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4.0 out of 5 stars
A Strong Hardboiled Thriller, Jun 30 2004
Loren Estleman's Detroit private investigator, Amos Walker, returns in the 4th instalment of what has become one of the most dependable private eye series of modern times. Displaying sharp humour, taut plotting and crackling dialogue, THE GLASS HIGHWAY is the archetypical hardboiled mystery.The storyline of THE GLASS HIGHWAY follows the well worn traditional formula of many private investigator books that have come before it or have followed. It's a missing person investigation that is solved very quickly, but in solving it many more questions are raised revealing a darker, more sordid mystery underneath. It's Estleman's ability to keep the pace high while the atmosphere borders on bleak that sets the story apart from others. The missing person that Walker is hired to find is Bud Broderick, the estranged son of local newsreader Sandy Broderick. Rather than showing concern for his son's safety, he wants him found because he is worried that Bud may be into drugs, a possibility that may adversely affect his broadcasting career. It doesn't take long for Walker to find Bud, but he also finds Paula Royce, the girl he has been staying with. It's Paula Royce who sends the investigation spinning off on a right hand turn. Soon after supposedly solving his missing person investigation, a murder takes place. Although Walker is, at best, a fringe participant, the police jump all over him, taking him in for questioning and locking him away for a couple of days. In quick succession, another couple of bodies are discovered by Walker, both somehow linked to Paula Royce, who has now gone into hiding, but who is still obviously the key to everything. It's up to Walker to piece the mystery together, save his own skin and keep his private investigator's licence. This is a gritty mystery combining clever, light humoured dialogue with Walker's darker more introspective moments. Walker displays a keen tenacity as well as an intuitive detective's brain in this very enjoyable hardboiled mystery.
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