[Carl Wilcox 14] • The Ice Pick Artist

"No mystery collection should be without this series". -- BooklistHarold Adams again brings life on the northern Plains during the Depression into vivid focus as Carl Wilcox returns to his hometown of Cordon, South Dakota in time to discover the body of a beautiful woman in her bed in his family's hotel. His investigation into why someone would kill Lillybelle Fox of Sioux Falls begins simply enough...and then becomes increasingly complex as each lead takes Wilcox into the past and the blighted family tree of one of the most powerful clans in the state.

"At their best moments, Adams's spare, Depression-era mysteries are oddly reminiscent of Simenons's darkest Maigret books. (Hatchet Job is) one of the more engaging entries in this off-beat series -- with tersely credible dialogue, vivid sketches of prairie-town hypocrites, and anything-but-nosalgic period atmosphere". -- Kirkus Reviews

"Carl Wilcox is one of the most distinctive first-person voices in contemporary detective fiction". -- Jon Breen, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine

"I can't think of a single reason why anyone wouldn't love all of Harold Adams's books. He's a first-rate-storyteller. And Carl Wilcox is very good company indeed". -- Harriet Stay, Mystery News