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Sinister Heights

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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.

"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.

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

SINISTER HEIGHTS is Loren Estleman's latest foray into the world of Amos Walker, Detroit's toughest lone wolf private eye. Estleman hews true to the hard-boiled school established by Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, presenting a battered hero who walks mean streets peopled with men and women who all have secret agendas. The author mixes a twisted plot with biting social commentary and historical footnotes of Motor City. In SINISTER HEIGHTS, Amos Walker is drawn back into a web of past acquaintances and places he's had dealings with before. Iroquois Heights, nicknamed Sinister Heights, is not a place Walker wants to go, yet he's put onto the trail of potential missing heirs of an automotive magnate, Leland Stutch. Rayellen Stutch, the billionaire's widow, hires Walker to find her dead husband's illegitimate daughter and the family she begat to give them some of the money left to her. On the surface, the effort is a charitable one, but Walker has a cynical streak about him from everything he's seen in his chosen career. The hunt for the missing heirs becomes a mission of life and death, and the rugged P. I. soon finds himself in the cross hairs of an unknown enemy and in the arms of an old lover whose life becomes endangered as well.

Estleman is an accomplished writer in the fields of mysteries and westerns. But his range is far deeper and more compelling than simply a cursory coverage of these genres. In addition to the Amos Walker series, Estleman also details the lives of Peter Macklin, hit man, and Page Murdock, US Deputy Marshal of the Old West. Several other crime novels dip into the murderous, violent, and political history of Detroit. Estleman has also written more novels of the Old West, including a book about a hangman called THE MASTER EXECUTIONER. THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN MOVING PICTURE ASSOCIATION is a novel about the early years of the movie industry. Early novels, such as SHERLOCK HOLMES VS. DRACULA and DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HOLMES show the range and interest of Estleman's writing. A confirmed western or historical novel or mystery reader will always find something of interest in his backlist.

Estleman is a great gritty detective writer. His plots have enough twists and turns in them to keep a Grand Prix driver on his toes, and he manages to stay one step ahead of the reader. The interior dialogue given voice by Walker paints the city, the situations, and the people in crisp, colorful prose. And in dialogue swapped between characters, Estleman reveals personality, irony, and humor. Estleman's ear for conversations is good, carrying the vocabulary and cadence of the people he portrays. The action scenes carry a lot of weight, and Estleman plants the reader at ground zero, letting the audience hear and feel the harsh hammer of flesh against bone, the slap of bullets cutting through the air.

One area that could have used a little tweaking was near the end. Part of the plot centers around an attack by truckers that raze buildings to the ground. Walker was in the middle of action at the time, but the premise was striking and perhaps needed a little more of Walker's involvement even though he was watching. Also, the final villain--although present throughout the book--seemed to come out of left field to a degree. These areas weren't enough to throw off an overall enjoyable read, but they were present. The Walker mysteries aren't presented as exercises in which to match wits with the detective, but a better chance to figure things out might have been in order and cut down on the character exposition during the climax.

SINISTER HEIGHTS is a good solid read for anyone interested in hardboiled private eye fare. If you have never read an Amos Walker novel, you can read Estleman's stuff pretty much in any order. Rather than being a continued story as some mystery novelists tend to these days, Estleman still continues working on the mosiac that is Amos Walker. A reader can drop in any time and pick up the pace easily without feeling like he or she has missed out on anything that has gone on before. Fans who have enjoyed Robert B. Parker, Elmore Leonard, Robert Crais, George Pelecanos, and Greg Rucka will enjoy SINISTER HEIGHTS.

I've read them all and this is definitely the worst in the series.

The first part is great as Amos tracks down the missing mother and son and talks with the suspect. Some real good detective writing there. But as the plot builds towards an utterly ridiculous climax it is clear that Estleman was trying his hand at a different type of writing. The title implies it. He was trying to be a Stephen King, building an ominous tone and setting. It didn't work and like I said the end is absurd and thoroughly unbelievable.

