Extreme Unction is the first published volume in the Lupa
Schwartz mystery series. Each story is a
stand-alone example of a different sub-category in the genre: hardboiled, cozy,
thriller, procedural — and each story is pastiche in the Nero Wolfe tradition
of self-inclusion into the Sherlock Holmes canon. Lupa Schwartz, Balkan-born
former Jew turned atheist, has built a name as a private detective since coming
to Pittsburgh following the fall of the Soviet Bloc. Cattleya Hoskin, reporter
for Gamut Magazine, is the daughter of the man who once worked as legman for
Schwartz’s private detective grandfather. Cattleya has come to Pittsburgh to
write a fluff profile on Schwartz when the police coerce Lupa into
investigating a high-profile murder involving a Catholic priest and the
sensitive issue of euthanasia. For the first time, Schwartz agrees to allow a
reporter to chronicle his process, and together they explore this case of
Extreme Unction.
All of the elements which are to become the unique hallmarks
of the Lupa Schwartz series are birthed in this story: Schwartz’s compulsion to
flatten the tires of parking rule scofflaws, Cattleya’s frustration with
Schwartz’s refusal to carry a credit card or cell phone, their unspoken
agreement to never discuss their shared history, and Schwartz’s fondness for
comedy movies. We also meet the supporting cast who populate each of the
stories: Mia, the feisty mechanic who lives in Schwartz’s large Victorian
during the week to work on his car collection, but who visits her grandmother
on weekends; Beverly, the cook and housekeeper who may or may not be in love
with Schwartz; and Trevor Johns, the Pittsburgh police homicide detective by
day, and Jazz/Blues clarinet player by night.
We also meet most of the revolving cast of bit-players who appear in
stories as needed: Jana, Cat’s friend at Gamut Magazine HQ; the Five Seekers,
members of a discussion group Schwartz belongs to; and Victor Jenkins, a
newspaper reporter.
The Catholic Church officially opposes euthanasia, although
there have always been those within the Church who disagree with this position.
Father Coneely is one such outspoken advocate who makes the mistake of telling
the family of one of his parishioners that, hypothetically, if he coats his
finger in candle wax, he can safely apply poison-laden oil to their suffering
father during last rites, and nobody need be the wiser. When an autopsy finds
traces of the banned insecticide Chlordane in the anointing oil on the corpse
of the Hanson family patriarch, suspicion falls on Coneely, but was a lapsing
insurance policy the real motive for one of Hanson’s five children to taint the
oil?
Extreme Unction is available in trade paperback,
and ebook or mobi versions are available. Four more completed novels in the series
are going through the editing process, and a sixth novel is in the works. Order your copy today by visiting http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/jdcore and don't forget to like the Facebook page.
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