Stewart Hoag Mysteries #11
William Morrow Paperbacks
August 2019
On Sale: August 13, 2019
272 pages ISBN: 0062863304 EAN: 9780062863300 Kindle: B07G131YMM Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List
The next clever, witty, and touching installment in the
Edgar award-winning Stewart Hoag mystery series finds the
beloved ghostwriter-sleuth and his faithful neurotic
basset hound, Lulu, back in 1990’s New York City,
investigating a bestselling author’s stolen manuscript
and three murders linked to the crime.
Washed-up celebrity ghostwriter Stewart “Hoagy” Hoag has
finally rediscovered his voice and is making progress on
what he hopes will be his long-awaited second novel.
Burrowed up in his less-than-luxurious, sweltering fifth
floor walk-up, he tries not to think of the disparities
between himself and his ex-wife, celebrity actress
Merilee Nash, who is sifting through film offers—and also
her fickle feelings for Hoagy—from her elegant eight-room
apartment looking over Central Park. When Merilee offers
her home for Hoagy’s use while she’s shooting on
location, hope blossoms that he might finally get some
real work done… and solidify their rekindling romance.
Then Hoagy receives a call from his literary agent asking
if he can meet with publishing’s most ruthless and
reviled editor, Sylvia James, for a drink at the
Algonquin Hotel. After disclosing that aging literary
genius Addison James—also Sylvia’s father and main client
—has not in fact written his last two bestselling
historical sagas, Sylvia reveals her suspicions that
Addison’s assistant Tommy O’Brien—the true author—has run
away with their most recent manuscript and is holding it
for ransom. Tempted by Sylvia’s offer to bid a hefty
advance for his novel-in-progress, Hoagy agrees to help
unearth Tommy’s sudden disappearance. If only he’d known
exactly what he was getting himself into, he might’ve
saved himself from the ensuing grief that follows in his
hot pursuit of Tommy. But then, that wouldn’t be a normal
day in the life of Hoagy.
With clattering claims of a mugging, a stolen manuscript,
and three murders, now it’s up to Hoagy and his short-
legged sidekick Lulu to unravel this baffling, bizarre
case.