Fortunately the entries in the series following this have been very strong. I guess everyone is entitled to a mulligan.

If you're a fan of Amos Walker skip this one. If you're not a fan, pick up almost any other one first.

Loren D. Estleman's journeyman solo P.I., Amos Walker, is back working the mean streets of an ever-changing Detroit, as he is sent from the haunts of the very very rich to locate a lost heiress. His search will bring him into contact with various lowlifes from the social depths to those that walk in the ranks of elites, the movers and shakers of old Detroit. And criminality will be found everywhere, high and low.

In an ever more computerized world, Amos knows he's a throwback, but finds there is still a niche for a tough guy, even a low tech one. This will turn out to be a nasty trek and a personally tragic one for Amos. The climax may be a little over-the-top but getting there is all the fun.

Estleman's style is just as arch and funny as always. One reads him for the pleasure of the writing and the plentiful wisecracks, similes, and asides. Good stuff.

Out of curiosity I read exactly one James Patterson novel, his last Alex Cross, and I was amazed at how badly written it was. And he sells by the ton. Go figure. Oh well, I'll never read another, so bless you Loren D. Estleman, and keep on keeping on.

I'm a huge fan of this series and of Estleman's books. My problem with this one is that it's completely absurd. I really have no idea what Estelman was thinking on this one. The ending is ridiculous. I'm sorry, you'll have to read it to find out exactly how silly it is. That being said, I could never tell a fan of the hardboiled PI genre to avoid any Walker mystery. Amos Walker always makes the read worthwhile, no matter how silly the events (this book) or predictable the killer ("Retro"). I do, however, recommend reading any of the other Walker mysteries before reading this one or "Retro."

Being a huge noir detective fiction fan I found it a little difficult to muddle through this installment in the Amos Walker series. The plot starts out in typical fashion and then goes on to become Walker out for revenge, sort of like Walking Tall or something along those lines. The ending went back to a typical hard-boiled style of ending with the detective confronting the person behind the mayhem which was nice. Unfortunately this one just didnt do it for me. Estleman is definitly an accomplished author and all the other reviewers of this novel are right on target with most of their reviews but the revenge angle just didnt work for me.

After fifteen episodes, Loren Estleman's tough private investigator Amos Walker is still a very unpredictable and interesting character. He has the mind of a scholar, the fists of a prizefighter, the wit of a comedian, and the heart of a Saint. You never know just what he might do but you're sure that it will be the right thing.

Sinister Heights takes us to the world of billionaires who built their fortunes on the backs of American labor. Leland Stutch, the last remaining pioneer of Detroit's auto industry and over a century old, just died leaving his vast fortune in the hands of his very young widow.

Rayellen Stutch has hired Walker to trace the illegitimate offspring of her late husband so that she can settle any claims against the estate before they become a legal issue. It should be a simple assignment, handled in a day or two and then forgotten.

But things get complicated in a hurry when Walker discovers that Stutch's illegitimate daughter now has a son of her own and is on the run from an abusive husband. The closer the detective gets to heirs, the more dangerous his mission becomes.

It is soon obvious to Walker that someone would rather kill him than let him discover the truth. A high speed encounter on an Interstate Highway results in the death of an old friend of Walkers and the abduction of Leland Stutch's young grandson. Circumstances force Walker to make a bold and unique move to rescue the young boy and uncover the identity of the killer.

I won't reveal any more of the plot but I highly recommend this novel. It's characters are lifelike, the dialog clever and fresh, and the story is told with Estleman's magic use of the language. It seems like the terms, Noir and Hard-Boiled were created to describe a story like this.

Although the cover art on this book looks like a 1950's sci fi, mad scientist movie poster, the story is really another wonderful hard boiled, noir, down to earth detective story in the Amos Walker series. For language, style and atmosphere they don't come any better. Even a twist of an ending!