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Hoke Moseley #2
New Hope for the Dead
Miami homicide detective Hoke Moseley is called to a posh Miami neighborhood to investigate a lethal overdose. There he meets the alluring stepmother of the decedant, and begins to wonder about dating a witness. Meanwile, he has been threatened with suspension by his ambitious new chief unless he leaves his beloved, if squalid, suite at the El Dorado Hotel, and moves downtown. With free housing hard to come by, Hoke is desperate to find a new place to live. His difficulties are only amplified by an assignment to re-investigate fifty unsolved murders, the unexpected arrival of his two teenage daughters, and a partner struggling with an unwanted pregnancy. With few options and even fewer dollars, he decides that the suspicious and beautiful stepmother of the dead junkie might be a compromised solution to all of his problems.
Packed with atmosphere and humor, New Hope for the Dead is a classic murder mystery by one of the true masters of the genre. Now back in print, Charles Willeford’s tour de force is an irresistible invitation to become acquainted with one of the greatest detective characters of all time.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Packed with atmosphere and humor, New Hope for the Dead is a classic murder mystery by one of the true masters of the genre. Now back in print, Charles Willeford’s tour de force is an irresistible invitation to become acquainted with one of the greatest detective characters of all time.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
273 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
59 people are currently reading
846 people want to read
About the author
Charles Willeford
85 books425 followersCharles Willeford was a remarkably fine, talented and prolific writer who wrote everything from poetry to crime fiction to literary criticism throughout the course of his impressively long and diverse career. His crime novels are distinguished by a mean'n'lean sense of narrative economy and an admirable dearth of sentimentality. He was born as Charles Ray Willeford III on January 2, 1919 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Willeford's parents both died of tuberculosis when he was a little boy and he subsequently lived either with his grandmother or at boarding schools. Charles became a hobo in his early teens. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps at age sixteen and was stationed in the Philippines. Willeford served as a tank commander with the 10th Armored Division in Europe during World War II. He won several medals for his military service: the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, two Purple Hearts, and the Luxembourg Croix de Guerre. Charles retired from the army as a Master Sergeant. Willeford's first novel "High Priest of California" was published in 1953. This solid debut was followed by such equally excellent novels as "Pick-Up" (this book won a Beacon Fiction Award), "Wild Wives," "The Woman Chaser," "Cockfighter" (this particular book won the Mark Twain Award), and "The Burnt Orange Heresy." Charles achieved his greatest commercial and critical success with four outstanding novels about hapless Florida homicide detective Hoke Moseley: "Miami Blues," "New Hope for the Dead," "Sideswipe," and "The Way We Die Now." Outside of his novels, he also wrote the short story anthology "The Machine in Ward Eleven," the poetry collections "The Outcast Poets" and "Proletarian Laughter," and the nonfiction book "Something About A Soldier." Willeford attended both Palm Beach Junior College and the University of Miami. He taught a course in humanities at the University of Miami and was an associate professor who taught classes in both philosophy and English at Miami Dade Junior College. Charles was married three times and was an associate editor for "Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine." Three of Willeford's novels have been adapted into movies: Monte Hellman delivered a bleakly fascinating character study with "Cockfighter" (Charles wrote the script and has a sizable supporting role as the referee of a cockfighting tournament which climaxes the picture), George Armitage hit one out of the ballpark with the wonderfully quirky "Miami Blues," and Robinson Devor scored a bull's eye with the offbeat "The Woman Chaser." Charles popped up in a small part as a bartender in the fun redneck car chase romp "Thunder and Lightning." Charles Willeford died of a heart attack at age 69 on March 27, 1988.
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September 6, 2020
In “New Hope for the Dead” by Charles Willeford, Miami homicide detective Hoke Moseley is called to a posh Miami neighborhood to investigate a lethal overdose. There he meets the alluring stepmother of the decedent, and begins to wonder about dating a witness. Meanwhile, he has been threatened with suspension by his ambitious new chief unless he leaves his beloved, if squalid, suite at the El Dorado Hotel, and moves downtown. With free housing hard to come by, Hoke is desperate to find a new place to live. His difficulties are only amplified by an assignment to re-investigate fifty unsolved murders, the unexpected arrival of his two teenage daughters, and a partner struggling with an unwanted pregnancy. With few options and even fewer dollars, he decides that the suspicious and beautiful stepmother of the dead junkie might be a compromised solution to all of his problems.
Charles Willeford took writing very seriously, and applied himself to it wholeheartedly for some 40 years. He started out as a poet; his first book, "Proletarian Laughter", was a collection of poems. He began publishing paperback fiction while serving his second hitch in the military, and kept at it.
With the Hoke Moseley novels, he got a taste of the commercial success that had eluded him.
The Hoke Moseley book series by Charles Willeford includes books:
Miami Blues
New Hope for the Dead
Sideswipe
The Way We Die Now.
Charles Willeford took writing very seriously, and applied himself to it wholeheartedly for some 40 years. He started out as a poet; his first book, "Proletarian Laughter", was a collection of poems. He began publishing paperback fiction while serving his second hitch in the military, and kept at it.
With the Hoke Moseley novels, he got a taste of the commercial success that had eluded him.
The Hoke Moseley book series by Charles Willeford includes books:
Miami Blues
New Hope for the Dead
Sideswipe
The Way We Die Now.
November 30, 2021
Hoke Moseley’s latest case is the suspicious death of a junkie who’s overdosed after swiping a large chunk of change from drug dealers. But then he’s put on a special assignment to solve a stack of cold cases in two months to make his boss look good enough to be promoted and also bring new hope of justice for the (possibly) dead. Then, suddenly, his ex-wife dumps their two teenage daughters in his lap and takes off for the west coast! Now, Hoke’s not only gotta find a new place to live soon but he’s gotta find a place big enough for his kids too. It never rains but it pours, eh…
New Hope for the Dead is a decent but underwhelming follow-up to the more exciting previous novel, Miami Blues, mostly because that novel had a strong antagonist in psychopathic serial killer Freddy Frenger pushing the action forwards and this novel doesn’t have that.
Not that it doesn’t have anything, but this book is mostly character-building stuff, clearing up administrative bits and pieces and table-setting for future novels. Which is fine - it’s clever how Charles Willeford works the junkie OD into Hoke finding a place for him and his family to stay - but it’s also much less enthralling to read, particularly as it gives the story a leaden pacing.
It’s surprising that both daughters don’t seem to have any resentment towards Hoke considering he’s barely been in their lives at all up to that point, and it’s also surprising how decent a father Hoke turns out to be. He’s a bit rough, but then he’s also like that with everyone, and some of the blatantly sexist attitudes he expresses read very outdated today. The way he treats his new partner, Ellita Sanchez, like a typist and an unequal partner would definitely not fly these days - nor would someone in that position simply take it!
But I like that Hoke is kind of a prick and yet he’s the hero of the series - that dash of anti-heroism makes him a more compelling character. Even when he’s going about his day-to-day, he’s not a boring dude to read about.
The cold cases themselves are interesting but Hoke, Ellita and Bill Henderson solve two right off the bat without really trying which is very convenient and unlikely, and even the main story of the junkie OD is resolved in a contrived fashion.
