Death and the Language of Happiness: A Cecil Younger Investigation #4

The fourth entry to John Straley's Alaska P.I. series finds Cecil Younger with a contract to kill. Cecil Younger is a man that takes comfort in the absurdity of the universe, and the universe is obliging him when he gets a call from his lawyer and psychiatrist, who offers him a job. A client wants to hire Younger to kill someone. Though common sense tells him murder just isn't a good career move, his finances tell him it can't hurt to meet his potential client, hoping he can succeed in appeasing the him--without a dead body. Joined by the usual cast of misfits--his lawyer/psychiatrist Dickie Stein, his girlfriend Jane Marie, and his ward Todd--Cecil investigates a murder that brings him back to the Centralia Massacre of 1919, an event in Alaskan history that seems to still be reaching into the present--and its dark, chilly grasp may extend to Cecil himself.

About the Author :
The youngest of five children, John Straley was born in Redwood City, California, in 1953. He received a BA in English from the University of Washington and, at the urging of his parents, a certificate of completion in horse shoeing. John never saw himself living in Alaska (where there are no horses left to shoe), but when his wife, Jan, a prominent whale biologist, announced she was taking a job in Sitka, the two headed north and never left. John worked for thirty years as a criminal defense investigator in Sitka, and many of the characters that fill his books were inspired by his work. Now retired, he lives with his wife in a bright green house on the beach and writes in his weather-tight office overlooking Old Sitka Rocks. The former Writer Laureate of Alaska, he is the author of ten novels.

Review :
Praise for Death and the Language of Happiness “Straley flawlessly expresses both his and our own underlying anxiety about the world around us in this superb series.” —San Francisco Chronicle “Mr. Straley writes with such brio.” —The New York Times "The guy can write. Straley has a loose-limbed, lyrical prose style, and there is a sweet gracefulness to the way he portrays his fiercely independent, often slightly dingy, characters." —Seattle Times "What makes this latest Alaskan mystery a must is—as always—the sheer beauty and energy of Straley's writing." —Chicago Tribune "The best Cecil Younger adventure so far." —Anchorage Daily News “[A] superb series of Alaska mysteries . . . An entirely original whodunit, composed in a language guaranteed to open your eyes and ears to a strange new world . . . What Straley offers is excitement, high comedy and a mega work out for the senses.” —Literary Review Praise for the Cecil Younger investigations “A fascinating Alaskan setting, great characters, a highly unusual plot and remarkably good writing. It’s a winner.” —Tony Hillerman, New York Times bestselling author of the Leaphorn and Chee novels “Like the Coen brothers on literary speed, John Straley is among the very best stylists of his generation.” —Ken Bruen, Shamus Award winning author of The Guard "Superior thriller writing, once again by Straley—an excellent plot against Alaska's gigantic and bizarre backdrop." —Janwillem van de Wetering, author of Outsider in Amsterdam   "Now and then a writer dares to flout the rules and in so doing, carves out a niche that belongs to him alone. John Straley's novels are like no others." —San Diego Tribune   “Absorbing and convincing . . . Straley’s a real writer.” —The Washington Post Book World “Thoroughly enjoyable and slightly wacko . . . Ironic humor reminiscent of the Coen brothers and violence worthy of Quentin Tarantino.” —The Boston Globe