“Honestly Dearest, You’re Dead”

Novelist Jack Fredrickson has recently released his newest book entitled Honestly Dearest, You’re Dead.

Here is a summary of the plot from Publishers Weekly:

When an attorney informs PI Vlodek Dek Elstrom that he’s been named executor of the estate of Louise Thomas of Rambling, Mich., curiosity and a $700 fee are enough to send Dek from his home in Rivertown, Ill., to desolate Rambling, even though he’s never heard of the deceased woman. Dek finds more mystery in Thomass shack—blood spatters, remnants of a frantic search and an old Underwood typewriter. Dek eventually figures out how he and Thomas connect, but in the process unearths mysteries involving an advice columnist, a bank robbery, arson and murder. Dek is an appealing combination of bloodhound and bulldog, albeit one still in the puppy stage. Fredricksons light touch, nicely drawn secondary characters and clever plotting make this a promising series with enough substance to make a meal, not just a snack.

For another review, see Tom Nolan, The Case of the Advice Columnist’s Estate, Wall St. J., Feb. 7, 2009.

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this book to my attention.