Sinister Heights [Paperback]

Loren D. Estleman (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Mysterious Press (2002)
• ASIN: B000WL73BG
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Since the appearance of his first novel in 1976, Loren D. Estleman has written more than 65 books and hundreds of short stories and articles. Alone (Dec 2009, Forge Books) is the second in a new series about L.A. film detective Valentino, and features Greta Garbo.

To kick off the new decade, Estleman's The Book of Murdock (eighth in the U.S. Deputy Marshal Page Murdock series) will appear in March and, to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of Private Detective Amos Walker, The Left-Handed Dollar will publish in December. It's the 20th novel in the award-winning series.

An authority on both criminal history and the American West, Estleman has been called the most critically acclaimed author of his generation. He has been nominated for the National Book Award and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award.

He has received seventeen national writing awards: four Shamuses from the Private Eye Writers of America, five Spurs from the Western Writers of America, two American Mystery Awards from Mystery Scene Magazine, two Outstanding Mystery Writer of the Year awards from Popular Fiction Monthly, two Stirrup Awards for outstanding articles in the Western Writers of America magazine, The Roundup, and three Western Heritage Awards from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. In 1987, the Michigan Foundation of the Arts presented him with its award for literature. In 1997, the Michigan Library Association named him the recipient of the Michigan Author's Award. In 2007, Nicotine Kiss was named a Notable Book by the Library of Michigan.

Estleman graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and Journalism. On April 27, 2002, EMU presented him with an honorary doctorate in letters. He left the job market in 1980 to write full time. He lives in Michigan and is married to writer Deborah Morgan. For more information, please visit his website: www.lorenestleman.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Hardboiled PI as American as the Auto Industry, March 17, 2002

By 

Kent Braithwaite (Palm Desert, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sinister Heights (The Amos Walker Series #16) (Hardcover)

While many authors are currently working in the hardboiled mystery tradition, Loren Estleman, in SINISTER HEIGHTS, proves once again that he deserves to stand near the front of today's long line. Though countless PI authors (I know too well of what I speak) have been compared to the giants of this genre, giants with names such as Hammett, Chandler, and Macdonald, Estleman is the writer of our time who holds the best claim to a seat at the table with these immortals. His PI creation, Amos Walker, remains as contemporary as the Rust Belt yet as classic as a Model T.

In SINISTER HEIGHTS, Walker is hired by the youngish widow of an automobile industry pioneer to locate the illegitimate heirs to her late husband's furtune. She claims she wants to do right for these offshoots of the family tree, and Walker's investigation lands him in the middle of a complicated plot that moves fast and doesn't stop. Murders and other crimes soon follow. Estleman takes his reader on a joyride around post-industrial America, complete with Cayman Island bank accounts.

As Robert Parker did in his recent POTSHOT, Estleman features many secondary characters from past Walker novels. This element gives SINISTER HEIGHTS a nostalgic feel for the experienced Estleman reader and adds an enormous depth to his story.

SINISTER HEIGHTS is among Loren Estleman's finest works.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Amos Goes Over the Top, March 10, 2002

By 

Brian D. Rubendall (Oakton, VA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sinister Heights (The Amos Walker Series #16) (Hardcover)

"Sinister Heights" is the 16th novel in the Amos Walker series. I've read them all, and unfortunately have to report that it is one of the lesser in the series. That's a shame, because it feels like a key turning point in the the Walker saga. Estleman brings back many of the memorable supporting characters from past novels (and in one case, the son of a supporting character) that really enhance the plot for any longtime fan. The part with the former hooker Iris, who first appeared in the very first Walker novel, "Motor City Blue" is particularly poignant. Walker also revisits the infamous Iroquois Heights, the corrupt town that has tromented him in previous novels (hence the title).

Unfortunately, the plot that all of this is in service of strains credibility to the breaking point. It also goes over the top with the violence, a first in a Walker novel. Estlemen uses the old "talking killer" ploy no less than THREE times, a key indicator of the weaknesses within with the story.

Overall, the Amos Walker series remains among the absolute best private dectective series currently ongoing. But even an ace can take a bit of a stumble once in awhile.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite Amos Walker book yet, February 5, 2002

By 

J. Jordan "Editor of Crimespree Magazine" (milwaukee, wi United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sinister Heights (The Amos Walker Series #16) (Hardcover)

Sinister Heights by Loren Estleman

In Sinister Heights, the 15th Amos Walker book, Mr. Estleman has surpassed himself. It's not just hardboiled, It's rock hard. Full of short bursts of Detroit and the auto industry's history. Enough to educate, but not long enough to bore. Estleman's love of this city and surrounding area are very evident. This book is crime literature at it's finest.

Amos is hired by the widow of a Detroit industrialist to clear up some old family business. Along the way he gets tangled up with the steel haulers union, dirty cops, shady politicos, and the intrigue of a strange plan for extortion. Also along for the ride is his old friend Iris, who is running a shelter for abused women. Caught in the middle, a young boy. Walker handles this case like all his others, with the style of by gone era, making it timeless.

The book has a fast pace and never slows down. Walker's way of dealing with obstacles is as ever, down and dirty. I can safely say that this is by far my favorite in the series so far. Amos Walker at his best. And that's saying a lot, because Estleman is one the finest mystery writers writing today.

And the finish will knock your socks off.

Jon Jordan