Still, Willeford’s writing is sharp, his characterisation and dialogue is bang on, and he does accomplish building up Hoke’s character some more in this book. There’s also enough going on so that it’s never too dull, but, particularly after reading Miami Blues, you definitely notice the lack of a really great core storyline. It’s not a bad read but I think New Hope for the Dead wouldn’t really appeal to anyone but Willeford fans.
New Hope for the Dead is a decent but underwhelming follow-up to the more exciting previous novel, Miami Blues, mostly because that novel had a strong antagonist in psychopathic serial killer Freddy Frenger pushing the action forwards and this novel doesn’t have that.
Not that it doesn’t have anything, but this book is mostly character-building stuff, clearing up administrative bits and pieces and table-setting for future novels. Which is fine - it’s clever how Charles Willeford works the junkie OD into Hoke finding a place for him and his family to stay - but it’s also much less enthralling to read, particularly as it gives the story a leaden pacing.
It’s surprising that both daughters don’t seem to have any resentment towards Hoke considering he’s barely been in their lives at all up to that point, and it’s also surprising how decent a father Hoke turns out to be. He’s a bit rough, but then he’s also like that with everyone, and some of the blatantly sexist attitudes he expresses read very outdated today. The way he treats his new partner, Ellita Sanchez, like a typist and an unequal partner would definitely not fly these days - nor would someone in that position simply take it!
But I like that Hoke is kind of a prick and yet he’s the hero of the series - that dash of anti-heroism makes him a more compelling character. Even when he’s going about his day-to-day, he’s not a boring dude to read about.
The cold cases themselves are interesting but Hoke, Ellita and Bill Henderson solve two right off the bat without really trying which is very convenient and unlikely, and even the main story of the junkie OD is resolved in a contrived fashion.
Still, Willeford’s writing is sharp, his characterisation and dialogue is bang on, and he does accomplish building up Hoke’s character some more in this book. There’s also enough going on so that it’s never too dull, but, particularly after reading Miami Blues, you definitely notice the lack of a really great core storyline. It’s not a bad read but I think New Hope for the Dead wouldn’t really appeal to anyone but Willeford fans.
February 5, 2023
I love the vibe of this series, with middle aged, leisure suited, sad sack homicide detective Hoke Mosely who is just sharp enough that you never quite feel sorry for him. But it's a close thing. New Hope for the Dead develops at a relaxed pace, with the insouciant Hoke working several cold murder cases as well as a new one, all while dealing with a multitude of personal financial, family and housing issues. For Hoke, when it rains, it pours, and he just rolls with it. There isn't much action or suspense, but the story has a number of funny scenes, which Willeford pulls off without ever crossing the line into farce. My favorites feature Hoke trying his best to teach his teenage daughters (who his wife just dumped in his lap so she could runoff and remarry) some important life lessons in about as crass and tactless a manner as you could imagine.
November 5, 2015
New Hope for the Dead is the second novel in Charles Willeford’s Hoke Moseley series, following Miami Blues. Hoke is a middle-aged Miami P.D. homicide detective who’s been gutted financially by a divorce and has been reduced to living in a tiny room in a run-down residential hotel that is inconveniently located just outside the Miami city limits. Inconveniently, because Hoke’s boss has just laid down the law and announced that the department will begin rigorously enforcing the requirement that all city police officers must actually live in Miami. Hoke has only a couple of weeks to find a new place to live, a herculean task given his financial straits and the scarcity of affordable housing in the city.
To compound his difficulties, Hoke’s ex-wife has decided to move from Florida to California to live with a major league baseball player who’s just signed a huge new contract. The ball player is not enamored of Hoke’s fourteen and sixteen year-old daughters and so, with no forewarning, the ex-wife packs up the girls and ships them off to live with Hoke who hasn’t had any contact with his daughters in years.
Things are almost as bleak on the job front. Hoke’s ambitious boss is bucking for a promotion and as a part of his campaign, he details Hoke, Hoke’s former partner Bill Henderson, and Hoke’s new partner Ellita Sanchez to compromise a three-person cold case squad and assigns them fifty old cases. The Major figures that even if the team only solves a few of them it will make him look good and assure his promotion. But these cases are virtually all dogs with very little hope of solutions.
Meanwhile, Hoke and Ellita have caught a death call that appears to be a simple heroin O.D. The young male victim is found the house of his shapely stepmother with whom he has been rooming. The case itself seems a slam dunk, but it’s going to take time and effort to get the case processed and the paper work done. On the bright side, though, Hoke sees romantic possibilities with the stepmother who owns a flower shop and who readily agrees that she might enjoy lunching with Hoke someday soon.
Complications ensue as they usually do, on virtually every front of Hoke’s life. In and around working his cases and training his new partner, he’s got to find a new home and the days are dwindling down to a precious few on that front. All in all, it’s a very entertaining story with a lot of humor. Willeford was a master at this sort of thing and he develops both the plot and his characters with a sure hand. A very good sequel to the novel that introduced Hoke Moseley.
To compound his difficulties, Hoke’s ex-wife has decided to move from Florida to California to live with a major league baseball player who’s just signed a huge new contract. The ball player is not enamored of Hoke’s fourteen and sixteen year-old daughters and so, with no forewarning, the ex-wife packs up the girls and ships them off to live with Hoke who hasn’t had any contact with his daughters in years.
Things are almost as bleak on the job front. Hoke’s ambitious boss is bucking for a promotion and as a part of his campaign, he details Hoke, Hoke’s former partner Bill Henderson, and Hoke’s new partner Ellita Sanchez to compromise a three-person cold case squad and assigns them fifty old cases. The Major figures that even if the team only solves a few of them it will make him look good and assure his promotion. But these cases are virtually all dogs with very little hope of solutions.
Meanwhile, Hoke and Ellita have caught a death call that appears to be a simple heroin O.D. The young male victim is found the house of his shapely stepmother with whom he has been rooming. The case itself seems a slam dunk, but it’s going to take time and effort to get the case processed and the paper work done. On the bright side, though, Hoke sees romantic possibilities with the stepmother who owns a flower shop and who readily agrees that she might enjoy lunching with Hoke someday soon.
Complications ensue as they usually do, on virtually every front of Hoke’s life. In and around working his cases and training his new partner, he’s got to find a new home and the days are dwindling down to a precious few on that front. All in all, it’s a very entertaining story with a lot of humor. Willeford was a master at this sort of thing and he develops both the plot and his characters with a sure hand. A very good sequel to the novel that introduced Hoke Moseley.
October 24, 2020
What a weird novel. Willeford was to crime fiction what Philip.K.Dick was to sci-fi. Hoke Moseley is unlike any other police detective in the crime fiction genre. He is almost like an average middle class guy in some ways - he has to deal with rent and alimony, he has not had sex in a long time and in this book, he has to take care of his teenage daughters while he deals with gluttonous cravings and obesity. Despite being a policeman, he faces housing problems caused by mass immigration and white flight in Florida. He is also tremendously good at his job and nothing ever escapes him, because of which he has to fore go an opportunity to sleep with a beautiful woman.
