American Detective by Loren D. Estleman

Estleman in his novel American Detective, the 17^th novel in a series that he began in 1980, has done a superb job in creating private eye, Amos Walker. Estleman’s Walker is reminiscent of Raymond Chandler’s classic gumshoe, Philip Marlowe in that Walker defies authority, works without a side kick, and wisecracks in the face of danger. The differences, however, are just important in that Walker carries more scars from getting shot and beaten than Marlowe and instead of walking 1930s/1940s San Francisco or Los Angeles, he treads the downtrodden street of today’s decaying city of Detroit.  

To bring his protagonist to life Estelman gives Walker the persona of an old time cop who is bewildered by computers, opts to be politically incorrect, and nostalgically pines for the old days when MoTown was hot and the Ford plant held
America’s heartbeat.

Narrating his tale from the detective’s point of view, the story begins when Walker is hired by Darius Fuller, a retired Detroit Tigers pitcher who is concerned about the scumbag his daughter, Deirdre, is engaged to.  Darius believes that the sleazy boyfriend, Hilary Bairn is only dating Deirdre to gain access to the 2 million dollar trust fund she is due to gain access to in a matter of weeks. Sadly, before
Walker can offer Bairn Fullers intended bribe to get him to leave Deirdre, she is found dead in Bairn’s apartment, a death that may be connected to an illegal-immigrant smuggler and worse yet, an international organ-legging conspiracy.

After encountering cops at Bairn’s apartment, Walker is led to a meeting with a casino owner, who tells him Bairn owed money to a loan shark, who in turn Walker that he is not the only one after Bairn.  Soon Walker finds himself on the run from crooked cops and vile gangsters and every time
Walker thinks he’s solved the case, he finds out he is farther from the truth than when he started.

Estleman is one of the few writer’s out there who can honestly be an heir to Raymond Chandler’s classic gumshoe, Philip Marlowe so if you haven’t ever read one of Estleman’s books you are in for a exciting and enjoyable experience.  

[tags]American Detective, Loren D. Estleman, Suspense, Murder, mystery, private investigator, crooked cops, international organ selling, immigrant smuggling ring[/tags]