Indian Sign (Milan Jacovich Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Les Roberts (Author)

Book Description

Series: Milan Jacovich Mysteries | Publication Date: August 2000

Need a private eye? None better than Milan Jacovich.

Milan Jacovich, Roberts's likable Cleveland sleuth, has investigated college campuses and labor unions, middle-European rivalries and small-town elections. Two of the very most affecting, however, are in Roberts's new book, where Jacovich contends with the murder of an old Native American, a tribal historian, and the subsequent kidnapping of the man's infant great grandaughter. Does this tie in with Milan's paid assignment -- to see if a toy manufacturer's accountant is selling the firm's secrets on the side?

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Milan Jacovich's newest client doesn't trust his newest employee and with good reason. When toy magnate Armand Treusch hires the Cleveland PI to check up on his accountant, Milan quickly discovers that David Ream isn't who he purports to be. But Treusch turns out to be just as duplicitous as Ream and a lot less ethical. The security problem he's paying Milan to fix is a lot more serious than industrial espionage, with the potential to endanger millions of unsuspecting families. While Milan's working out the moral dilemma involved in squealing on his client, he's also working on another, more interesting case involving the murder of an elderly Native American and the kidnapping of the man's great-grandson. Cleveland's a long way from the reservation, but Milan manages to connect the kidnapping to a baby-stealing ring run by a local mobster and the lowlife lawyers on his payroll.

This is the 11th outing for Milan, an eminently likable guy who knows his Midwestern territory like a native and limns Cleveland's back alleys and hidden byways with a spare, telling style. The writing is crisp, the pacing steady, and the violence minimal. Les Roberts is a dependable craftsman with a good hand at characterization, and Milan's a solid guy with just enough brass to make him interesting. --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly

Milan Jacovich is the kind of guy who insists on telling you about everything he puts in his mouth. Some of it is moderately interesting (where else could you learn that Winston cigarettes are "the vice of choice of most Slovenians"?). But does knowing where the middle-aged Cleveland PI buys his steaks ("Mister Brisket on Taylor Road") or chocolates for his date ("Mitchell Fine Candies on Lee Road") or his fresh-baked bagels ("I don't buy the packaged ones") really add anything but coy padding? These attempts at verisimilitude mostly get in the way of what could be two interesting storylines: Milan snoops (for money) on a toy-company accountant with a secret agenda while also searching (for free, out of guilt) for a kidnapped Native-American infant. The missing baby's great-grandfather squatted for two chilly February days on a bench across from Milan's house. Later, when the old man's body is fished out of the river, Milan regrets not having spoken to him. Investigating the accountant, Milan discovers that their mutual employerAa toy tycoonAis not only sleazy but positively lethal. In his 11th book about Milan, Roberts shows a strong social conscience on such subjects as poisonous toys and illegal adoptions. But he also overrates readers' interest in his hero's personal life. When a woman with whom Milan's had a loving relationship tells him she wants to just be friends, he says, "ConnieAdid it ever occur to you that this isn't about you?" Yeah, MilanAit has. Agent, Dominick Abel. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; 1st edition (August 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031225217X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312252175
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,525,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Les Roberts is the author of 15 mystery novels featuring Cleveland detective Milan Jacovich, as well as 9 other books of fiction. The past president of both the Private Eye Writers of America and the American Crime Writer's League, he came to mystery writing after a 24-year career in Hollywood. He was the first producer and head writer of the Hollywood Squares and wrote for the Andy Griffith Show, the Jackie Gleason Show, and the Man from U.N.C.L.E., among others. He has been a professional actor, a singer, a jazz musician, and a teacher. In 2003 he received the Sherwood Anderson Literary Award. A native of Chicago, he now lives in Northeast Ohio and is a film and literary critic.

Visit his web site at www.lesroberts.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just about perfect, August 10, 2000

By 

Roger Long "longrush" (Port Clinton, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Indian Sign (Milan Jacovich Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This is a superb ex-cop turned private eye mystery, meeting all three criteria for excellence: ATMOSPHERE--The reader can feel the shivery, wet February of Cleveland; inhale the sweet-smelling ethnic restaurants; sense the almost tangible atmosphere of the city. Without the proper ambience, even the best mystery would fall flat. CHARACTERS--The detective and all he meets are well-drawn and believlable. I never doubted for a second. PLOT--There are two distinct plots, actually, that eventually merge with a common theme. The ending is no great surprise, alas, but it works well enough and shouldn't be considered a negative.

To this fine mix, Les Roberts has added the spice of uncertainty on the part of his hero. Is he doing the right thing, and will he ever know if he did the right thing? That's what transforms this whodunit into fine literature. Most mystery novels simply never question the morality of it all.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking thriller, July 14, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Indian Sign (Milan Jacovich Mysteries) (Hardcover)

One of the best Milan Jacovich adventures yet, this one raises disturbing ethical questions for the Slovenian private investigator that the wily Roberts leaves for the readers to answer. From the first glimpse of the elderly Joseph Ettiwagishek sitting stoically in full tribal regalia on a park bench in a northern Ohio snowstorm to the exciting shootout at an upscale Cleveland shopping center, the images in this book are haunting. And though Jacovich's separate cases--the murder of the old Indian and the possible espionage in a local toy company--might seem disconnected, they are not at all; they both deal with issues that affect children. An exciting and thought-provoking addition to one of the best series around.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CANT WAIT FOR THE DUTCH!!, March 23, 2001

By 

"hugemom" (Twinsburg, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Indian Sign (Milan Jacovich Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Roberts always fascinates me with his ability to make Milan hard-boiled and intelligent at the same time. As this series goes on, Milan is becoming more and more mature and culpable for his actions and the actions of others as well. I have personal knowledge of the Slovenian Community and although he is a transplanted Clevelander, Roberts has made good use of his resources here to project a very believeable character. The moral dilemmas he presented in THE INDIAN SIGN still have me uncomfortable and undecided after 8 months. Roberts is becoming more confident in his success with this series as he writes each book and relies not so much on the shoot 'em up and punch 'em out as he does on making Milan Jacovich a very believeable character. And if anyone knows anything about characters, it's Roberts.