Moseley's interactions with his daughters was the best part of the novel. Unlike Miami Blues and Sideswipe this Hoke Moseley novel does not have the charismatic villain. Willeford is not at the top of his game - the sharp and epic dialog is a bit scarce and the case investigations seemed like they were put together too soon.
But reading about Hoke Moseley has become like meeting up with good friends (along with Hank Chinaski, Holden Caufield, Enid and Mark Renton). So I am willing to forgive a few mistakes.
Moseley's interactions with his daughters was the best part of the novel. Unlike Miami Blues and Sideswipe this Hoke Moseley novel does not have the charismatic villain. Willeford is not at the top of his game - the sharp and epic dialog is a bit scarce and the case investigations seemed like they were put together too soon.
But reading about Hoke Moseley has become like meeting up with good friends (along with Hank Chinaski, Holden Caufield, Enid and Mark Renton). So I am willing to forgive a few mistakes.
January 31, 2020
The second book in the Hoke Moseley series has a very different feel from “Miami Blues”. There’s no equivalent of the malevolent character of Freddy Frenger, who drove much of the plot in the first novel. In this one, Hoke investigates the death of a junkie, and a promotion-hungry senior officer also tasks him with investigating some cold cases. The story actually has more about Hoke’s personal life than any police procedural work. He gets dragged into some personal issues affecting his new partner, Detective Sanchez, and he also suddenly finds himself looking after his two teenage daughters, aged 16 and 14, neither of whom he has seen for 4 years. His ex-wife is remarrying and the girls say they don’t want to live with their mother’s new partner, although it’s also implied that their mother is happy enough to see them go. Hoke also spends much of the book looking for a new place to live. The author works in a fair bit of humour, and there’s one bizarre scene where Hoke goes to look at a house and encounters a dog that’s not particularly well-trained.
I quite enjoyed this. I thought it tailed off a little towards the end, but over the piece it was entertaining enough. You get the impression that Charles Willeford was re-setting the clock with Hoke Moseley, with an eye to the next book.
I quite enjoyed this. I thought it tailed off a little towards the end, but over the piece it was entertaining enough. You get the impression that Charles Willeford was re-setting the clock with Hoke Moseley, with an eye to the next book.
December 17, 2013
New Hope for the Dead is Charles Willeford's follow up to Miami Blues, the debut appearance of series detective Moseley. Except it's an entirely different beast of a novel. Willeford clearly didn't anticipate Moseley becoming a repeat performer in that first outing, making him secondary to the crazy Freddie Frenger Jr. and so this second novel gave him an opportunity to really flesh out the character, establish his world and really outline where this series of books is headed.
This time out Moseley is far less of a buffoon for example, instead of actively wallowing in how far he has fallen as a man Hoke is proactive, he knows things are bed and he wants to be a better man for his partner, his daughters, himself. It's an interesting flip but written in such a way, with such skill and heart that it feels less like artifice on the part of the author and closer to a natural progression of the character.
Instead of focussing on a particular crime or series of crimes for his detective to solve Willeford uses the novel to critique the politics and social development of Miami in the 80s and this combined with the fascinating character study that is the portrait of Sergeant Hoke Moseley marks the series as unique and worthy of a place in any crime aficionados collection.
This time out Moseley is far less of a buffoon for example, instead of actively wallowing in how far he has fallen as a man Hoke is proactive, he knows things are bed and he wants to be a better man for his partner, his daughters, himself. It's an interesting flip but written in such a way, with such skill and heart that it feels less like artifice on the part of the author and closer to a natural progression of the character.
Instead of focussing on a particular crime or series of crimes for his detective to solve Willeford uses the novel to critique the politics and social development of Miami in the 80s and this combined with the fascinating character study that is the portrait of Sergeant Hoke Moseley marks the series as unique and worthy of a place in any crime aficionados collection.
May 15, 2023
10/2015
After Miami Blues, which was about the bad guy as much as Hoke Mosely, the good guy, comes a meandering tale of Hoke's life. Dark and gritty in spots, gentle and likable overall.
After Miami Blues, which was about the bad guy as much as Hoke Mosely, the good guy, comes a meandering tale of Hoke's life. Dark and gritty in spots, gentle and likable overall.
June 2, 2023
In New Hope for the Dead the character arc of Hoke Moseley, the quirky homicide detective with a practical life view, takes a driver’s seat, while the crime mystery fills in the gaps.
After reading and enjoying the fast-paced plot and characters in book one, I wanted to learn more about Hoke’s personal life. And book two did not disappoint! We get to meet Hoke’s daughters and observe his parenting skills. Let’s say that Hoke will not win the father of the year award by any means. However, he handles everything with the same attitude that he uses in his job: a pragmatic logic with grayish morals. By the end of the story, Hoke has neatly wrapped up the case of the junkie OD, solved his living situation, and helped his partner who faced a life changing decision.
Without the plain, hardboiled writing skills of Willeford, this book could have been a big old flop. It’s his uncanny knack for description – the kind you can’t make up unless you’ve lived yourself – that kept me burning through the pages. Truly, there is nothing spectacular about this book; however, it all rolls together into an intriguing bundle.
I can understand why this series brought the author notoriety.
After reading and enjoying the fast-paced plot and characters in book one, I wanted to learn more about Hoke’s personal life. And book two did not disappoint! We get to meet Hoke’s daughters and observe his parenting skills. Let’s say that Hoke will not win the father of the year award by any means. However, he handles everything with the same attitude that he uses in his job: a pragmatic logic with grayish morals. By the end of the story, Hoke has neatly wrapped up the case of the junkie OD, solved his living situation, and helped his partner who faced a life changing decision.
Without the plain, hardboiled writing skills of Willeford, this book could have been a big old flop. It’s his uncanny knack for description – the kind you can’t make up unless you’ve lived yourself – that kept me burning through the pages. Truly, there is nothing spectacular about this book; however, it all rolls together into an intriguing bundle.
I can understand why this series brought the author notoriety.
November 7, 2011
I might not read any other authors apart from Charles Willeford for awhile. This guy. Man.
I enjoyed this just as much as Miami Blues even though I only gave it 4 stars versus the 5 I gave to MB. The crime-solvey bit that frames the middle parts is a little meh compared to that of MB, but man oh man the middle parts of this book. Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit. I burst out laughing at least three times, and if Hoke Moseley's sex talk with his daughters could be turned into a 2 minute play, I would see the damn thing every single night.
There are only 2 more Hoke Moseley books remaining, so I'm going to read a stand alone Willeford next so I can make Hoke last just a little longer.
I enjoyed this just as much as Miami Blues even though I only gave it 4 stars versus the 5 I gave to MB. The crime-solvey bit that frames the middle parts is a little meh compared to that of MB, but man oh man the middle parts of this book. Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit. I burst out laughing at least three times, and if Hoke Moseley's sex talk with his daughters could be turned into a 2 minute play, I would see the damn thing every single night.
There are only 2 more Hoke Moseley books remaining, so I'm going to read a stand alone Willeford next so I can make Hoke last just a little longer.
