Charles Willeford: New Hope for the Dead (UK 2014)

From the Publisher:
'No one writes a better crime novel than Charles Willeford' Elmore Leonard
In an expensive Miami neighbourhood, Sergeant Hoke Mosely, Homicide Division, is called to investigate the lethal overdose of a young junkie. But what seems like a routine OD gives Moseley cause to doubt - particularly when he meets the dead kid's stunning stepmother.

And with his two teenage daughters dumped on him by his troublesome ex-wife, a new beat partner struggling with an unplanned pregnancy, and fifty cold cases to solve, it starts to feel like this little matter of a dead junkie and his beautiful stepmother might just be the answer to Hoke's prayers...

Charles Willeford: New Hope for the Dead. With a Foreword by Lawrence Block. The Murder Room, ISBN: 9781471914300 (August, 2014), 1035 KB (ca. 258 p.), £4.99.

Charles Willeford: New Hope for the Dead (USA 2004)

From the Publisher:
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.

Charles Willeford: New Hope for the Dead. A Hoke Moseley Novel. With an Introduction by James Lee Burke. Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, ISBN: 9781400032495 (August, 2004), 244 p., $15.00.

Charles Willeford: New Hope for the Dead (UK 2001)

From the Publisher:
Hoke Moseley's boss has dumped fifty 'cold cases', old unsolved homicides, on his desk. His ex-wife has dumped his two teenage daughters on his doorstep. His voluptuous partner, Cuban Ellita Sanchez, has been kicked out of her house for immoral goings-on. The Miami police chief is kicking Hoke out of his house for illegal goings-on. Happily, however, the wanton stepmother of the OD'd teenage junkie wants Hoke in her bed. But that could just turn out to be the biggest shocker of all.

Charles Willeford: New Hope for the Dead. No Exit Press, ISBN: 1842430106 (January, 2001), 273 p., £6.99.

Charles Willeford: New Hope for the Dead (USA 1996)

From the Publisher:
Beware of the cop. He bites.
Hoke Moseley's boss is out for a promotion. His partner is having a baby. His ex-wife is moving to California with a major leaguer who makes ten times Hoke's policeman's salary. And Hoke's two daughters have shown up at his squalid, flea-bitten Miami Beach motel: they're expecting a dad.

When it rains in Florida, it pours. Dead broke, Hoke needs to find a home inside the Miami city limits within twenty-four hours, while he and his pregnant partner, Ellita Sanchez, have been assigned fifty old unsolved murder cases by their chief. But while Major Willie Brownley wants results -- and all the credit -- for solving some cold cases, one very hot case won't let Hoke go. In fact, this little matter of a dead junkie and his beautiful stepmother might just be the answer to all of Hoke's prayers...

Charles Willeford: New Hope for the Dead. A Hoke Moseley Novel. With an Introduction by James Lee Burke. Dell, ISBN: 0440218845 (January, 1996), 292 p., $4.99.