Westerfield's Chain [Hardcover]

Jack Clark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2002

It was another nothing case. That's the only kind private eye Nick Acropolis seemed to get lately. But this one leads to Westerfield's Pharmacy, which sits in the heart of Chicago's West Side ghetto, surrounded by ruins.

Nick was a real cop years ago, a homicide detective, and there's something about the drugstore that gets the old juices flowing. There's no customers for one thing. No pharmacist either, and nobody seems to know where the boss, Eugene Westerfield, has gone.

And then Becky Westerfield shows up. She's taken a sudden leave from medical school to look for her father, who didn't call on her 25th birthday. Becky knows something must be wrong. Eugene Westerfield would never forget.

Becky and Nick join forces, going from one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country to one of its wealthiest suburbs. They visit housing projects, the morgue, and a decrepit nursing home, hidden away between railroad lines.

Becky discovers a city she never knew existed, and Nick surveys some depressing old haunts. Together, they eventually find Eugene Westerfield. But along the way they stumble into an intricate scheme of fraud and murder. Becky discovers that her father isn't the man she'd thought he was.

With a plot reminiscent of Graham Greene's The Third Man and inspired by real events, Chicago native Jack Clark has crafted a winning first mystery.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A brisk style and fine descriptions help offset a less-than-scintillating plot in Clark's debut mystery. While investigating a traffic altercation involving an off-duty police officer, Nick Acropolis, a former homicide cop now working as a low-level PI in Chicago, learns about first one missing person, then another. Eugene Westerfield is "on vacation" indefinitely, and Jimmy Madison, a student who works in one of Westerfield's drugstores, disappears just after Nick gets his statement about the traffic case. Nick follows a suspicious car with out-of-town plates and meets Becky Westerfield, daughter of Eugene, who's come home to hunt for her dad. Although Becky is convinced her father is a saint, Nick gathers more and more evidence that Eugene has been committing an impressive amount of welfare fraud. As the off-the-books owner of a medical center, Eugene has been hiring doctors who are no longer employable in the reputable world. These doctors prescribe hundreds of unnecessary medications, and the patients are sent to Westerfield's drugstores to get the prescriptions filled. Nick's backstory could have provided more nuances if it had been revealed sooner. A few minor characters come through strongly-such as a bike repair guy named Purcell and a fascinating mute homeless man-but there are so many others that it's hard to keep them straight, let alone appreciate them. Still, whatever the book's flaws, it's a great read, one that ought to appeal in particular to Robert B. Parker fans.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

P.I. Nick Acropolis inadvertently picks up clues to a tangled missing-persons case while investigating an automobile accident involving a cop in a desolate area of Chicago. There, a drugstore (scene of a recent murder) and a nearby clinic, both owned by a prominent but missing man, apparently serve as centers for welfare fraud. An ex-cop himself, Nick knows how to manipulate the investigatory ropes, save his clients, and trip up the bad guys. Extensive background detailing (e.g., driving around Chicago), personal observation, and an understated tone lend credence to this steadily engaging first mystery. Readers who like Chicago-based series such as Sara Paretsky's might want to check this out.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031228960X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312289607
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,022,035 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jack Clark, an award winning journalist, was a finalist for the Shamus Award for 'Westerfield's Chain,' which the Chicago Tribune called "a pure delight." The Washington Post called 'Nobody's Angel,' "A gem." Studs Terkel writing about 'On the Home Front' said: "Jack Clark's wondrous celebration of his working-class mother and her natural gifts as a storyteller has touched me deeply." Jack is also a Chicago cabdriver. So buy a book. Help the guy out.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must, December 26, 2002

By 

bill runyon (Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Westerfield's Chain (Hardcover)

