I just put down the first of Loren Estleman's Amos Walker
books, MOTOR CITY BLUE (1980). It was decent enough, but the
other two I've read, NEVER STREET and THE WITCHFINDER, both
recent, were a lot better. . I don't remember them being so
loaded with similes and metaphors as MOTOR CITY BLUE: "The
city was as hot as a frying pan left on the burner overnight.
My throat was as dry as a vermouth-less martini bar in the
Sahara with four dehumidifers running. I quenched my thirst
with some beer that was as cold as the look my grade seven
teacher would give me when I misspelled 'functionary.'"
Walker gets hit on the head a couple of times. The first time
he tells us how it's not like on TV, and it hurts and you
throw up and you can't just get up, shake your head, and walk
away. Later he's beaten by a big guy with brass knuckles,
passes out, is woken by a prostitute and is in bed with her
ten minutes later.
It seems, from my small exposure, that over the years
Estleman honed his craft, the Walker books settled into a
groove, and Walker himself stayed an anachronistic PI, but a
more fleshed-out and real person. MOTOR CITY was very early
Estleman, and he's gotten a lot better since. Would those
who've read more Walker books agree? Is there a book you'd
recommend starting with, from which to work through the rest
of the series?
Bill
-- William Denton : Toronto, Canada : http://www.miskatonic.org/ : Caveat lector.
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