April 14, 2024
New Hope for the Dead is the second book in Willeford’s Hoke Moseley series, which late in his writing career, propelled him into newfound fame. Miami Blues introduced the character of Detective Hoke Moseley, a balding, denture-wearing 52-year-old cynical divorcee living in a run-down hotel because his alimony/child support was sucking half his pay. These books are set in Miami at the time of Don Johnson’s Miami Vice and Al Pacino’s Scarface, but it offers a side of Miami bereft of glamour, money, and fame. Moseley is a cynical throwback to a man of a different era who grumbles about being partnered with a woman, doesn’t want a gay secretary, and hasn’t seen his children in ten years since his divorce. Moseley is old school to the max and it shows.
This novel, unlike Miami Vice, is not focused on one face-off between Hoke and his counterpart in the criminal underworld and is more focused on developing Hoke’s character than a single crime story. This is true even though the primary murder investigation involves one drug addict Jerry who overdosed and thousands of dollars seem to be missing from his room. Hoke thinks the death is a bit hincky, but not so hincky that he does not want to date Jerry’s ex-stepmother after the corpse is cleared from the house. After all, Hoke has not had sex in a while and Loretta is a fox.
Nevertheless, much of this novel is involved in Hoke’s life which has him now partnered with Ellita Sanchez working cold cases. Ellita has been thrown out of her father’s home since she is not a thirty-year-old pregnant and brought shame to the family. Hoke comes to her rescue. At the same time, the two daughters he has not seen in ten years show up on the greyhound bus with a suitcase as ex-wife Patsy has left for California with her ballplayer new husband and they do not fit in with her upscale life. Hoke does not know what to do with two teenage girls he barely recognizes, but sees the upside as not having to pay any more child support.
New Hope for the Dead is not action-packed and you never have a concern for Hoke’s safety. It is a slower-paced narrative offering more insight into his character and the solutions he comes up with for the vexing problems he finds in life.
This novel, unlike Miami Vice, is not focused on one face-off between Hoke and his counterpart in the criminal underworld and is more focused on developing Hoke’s character than a single crime story. This is true even though the primary murder investigation involves one drug addict Jerry who overdosed and thousands of dollars seem to be missing from his room. Hoke thinks the death is a bit hincky, but not so hincky that he does not want to date Jerry’s ex-stepmother after the corpse is cleared from the house. After all, Hoke has not had sex in a while and Loretta is a fox.
Nevertheless, much of this novel is involved in Hoke’s life which has him now partnered with Ellita Sanchez working cold cases. Ellita has been thrown out of her father’s home since she is not a thirty-year-old pregnant and brought shame to the family. Hoke comes to her rescue. At the same time, the two daughters he has not seen in ten years show up on the greyhound bus with a suitcase as ex-wife Patsy has left for California with her ballplayer new husband and they do not fit in with her upscale life. Hoke does not know what to do with two teenage girls he barely recognizes, but sees the upside as not having to pay any more child support.
New Hope for the Dead is not action-packed and you never have a concern for Hoke’s safety. It is a slower-paced narrative offering more insight into his character and the solutions he comes up with for the vexing problems he finds in life.
January 19, 2021
"The world would look better if everybody drank a glassful of Wild Turkey in the morning."
I didn't like this book quite as much as the first (of four) in the Hoke Mosely series, as the central crime is less a mystery and mostly Hoke, though the book has its comic moments. My favorite characters in the first one were the two "villains" with Hoke kind of taking a back seat to them, coming in later. And the Hoke in this second book seems a little different than in the first book, as if Willeford were still trying to define him, making him both pretty capable cop and also kind of a dope. One thing that helped me figure out just what kind of cop this Hoke is, is that the sad-sack schleppy looking actor Paul Giamatti has been mentioned as possibly playing Hoke's part in a tv series. That helps me get what the intended vibe is with this guy.
This one focuses on the forever broke Hoke who has to move out of the flop house he has been living in since his ex-wife's divorce agreement put him there. He has to live within the Miami city limits. Then his ex decides to marry a rich athlete and dumps on him his two teen daughters that he has seen very little for two years. Hoke is supposed to be a decent cop, but hey, family comes first, he now needs something nice for his new family, and so he develops a scheme to defraud a woman (criminal) so he can take over her house in Miami for a few years; that's kinda the crime scene, here, well done (and related to the woman as he is eating raw oysters and drinking two pitchers of beer), but not all that memorable.
But the best moments in the book include the "sex talk" Hoke gives his daughters, and Hoke's hapless attempts to find an apartment in the city limits (one story involving a proposal for house-sitting a horny dog I can't tell here on a family social media site, but it made me laugh aloud).
What I particularly like about the Hoke series (and what I have heard generally about Willeford generally) is the comic send-up in these books of dumb white sexist males. Initially I thought it was Willeford who was (comically, not really all that offensively) sexist and racist, but I really don't think so! I am going to read more of Willeford and will report out my findings.
I didn't like this book quite as much as the first (of four) in the Hoke Mosely series, as the central crime is less a mystery and mostly Hoke, though the book has its comic moments. My favorite characters in the first one were the two "villains" with Hoke kind of taking a back seat to them, coming in later. And the Hoke in this second book seems a little different than in the first book, as if Willeford were still trying to define him, making him both pretty capable cop and also kind of a dope. One thing that helped me figure out just what kind of cop this Hoke is, is that the sad-sack schleppy looking actor Paul Giamatti has been mentioned as possibly playing Hoke's part in a tv series. That helps me get what the intended vibe is with this guy.
This one focuses on the forever broke Hoke who has to move out of the flop house he has been living in since his ex-wife's divorce agreement put him there. He has to live within the Miami city limits. Then his ex decides to marry a rich athlete and dumps on him his two teen daughters that he has seen very little for two years. Hoke is supposed to be a decent cop, but hey, family comes first, he now needs something nice for his new family, and so he develops a scheme to defraud a woman (criminal) so he can take over her house in Miami for a few years; that's kinda the crime scene, here, well done (and related to the woman as he is eating raw oysters and drinking two pitchers of beer), but not all that memorable.
But the best moments in the book include the "sex talk" Hoke gives his daughters, and Hoke's hapless attempts to find an apartment in the city limits (one story involving a proposal for house-sitting a horny dog I can't tell here on a family social media site, but it made me laugh aloud).
What I particularly like about the Hoke series (and what I have heard generally about Willeford generally) is the comic send-up in these books of dumb white sexist males. Initially I thought it was Willeford who was (comically, not really all that offensively) sexist and racist, but I really don't think so! I am going to read more of Willeford and will report out my findings.
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March 29, 2019There's an OD that might be a homicide, but the real question is, will Mosely take the house sitting job where he has to jerk off a dog? I loved the psychopath narrative in Miami Blues so much that whenever Mosely showed up I got a little impatient. But here he's a great character, and this thing reads like a tightly plotted Bukowski novel. Hard for me not to picture Richard Jenkins or Ben Gazzara as Mosely.
