I love the way Loren D. Estleman writes about the city of Detroit, one of the great all-time settings for crime novels. City Walls is the 31st book to feature Amos Walker, world-weary old-school PI and it delivered exactly what I wanted - snappy writing, Detroit shenanigans, and Amos playing catch-up to piece it all together.

This time out Amos is hired by Emmett Yale, a muckity-muck in the electric car industry to look into the "murder" of his useless stepson. Amos knows Detroit like the back of his hand, frankly the murder looks and smells like a totally random, senseless killing. But Yale thinks one of his former employees and the stepson were mixed up in an insider trading scheme and the "random killing" was actually a hit. Amos has doubts, but takes the case anyway (because of course...) and is soon mixed up with Yale's head of security and the staff at a dying airfield, including a sexy aviatrix, an aging barnstormer and a surly maintenance man.

When it comes to turning a phrase Estleman is one of the best in the business and as always I was sucked into the writing and world-building from the jump (the story opens in Cleveland, which was serendipitous since that's where my work conference was!) . Unfortunately the whole thing doesn't tie together as neatly as I would have liked. Look, sometimes a coincidence truly is a coincidence and people will exploit those coincidences for their own gain. Doesn't mean I want that in my crime fiction reading. I like tidy, all wrapped up in a bow, where all the pieces fit neatly together. I had a good time reading this, I enjoyed what I always enjoy about books in this series, but I wanted a bit more oomph in the mystery.

Final Grade = B-

Published by ‎ Forge Books on April 4, 2023

Amos Walker novels are a throwback to the days when detective stories were tight, plots were smart, and snappy dialog made readers think “wish I’d said that.” Loren D. Estleman turns them out at a steady rate and never misses.

Emmett Yale made himself rich by building electric self-driving cars, although he’s still working the bugs out of the self-driving part. His stepson, Lloyd Lipton, was shot by a sniper from a highway overpass while driving a classic Stingray. The shooter, Melvin Weatherall, was arrested. Disagreeing with the theory of the judge who granted bail to Weatherall, Yale believes his son wasn’t the random victim of a disgruntled gun owner who was taking out his animosity toward wealthy people by shooting sports car enthusiasts.

Lipton knew that Yale added to his fortune by using his inside knowledge of his own financial shenanigans to make a killing in the stock market. Yale believes that Lipton sold his knowledge of Yale’s unlawful behavior to Clare Strickling. Yale’s head of security, Gabe Parrish, caught Strickling stealing trade secrets while Strickling was still employed by Yale’s car company. Yale wants Amos to prove that Strickling hired Weatherall to kill Lipton.

As is common in novels of noir, the first murder is not the last. The most dramatic killing occurs after Walker tails Strickland to a private airfield. Walker assumes that a portfolio Strickland is carrying is stuffed with cash that Strickland intends to take on a clandestine flight to Canada. Before Strickland can leave the ground, however, someone points a prop plane at him and lets it taxi. Walker watches the prop tear Strickland to shreds.

Walker’s investigation should probably end at that point, but Walker lets no mystery go unsolved. Why did Weatherall kill Lipton? Who killed Strickland and why? Walker’s investigation includes an interview with the beautiful Palm Volker, a pilot and partner in the private airfield where Strickland died. Palm is making an investment in a historic biplane that will play a key role in the story.

Other murders ensue before Walker gets his answers, including a sniper shot into Walker’s office from a roof on the other side of his street. One mystery gives birth to another as Yale’s theory about Lipton’s killing becomes secondary to the events that follow. The final action scene had me wondering “Didn’t Walker realize he was putting himself in danger?” but the scene is so much fun that I forgave Walker for being a bonehead.

Estleman describes cars on a freeway, viewed from the vantage point of an overpass, as “aerodynamically approved cough drops on wheels.” He describes “a chain-link fence topped by coils of razor wire” as “Detroit’s official flower.” That’s the kind of writing that made detective fiction great in its golden age. Kudos to Estleman for keeping the tradition alive with classic stories about an old-school gumshoe.

RECOMMENDED

Harlan Coben says that Loren D Estleman is his hero. Estleman is mine, too, because he still writes Amos Walker on a manual typewriter. and Walker remains the tough guy, old-fashioned private detective he always has been. They don't come better than Amos Walker, especially these days. There is nothing flashy or New Age about Walker, there never has been. Oh, Walker has aged, who hasn't, but his heart is still in the right place.

I despise spoilers, so I will not give any. Curious? Read the blurb. I will say that the plot is very interesting, and Walker never lets up.

Time for a categorical statement: you will not find a better private detective series than this one, period. Each book can be read as a standalone, but if you haven't read any others of Estleman's Walker, after you read this excellent book pick up the first in the series, Motor City Blue, and prepare yourself for real pleasure. I envy you.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

The 31st novel in a four-decade-long series featuring Detroit private investigator Amos Walker, "City Walls" persuasively updates and extends the franchise. Earlier installments of the Walker series depicted a protagonist who may have tried too hard to contextualize and live up to the traditions of 1930s noir. This older, wiser, somewhat more resigned iteration of the character is more sympathetic, more plausible and more enjoyable to spend time with. I'd say the same of Estleman's writing, which is at a peak of elegance and restraint.

The plot of the latest whodunit is barely consequential, involving an Elon Musk-like auto industry entrepreneur, some seedy habitues of a private airfield near downtown Detroit, and possibly a South American crime gang. Estleman's dialogue was always snappy, and while it is often hit-and-miss with Estleman's disposable secondary characters, everything works admirably in this episode, and you want to overlook the inconsistencies. (A lifelong resident of nearby Ann Arbour, Michigan, the author somehow still doesn't seem to comprehend the idea of Canada. He drops references, gets the place names right and acknowledges the existence of a separate country across the Detroit River, but never has any interest in exploring the nuances. In that sense, he's much the same as every other border state dweller.)

The mystery beyond this mystery is why the extensive and compelling Walker canon hasn't yet been adapted for streaming TV. Estleman is right at the intersection of Robert B. Parker and Elmore Leonard, whose characters are favourites on Netflix, Hulu, and everywhere you care to look. That aside, it's rousing to see this journeyman novelist return with a refreshed take on his creation. Thanks to Netgalley.com for making an advance copy of this novel available for review.

This was not what I thought it would be, and I ended up DNF'ing at around 40%. I'm just not the type of reader for this sort of narrative.