David Handler - Free Library Land Online - Western

The Man Who Wasn't All There

Mon, 01 Jun 2020 19:50:23 +0300

The latest installment of David Handler's Edgar Award-winning Stewart Hoag mystery series, set in 1990s' New York, sees the ghostwriter-sleuth and his faithful basset hound Lulu inadvertently make a dangerous enemy.
After six glorious weeks of hard work on his long-overdue second novel, celebrity-ghostwriter Stewart "Hoagy" Hoag has hit a crossroads in his plot. He thinks a change of scenery will do him good - and he knows just the place. His ex-wife, the actress Merilee Nash, has offered him the use of her idyllic Connecticut farmhouse, while she's away shooting a movie in Budapest.
Hoagy and his beloved basset hound Lulu settle in for a few days' rest and relaxation. Hoagy expects fall splendor, long walks and crisp night air. He doesn't expect Merilee's eccentric, unwelcoming neighbor. Austin Talmadge warns Hoagy not to get on his bad side, but what harm can a country oddball like Austin do?
Quite a lot, it turns out. All Hoagy wants to do is relax and...

The Woman Who Lowered the Boom

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 13:35:56 +0300

This new installment of the Edgar award-winning Stewart Hoag mystery series finds the beloved ghostwriter-sleuth finally on the precipice of reclaiming his previous literary fame when threats against his editor appear to put both his career and her life in jeopardy.

Stewart "Hoagy" Hoag is walking on cloud nine after a meeting with his editor, Norma Fives, where she predicts his new book is sure to establish him as the next great American author. It has been years since he has even dreamed of such success after a crippling case of writer's block limited his literary aspirations to ghostwriting celebrity memoirs. But his happiness is short-lived when at his next meeting with Norma she asks for his help in discovering who is behind a series of increasingly threatening letters sent to her attention.

Norma herself is not overly concerned about the letters but her boyfriend, Detective Lieutenant Romaine Very of the NYPD, thinks the...

The Man in the White Linen Suit

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 13:46:02 +0200

The next clever, witty, and touching installment in the Edgar award-winning Stewart Hoag mystery series finds the beloved ghostwriter-sleuth and his faithful neurotic basset hound, Lulu, back in 1990's New York City, investigating a bestselling author's stolen manuscript and three murders linked to the crime.
Washed-up celebrity ghostwriter Stewart "Hoagy" Hoag has finally rediscovered his voice and is making progress on what he hopes will be his long-awaited second novel. Burrowed up in his less-than-luxurious, sweltering fifth floor walk-up, he tries not to think of the disparities between himself and his ex-wife, celebrity actress Merilee Nash, who is sifting through film offers—and also her fickle feelings for Hoagy—from her elegant eight-room apartment looking over Central Park. When Merilee offers her home for Hoagy's use while she's shooting on location, hope blossoms that he might finally get some real work done... and solidify their rekindling...

The Hot Pink Farmhouse

Sun, 23 Sep 2001 09:16:46 +0300

So much for the peace and quiet New York film critic Mitch Berger expected to find in his antique carriage house overlooking Long Island Sound. Nothing can shelter him from the goings-on in nearby Dorset. A violent death in a speeding Porsche...an attempted suicide by the school superintendent...and dirty politics are about to propel Mitch out of the shadows into a starring role. And then there's his new love, resident state trooper Desiree Mitry...

Des has transferred out of her position as the highest-ranking black woman in the state police homicide department to give more time to the art for which she has a sure talent. But as she soon learns, Dorset's bucolic exterior hides some ugly secrets. The femme fatale daughter of a famous local sculptor is killed in a car explosion that makes tabloid headlines. Now Des is on the case, saddled with a pushy former colleague, and reaching out to Mitch for an extra pair of eyes-and arms-in a case that threatens to tear the town apart...

The Lady in the Silver Cloud

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 09:16:47 +0300

Ghostwriting sleuth Stewart Hoag investigates the murder of his wealthy neighbor—and discovers her dark, mobbed-up past

A 1955 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud is a fantastically expensive car, especially in the pristine condition of the one owned by Muriel Cantrell. Living in a luxury apartment building on Central Park West, the delicate, sweet 75-year-old woman is a neighbor of Merilee Nash, the beautiful movie star, and Stuart Hoag, whose first book was a sensation but whose career crashed when he became involved with drugs and alcohol. Divorced ten years earlier, Hoagy has been welcomed back into Merilee's life and apartment.

Apparently universally beloved in her building, residents are shocked when Muriel is murdered after a Halloween party. No one takes it harder than her long-time chauffeur, Bullets Durmond, whose previous job was as an enforcer for the mob. Who in the world would want to harm the silver-haired lady whose major vices were...

