Book Review: Death of a Hired Man

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Death of a Hired Man     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Eric Wright
Class/Genre:   Mystery
Series: Mel Pickett # 2
St. Martin's, Mar 2001

Ontario Provincial Police Sergeant Willie is stunned when a woman reports a murder at a cabin on Larch River. Wilkie believes his father's old law enforcement peer, retired cop Mel Pickett, is the victim as this is his home. However, when Wilkie arrives at the scene, he finds a different corpse. The witness, Elisa Pullock, explains that the deceased is Norbert Thompson, renting the cabin from the recently married Mel. Elisa is borrowing a nearby trailer from Mel to work on a historical book about the area.

Upon hearing the news of the homicide of his boarder, the sixty-six years old Mel, as well as his wife Charlotte, is stunned. While the cops wonder if this might be part of the recent break-ins that turned ugly, Mel wonders if he was the target. Also under consideration by the law remains the fact that that Norbert left his brother's home to live at this cabin after a major spat with his sibling. Not wanting to wait, Mel goes into his police mode seeking the identity of a killer.

DEATH OF A HIRED MAN is a fabulous police procedural with private investigative elements. The story line is well crafted because author Eric Wright makes his cast seem genuine without slowing down the tale. Fans of a good crime novel starring newly married senior citizens struggling with difficult decisions such as wills and multiple homes will find this book as a sure thing.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner