This is an outstanding collection, even though the first story is really weak. Hamlin Garland's great story echoes "Cold Mountain," with a soldier returning home from the Civil War to the woman he loves. Oddly, the editors said Garland was "probably a minor talent." Ever read "Daughter of the Middle Border?" Garland was not prolific, but he was definitely MAJOR.

Estleman's Kevin, "Doc" Miller, first an ex-big league pitcher, and then an ex-con on parole trys to earn an extra buck by moon-lighting as a cab drver in the Motor City. When he throws in with Maynard Ance, a disreputable bail bondsman and a defrocked lawyer, the fun begins. First, he is caught at the scene of a murder, a major parole violation. Next, Detective Charlie Battle tries to turn Doc into an informant by threatening him with a repeat stay at the State's "big hotel" in Jackson. Doc tries to please both sides, but isn't surprised when he finds out that Ance cozy with the mayor's spurious friends, drug dealers, African-American Activists and even a former madam that knows most of Detroit's depraved history. While all the clandestine action is going on, "Doc" is struggling to go straight, stay alive and teach his nephew Sean the fine art of major league pitching. After a masterful twist of suspense, all ends well. Estleman's writing and characters make the story undeniably Detroit in the early 1990s! The book is a great read; tough to put down.

Loren Estleman writes in the author's notes that follow the story at the end of this i-books edition of "Sugartown," that the novel was his angriest in the series. Interestingly, Estleman places the source of his anger as the backdrop for the story. In the early 1980s, Detroit Mayor Coleman Young made a legally shaky eminent domain deal with General Motors that forced hundreds of long time residents from their homes so that a new assembly plant could be built. The displaced homeowners got a very raw deal and a historic neighborhood was destroyed.

But the story Estleman weaves around these events is actually one of Amos Walker's more lively and fun. For once he finds a love interest to lighten his dreary existance. And the two cases he investigates involving Eastern European immigrants lead him in some interesting directions. Overall, this makes the fifth Amos Walker book the best so far in the series (I've been reading them in order) a fact which was confirmed when the book won the Shamus Award for best private eye novel of 1984. This i-books edition also includes inaddition to the newly published author's notes, a recent vintage Amos Walker short story at the end. Think of it as dessert after a fine meal.

Loren D. Estleman has talent to burn and it shows in his first novel featuring private detective Amos Walker (originally published in 1980). Like any good P.I., Walker doesn't work the streets of his native Detroit, he INHABITS them. Also like any good P.I., Walker drinks a little too much despite his cynicism, cares a little too much and his personal life leaves a lot to be desired. The plot is more complex than is the norm with such stories, and perhaps it pushes credibility a bit towards the end. Nevertheless, Estleman has both talent and style to burn. He is among the best at using metaphors to describe the action.

Fans of John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee, Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder, George Pellaconos's Nick Stefanos and Johnathan Valin's Harry Stoner will love Amos Walker.

if you like it noir, you'll like it Estleman

This was my first encounter with Loren D. Estleman's tough guy detective, Amos Walker, and I was impressed. The setting is Detroit ( a town the author seems to have a strong affinity for) and Amos Walker is called in to resolve a dying man's problem with a guilty conscience. By investigating a faked picture that destroyed a solid relationship, Walker walks into a tangled web of murder and betrayal that only a skilled writer can pull off and keep the reader from becoming totally incredulous. Many red herrings shouldn't keep the careful reader from seeing the ending coming, but the individual by-play between Estleman's "tough guy" and the various characters he deals with is worth the price of admission. I'm glad I checked out this throwback to Marlowe and Spade and I'll definitely check out his other "cases."

Amos is wondeferully described. I could hang out with him anytime in Detroit. I grew up in Detroit so this novel was a treat to read. The author takes you to those places and I can see myself walking along side with Amos!