August 30, 2010
Almost nothing happens in this book but I'd rather hang out with Hoke Mosley than almost anyone on Earth
June 17, 2021
"Hoke didn't like himself very much. He never had, now that he thought about it. Still, a man had to take care of his family."
- Charles Willeford, New Hope for the Dead
Hoke Mosely is rational self-interest with a bit of morality thrown in. Hoke is not a perfect hero, and certainly not an anti-hero, but he does seem to exist on a plane we all can relate to a bit. He cuts corners, lies to his boss, has a poor relationship with his ex-wife and not a much better relationship with his daughters (one of the great parts of this novel is his sex talk with his daughters). He's got a pregnant Cuban partner and is sleeping with a murder witness. Sometimes, you have to make the best of a poor hand. I've seen other reviewers downplay this novel because of Hoke's imperfections, but I'd rather have an uncomfortable/imperfect hero than one that is auto-tuned to a narrow bandwidth of morality.
- Charles Willeford, New Hope for the Dead
Hoke Mosely is rational self-interest with a bit of morality thrown in. Hoke is not a perfect hero, and certainly not an anti-hero, but he does seem to exist on a plane we all can relate to a bit. He cuts corners, lies to his boss, has a poor relationship with his ex-wife and not a much better relationship with his daughters (one of the great parts of this novel is his sex talk with his daughters). He's got a pregnant Cuban partner and is sleeping with a murder witness. Sometimes, you have to make the best of a poor hand. I've seen other reviewers downplay this novel because of Hoke's imperfections, but I'd rather have an uncomfortable/imperfect hero than one that is auto-tuned to a narrow bandwidth of morality.
March 13, 2025
Secondo libro (di quattro) della serie dedicata al detective Hoke Moseley.
Il protagonista è il principale punto di forza del libro. Perfetto anti-eroe hard-boiled: cinico, squattrinato, perennemente nei guai, che cerca di cavarsela alla meno peggio. Willeford lo rende un personaggio realistico e memorabile, con una profondità psicologica rara nel genere.
A differenza di molti noir, qui non c’è un’indagine lineare con un grande colpo di scena finale. Il caso principale si sviluppa quasi in secondo piano, l’omicidio è solo un pretesto per esplorare la vita di Hoke e il suo rapporto con il mondo che lo circonda. Il ritmo è più riflessivo, con scene che sembrano scollegate dall'indagine principale.
Un hard-boiled fuori dagli schemi, dove il crimine è solo un pretesto per esplorare il degrado della società e la vita di un detective fallito. Willeford offre uno sguardo spietato e realistico su Miami e su un protagonista lontano dai cliché del genere.
Il protagonista è il principale punto di forza del libro. Perfetto anti-eroe hard-boiled: cinico, squattrinato, perennemente nei guai, che cerca di cavarsela alla meno peggio. Willeford lo rende un personaggio realistico e memorabile, con una profondità psicologica rara nel genere.
A differenza di molti noir, qui non c’è un’indagine lineare con un grande colpo di scena finale. Il caso principale si sviluppa quasi in secondo piano, l’omicidio è solo un pretesto per esplorare la vita di Hoke e il suo rapporto con il mondo che lo circonda. Il ritmo è più riflessivo, con scene che sembrano scollegate dall'indagine principale.
Un hard-boiled fuori dagli schemi, dove il crimine è solo un pretesto per esplorare il degrado della società e la vita di un detective fallito. Willeford offre uno sguardo spietato e realistico su Miami e su un protagonista lontano dai cliché del genere.
November 9, 2015
One way to understand the history of detective fiction is to weigh out the changing balance between character-building and the central plot.
The Victorian ancestors of "detective fiction" proper were much richer in character than in plot. Consider The Moonstone, whose pleasure derives not so much from a stolen diamond as the round robin narrative eccentricity. The novel shows us not crime in a bare form, as golden age crime novels do (though always dressed with an inconsequential motive as though to better accentuate the ingeniousness of the act itself), but rather a relationship between character and crime. The early and mid 20th century saw a great many stripped down crime novels. Conan Doyle, the four Queens of Crime, Erle Stanley Gardner, Rex Stout, most pulp writers, etc. - all of them reduced characters to a few distinct qualities. Sometimes this sketch captures the reader in a jovially Dickensian way (e.g., Doyle or Stout) and sometimes its obvious staginess had a curious distancing effect (e.g., Poirot or Perry Mason). In all cases, however, the emphasis was on static characters, whose personalities are understood to exist separately from the experiences they undergo in the course of the novel.
There were a lot of important character heavy books from the mid-century that foreshadowed a shift in balance in favor of character. Mystery is clearly a secondary element in Chandler's work (hence the famously indeterminate murder of the chauffeur). There are two central elements. The first is dialogue and the second is character. This is not to say that the mystery plot is in the margins. It remains front and center as a pretext for a paranoid grand tour of the interconnected corruption at different levels of society. Mass market writers in the sixties (Day Keene, Bruno Fischer, etc.) tend to offer a stripped-down version of the paranoid tour. If anything the view of society is even more anatomical, as stereotyped characters of all classes and professions are shown to be working for corrupt interests.
This societal anatomy is formalized and delimited in a couple places. The first is the Cold War novel, where the characters are still in disguise, in that they have a cover rather than openly working for corruption. However, rather than a society of anarchically grasping people as in classic roman noir, the source of the corruption has been elegantly pared down to bad ideology. Then there is the success of the Mafia novel, where crime is similarly centralized (and therefore segregated from standard everyday American society) but cover becomes less important. These are still social anatomies, but the social rot is heavily circumscribed, unlike Chandler, where one can walk into any house and find a murderer.
In all paranoid tour novels detection loses its centrality. The revelation is not the reconstruction of the true story of the crime by the detective, but that society itself is complicit. The crime is a symptom, not the illness itself.
The Hoke Moseley series is a take on the paranoid tour, but also a parody of that paranoid mode. Society is pretty much irredeemable, yes, but rather than an anatomy of the social structure, one finds that society is hopelessly fragmented. There are not conspiracies, not even destructive ideologies, just greed, bad luck, and stupidity. Moseley's haplessness is correlative. The mystery novel has always been about social structures. The detective has to look into the crowd and judge. In Miami, where crime is so anonymous and society is entirely incoherent, the task itself is absurd, and can therefore only be solved through dumb chance.
What most people find "weird" about New Hope for the Dead is that it has no center. There is little direction, little crime, little detection. We spend a lot of time just hanging out with Moseley. The central plot is about his difficulty finding an affordable new rental within Miami city limits. Willeford explodes the standard paranoid novel tactic of using a single crime to reveal a web of evil, showing instead disconnected institutional, cultural, and financial factors that are stumbling blocks. Crimes aren't united by collusion, but by life in Miami. It is not a novel of social criticism, to be sure. Willeford's reaction is bemusement, not concern. Miami is a human zoo where social controls are so broken that our native anarchy reigns.
