Whenever Wilma Haven decided to be wayward, she insisted that she was seen to be wayward. So perhaps she was merely being consistent when she hired a hearse before committing suicide, then proceeded to take her time over the act in a very public place. However, Wilma died not from her own act, but by the murderous intent of a unsuspected killer, and Superintendent Frank Drury of Scotland Yard becomes embroiled in his most challenging case ever. Hire Me a Hearse was first published in 1968.
A pop star’s death puts Los Angeles PI Shell Scott on the hit list in the mystery series with more than 40 million copies in print. With a national election going on, Shell Scott’s timing might have been less than perfect. Perhaps he did prevent the victory for the shoo-in candidate, but a lot of strange things were happening. There was Polly Plank, whom he encountered in her psychiatrist’s office in her birthday suit. What about the American singing idol Johnny Tray, who turned up dead? And of course Joe Rice, leader of the West’s underworld, who wanted Shell under the world too—six feet under. The Trojan Hearse is the 28th book in the Shell Scott Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Revenge has many shapes. In the game of espionage the shape is usually death. But there is another kind of death - that of the mind. When a man wakes to find he cannot tell nightmare from reality, he is on the road to Limbo, at the frontier of Hell.
The Embalmer is about one man's journey to overcome his Claustrophobic disease so that he can support his wife and kids. After obtaining a job at a funeral home Tome Sindler experiences what no claustrophobic person would ever envision happening to them - love, sacrifice and betrayal.
Low Rent is a semi-autobiographical novel wherein TommyJ reveals his nefarious past in numerous short stories he has written in a series of letters to his new friend, a Las Vegas hooker he nicknames Caribou. From shining new light upon the tumultuous times most youth face while growing up in the modern urban-American setting, to reshaping the notion of the classic rags-to-riches story, Low Rent is a stumble through the life story of a man who, despite a very extensive, very lucrative criminal career, manages to avoid ever serving time in prison. From stabbings and drug overdoses, to finding himself camping on an island with a homeless man that he has taken LSD with, Thomas Jordan takes us on a vivid stroll through his Low Rent world.
My MotherÕs Funeral circles around the death of the authorÕs mother, but what also emerges is a landscape of personal loss and pain, of innocence, humor, violence and beauty. Drawing heavily upon her childhood experiences and Colombian heritage, P‡ramo describes the volatile bond linking mothers and daughters in a culture largely unknown to Americans. The book moves between past (Colombia in the 1940s) and present lives, and maps scenes both geographical (Bogot‡, Medell’n, Anchorage) as well as psychological--ultimately revealing the indomitable spirit of the women in her family. Especially from P‡ramoÕs mother the reader learns what it means to be a Colombian woman.
In the tradition of Mary Roach’s bestselling Stiff and Jessica Mitford’s classic exposé The American Way of Death comes this meticulously researched, refreshingly irreverent, and lavishly illustrated look at death from acclaimed author Harold Schechter. With his trademark fearlessness and bracing sense of humor, Schechter digs deep into a wealth of sources to unearth a treasure trove of surprising facts, amusing anecdotes, practical information, and timeless wisdom about that undiscovered country to which we will all one day travel. Topics include • Death anxiety–is your fear of death normal or off the scale? • You can’t take it with you . . . or can you? Wacky wills and bizarre bequests • The hospice experience–going out in comfort and style • Deathbed and funeral etiquette–how to help the dying and mourn the dead with dignity • Death on demand–why the right-to-die movement may be the next big thing • “Good-bye everybody”–famous last words • The embalmer’s art–all dressed up and nowhere to go • Behind the scenes at your local funeral home • Alternative burial choices–from coral reefs to outer space From the cold, hard facts of death to lessons in the art of dying well, from what happens in the body’s last living moments to what transpires in the ground or in the furnace, from near-death experiences to speculation on the afterlife, The Whole Death Catalog leaves no gravestone unturned.
Bitternest’s favorite radio disc jockey and debunker of supernatural myths Nick Kubrick is on vacation and on his way to Montreal to surprise his big brother. When he gets there, he finds his brother’s mailbox overflowing with mail and the lawn hasn’t been mowed in weeks. No sign of him anywhere. He decides to stick around town and try to find out where he is. Nick rapidly realizes that the city of Montreal isn’t so different from his spooky hometown of Bitternest as a string of bizarre, gruesome murders are shocking the city. After bumping into an old high school buddy named Lance, Nick is invited to a gated community that Lance and his wife designed. It’s a postcard-perfect spot, but there is definitely something odd about the place. No one’s over forty, there aren’t any kids anywhere, and its residents all look like supermodels. Things come full circle when Nick returns to eerie Bitternest and is approached by private eye Jim Coffin who requests his assistance to investigate a series of strange, ghastly murders. Are these murders linked to the ones in Montreal? Meanwhile, a mysterious traveling carnival rolls into town. Nick and Jim are in for a few surprises and when all will be said and done, Nick will never be the same again….
The funeral of Paddy Dignam in James Joyce’s Ulysses serves as the pivotal event of the ‘Hades’ episode. This volume explores how Dignam’s interment in Glasnevin Cemetery allowed Joyce the freedom to consider the conventions, rituals and superstitions associated with death and burial in Dublin. Integrating the words and characters of Ulysses with its figurative locale, the book looks at the presence of Dublin in Ulysses, and Ulysses in Dublin. It emphasises the highly visible public role assigned to death in Joyce’s world, while also appreciating how it is woven into the universe of Ulysses. The study examines the role of Glasnevin Cemetery – where the Joyce family plot was opened in 1880 and remained in use for eight decades – as well as the social and medical problems associated with life in Dublin, a city divided by class, status, wealth and health. Nineteen burials took place in Glasnevin on 16 June 1904, and the analysis of this group illuminates the role of undertakers and insurers, along with the importance of memorialisation. This book is an important contribution to Joyce and Irish studies, as well as to international studies related to the treatment of the dead body and the development of garden cemeteries.
