Wash and Wear: An Ed McAvoy Mystery [Paperback]

WASH AND WEAR finds our favorite ex-Detroit murder detective, Ed McAvoy, safely ensconced as the Chair of Police in sleepy Peekamoose Heights. However, some of the same hoods McAvoy has been after for years decide to set up shop by becoming a silent partner in an ailing copy shop. Of course they are into counterfeiting, but it takes the murder of Homer Duncan and some resulting coincidences that alert the battle-hardened McAvoy to possible mob connections:

"Guiseppe Triano kills Homer. Martin Bassett figures Guiseppe's brother Giancarlo was with him. Although Deputy Dawg isn't the brightest cop on the best, I'll give him that one. Regardless, Homer's murder has mob fingerprints all over it. Why? We don't know, yet. Now, Tony Gianelli, the son of Don Vittorio Gianelli, shows up at your house at one-thirty in the morning. Is he courting you? I think not. He's there because the mob is looking for something."

Bill Stackhouse writes, quite simply, a mean mystery. His characters are so credible they just about jump off of the page, which is scarey when we are reading about the mob. His action is non-stop, and he throws in enough Italian to lend even more credence to this superbly written mystery. Ed McAvoy is back as the grizzled veteran cop, who is dazzling as he outwits the mob. "Little Mac," his fed counterpart, is a fun, no-nonsense character who cuts through the red tape. Ed is surrounded by a caring community full of interesting and well drawn characters.

WASH AND WEAR is a mystery with lots of twists and turns, which keeps the reader glued. Stackhouse could teach a class on how to write one heckuva tale. Police politics versus mob politics and how the two intersect make for situations most foul. I was so engrossed, I didn't want it to end...the mark of a murder most excellent!

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

Ed McAvoy [late of the Detroit Police Force] is now Chief of Police in Peekamoose Heights. When the bank teller is killed by a known mob hit-man and the hit-man is in turn killed by Heather Larrabee [one of his officers], Ed runs up against an old enemy once again. Now it's up to Ed and his police force to figure out what the mob is looking for before there are more deaths.

Fourth in the Ed McAvoy series, Wash and Wear introduces a new element into the quiet Peekamoose community; the retired mob. In an almost comic series of mishaps and misadventures, bumbling enforcers manage to turn Peekamoose Heights upside down and one
quiet little bank teller manages to completely ruin what could have been a profitable venture.

Wash and Wear was a welcome change from some of the dark mysteries I usually read. Somewhere between a cozy and a classic, I find I enjoy Peekamoose Heights, it's resident eccentrics, and Ed McAvoy. If you are looking for a lighter mystery that will make you smile, I can recommend any of Bill Stackhouse's offerings.