True Crime [Hardcover]

Max Allan Collins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1984

1934 Chicago dazzles with fast action and calculating, cold-blooded meanness as private detective Nate Heller combs Chicago’s North Side looking for John Dillinger. But things take a turn for the strange when self-aggrandizing G-Man Melvin Purvis shoots down a Dillinger double in front of the Biograph Theater. Full of muscle and oozing Chicago’s tough-guy persona to the hilt, Max Allan Collins’ Nate Heller is the ultimate private investigator—in the ultimate P.I. town. Heller’s undercover search for a farmer’s-daughter-turned-gun-moll has him on the dusty Depression backroads of middle America, in the company of Ma Barker and her boys, Baby Face Nelson, Alvin Karpis, and a very-much-still-alive Dillinger—whose outlandish plan to kidnap J. Edgar Hoover in downtown Chicago is one Heller tries to foil. Including appearances by fan dancer Sally Rand, boxer Barney Ross, and Heller's “godfather,” Frank Nitti, True Crime is a relentless classic.

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

1934 Chicago dazzles with fast action and calculating, cold-blooded meanness as private detective Nate Heller combs Chicago’s North Side looking for John Dillinger. But things take a turn for the strange when self-aggrandizing G-Man Melvin Purvis shoots down a Dillinger double in front of the Biograph Theater. Full of muscle and oozing Chicago’s tough-guy persona to the hilt, Max Allan Collins’ Nate Heller is the ultimate private investigator—in the ultimate P.I. town. Heller’s undercover search for a farmer’s-daughter-turned-gun-moll has him on the dusty Depression backroads of middle America, in the company of Ma Barker and her boys, Baby Face Nelson, Alvin Karpis, and a very-much-still-alive Dillinger—whose outlandish plan to kidnap J. Edgar Hoover in downtown Chicago is one Heller tries to foil. Including appearances by fan dancer Sally Rand, boxer Barney Ross, and Heller's “godfather,” Frank Nitti, True Crime is a relentless classic.

“Crackles with low-life meanness and cynical humor...enough perverse twists, gritty period color, and sheer violent momentum to keep crime buffs, ‘true’ or otherwise, eagerly turning the pages.”—New York Times Book Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Max Allan Collins is the author of the Shamus Award-winning Nathan Heller historical thrillers; his other books include the New York Times bestseller Saving Private Ryan and the bestselling CSI series. His comics writing ranges from the graphic novel Road to Perdition, source of the Tom Hanks film, to long runs as scripter of the “Dick Tracy” comic strip and his own innovative “Ms. Tree.” Collins is also a screenwriter and a leading Indie filmmaker. He lives in Iowa with his wife, writer Barbara Collins, and their son, Nathan. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 357 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (December 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312820453
• ISBN-13: 978-0312820459
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #824,561 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

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best of the Heller Novels, December 6, 1999

By 

wEEpy (Garden State) - See all my reviews

This review is from: True Crime (Hardcover)

I have read all of the Nate Heller mysteries, and True Crime is the best of them. One of the most interesting touches to the series are the historical photographs showing the characters that Nate interacts with. True Crime is a good straightfoward read which draws you into the criminal world of Dillinger, Floyd, Barker, Karpis and others. The historical research appears to be excellent, (I'm no expert) and Collins fleshes out all of the characters satisfactorily. If you can, read True Detective first as it gives a good background to Nate Heller (and is a very good book as well).

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If only the history books in school were this fun to read!, April 21, 2004

By 

Michael Morris (Muskegon, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: True Crime (Paperback)

I love to read...but only fiction. I have never liked reading things about true to life people. But I loved reading about Nate Heller in this book as well as the book before this, True Detective. Mr. Collins has done an excellent job of telling the story of some of the nastiest criminals of the 30s but also by doing something others have failed to do. He has made the likes of Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, Frank Nitti and the Barkers human. Although never once sugarcoating the fact that they were killers and whatnot, he gives us an idea of what they were in real life.
Nate Heller is the perfect picture of the detectives of the era, tough, hard-boiled and not the kind to back down from a fight. But he is also a caring person and that is as evident as all of the other traits he shows.
This book grabbed me from the beginning and held on to the end. Much better than just well written, it moves seemlessly from one event to another. Although crammed full with descriptions of actual happenings, buildings, people and more, Collins has integrated all of it together to where it is just as exciting to hear about Chicago's Loop district as it was to hear about John Dillinger's "death" outside the Biograph theater.
Thank you Mr. Collins! I have loved these two and will be searching all of the rest of this series in the near future. If they are half as good as this one is, I am in for many hours of totally wonderful reading enjoyment!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nate Heller meets John Dillinger, October 9, 2005

By 

JoeV "Reader" (Arlington Hts, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: True Crime (Paperback)

In this, the second installment of Collins' Nitti trilogy, ex-Chicago cop, tough guy PI Nate Heller first finds himself on the periphery of the FBI hunt for Dillinger and then involved in a kidnapping plot with the Karpis gang in mid 1930's Chicago. The reader meets Purvis, Cowley and Hoover from the fledgling FBI, crooked East Chicago cop Martin Zarkovich, Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, Ma Barker and her boys and the infamous Lady In "Red" Anna Sage, as well as Dillinger and Frank Nitti. Although the book meanders off track briefly towards the middle, Collins captures the perfect blend of history, supposition and fiction to bring these figures to life and provides enough mystery with Heller's clients to make True Crime a highly entertaining read.