As others have mentioned, it is a real shame that Charles Willeford only managed four Hoke Moseley books. Hoke is unlike other police detectives in the genre...he's like a real person, not a superman but competent withal. I strongly recommend all four of this series starting with Miami Blues. You won't be disappointed.

The fourth and final Hoke Moseley novel doesn’t quite achieve the same heights as the first two book— both masterpieces. But it still offers much of what makes this series spectacular: Pitiless humor, sleazy South Florida atmosphere, shocking eruptions of crude violence, and bizarre parodies that send up the crime genre. A satisfying ending to an all-time classic series.

I tried to make this one last, as it is the final Hoke Moseley novel, but I ended up waking at 4 a.m. today and accidentally finished the book.

It's a fitting end to the series, with enough threads and loops left hanging that you can see there was potential to continue the series had Willeford lived.

It's a hell of a good, fun, offbeat series. I wish I could rate TWWDN higher than five stars. The Moseley novels started out really, really good and peaked here in the final one. Damned fine work. You read this, and you can see a direct line from Willeford to other Florida novelists who use dark humor, like Carl Hiaasen and Jeff Lindsey.

Nice finish to the series. I wish there was more!

Sadly, the last novel in the series. Hoke gets himself out of an orchestrated jam and then finds his career boosted. It would have been interesting to see what happened next.

Reality Bites

The late great Charles Willeford wrote great Florida crime books, especially featuring his toothless detective Hoke Moseley. Even Elmore Leonard thought he was the business. Instead of tight plotting and flashy heroes, Willeford writes about damaged people, real people, who act inconsistently. His protagonist is wonderful - middle aged, out of shape and without many of his teeth (usually a feature of his tales) but smart enough to solve crimes and mean enough to kill bad guys.

In this 4th entry, he does both. Hoke is working old murders and is rather good at it. In his shambling way, he solves three in a year and is about to crack 4, when his superior (major, he is a sarge) asks him to go undercover to find out if some cracker farmer is killing Haitians. So he goes undercover, bearded and toothless to find out. Hilarity and brutality ensue. Willeford writes effortless prose, sharp, human dialogue and smart, shambolic plots. This is another winner.

If you want a start, try the 5* Miami Blues. This one is superb too, maybe a notch less good, but still a dream.

Willeford's final novel is sharper than the third Hoke Moseley novel, and that's good. For the most part, the author managed to keep the pace up despite his usual oddball digressions. The ending is a little abrupt, however, and offers no hint at all that this would be the end of Hoke Moseley, and indeed Charles Willeford.

Soy Street Blues

Considerably better than #2 and #3, with plenty of rough-n-tumble.

But still very TV-showish and if the series had gone on, I expect there'd've been catchphrases: "Break your nose with a rubber hose", "No soap for you", "That's what she said on her sworn statement", "You have the right to remain silent, my friend", and such Chiseler Chat. The kind of thing you people can't get enough of -- at the end of a hard day of shopping at the mall or having coffee with your girlfriends.

I'm really no fan of this "The Whole Man" or "The Holistic Detective" BS, this is The Way of the TV. I've always read books for my entertainment so's I could escape the utter predictability and homogeneity of TV and its (successful) attempt to turn us all into women -- and worse.

It's sad to watch CW get senile or so desperate for money that he'd do anything: like write episodes of "The Crime Boat", or work for Aaron Spelling Productions, even as janitor.

I suspect the people who write disapproving reviews of Willeford's novels were expecting something closer to normal stories and characters. But Hoke Mosley is far from normal. This novel begins with a secret assignment and ends with major life changes for Hoke and his daughters. The story keeps you guessing, and the plot never goes where you expect it to go.

I see this was published posthumously. Sorry not to have more to read in this series, enjoyed the characters and story lines.

this is...the 7th? from willeford for me...and i just finished another...that...i can't for the life of me remember the title of. heh! (New Hope for the Dead) it was a hoke moseley story, though...remember the second e there in his name, please...

and...glancing at the brief synopsis of this one, the timing of this one follows the one i just finished...as in that one, one storyline is hoke trying to find a place to live...in miami...to conform to the rule regulation the whatnot that miami cops live in miami.

...plus, his new partner in that one, ellita, or something like that, some lady that might could be cuban...was pregnant...and the description for this one speaks of a newborn, or newborns...

well...it's kinda like reading the news...why bother, right? the establishment media is busy playing anal tongue darts w/obama, somehow avoiding a massive e-coli infection...unlike the commander...remember him? swallowing turd before it was sucked back into the anus? yeah...so...why bother?

whereas, stories here...one ought to pay attention, so i'll try.

this one has an intro by donald westlake...says willeford "wrote very good books for a very long time without anybody noticing." "and then along came hoke moseley."

okay.

story begins:
tiny bock heaved his bulk from the sand chair.

he stood silently in the clearing for a moment listening, but all he could hear was the whir of insects and the scuttling of a few foraging wood rats. he folded the red-and-green webbed chair, took it to the black pickup and threw it in the back. he opened the cab door and reached for the paper sack on the seat.

heh! and one of the things i noticed in that last willeford story i read, one i just now finished, one i can't for the life of me recall the title--in my defense, i am reading this one like the other on the kindle, and it's not like the title page/cover page is there every time you set it down----anyway...i'd noticed the dialogue...all of it good...even the few times hoke seems to say something somewhat off the wall...

...that was the intent, i believe...a quirk of hoke's...and now i'm trying to remember what it was. oh yeah...something about a dog. heh! i think he was trying to throw the suspect. threw me, too...

so...yeah...so here's a nice opening, all action, developing character.

onward and upward.

update, finished, 22 sep 12, saturday evening, 7:56 p.m. e.s.t.

another good hoke moseley story from willeford. moseley is an easy character to like...foibles and all. i'm a bit disappointed w/ellita running off to get married to...that man...but what can one do?

the things that were left hanging at the end of the previous story...see above...are addressed here...and...hoke gets a promotion. the new chief apparently is a worker-bee, or something, the way he set up things before the big promotion. hoke solves another cold-case...with the tutored-help of gonzalez...heh!...and the initiative of another cop who drives a patrol car.

all-in-all, good story-telling, i think...willeford sets up the various scenes...several sentences of description to set the place, to set characters in the place...the action rolls...the story advances...the reader is entertained.

good read. more more more.

Eep--stop with the third one!