As Good As Dead (Five Star First Edition Mystery Series)

Book by McInerny, Ralph M.

Thomas Aquinas scholar and author of the Father Dowling mystery series, Ralph McInerny turns his attentions to the seedier side of life with As Good As Dead, in which a hit man hired by a dying woman finds his job complicated by two unwelcome understudies. Double-crossing, second-guessing and regrets abound as the novel jump-cuts between the conniving woman and the sparring criminals on its path to a bloody conclusion.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Declining to waste away when she is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Lucy Flood hires hit man Philip Crowe to end her life, setting in motion a string of unexpected events. Lucy only knows she will die painlessly in two or three days, but her husband and friends, through a series of misunderstandings, come to believe that one or more of them might be the target of the hit man. Crowe, however, has problems of his own in the form of enthusiastic would-be apprentice Larry and his girlfriend, Madeline, who are dogging the hit man's steps, eager to learn the trade. Attracted to Madeline and willing to use Larry, the unemotional Crowe proceeds with his plans through foul-ups, crosses, and double-crosses. McInerny, known for several mystery series, including the popular Father Dowling novels (the latest is reviewed below), populates this stand-alone mystery with unhappy marriages and mostly unpleasant characters, but the plot twists are enough to keep readers engaged (and guessing who will die in the end). Sue O'Brien
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