An Occasional Hell

An Occasional Hell
	First edition
Author	Randall Silvis
Language	English
Genre	Detective novel
Publisher	Permanent Press
Publication date	1993
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardback)
Pages	256 pp
ISBN	1-877946-24-9
OCLC	26674219
Dewey Decimal	813/.54 20
LC Class	PS3569.I47235 O28 1993

An Occasional Hell is a 1993 detective novel by the American writer Randall Silvis, first published by Permanent Press.

Set in 1990s in the lower Monongahela River Valley below Pittsburgh, it tells the story of Ernest DeWalt, a former Chicago private investigator and successful novelist who is now a college professor. DeWalt's new life is interrupted when a philandering colleague, Alex Catanzaro, is killed in a farmland trysting place and his widow asks the former PI for help.

It was made into a film starring Tom Berenger in 1996.

References

↑ "An Occasional Hell". Kirkus Reviews. No. 23. December 1, 1992. ISSN 1948-7428. ProQuest 917187764. Retrieved July 6, 2026.
↑ Brainard, Dulcy (November 30, 1992). "An Occasional Hell by Randall Silvis". Publishers Weekly. Vol. 239, no. 52. p. 38. ISSN 0000-0019. ProQuest 196966379. Retrieved July 6, 2026.
↑ Willis, Dail (May 30, 1993). "'An Occasional Hell,' is frequently intriguing detective novel". The Bay City Times. Associated Press. p. 46. Retrieved July 6, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ Thompson, Bill (October 31, 1996). "Local backdrop adds to 'An Occasional Hell'". The Post and Courier. p. 5. ISSN 1061-5105. ProQuest 373761042.

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[Kirkus-1] "An Occasional Hell". Kirkus Reviews. No. 23. December 1, 1992. ISSN 1948-7428. ProQuest 917187764. Retrieved July 6, 2026.

[PW-2] Brainard, Dulcy (November 30, 1992). "An Occasional Hell by Randall Silvis". Publishers Weekly. Vol. 239, no. 52. p. 38. ISSN 0000-0019. ProQuest 196966379. Retrieved July 6, 2026.

[Willis-3] Willis, Dail (May 30, 1993). "'An Occasional Hell,' is frequently intriguing detective novel". The Bay City Times. Associated Press. p. 46. Retrieved July 6, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.

[Thompson-4] Thompson, Bill (October 31, 1996). "Local backdrop adds to 'An Occasional Hell'". The Post and Courier. p. 5. ISSN 1061-5105. ProQuest 373761042.