Flying Blind: A Novel of Amelia Earhart (Nathan Heller Novels) [Hardcover]

Max Allan Collins (Author)

Book Description

Series: Nathan Heller Novels | Publication Date: August 1, 1998

Max Allan Collins's intrepid fictional private eye Nathan Heller has solved some of America's most notorious crimes, including the Lindbergh kidnapping and the assassination of Huey Long. Now Heller is faced with something quite different--not a crime but a disappearance, of a person he'd been hired to protect years ago--famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Now it was the next morning and the gas was in the plane. The tall, slender woman I'd lusted after the night before was standing next to me on the tarmac, near her ship, buckling a tan helmet under her chin, flashing me that gap-toothed grin she hid from photographers...." The woman, of course, is Amelia Earhart, and the man describing her is Nate Heller, ex-Chicago cop and private detective to the rich and famous. One of the most original characters in the historical mystery area, Max Allan Collins's Heller has jousted with Al Capone, helped out Clarence Darrow, and probed the killing of Huey Long--taking all his cases very personally. But a bad experience with a sadistic Charles Lindbergh has left him leery of flying, and it will take all of Earhart's charm to get him into a plane from St. Louis to Albuquerque, and then to Los Angeles. It's 1935, and Heller has been hired by Amelia's husband (the conniving publisher G.P. Putnam) to both guard her body and search out possible lovers on a book tour. A warm relationship grows up between the flyer and the detective, and when Earhart disappears a few years later, an overage Heller enlists in the Marines to search for her on the island of Saipan. The story is framed by scenes of a retired Nate in 1970 being persuaded to revisit Saipan by a persistent Earhart researcher, and the conclusions that Collins offers about her fate are as convincing as they are moving and exciting. --Dick Adler

From Publishers Weekly

Blending solid research with reasoned speculation and adding fictional enhancements has proven to be a highly successful formula for eight Nate Heller mysteries, which have explored fascinating events like the Lindbergh kidnapping (Stolen Away, 1991) and the assassination of Huey Long (Blood and Thunder, 1995). In 1970, Chicago-based PI Heller is enjoying semi-retirement in Florida when he's approached by a wealthy Texan interested in making yet another attempt to solve the mystery of the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. This narrative reveals the truth about the disappearance of the world's most famous aviatrix as only Heller knows it, having been hired in 1935 by Earhart's husband, G.P. Putnam, to provide security for one of Earhart's triumphant appearances (this one at Marshall Field's to launch a new line of clothing she had designed). Heller, who became friends with Earhart, agrees to help the curious Texan, and the result is an entertaining and provocative look at Earhart's career and personal life and the "true" story of her ill-fated round-the-world flight in 1937. As usual, Collins provides a final chapter that provides a useful bibliography of source materials and other credits.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; 1ST edition (August 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525943110
• ISBN-13: 978-0525943112
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,826,409 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Max Allan Collins is a New York Times bestselling author of original mysteries, a Shamus award winner and an experienced author of movie adaptions and tie-in novels. His graphic novel ROAD TO PERDITION was made into a major motion picture by Tom Hank's production company, Playtone.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Flying Blind - A (Fictional) Story of Amelia Earhart, May 10, 2005

By 

Sheri B. (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flying Blind: A Novel of Amelia Earhart (Nathan Heller Mystery Series) (Paperback)

PLOT: Nate Heller, Chicago detective, finds himself recounting the memories of his own experience with the life of Amelia Earhart. Enrolled by Amelia's husband, G.P. Putnam, as an undercover detective, Heller becomes emotionally tied to Earharts' life, career and the risky business that comes with it. Later, when Earhart becomes lost during her around-the-world flight, he takes on a mission of his own; to find out the truth behind it all.

Type of Fiction: Mystery/Action/Adventure.

Positives: Collins has a remarkable ability to write a fast-paced, twisting, and eventful novel filled with lively characters, descriptions and memorable imaging. This book is an incredible portrayal of an Amelia Earhart theory, definitely showing that the author has done research.

Negatives: The author put to use the characteristics of a stereotypical detective when constructing Nate Heller, the main character. I also found it full of crude humour and subject - which is mostly a fault that my own opinions fail to dismiss. However, I don't find that it diminishes the plot - only subtracts slightly from my own enjoyment while reading.

Recommend? Definitely! This book, despite its negatives, is an incredibly written and thoroughly researched gem for those who are interested in mystery, Amelia Earhart, or aviation history. Having done research on Earhart, I would recommend this highly if you're looking for a basic introduction, or imagery for remembrance.

Age Range: 14+ - Sexual scenes, discussion and crude humor.

Where/When to Read: Well, I suggest waiting til after your air flight. Other than that, rain or shine, inside or out, I think you'll enjoy this novel.

Happy Reading!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars one of the better Nate Heller books, October 18, 2001

By 

Ruddy "ruddy64" (South Pasadena, California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flying Blind: A Novel of Amelia Earhart (Nathan Heller Mystery Series) (Paperback)

Having read all of Collins' Nate Heller casebooks, I would rank this one as fitting into the top 5 or so. Not as snappy as the early Chicago-based ones and certainly nowhere close to the pinacle of the series Stolen Away (about the Lindbergh kidnapping), this book still has all of the best features of these books: Great background, terrific characters, funny dialogue, ample sex (using charmingly veiled language without lapsing into cute-ness), and a plausible plot that finds our man in the midst of one of the 20th Centuries best mysteries. If you haven't read a Heller book, seek out True Crime and True Detective, then jump to Stolen Away and then come here. You'll be glad you did.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well written and entertaining, but offputting, April 25, 2001

By 

[e-mail] "Simon DelMonte" (Flushing, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flying Blind: A Novel of Amelia Earhart (Nathan Heller Novels) (Hardcover)

It's been a while since I've read a Nathan Heller novel. I loved "Stealing Away" and enjoyed the others I've read, but I figured that the more we saw, the harder it would be to swallow just how many famous mysteries Heller was involved in. And that's what happened here, especially since Heller is far more involved with Amelia Earhart than he's ever been with a client or a victim.

That involvement colored the rest of the book in a way that was a bit more cynical than usual and that made Heller a lot harder to take. I appreciate that the speculation about history's truth is just that, and that we can disregard the whole thing, but Heller's love for "Amy" makes almost every other character in a position of authority seem sordid if not evil. The result is a rather simplistic narrative. That Collins would treat Huey Long with more sympathy than any effort to spy on Japan in preparation for the inevitable war is perpelxing.

This is still a fun read, but it's just not the same as the earlier works. And after you've had your hero sleep with Amelia Earhart, what's next? Eleanor Roosevelt?