Richard Hawke

Author Rating: B

Richard Hawke is a pseudonym of Tim Cockey who writes humorous mystery fiction set in Baltimore, Maryland under his own name, reserving Richard Hawke for noir-ish detective fiction.

Speak of the Devil (read 5/28/09) recommended

Set in New York City, the protagonist, Fritz Malone, a private detective, is out buying bagels to take over to his girlfriend’s apartment but takes a small detour to view part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. He spots a gunman but is unable to get to him fast enough to prevent seven people being shot and killed.

It’s a pretty good, fairly well paced story involving an apparent mastermind who is holding the city hostage through a series of bizarre and escalating events.

I was disappointed by the resolution at the end. It seemed overly simplistic given the build up. Although there were many sections of the book which were excellently done, there were other sections which were disappointingly weak. I blame his editor who probably thought it “good enough” for a B genre. Westlake proved that crime fiction can be so much more, and Cockey/Hawke has potential. I’m just not sure that we will see it from him.

 

Tim Cockey

Author Rating: A-

Tim Cockey writes humorous mystery fiction. So far they all feature Hitchcock Sewell as the protagonist. Cockey also writes noir-ish detective fiction under the pseudonym Richard Hawke.

Sewell is a solver of mysteries and every woman’s hot dream — tall, good looking, with a sense of humor and a steady, if somewhat creepy, job. He’s an undertaker. Sort of by default but an undertaker nonetheless.

Cockey handles the parts of the back story that are necessarily repeated in each book very nicely, providing different insights into the character of HS. In lesser authors, these bits can make reading more than two or three of their books very tiresome.

The Hearse Case Scenario (read 4/10/09) Recommended

Very entertaining. Murder mystery set in Baltimore, Maryland. Third novel by Cockey. Hitchcock Sewel’s childhood friend Lucy is accused of murdering her boyfriend in his hospital bed where he was after she shot him.

The Hearse You Came In On (read 4/26/09) Recommended

This is Tim Cockey‘s first published novel (and, of course, the first “Hearse” mystery). A woman comes into the funeral home to arrange her own funeral but she’s not who she says she is. The person she claimed to be turns up dead. And someone is blackmailing the police commissioner who wants more than anything to be elected governor. A bit darker than The Hearse Case Scenario, it is an entertaining and intelligent read.

Hearse of a Different Color (read 5/1/09) Recommended

This is the second “Hearse” mystery. Even though it is not necessary, I would recommend reading these in order of publication. Reading them in order would give you, I think, a slightly enhanced experience. Someone dumps a woman’s fresh corpse on the funeral home porch while a wake is underway inside. Who is she and why, other than convenience, would someone dump her there.

Backstabber (read 5/21/09) recommended

Surprise! No “hearse” in the title but the series continues with Hitchcock Sewell out to solve more crimes. HS gets a very early morning call, after a very late night out. An old friend wants him to help get rid of the murdered husband of the friend’s girlfriend. While at a nursing home to pick up a “customer,” HS crosses paths with an elderly woman whose husband owned a diner where HS and his friends hung out when he was a kid.