This is a good mystery, very readable, and it flows along very nicely; difficult to put down.
The story is about a disenchaned former cop, now getting by doing
P.I. work for law firms, who stumbles into a much bigger, more
complex case than he has encountered in a long time. Although
he has no business looking into the mysterious workings of the
"Westerfield Chain" of drugstores, he can't keep away from the
fascinating people and odd questions that keep popping up. His
real employers keep asking him what in the world he is doing,
and they continually urge him to stick with their business.
But he runs into the daughter of the business owner that has
oddly disappeared, and he is equally fascinating by her and by
her connections with the legal questions involved, so he has, at
least in his mind, a genuine reason for continuing with his inquiries.
However much danger is involved, even when the danger level
keeps increasing.
A nice mystery with a lot of interesting questions.
But the best reason for reading this fascinating book is the
author's skill at describing, all with words, the gritty and bleak
landscape of part of Chicago and the odd mix of people who live in, and police, some of the worst urban areas in the country.
An involved reader will feel the dirt in the streets and see the sooty
abandoned, burned-out buildings, as well as hear the cries and
wails of the gang-bangers and the desperate people trying to
live amid lawlessness and poverty. The author really has the
ability to involve the reader in the landscape of his writing, and
there will be times when the reader will feel the need to do an
extra-good job of washing up after reading some passages. The
use of language is strong and skillful, and this writer will involve
the reader in ways that bring back memories of Chandler and his
detailed portraits of people and place.
This is a fine example of very nice, complex, involved writing,
and any reader of mysteries will find it difficult to put down.
Highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating urban noir thriller, November 24, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Westerfield's Chain (Hardcover)

Forty-five year old private sleuth Nick Acropolis used to be a homicide detective until he was kicked off the force. His partner robbed a bank while Nick was waiting on line as the crime was taking place. His partner spoke to him before leaving but when questioned, Nick didn't reveal the name of the robber or what was said to him. Now Nick is working as an investigator for law firms like Siegal and McGovern and hating every minute of it.

He's currently working on a case where an off duty police officer was involved in road rage and the Review Board wants to terminate his employment. While trying to build a case for the lawyer's client, he meets Becky Westerfield who wants to hire him to find her missing father. The missing person's case turns into something much bigger when he learns that Becky's father is into massive public aid fraud and the people he works with at the pharmacy are dead or have disappeared. Nick is determined to get some answers no matter what the cost.

This is Jack Clark's debut novel and it is a fascinating urban noir thriller. The protagonist is a likable character who, though he feels sorry for himself, is an intelligent investigator who is determined to figure out how a series of crimes are connected. Readers will appreciate his tenacity and ability to follow a lead, no matter how minor it is. WESTERFIELD'S CHAIN is a mystery that keeps readers interested and turning the pages.

Harriet Klausner

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dark and disturbing tale of Chicago, January 5, 2003

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Westerfield's Chain (Hardcover)

Private detective Nick Acropolis specializes in clearing cops under investigation. As an ex-cop who fell foul of the investigating board himself, Nick doesn't have much love for the process--but he isn't blind enough to believe his clients aren't mostly guilty. As he investigates a strange story of a traffic accident and shooting involving a cop, Nick stumbles onto something larger. A drug store in the middle of a burned out neighborhood seems mostly deserted, but the records show that it does millions in business--supported by the government. Its owner has suddenly vanished, one of the workers is a murder victim, and the other employee is strangely willing to clear Nick's client's name.

Almost against his will, Nick begins to investigate. The more he looks, the more he finds about the corruption of Chicago and Illinois state governments, welfare rackets, and bad police. Still, he can't seem to put the story into context. Something just isn't adding up and it might be him being set up to be the fall guy.

Author Jack Clark writes with a clear and straightforward style and a well balanced mix of character development and plot to compell the reader forward. With the damage his background has done to him, Nick is compelling and sympathetic, even when he compromises on his own ethics. Clark's view of Chicago, still suffering from the damage done by the race riots of the 1960s and 1970s, rings true. The city becomes something of a character in the story--one with plenty of flaws and with its redeaming charm.