Click to Play

Fri, 24 May 2024 10:26:32 +0300

The Edgar Award–winning author of the Stewart Hoag mysteries delivers a “fast-paced, frantic, and head spinning” crime thriller (Booklist).

In the summer of 1972, the country was rocked by the Bagley Bunch murders—a killing spree that targeted America’s favorite TV sitcom family. A survivor of the slaughter, former child star Tim Ferris, is now dying of cancer. With only weeks to live, he needs the truth to come out. But the secrets he’s kept for a lifetime could bring down the presidential campaign of the front-running Christian conservative candidate, his former co-star on the series.

Ferris reaches out to Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and muckraker Hunt Liebling to tell his story. Having been blacklisted by a media mogul, Liebling has struggled to stay relevant, but Ferris’s explosive tell-all is sure to put him back on top—and expose a powerful cabal that won’t...

The Man Who Cancelled Himself

Tue, 14 Nov 1995 11:25:10 +0200

Hired by fallen television star Lyle Hudnut, whose career was shattered by scandal, writer Stewart Hoag reluctantly begins penning the actor's memoirs and learns a deadly truth about a network's secret practices. Reprint.

From Publishers Weekly

Great fun from Handler in his sixth Stewart Hoag adventure (The Boy Who Would Be F. Scott Fitzgerald won an Edgar in 1991), despite its overwrought climax and a villain whom psychologically hip readers will spot before the actual unmasking. Former literary boy-wonder Hoagy has sunk to ghosting the showbiz autobio of children's TV star Lyle ("Uncle Chubby") Hudnut, who's attempting a comeback after an arrest for indecent exposure in a Times Square porn theater. Lyle, a 300-pound bundle of crazed energy, ego and cruelty, is sure that someone-or the world-is out to get him and believes the book will generate sympathy. There are personal complications: Lyle's co-star is his ex-wife; the network's executive producer is an ex-girlfriend; his current fiancee is the show's producer, a spot coveted by an assistant producer; and the show's writers are angling for control. A fire on the set, food poisoning and the bizarre murder of the newest cast member wreak havoc. A subplot involves Hoagy's celebrity ex-wife, who's pregnant and won't identify the father, but the best part of the book is Hoagy's gimlet-eyed observations of the fierce, delicious and dizzy infighting in Sitcom Land.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Handler (The Boy Who Never Grew Up, LJ 9/1/92) presents celebrity ghostwriter Steward Hoag who, on hand to author a book about television comic Lyle Hudnut, finds himself in the midst of mayhem and murder after Lyle's arrest in a porno movie theater. Stewart's dog, Lulu, and his ex-wife, actress Merilee, complicate matters.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The Man Who Couldn't Miss

Wed, 14 Nov 2018 11:25:12 +0200

In the next novel in David Handler's Edgar award-winning series, Stewart "Hoagy" Hoag and his beloved basset hound, Lulu, investigate a murder in a fabled Connecticut summer playhouseHollywood ghostwriter Stewart "Hoagy" Hoag has chronicled the rise, fall, and triumphant return of many a celebrity. At last he's enjoying his own, very welcome second act. After hitting a creative slump following the success of his debut novel, Hoagy has found inspiration again. Ensconced with his faithful but cowardly basset hound, Lulu, on a Connecticut farm belonging to his ex-wife, Oscar-winning actress Merilee Nash, he's busy working on a new novel. He's even holding out hope that he and Merilee might get together again. Life is simple and fulfilling—which of course means it's time for complications to set in....When the police call to ask if he knows the whereabouts of a man named R.J. Romero, Hoagy learns of a dark secret from his ex-wife's past. It's already a stressful...

The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes

Tue, 14 Nov 2017 11:25:08 +0200

HARLAN COBEN calls it "One of my all-time favorite series! ...David Handler is so good at writing one smart, funny page-turner after another that he makes it look easy." Fans of JANET EVANOVICH and CARL HIAASEN, get ready. If you haven't yet discovered wisecracking sleuth Stewart "Hoagy" Hoag and his faithful basset hound Lulu, you're in for a sharp, hilarious treat... Once upon a time, Hoagy had it all: a hugely successful debut novel, a gorgeous celebrity wife, the glamorous world of New York City at his feet. These days, he scrapes by as a celebrity ghostwriter. A celebrity ghostwriter who finds himself investigating murders more often than he'd like.
And once upon a time, Richard Aintree was the most famous writer in America — high school students across the country read his one and only novel, a modern classic on par with The Catcher in the Rye. But...

The Woman Who Fell From Grace

Thu, 14 Nov 1991 11:25:13 +0200

Ghostwriting a sequel to Oh, Shenandoah, Hoagy believes he has landed an opportunity that will re-launch his career, until he is confronted with an otherworldly collaborator, family skeletons, and a handful of murders. Reissue. PW.

