August 1, 2020 Post # 57

Quote for the day: "If I ever tried to dip a worm in the (Rouge River) he'd've crawled back up the line and slapped my face." Loren D. Estleman. Motown. 1991.

Reviews

When Old Midnight Comes Along

by Loren D. Estleman

It doesn't make any difference to me that the Mystery Writers of America have failed to acknowledge Estleman's widely acclaimed body of work and named him a Grand Master of mystery writing. I and the rest of his many fans already look upon the man as a Grand Master of his literary art form. I first read an Estleman mystery featuring private eye, Amos Walker, in the early 1980s and nearly 40 years later along comes this, his 28th Amos Walker novel. What I find truly remarkable is that after more than two dozen in the series spanning four decades each new book in the series remains as fresh, original, entertaining as the first. That also holds true of Estleman's keen, witty, and trenchant observations of the changing face of Detroit and its wealthy suburbs over the years.  

In his latest case, Walker is hired by Francis X Lawes, a politically connected Detroit mover and shaker, to prove his wife is dead. Paula Lawes disappeared six years ago. Her body was never found and police could not unearth the faintest lead as to what happened to her. After seven years she could legally be listed as deceased, but Frances X wants to remarry and says he can not wait another twelve months. Walker suspects murder and discovers a million-dollar insurance policy on Mrs. Lawes as a motive. But the case becomes convoluted as Walker runs up against one dead end after another. And as usual, the final twist in the novel is shocking yet logical.

Estleman is a student of the hard-boiled private-eye novel and at times it almost seems as if he is channeling Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. The Walker novels would not be out of place if they were shelved alongside Chandler's and Hammett's classics. For me, Estleman is a sheer joy to read. He litters the Walker novels with pungent, arresting, and memorable sentences such as, "For years the place looked like a bouillon cube wrapped in foil." and "When they say Detroit's coming back, they don't mean you're coming with it." 

When Old Midnight Comes Along by Loren D. Estleman. Forge Books, 2019, $26.99

Northern Wolf

by Daniel Greene

I very much enjoyed this first book in a series based on the exploits of Company F of the 13th Michigan Cavalry in the Civil War. This first in the series covers the unit's recruitment, training, and it's important contribution, in blood and lives, to the victory at Gettysburg. It was the regiment's first battle and they performed bravely and heroically in the Custer Brigade. I have been a Civil War buff since high school and on finishing the book I looked up the regiment in the book "Michigan in the War" which contains a history of every Michigan unit that fought in the Civil War to better familiarize myself with the regiment's history. Imagine my chagrin when I discovered there never was a 13th Michigan Cavalry. I went to the author's afterword where he explained that the 13th Michigan Cavalry was fictional but closely based on the regimental history of the 5th Michigan Cavalry. 

The main character, Johannes Wolf, has a crippled leg and must wear a lengthy brace that enables him to stand and walk but not run. The leg has kept him from enlisting in the infantry and turned him into a drunken troublemaker. After a night in jail sleeping off another drinking spree, a desperate recruiter from the 13th Michigan Cavalry visits the jail looking to lure his captive and hungover audience into joining the regiment. Johannas figures if he can't fight or march in the infantry he could from the back of a horse and talks the recruiter, despite his gimpy leg, into signing him up.

Johannes Wolf is a fascinating character and the fast-moving, readable, and action-packed narrative follows Johannes and the other misfits from Company F in the first few months of their enlistments. The author presents an intimate and realistic portrayal of the life of a Union cavalryman in the Civil War. Johannes' regiment is assigned to the Custer Brigade just days before the Battle of Gettysburg. 

The novel accurately describes an often ignored massive cavalry engagement that took place to the east of Gettysburg and away from the main stage of the battle yet was of significant importance to the Union victory. The portrayal of General Custer and his flamboyant leadership is finely drawn and many of the minor characters are memorable.  Readers of Book One of Northern Wolf Series will be eager to follow Wolf, Company F, and General Custer through the final two years of the war.  

 Northern Wolf: Northern Wolf Series by Daniel Greene. Self-published. 2019, $12.99

The Final Act of Conrad North

by Peter Marabell

I spent nearly 20 years summering in the Petoskey area and was recently surprised and more than pleased to discover the city, rated as one of the finest small towns in Michigan, was also home to a fictional private detective. I kind of relished the idea that in one of the most beautiful and pleasant places to live in the state, author Peter Marabell had the boldness and imagination to keep private eye Michael Russo busy fighting fictional corruption, lowlifes, and criminal behavior occurring below the local law enforcement's radar. And like all great fictional private eyes from Amos Walker to Philip Marlowe, Michael Russo represent a victim's last chance to right a wrong or extract justice.

A case in point is Marabell's previous book in the series in which Camille North came to Russo when in the course of her divorce her name had been removed from the Mackinac Island cottage built by her family and replaced by her ex-husband's. Russo figured out how the names were switched on the deed and the book ended with a murder in Mackinaw City. The book cried out for a sequel and Marabell  delivers with "The Final Act of Conrad North." 

Russo and the police all believe Conrad North either murdered or hired someone to kill Camille. Russo is burdened with guilt over the killing and will not rest until Conrad North is brought to justice. The man has disappeared but Russo believes he is hiding out somewhere in northern Michigan. The stakes get higher when the detective learns that North has apparently paid a killer to take him out.

This is a very satisfying read made even more so by the author's great descriptions of northern Michigan and almost a visceral sense of the ambiance of Traverse City, Mackinac Island, and a virtual walking tour of Petoskey's Gaslight District.

The Final Act of Conrad North by Peter Marabell. Kendall Sheepman Company, 2019, $15.95

Defy the Immediate: A Journey of Failure, Perseverance, and Success

by T. R. Shaw Jr.

This well written, well-intended book is meant to be more than just an autobiography. In the preface, the author writes that his goal for the book is to inform, entertain, inspire, and mentor those seeking to become leaders. As a journalism major at Central Michigan University, he certainly became a very good writer.

Each chapter covers a specific period in his life from childhood and the joy of spending time with his grandparents on their large working orchard to growing up in an urban setting, his experiences at CMU, and the importance of joining a prestigious fraternity. After graduating from CMU he became a junior officer in the navy, and later resigned and attended mortuary school at Wayne State. After graduation, he returned to Battle Creek and, like his father, became a funeral director.  It is a well-documented and very readable narrative of middle-class life in the latter half of the past century.

But the author wrote the book to be much more than simply the story of his life. At the end of each chapter, there's a section highlighted by a grey background and entitled "Lesson Learned." In many cases, the "Lesson Learned" has been made pretty clear within the chapter's narrative.  The author uses the "Lesson Learned" section to expound, summarize, or be more emphatic about what he learned. I think the author is demonstratively a good enough writer to have seamlessly woven everything he wanted to say about the lesson learned into the narrative. But the above is only a minor distraction in this otherwise well-meaning and sincere effort to tell the author's life story and share the lessons learned on his journey. 

Defy the Immediate: A Journey of Failure, Perseverance, and Success by T. R. Shaw Jr. Mission Point Press, 2019, $12.95.

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