To put this into historical perspective once more, the classic detective story is about the conquest over disorder by society, an effective use of social controls. The paranoid detective story is about the tragically (if excitingly) hopeless pervasiveness of corruption. From one perspective, this is a breakdown of social controls, but what is always revealed is that there is a parallel society of crime operating under the cover of regular society. Willeford, more existential, sees that the breakdown has really destroyed the concept of society. There are conditions, and there are people. Willeford sees this with a kind of comic libertarianism. This diminished sense of belonging is frustrating, tiresome, but above all funny. Your classic detective helps render society coherent. Moseley, more dizzy, registers the incoherence and absurdity of Miami, an incoherence that seems part and parcel with the city's particular human freedom.
The Victorian ancestors of "detective fiction" proper were much richer in character than in plot. Consider The Moonstone, whose pleasure derives not so much from a stolen diamond as the round robin narrative eccentricity. The novel shows us not crime in a bare form, as golden age crime novels do (though always dressed with an inconsequential motive as though to better accentuate the ingeniousness of the act itself), but rather a relationship between character and crime. The early and mid 20th century saw a great many stripped down crime novels. Conan Doyle, the four Queens of Crime, Erle Stanley Gardner, Rex Stout, most pulp writers, etc. - all of them reduced characters to a few distinct qualities. Sometimes this sketch captures the reader in a jovially Dickensian way (e.g., Doyle or Stout) and sometimes its obvious staginess had a curious distancing effect (e.g., Poirot or Perry Mason). In all cases, however, the emphasis was on static characters, whose personalities are understood to exist separately from the experiences they undergo in the course of the novel.
There were a lot of important character heavy books from the mid-century that foreshadowed a shift in balance in favor of character. Mystery is clearly a secondary element in Chandler's work (hence the famously indeterminate murder of the chauffeur). There are two central elements. The first is dialogue and the second is character. This is not to say that the mystery plot is in the margins. It remains front and center as a pretext for a paranoid grand tour of the interconnected corruption at different levels of society. Mass market writers in the sixties (Day Keene, Bruno Fischer, etc.) tend to offer a stripped-down version of the paranoid tour. If anything the view of society is even more anatomical, as stereotyped characters of all classes and professions are shown to be working for corrupt interests.
This societal anatomy is formalized and delimited in a couple places. The first is the Cold War novel, where the characters are still in disguise, in that they have a cover rather than openly working for corruption. However, rather than a society of anarchically grasping people as in classic roman noir, the source of the corruption has been elegantly pared down to bad ideology. Then there is the success of the Mafia novel, where crime is similarly centralized (and therefore segregated from standard everyday American society) but cover becomes less important. These are still social anatomies, but the social rot is heavily circumscribed, unlike Chandler, where one can walk into any house and find a murderer.
In all paranoid tour novels detection loses its centrality. The revelation is not the reconstruction of the true story of the crime by the detective, but that society itself is complicit. The crime is a symptom, not the illness itself.
The Hoke Moseley series is a take on the paranoid tour, but also a parody of that paranoid mode. Society is pretty much irredeemable, yes, but rather than an anatomy of the social structure, one finds that society is hopelessly fragmented. There are not conspiracies, not even destructive ideologies, just greed, bad luck, and stupidity. Moseley's haplessness is correlative. The mystery novel has always been about social structures. The detective has to look into the crowd and judge. In Miami, where crime is so anonymous and society is entirely incoherent, the task itself is absurd, and can therefore only be solved through dumb chance.
What most people find "weird" about New Hope for the Dead is that it has no center. There is little direction, little crime, little detection. We spend a lot of time just hanging out with Moseley. The central plot is about his difficulty finding an affordable new rental within Miami city limits. Willeford explodes the standard paranoid novel tactic of using a single crime to reveal a web of evil, showing instead disconnected institutional, cultural, and financial factors that are stumbling blocks. Crimes aren't united by collusion, but by life in Miami. It is not a novel of social criticism, to be sure. Willeford's reaction is bemusement, not concern. Miami is a human zoo where social controls are so broken that our native anarchy reigns.
To put this into historical perspective once more, the classic detective story is about the conquest over disorder by society, an effective use of social controls. The paranoid detective story is about the tragically (if excitingly) hopeless pervasiveness of corruption. From one perspective, this is a breakdown of social controls, but what is always revealed is that there is a parallel society of crime operating under the cover of regular society. Willeford, more existential, sees that the breakdown has really destroyed the concept of society. There are conditions, and there are people. Willeford sees this with a kind of comic libertarianism. This diminished sense of belonging is frustrating, tiresome, but above all funny. Your classic detective helps render society coherent. Moseley, more dizzy, registers the incoherence and absurdity of Miami, an incoherence that seems part and parcel with the city's particular human freedom.
August 13, 2020
Indagini tra un casino e l'altro
Secondo capitolo della Tetralogia di Miami sempre con Hoke Moseley, detective della Omicidi.
Se, come ci ricorda Willeford in apertura di romanzo, CAOS è l’acronimo per definire la città di Miami: C come corsie, A come Autostrade, O come ostacoli e S come svincoli, lo stesso si può dire della vita di Hoke: un vero casino.
Le quotidianità di quest'uomo, che per lavoro deve fare indagini - qui è incaricato di risolvere vecchi casi in poco tempo -, viene sempre scombussolata da qualche evento privato come, ad esempio, la ricerca di una casa stabile per non essere cacciato dal Dipartimento. E poi ancora l'inaspettata ricomparsa delle due figlie minorenni scaricate dalla ex moglie. E, tanto per non lasciargli il tempo di riposare, ci si mette anche un'incresciosa situazione della sua collega.
L'aspetto poliziesco, dunque, è sì presente ma non è il fulcro del romanzo. Anzi, piuttosto marginale.
È Molto più divertente assistere alla vita privata del detective - e al suo nuovo rapporto con le figlie ritrovate: essenziale, diretto e senza fronzoli, anche quando affronta l'argomento sesso -, perché ammanta tutto di un piacevole realismo.
Per quanto incasinato, Hoke ha una calma tutta sua che lo porta ad agire per il meglio, o comunque fa il meglio che può per gestire quel che gli capita, nel lavoro e fuori.
Sa gestire le persone e i casi, è uno concreto, non è interessato alla carriera, e quando ci si mette sa fare il bastardo.
Da tenere d'occhio.
Secondo capitolo della Tetralogia di Miami sempre con Hoke Moseley, detective della Omicidi.
Se, come ci ricorda Willeford in apertura di romanzo, CAOS è l’acronimo per definire la città di Miami: C come corsie, A come Autostrade, O come ostacoli e S come svincoli, lo stesso si può dire della vita di Hoke: un vero casino.
Le quotidianità di quest'uomo, che per lavoro deve fare indagini - qui è incaricato di risolvere vecchi casi in poco tempo -, viene sempre scombussolata da qualche evento privato come, ad esempio, la ricerca di una casa stabile per non essere cacciato dal Dipartimento. E poi ancora l'inaspettata ricomparsa delle due figlie minorenni scaricate dalla ex moglie. E, tanto per non lasciargli il tempo di riposare, ci si mette anche un'incresciosa situazione della sua collega.
L'aspetto poliziesco, dunque, è sì presente ma non è il fulcro del romanzo. Anzi, piuttosto marginale.
