New Hope For The Dead

The second book in Charles Willeford's series featuring divorced, middle aged Detective Hoke Moseley is the entertaining New Hope For The Dead. The new hope is born from a special assignment designed to solve cold cases to make the homicide department look better on percentages of solved murders that would lead to a number of promotions. Willeford writes very well when showing the mind numbing detail checking that leads to the solving of crimes. But what I love about his writing is what the reader learns about the Miami area, the intricacies of a police department-politics (it reminds me of David Simon's Homicide with Baltimore and homicide department inside scoop) ,  as well as the hum drum details of the everyday lives of his characters. This novel is as much about the sudden arrival of two daughters he barely knows, his housing and money problems. We also get to know his Cuban partner who is knocked up and kicked out of her house by over domineering father. He peppers his very readable prose with some interesting worlds-I found my self looking up words on a half dozen occasions, which isn't usual when reading crime/mystery novels. I'm looking forward to the next installment in the life of the down to earth Hoke Moseley.