Final viewing: a bill hawley undertaking

by Leo Axler

Book Overview

Undertaker and amateur sleuth Bill Hawley investigates the bizarre death of a blind man, found dead in the company of a young exotic dancer, without the $50,000 cash he had been carrying. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425142442
• ISBN13: 9780425142448
• Release Date: June 1994
• Publisher: Berkley
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 0.8" x 4.5"

Customer Reviews

An Undertaker called "Wild Bill?"

This is the beginning of a mystery series with an undertaker as the main character. He gains the moniker "the sleuthing undertaker" from his aptitude at a B+B murder mystery event, and soon afterward he is given a real mystery to solve when a client of the funeral home hires him to find out what her husband was really doing in a motel room with a prostitute, and what happened to $50,000 in cash that he was carrying. Along the way he meets all sorts of unsavory characters and finds out that the deceased was involved in dealings with the mob. The story is faced-paced and well written, but the main character is a little hard to believe as a funeral director - he has a volatile temper, is a former alcoholic, and deals with many personal demons. Not exactly what one would expect, however I suppose funeral directors come in all types. His private eye sidekick Larry Fizner is entertaining as a grizzled old cuss who wears loud plaid and drinks too much but is tough as nails. There's a thread of dark humor that runs through the story also. I do think that the main character tends to ruminate a bit overmuch, and jumps to intricate conclusions (which turn out to be right) a little too easily. Also, the undertaker angle is just a platform for what then becomes a standard mystery story. But otherwise I find this to be an entertaining series.