È Molto più divertente assistere alla vita privata del detective - e al suo nuovo rapporto con le figlie ritrovate: essenziale, diretto e senza fronzoli, anche quando affronta l'argomento sesso -, perché ammanta tutto di un piacevole realismo.
Per quanto incasinato, Hoke ha una calma tutta sua che lo porta ad agire per il meglio, o comunque fa il meglio che può per gestire quel che gli capita, nel lavoro e fuori.
Sa gestire le persone e i casi, è uno concreto, non è interessato alla carriera, e quando ci si mette sa fare il bastardo.
Da tenere d'occhio.
November 27, 2019
Hoke Moseley is the kind of police detective who - when he sits the prime suspect down at the end of the book for the big "hey I know you murdered this dude and here's how you did it" speech - also orders himself a dozen raw oysters and TWO pitchers of Michelob. Absolute hero, slay king, we stan a legend, etc.
It drives me up the wall when people talk about how they "love" such-and-such fictional character, but I have to say: Hoke Moseley rules and I really like him a lot and I almost kind of feel protective of him. He's an easygoing cornball white dude but he has a code, he has real decency and a tranquil respect for the gentle stupidness of the whole darned human comedy. He may be a fucking cop but also: the guy lives in a shitty hotel and already has dentures even though he's probably 40something; he never gets laid; one of his favorite meals is two cans of Dinty Moore beef stew with raw onion added; and he genuinely wants the other people in his life, his kids and his coworkers alike, to be happy and successful. I had a grand old time reading this book, it's like Elmore Leonard but cozier.
It drives me up the wall when people talk about how they "love" such-and-such fictional character, but I have to say: Hoke Moseley rules and I really like him a lot and I almost kind of feel protective of him. He's an easygoing cornball white dude but he has a code, he has real decency and a tranquil respect for the gentle stupidness of the whole darned human comedy. He may be a fucking cop but also: the guy lives in a shitty hotel and already has dentures even though he's probably 40something; he never gets laid; one of his favorite meals is two cans of Dinty Moore beef stew with raw onion added; and he genuinely wants the other people in his life, his kids and his coworkers alike, to be happy and successful. I had a grand old time reading this book, it's like Elmore Leonard but cozier.
December 30, 2014
I like Hoke Moseley and all ... but this follow up to Miami Blues was dull. It was a like a very odd episode of Father Knows Best. Hardly anything happens except for conversations with Hoke's coworkers, Hoke searching for a place to live, and a weak-ass mystery.
There were some funny quotes and conversations that saved this from a one star review. The biggest difference between this installment and Miami Blues was the back and forth plots of Hoke and the main criminal character. I must say I preferred the dual narratives of the first book. Maybe that was because Junior was such a great villain.
I hope the series picks up.
There were some funny quotes and conversations that saved this from a one star review. The biggest difference between this installment and Miami Blues was the back and forth plots of Hoke and the main criminal character. I must say I preferred the dual narratives of the first book. Maybe that was because Junior was such a great villain.
I hope the series picks up.
October 25, 2020
Recensione pubblicata originariamente sul mio blog Arte della Lettura
Tempi d'oro per i morti è il seguito di Miami Blues, dal quale però si distingue nettamente per via del cambio di protagonista. In questo libro torna infatti l'ispettore Moseley Hoke, che stavolta si trova al centro di tutta la storia.
Trama
La trama è semplice, più tendente verso il genere di narrativa che quello thriller. Non si tratta di nulla di eccezionale, ma rimane comunque coinvolgente e interessante.
I contenuti di questo libro, così come nel caso del precedente, sono a volte volgari e sconci.
Stile di scrittura
Lo stile di scrittura semplice e rapido di Charles Willeford si avvicina molto a quello di Charles Bukowski. Le descrizioni sono ridotte all'essenziale, ma sono comunque sufficienti a creare l'atmosfera adatta per il libro.
Conclusioni
Un ottimo libro se già si apprezza Charles Bukowski, per stile e contenuti.
Altre recensioni sul mio blog Arte della Lettura
Tempi d'oro per i morti è il seguito di Miami Blues, dal quale però si distingue nettamente per via del cambio di protagonista. In questo libro torna infatti l'ispettore Moseley Hoke, che stavolta si trova al centro di tutta la storia.
Trama
La trama è semplice, più tendente verso il genere di narrativa che quello thriller. Non si tratta di nulla di eccezionale, ma rimane comunque coinvolgente e interessante.
I contenuti di questo libro, così come nel caso del precedente, sono a volte volgari e sconci.
Stile di scrittura
Lo stile di scrittura semplice e rapido di Charles Willeford si avvicina molto a quello di Charles Bukowski. Le descrizioni sono ridotte all'essenziale, ma sono comunque sufficienti a creare l'atmosfera adatta per il libro.
Conclusioni
Un ottimo libro se già si apprezza Charles Bukowski, per stile e contenuti.
Altre recensioni sul mio blog Arte della Lettura
July 18, 2022
Charles Willeford's New Hope for the Dead is the second of the author's Hoke Moseley novels. Moseley is a capable, instinctive detective with false teeth who lives in a semi-derelict Miami Beach hotel. The novel begins with his investigation of the death of a teenage junkie living with his stepmother, then switches gear as Moseley is put in charge of a detail investigating unsolved homicides.
His efforts are foiled when his ex-wide dumps his two teenage daughters on him without advance notice, and when his unmarried partner Ellida finds herself pregnant and is thrown out of her family home because her father decides to have nothing more to do with her. At the same time he must solve crimes, Moseley must find housing for the three women suddenly thrust upon him.
He manages to do so by performing a slightly underhanded bit of blackmail that solves his housing problems. This is a wonderfully atmospheric novel that gives one a good feeling of the strangeness that is South Florida.
His efforts are foiled when his ex-wide dumps his two teenage daughters on him without advance notice, and when his unmarried partner Ellida finds herself pregnant and is thrown out of her family home because her father decides to have nothing more to do with her. At the same time he must solve crimes, Moseley must find housing for the three women suddenly thrust upon him.
He manages to do so by performing a slightly underhanded bit of blackmail that solves his housing problems. This is a wonderfully atmospheric novel that gives one a good feeling of the strangeness that is South Florida.
August 1, 2022
Soffre un po' dell'età, questo poliziesco. Scritto negli anni '80, i riferimenti alle discriminazioni razziali, al matrimonio, al ruolo della donna sono invecchiati malamente. Scorre facilmente però, ed è anche piuttosto semplice provare simpatia per questo protagonista poco ortodosso ma generoso. Il tutto è poco realistico, credo, ma non pretende di essere un romanzo verista, quindi va bene anche così.
3,5
3,5
August 3, 2020
Niente di speciale. Un poliziesco che si lascia leggere.
February 13, 2024
Secondo capitolo della serie dedicata a Moseley, che si legge sempre con piacere.
Hard boiled americano allo stato puro, con il sergente incasinato e pure parecchio maneggione protagonista che alla fine non si ama, ma si fa apprezzare.
Anche perché il suo personaggio da poliziotto maledetto, con la dentiera che balla e i panni sudati e stropicciati, questa volta ha uno sviluppo inatteso.