From Publishers Weekly

In his first hardcover appearance, novelist/ghost writer Hoagy Hoag, seen last in The Man Who Would Be F. Scott Fitzgerald , takes on the assignment of a lifetime--to write the sequel to the most popular novel in publishing history, Oh, Shenandoah . Alma Glaze, author of the sweeping tale of the Revolutionary War, was killed in an accident 50 years earlier, right after the equally popular film of the book was completed. When Hoagy agrees to the project, he takes on some alarming partners: domineering Mavis Glaze, Alma's sole heir; her twin brothers, Frederick and Edward, mostly dependent on their sister for financing; and nubile Mercy Glaze, Mavis's only child and heir to the Shenandoah fortune. The family housekeeper is found dead after suggesting that the mysterious death of one of the stars, which also occurred right after the film's completion, was murder. Despite the displeasure of the local sheriff, Mercy's fiance, Hoagy investigates. As he digs for ancient secrets and copes with another murder and an alienated young orphan, preparations for a vast anniversary celebration swirl around him. Handler's breezy, unpretentious and warm-hearted hero provides a breath of fresh air in a world of investigative angst.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Edgar-winning Handler's hardcover debut--another headliner in Doubleday's new Perfect Crime series--takes his ghostwriter-sleuth Stewart Hoag to Staunton, Virginia, to work on the sequel to beloved historical blockbuster Oh, Shenandoah, at the request of the family of author Alma Glaze, killed 50 years ago in a car accident. Sound familiar? Well, Alma's diary of the filming of Oh, Shenandoah puts Hoagy on the trail of a Hollywood murder and coverup, and suggests that Alma's own death was no accident. And while he's trying to sell the Glaze family (smooth, elderly twins Edward and Frederick and their crazy sister Mavis) on his theory, the present-day cast starts to get killed off too. Full of incredible coincidences and too cute by half--but Hoagy's laid-back humor is easy to take, and the convoluted mystery will keep you guessing midway through the finale. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

The Lavender Lane Lothario

Thu, 14 Nov 2013 11:25:11 +0200

Every year, the Gant family performs an annual ritual desecrating the tomb of Aurora Bing. The Gants have held a grudge against the legendary silent film star for almost eighty years, but for Shem Gant and his son, things have become personal. Aurora's only grandchild, Hubie Swope, has shut down Shem's notoriously rowdy beachfront bar, and refuses to allow The Pit to reopen until Shem undertakes expensive upgrades. This means war. And when The Pit catches fire and Hubie Swope's charred remains are found in the rubble, it also means murder.Who killed Hubie Swope? Crime-fighting duo Mitch and Des have no idea. Not only are Shem and his son prime suspects, but so are the women in Hubie's life. To their surprise, Mitch and Des discover that Dorset's building inspector, a quiet widower who repaired cuckoo clocks in his little house on Lavender Lane, was secretly juggling four girlfriends at once. And then there's Gaylord Holland, a builder who had a beef of his own with...

The Bright Silver Star bam-3

Sat, 17 Nov 2001 08:32:34 +0200

The Boy Who Never Grew Up

Sat, 14 Nov 1992 11:25:11 +0200

THIS PEN FOR HIRE
Once Stewart "Hoagy" Hoag was the toast of the publishing world and husband of luscious Broadway beauty Merilee Nash. But fame and fortune left him as swiftly and surely as Merilee. Now Hoagy ekes out a living as a ghostwriter of celebrity memoirs and a reluctant amateur detective, aided by his cat-food-eating basset hound named Lulu.
IF LIFE WERE LIKE THE MOVIES, STEWART HOAG WOULD BE OUT OF WORK....
But for better or worse there are enough unhappy endings in Hollywood to keep Hoagy gainfully employed -- with work left over for hatchet-wielding hacks like Cassandra Dee. Hoagy and Cassandra are working both ends of the celebrity divorce of the decade, the breakup that makes Donald and Ivana look like puppy love. In one corner, Hollywood gee-whiz kid Matthew Wax, the director whose celluloid schmaltz has made him a multimillionaire; in the other, his beautiful leading lady Pennyroyal Brim. Hoagy's got a herculean task ahead of him in trying to dig up the truth about the House of Wax--Matthew is surrounded by the false fronts of his fictional all-American vision. But this time reality can't be held at bay with a nicely scripted happy ending, and soon Matthew Wax's life is looking less like It's a Wonderful Life -- and more like Nightmare on Elm Street.

The shimmering blond sister bam-7

Thu, 17 Nov 2005 08:32:34 +0200