The Man on the Bench

Hy Conrad

Apr 2026 · The Callie McFee Mysteries Book 3 · Mason Hill Inc

About this ebook

 Callie, an Austin reporter, is the daughter of Buddy McFee, a power broker secretly dealing with dementia. Lacking any close friends, Callie confides her family drama to Barney, a harmless, homeless man she talks to every day. When Barney is murdered, Callie suspects that others like her have also shared their stories with Barney and that one of their dangerous secrets may be the motive.

Callie’s brother, a homicide cop, investigates, but things grow complicated when Callie discovers Barney’s true identity. The low-profile death of a “homeless” man now gets national attention, leading everyone to wonder if it was some overheard secret that led to his murder or something from the man’s own checkered past.

Days later, one of Barney’s other “bench buddies” is killed, and Callie can’t help suspect that there are more secrets lurking in the life of this friendly man on the bench, secrets that could lead to her own murder.

 

About the author

HY CONRAD has made a career out of mayhem, earning a Scribe Award for best novel and garnering three Edgar nominations from the Mystery Writers of America. Along the way, he developed a horde of popular games and interactive films, hundreds of short stories and a dozen books of solvable mysteries, published in over a dozen languages.

 

Hy is best known for his eight seasons as writer/co-executive producer for the ground-breaking series, Monk. Other TV work includes White Collar, The Good Cop and the international hit, Mistry, the hit Hindi-language series based on Monk.

 

As a novelist, Hy authored the final four books in the Monk series, the Amy Travel Mysteries (Toured to Death, Dearly Departed and Death on the Patagonian Express) and the Callie McFee Mysteries (The Fixer’s Daughter, a Barnes & Noble bestseller, Sins of the Family and The Man on the Bench).The first two Callie McFee novels each won multiple awards, including the Independent Press Award and the NYC Big Book Award for Best Mystery.

 

All of Hy’s work is infused with humor, but his one foray into pure humor was the best-seller, Things Your Dog Doesn’t Want You to Know, co-authored with Jeff Johnson.

 

In the world of theatre, his produced works consist of Home Exchange (a mystery), Ta-Dah! (a musical), and Quarantine for Two (a socially distanced dark comedy about the pandemic). In a break from murder, Hy has penned and sold his first romcom, Write Me a Romance, which was sold to a major network in 2025.

 

When he looks up from his keyboard, Hy sees either the hills of Vermont or the palm trees of Key West, depending on the time of year. He also sees his husband, Jeff Johnson, plus Stella and Dyson, the latest in a dynasty of mini schnauzers.