. Somebody wants him to change his vote on an important environmental bill. If he refuses, Black's long-time friend and his entire family will be killed, one by one, starting with the oldest child, the head-strong Tess McPherson.
In the aftermath of a bloody encounter with the mobster at Tess McPherson's apartment, Oswald finally realizes the chilling connection between the two a dead man named Billy Barringer, Hank's onetime best friend and the firstborn son of an East Texas crime boss.
As the stakes mount, each treacherous step toward the missing file forces Oswald to confront the haunting memory of a split second decision which ultimately cost Billy Barringer his life.
Now it looks like the dead man's family has teamed up with the new player in town, and everybody's got Oswald in their cross hairs. As the clock ticks down to a startling climax, Oswald races across the mean streets of Dallas to find the missing file and the secret it holds.
Once the file is found, the explosive discovery forces a dangerous decision, one full of hard choices Oswald thought had been left long ago in his murky past.
302 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2006
22 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Harry Hunsicker
45 books132 followersHarry Hunsicker is the bestselling author of nine crime thrillers including The Life and Death of Rose Doucette, shortlisted for a 2025 Thriller Award, his second nomination. Hunsicker's work has been shortlisted for the Shamus Award. His story "West of Nowhere" (originally published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine) was selected to appear in The Best American Mystery Stories 2011, edited by Otto Penzler and Harlan Coben. Hunsicker lives in Dallas with his wife, Alison.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 23, 2018
This is a pretty good series, but i have to argue that all the characters--good guys and bad--suffer from enough personal flaws as to make them unsympathetic. The plots tend to be a little too complicated, too.
Still, all in all, a good read.
Still, all in all, a good read.
March 12, 2019
Dallas at its realist
Harry knows where all the bodies are buried, literally and figuratively. The Oswald series is irreverent at its title and fulfills all long time N Texas residents questions about all parts of Town. Love em, want more.
Harry knows where all the bodies are buried, literally and figuratively. The Oswald series is irreverent at its title and fulfills all long time N Texas residents questions about all parts of Town. Love em, want more.
February 3, 2021
Old boy Texans, country joes, corrupt politicians and city bars - all a good mix with nice regional dialogue. Lots of violence, some off set but there all the same. PI Lee Henry Oswald's a bit too close with his nutcase homeboys for my comfort.
July 19, 2017
Great read
Excellent read I couldn't put it down great characters so you keep turning the pages.
Cannot wait to read the next one
Excellent read I couldn't put it down great characters so you keep turning the pages.
Cannot wait to read the next one
Read
September 19, 2007I have just started this but it's even better than Harry's first book "Still River". He is a friend of ours so we have supported him in this new venture. His main character is a P.I. named Lee Henry Oswald and the stories are set in Dallas. He is extremely descriptive - I feel like I am right there with him every step of the way.
December 19, 2008
Very similar to Hunsicker's first entry, Still River, following it closely but with enough new material to keep your interest I give it a strong recommendation to all noir PI fans, and a definite must-read if you're also from north Texas.
January 22, 2011
I hadn't realised before i started reading that there was a book prior to it, i don't think it mattered i'd not read the other although i wished i had. i really enjoyed this book, oswald is a fantastic character. i will be reading still river asap.
August 16, 2012
Good crime read, but the female lead's personality kept chopping and changing which was a little bit of a credibility negater for me. I'd read more. Enjoyed the minor characters and the main guy held my attention. Some things seemed to go missing, but that may have been my reading in bed problem
August 6, 2016
2.5
Billed as Chandleresque PI novel...it really is more of a high body count narrative. Hank Oswald is a licensed PI but takes a lot of "projects" that are in a more "gray" area.
Wanted more plot/mystery.
Billed as Chandleresque PI novel...it really is more of a high body count narrative. Hank Oswald is a licensed PI but takes a lot of "projects" that are in a more "gray" area.
Wanted more plot/mystery.
October 17, 2015
Interesting but no more than 3 stars.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews