Richard Hawke, Cold Day in Hell

Cold Day in Hell

Richard Hawke

Random House, Mar 2007, $24.95

ISBN: 1400064260

In New York, while popular talk show host Marshall Fox stands trial for the murder of two female employees, with whom he was having affairs; someone else kills two more people connected to him using the same MO. The latest homicides raise major questions about the guilt of Fox involving the first victims as he has the perfect alibi being a guest of the state to prove he did not commit the latter murders.

Feeling guilty as one of the dead women asked him for help before her demise; private investigator Fritz Malone makes inquiries, upsetting his beloved Margo, who wants paying customers not deadbeat clients. Still he feels the debt is his so Fritz begins to unravel the complex and convoluted relationships of the rich and famous while one person in the shadows continues to purge anyone who can identify him or her.

Fritz is a terrific sleuth as his amusing asides, droll retorts, and bumbling balancing act (between Margo and the case) make a COLD DAY IN HELL a superb urban whodunit. The storyline is fast-paced with the cops, Fox, and those tied to him reacting the same way whenever Fritz accosts them as they all think SPEAK OF THE DEVIL. Richard Hawke provides readers with an entertaining New York City mystery.

Harriet Klausner