Innanzitutto: Moseley troverà casa a Miami - indispensabile per far parte della polizia. Come, lo scoprirete all'ultima pagina.
Oltretutto, recupererà parte del suo stipendio, perché la moglie gli rispedisce le figlie (niente mantenimento, quindi) dopo essersi trasferita altrove.
Non bastassero le due eredi a dargli autorità come pater familia, pure la collega Sanchez si metterà in una situazione per cui dovrà chiedere riparo al buon Moseley.
Che oltretutto, ha più di un caso da risolvere.
Mica male come carne al fuoco. Ma Willeford sa brasare per bene il lettore e alla fine l'apprezzamento è assicurato.
Hard boiled americano allo stato puro, con il sergente incasinato e pure parecchio maneggione protagonista che alla fine non si ama, ma si fa apprezzare.
Anche perché il suo personaggio da poliziotto maledetto, con la dentiera che balla e i panni sudati e stropicciati, questa volta ha uno sviluppo inatteso.
Innanzitutto: Moseley troverà casa a Miami - indispensabile per far parte della polizia. Come, lo scoprirete all'ultima pagina.
Oltretutto, recupererà parte del suo stipendio, perché la moglie gli rispedisce le figlie (niente mantenimento, quindi) dopo essersi trasferita altrove.
Non bastassero le due eredi a dargli autorità come pater familia, pure la collega Sanchez si metterà in una situazione per cui dovrà chiedere riparo al buon Moseley.
Che oltretutto, ha più di un caso da risolvere.
Mica male come carne al fuoco. Ma Willeford sa brasare per bene il lettore e alla fine l'apprezzamento è assicurato.
July 9, 2020
Se vi piacciono i polizieschi ambientati a Miami, dovete assolutamente leggere le "disavventure" del detective Hoke Moseley scritte da Charles Willeford. E' la definizione del detective povero in canna, trasandato, ma determinato e giusto.
Gettate i telefonini, spegnete l'aria condizionata e fatevi prestare un vecchio condizionatore rumoroso o un ventilatore mezzo scassato e arrugginito dal vostro vicino sudamericano, chiudetevi in casa e assaporate il gusto dell'aria umida della vera Miami anni 80.
Un autore che ha ispirato, grazie ai suoi personaggi e situazioni realistiche ma allo stesso tempo assurde e surreali, tutto il filone di film polizieschi con le classica formazione a due detective più il capitano dove il caso fa da sfondo e i personaggi sono la parte principale della narrazione.
Inoltre è fonte di ispirazione per Tarantino e i fratelli Coen, sempre per la genuinità dei personaggi e le situazioni "da strada", da tessuto sociale; piccoli criminali, agenti di polizia, detective, famiglie disagiate, il tragico e il comico che si fondono perfettamente in una città multietnica in continuo cambiamento. E sullo sfondo le Everglades.
Tempi d'oro per i morti non è Blues come il primo libro "Miami Blues", e non ci sono haiku, lo stile è leggermente diverso ma Willeford ha scritto un monumento alla città di Miami che aspetta solo di essere letto e vissuto. Un romanzo poliziesco con una gran anima, e un grande spirito.
Le illustrazioni di Emiliano Ponzi per l'edizione italiana Feltrinelli sono stupende.
- "Una volta," cominciò Hoke alzandosi in piedi, e posando la lattina vuota sul piano di vetro del tavolo, "a Miami bastava comporre un numero telefonico e arrivava un tipo su un taxi. Gli davi cinque dollari, lui si prendeva il cadavere e lo faceva sparire. Ma non credo che lavori più."
Gettate i telefonini, spegnete l'aria condizionata e fatevi prestare un vecchio condizionatore rumoroso o un ventilatore mezzo scassato e arrugginito dal vostro vicino sudamericano, chiudetevi in casa e assaporate il gusto dell'aria umida della vera Miami anni 80.
Un autore che ha ispirato, grazie ai suoi personaggi e situazioni realistiche ma allo stesso tempo assurde e surreali, tutto il filone di film polizieschi con le classica formazione a due detective più il capitano dove il caso fa da sfondo e i personaggi sono la parte principale della narrazione.
Inoltre è fonte di ispirazione per Tarantino e i fratelli Coen, sempre per la genuinità dei personaggi e le situazioni "da strada", da tessuto sociale; piccoli criminali, agenti di polizia, detective, famiglie disagiate, il tragico e il comico che si fondono perfettamente in una città multietnica in continuo cambiamento. E sullo sfondo le Everglades.
Tempi d'oro per i morti non è Blues come il primo libro "Miami Blues", e non ci sono haiku, lo stile è leggermente diverso ma Willeford ha scritto un monumento alla città di Miami che aspetta solo di essere letto e vissuto. Un romanzo poliziesco con una gran anima, e un grande spirito.
Le illustrazioni di Emiliano Ponzi per l'edizione italiana Feltrinelli sono stupende.
- "Una volta," cominciò Hoke alzandosi in piedi, e posando la lattina vuota sul piano di vetro del tavolo, "a Miami bastava comporre un numero telefonico e arrivava un tipo su un taxi. Gli davi cinque dollari, lui si prendeva il cadavere e lo faceva sparire. Ma non credo che lavori più."
May 27, 2011
Very snappily written, with sharp, sardonic descriptions, realistic dialogue and a story that's less about the mysteries that are solved along the way as they are about Hoke Moseley's quotidian dilemmas - finding housing,looking after two teenage daughters and generally making ends meet. The way he solves his housing problem is startlingly amoral by my standards. My first Willeford novel and it seems like I'd enjoy more.
November 17, 2015
A Hoke Moseley novel is to literature as comfort food is to cuisine. You have to like the guy because he's just like you or at least some of your friends. He struggles with his finances, his relationships, his job, just like a real person. He's not above taking advantage of a situation for his own benefit but he's nowhere near a bad person, just an average joe and that is what makes him so appealing.
June 6, 2020
A differenza di Miami Blues, la vicenda è più intima. Si parla di famiglia non convenzionale, si parla dell'essere genitori, e si parla dell'America degli anni '80.
Il ritmo è sereno, rilassante e pacato. Non ci sono i grandi exploits come nel precedente capitolo, ma ho particolarmente apprezzato il nuovo ritmo della narrazione. Hoke Moseley è il detective più sgangherato che conosca, ma quant'è bello passare qualche giorno in sua compagnia!
Il ritmo è sereno, rilassante e pacato. Non ci sono i grandi exploits come nel precedente capitolo, ma ho particolarmente apprezzato il nuovo ritmo della narrazione. Hoke Moseley è il detective più sgangherato che conosca, ma quant'è bello passare qualche giorno in sua compagnia!
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August 27, 2020lacks the "what'll happen next?" quality of the previous installment, perhaps inevitably, since here the focus is cold cases rather than a sociopath on the loose doin' sociopath things. i will say that the way hoke resolves his daughter aileen's orthodontic issues (and the way in which everybody treats it as extremely normal) is one of the most bizarre reading experiences i've ever had, if you're into that kind of thing
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