The Missing Moon

Carl Wilcox #3

by Harold Adams

Ne'er-do-well part-time detective Carl Wilcox tries to free a prime murder suspect--the best moonshiner in the Depression-era town of Corden, South Dakota--and stumbles into a cesspool of moonshine, madness and murder. "The raw-boned prose style is masterly".--Chicago Sun-Times.

Genres: Mystery

246 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

BORN 1923

Reviews

[Ronald Wilcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third in a series of mysteries starring Carl Wilcox, an alcoholic ex-criminal living in South Dakota, helping his parents with their motel. This time a friend who is a moonshiner is arrested for the murder of a woman he sells moonshine to after he passes out at her house and wakes up when cops bust in to find her dead body and arrest him. Wilcox is growing on me as a protagonist and I am looking forward to the future reads in the series.

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

PROTAGONIST: Carl Wilcox, ex-con and unofficial PI
SETTING: 1930s South Dakota
SERIES: #3 of 16
RATING: 3.5
WHY: When Kate Bonnie is murdered, the prime suspect is retired janitor and bootlegger Boswell. He43'sw an old friend of Carl Wilcox, who finds the charge ludicrous and who sets out to find the real killer. I enjoy Carl's witty retorts and Adams' colorful and unique metaphors. The historical details (set in 1930s Depression) are interesting. Enjoyable read even though the plot is kind of all over the place.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

With it's sparse prose and that small town suppressed anger , Mr. Adams has given depression era Corden, S.D. a hard-boiled spot on the map. This is a dang fun series.