Infra Dig - Softcover

McInerny, Ralph

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0745117899 ISBN 13: 9780745117898

Publisher: Chivers Large print (Chivers, Windsor, Paragon & C, 1994

Synopsis

A young widow who dreams of ridding herself of her crotchety father-in-law is consumed with guilt when she accidentally backs her car over the poor man. In a panic, she stuffs his body into a bag of grass clipping, planning to deposit him into the dumpster behind the mall. But before the transaction can take place, her car is stolen by two hoods on the lam in this hilarious, twisted tale.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

In this darkly humorous situation comedy/mystery, the question is not "whodunit?" but "who will take the blame?" Lonely, 40-ish widow Susan Nebens nurses her wheelchair-bound father-in-law, Fred, a morbid old geezer who is fond of telling others how badly Susan wants to be rid of him. One unfortunate day, Susan puts her car in reverse and accidentally backs over Fred, killing him. Worried that the authorities will think she flattened him on purpose, she tells her friends that he is missing, stashes his body in a bag and plans to dispose of him in a dumpster. Fate intervenes: Susan's car, the body hidden inside, is stolen by two slow-witted ex-cons. The hoods decide to bribe her; a cop who is partial to young widows speculates that Fred is the victim of a mob hit; and a naive journalist devoted to the elderly blunders dangerously close to the truth. McInerny's ( Easeful Death ) success here turns on his alarmingly obtuse characters and their slapstick interaction. Never slack, this smoothly written, amusing story careens to a neat resolution.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

One of the author's occasional dark-tinged tragicomedies (Easeful Death, etc.), this one dealing with the trials of youngish widow Susan Nebens, left alone to cope with her ailing, spiteful father-in-law Fred. One day Susan accidentally backs her car over him and makes the irrational decision to hide the body and declare him missing. Enter Police Lieutenant Paul Morley and sidekick Wayne, along with Chicago reporter Amanda Tracy and Fred's longtime admirer Amy Rordam. Meanwhile, Susan's efforts to dispose of the corpse are foiled when her car, complete with plastic-bagged body, is stolen by a couple of small-time hoods. An interminable series of farcical incidents brings Fred to his final rest--and the reader to total ennui. A far cry from the author's Father Dowling stories, yet a harmless aberration from an author who rarely disappoints. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Chivers Large print (Chivers, Windsor, Paragon & C
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0745117899
• ISBN 13: 9780745117898
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256