Harry Doyle was murdered at age ten by his religious fanatic mother. Resuscitated by the police, Harry comes back from the dead and survives an event that will shape the rest of his life. Twenty years later he has dedicated his life to putting killers behind bars as a homicide detective who has the unwanted ability to hear the postmortem whispers of murder victims. Dubbed The Dead Detective by his fellow cops, Doyle now faces his most difficult case: a beautiful murder victim who was a notorious child molester. It is a case that will shake Harry to his very core.
"The Dead Detective is William Heffernan's first novel in seven years, and wherever he's been, he hasn't forgotten how to write a good, gritty police procedural...This edgy police drama succeeds in capturing the hysteria the grips Tampa residents when a celebrity criminal...is found dead in a cyprus swamp with her throat cut and the word 'Evil' carved into her forehead."
New York Times Book Review
"In his first new novel in seven years...Heffernan delivers a readable, tidy police procedural that echoes any number of popular television series, from The Mentalist to Criminal Minds, whose many fans will find this series debut enjoyable."
Library Journal
"The Dead Detective is a meaty story that offers an intriguing and conflicted protagonist, a darkly fascinating victim, solid police procedural detail, a knowing look at the Tampa Bay area and its politics, an unlikely murderer, and a creepy denouement that hints that Harry [protagonist] will be back."
