Motor City Blue

The first book in the long-running Amos Walker Mysteries introduces the hard-boiled Detroit detective as he searches for an aging mobster’s missing adopted daughter Private eye Amos Walker is a Vietnam veteran who was thrown out of the Police Academy for punching a fellow cadet. He’s a hard man in a ruined city, scratching out a living looking for lost things. Walker’s latest case comes by way of ex-mobster Ben Morningstar, who’s been living out his retirement in Phoenix while raising Maria, the daughter of a long-ago murdered friend. Only now, Maria is missing and the gangster needs Walker’s help. But the trail has gone cold—the only clue is a faded pornographic snapshot. Never one to give up, Walker witnesses the kidnapping of a former Vietnam friend and solves the murder of a young black labor leader while slugging his way to a solution. Fans of Raymond Chandler and Elmore Leonard’s crime fiction will find Estleman’s lean prose, retro style, and tough-guy hero irresistible. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Loren D. Estleman including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

The ultimate guide to Michigan, all the way from Yooper territory (Upper Peninsula) down to Loper land (Lower Peninsula). What do Yoopers and Trolls have in common? Not much to hear them tell it, but both types of Michigander appreciate great bathroom reading. And they’re proud to call Michigan home! Celebrate the state that brought us Motown, Henry Ford, and the world’s only floating post office. So no matter which peninsula you call home, get ready for a funny, unforgettable visit. Read about… * Feather bowling * Shipwrecked in Paradise * Go to Hell and back in Hell, Michigan * Michigan’s other famous Ford: a president named Gerald * The Red Flannel Festival, and other ways Michiganders brave the winter * How a 1966 Michigan State University game changed football forever * Michigan’s role in the birth of rock ’n’ roll * Test your knowledge of the Great Lakes * Detroit’s Whiskey River * Smelt dipping 101 And much, much more!

In this erudite and engaging collection, Paul Bodine gathers together two decades of his provocative forays into books and culture, from the popular fiction of Stephen King and Richard North Patterson to the ageless classics of D. H. Lawrence and T. S. Eliot. Bristling with wit, frank analysis, and versatile intelligence, Operative Words features reviews of more than thirty books by such authors as Jay McInerney, Daniel Boorstin, John Keegan, and Doris Lessing as well as detailed profiles of twenty-five major American writers (from Cleveland Amory to Tom Wolfe), all originally appearing in major American newspapers and reference books. Bonus features include in-depth analyses of short stories by Vladimir Nabokov and F. Scott Fitzgerald, the critical reception of T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets , and cutting-edge French and American literary theory. No less spirited and eclectic are Bodine's takes on music, which range from an interview with an up-and-coming violinist and reviews of Mahler and Stravinsky biographies to the sounds and images of Roxy Music and John Lennon. A rich feast of opinion and reflection.

Private Eyes is the complete map to what Raymond Bhandler called "the mean streets," the exciting world of the fictional private eye. It is intended to entertain current PI fans and to make new ones.

The first three mysteries featuring Detroit private investigator Amos Walker from the Shamus Award–winning “Stravinsky of hard-boiled prose” (John Lescroart). Four-time Shamus Award winner and Edgar Award finalist Loren D. Estleman launches an irresistible mystery series for “readers who can’t get enough of Elmore Leonard and Ross Thomas” (People). Motor City Blue: Vietnam vet, private investigator, and Bogart fan Amos Walker is scratching out a living looking for lost things in Detroit when he’s asked to find the adopted daughter of an ex-mobster. The only clue is a faded pornographic snapshot of the missing girl. Never one to give up, Walker witnesses the kidnapping of a former Vietnam friend and solves the murder case of a young black labor leader while slugging his way to a solution. Angel Eyes: Ann Maringer, an aging stripper still grinding in Detroit’s low-end dives, hires Amos Walker to locate a missing person: herself. She expects to disappear any day now—and wants to be found. True to her word, Ann disappears the next day, leaving behind a carton of cheap cigarettes and a dead body. Unshaken by the body or the circumstances, Walker sets out to find his client. After all, she paid in advance. The Midnight Man: An ambush on Detroit’s northwest side has left a police officer with a bullet lodged near his spine—and Amos Walker eager to bring the shooter to justice. He knows he’s treading dangerous ground, but being targeted by Detroit’s Finest is a twist he didn’t see coming. Walker soon learns that between the crippled cop’s sex-starved wife, militant rebels, the police, and a bounty hunter, trusting the wrong person could be a fatal mistake. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Loren D. Estleman including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.

This anthology collects all thirty-two previously published Amos Walker stories, a previously unpublished story written for the collection, and an introduction by Mr. Estleman.

DIVA dying architect engages Detroit PI Amos Walker to uncover someone who is spreading lies about him/divDIV/divDIVThe world is waiting for Jay Bell Furlong to die. The grand old man of American architecture is on deathwatch in a Los Angeles hospital, and it won’t be long before his obituary hits the front page. Only Amos Walker knows that the impending death is a bit farther off than that./divDIV /divDIVIn fact, Furlong has just become Walker’s client. The architect is still near death, yes, but far from the hospital. Before he goes, he has an item of revenge he wants seen to, and Walker is to be his instrument. Eight years prior, a salacious photo caused Furlong to cut loose his young lover, a photo he has now learned is a fake. He hires Walker to find out who poisoned his happiness, so that he can repay the favor before it’s too late./divDIV /divDIVThis ebook features an illustrated biography of Loren D. Estleman including rare photos from the author’s personal collection./div