EBOOK
About
Returning for his fourth misadventure, small-town newspaperman and social gadfly Elias Hackshaw finds himself immersed in a mystery involving a dead con man and a missing gypsy princess with the improbable name of Bimbo Wanka.
Through no fault of his own well, almost none. Hack becomes a suspect in the case when the cops mistakenly conclude that he was an acquaintance of the murdered con artist. Meanwhile, Bimbo's parents turn up on Hack's doorstep demanding he turn over their missing daughter, or face a gypsy curse. To add to the mayhem, a local industrialist is badgering Hackshaw to oversee a major renovation to his monstrosity of a house, and Hack's sister Ruth is hectoring him to forget everything else and see to his duties as editor of The Triton Advertiser.
Trapped by circumstance, Hack begins poking into things and soon discovers a circus assortment of off-beat characters: gypsies in cowboy hats, a con man with a conscience, a sheriff's investigator without a heart or a brain ham-fisted townies, and much, much more. Only a strong survival instinct, and his usual portion of dumb luck, can save Hackshaw this time around.
Wilcox spins an entertaining yarn of murder and mayhem. With a credible plot and eccentric characters that adroitly avoid being mere caricatures, Wilcox offers a semi-cozy mystery uncloying, clever and far from brutal.
Publishers Weekly
Wilcox is an absolutely first-rate writer. The Jericho Flower is a well-crafted, imaginative tale that this reader wished could go on for much longer.
Through no fault of his own well, almost none. Hack becomes a suspect in the case when the cops mistakenly conclude that he was an acquaintance of the murdered con artist. Meanwhile, Bimbo's parents turn up on Hack's doorstep demanding he turn over their missing daughter, or face a gypsy curse. To add to the mayhem, a local industrialist is badgering Hackshaw to oversee a major renovation to his monstrosity of a house, and Hack's sister Ruth is hectoring him to forget everything else and see to his duties as editor of The Triton Advertiser.
Trapped by circumstance, Hack begins poking into things and soon discovers a circus assortment of off-beat characters: gypsies in cowboy hats, a con man with a conscience, a sheriff's investigator without a heart or a brain ham-fisted townies, and much, much more. Only a strong survival instinct, and his usual portion of dumb luck, can save Hackshaw this time around.
Wilcox spins an entertaining yarn of murder and mayhem. With a credible plot and eccentric characters that adroitly avoid being mere caricatures, Wilcox offers a semi-cozy mystery uncloying, clever and far from brutal.
Publishers Weekly
Wilcox is an absolutely first-rate writer. The Jericho Flower is a well-crafted, imaginative tale that this reader wished could go on for much longer.