Hoke Moseley detective thriller

4 primary works

Miami Blues

by Charles Willeford

Published 11 July 1985

'No one writes a better crime novel than Charles Willeford' Elmore Leonard

Ex-con Freddy 'Junior' Frenger lands in Miami with three stolen wallets and plans for a new life of crime, and leaves the airport with a snatched suitcase and the corpse of a Hare Krishna behind him. Homicide detective Hoke Moseley is soon on his case, chasing the utterly immoral Junior and his hooker girlfriend through the Cuban ghettoes, luxury hotels and seedy suburban sprawl of Miami in a game of hide and seek that will leave Hoke beaten, robbed - but determined to get his man.

A brutal, thrilling ride, Miami Blues is a classic of Florida crime fiction, revealing the sordid side of the Sunshine State.

'Pure pleasure... Mr. Willeford never puts a foot wrong' The New Yorker

This is the first in the Hoke Mosely series; other titles in Penguin Modern Classics include New Hope for the Dead, Sideswipe and The Way We Die Now, while fans of the books include Quentin Tarantino, Elmore Leonard and James Lee Burke.

New Hope for the Dead

by Charles Willeford

Published 19 February 1987

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.

Sideswipe

by Charles Willeford

Published 1 March 1988

Hoke Moseley has had enough. Tired of struggling against alimony payments, two teenage daughters, a very pregnant, very single partner, and a low paying job as a Miami homicide detective, Hoke moves to Singer Island and vows never step foot on the mainland again. But on the street, career criminal Troy Louden is hatching plans of his own with a gang including a disfigured hooker, a talentless artist, and a clueless retiree. But when his simple robbery results in ruthless and indiscriminate bloodshed, Hoke quickly remembers why he is a cop and hurls himself back into the world he meant to leave behind forever.

A masterly tale of both mid-life crisis and murder, Sideswipe is a page-turning thriller packed with laughs, loaded with suspense, and featuring one of the truly original detectives of all time.

The Way We Die Now

by Charles Willeford

Published 1 March 1989

Hoke Moseley, the Miami homicide cop first introduced in "Sideswipe", is posted to the migrant farms of the Florida Everglades, where rumours of slavery and murder are rife. He must deal in turn with vicious criminals, the manipulations of his commander and the unwelcome attention of a con artist. Charles Willeford has also written "Miami Blues".