Publication date: August 5, 2014 by Alibi
Source: digital edition from Publisher via TLC Book Tours for an honest review
Description:
Readers of Robert Crais’s Elvis Cole mysteries will love Jules Landau, a college man turned private eye on the Windy City’s mean streets—a virtual school of hard knocks where graduation means just staying alive.
Chicago runs in Jules Landau’s veins. So does the blood of crooks. Now Jules is going legit as a private eye, stalking bail jumpers and cheating spouses—until he gets his first big case. Unfortunately, the client is his ex-con father, and the job is finding the killer of a man whom Jules loved like family. Why did someone put two bullets in the head of gentle bookkeeper Charles Snook? Jules is determined to find out, even if the search takes him to perilous places he never wanted to go.
Snooky, as he was affectionately known, had a knack for turning dirty dollars clean, with clients ranging from humble shop owners to sharp-dressed mobsters. As Jules retraces Snooky’s last days, he crosses paths with a way-too-eager detective, a gorgeous and perplexing tattoo artist, a silver-haired university administrator with a kinky side, and a crusading journalist. Exposing one dirty secret after another, the PI is on a dangerous learning curve. And, at the top of that curve, a killer readies to strike again.
My Take:
Maxwell Street Blues definitely falls into the "fun read" category. The main character, Jules Landau, is a sarcastic, smart-mouthed, loyal, and stubborn private investigator who happens to descend from some rather notorious businessmen - or "gangsters", according to some in his hometown of Chicago.
Jules takes some serious knocks over the course of the book - it seemed like every chapter included him getting beat up yet again. Poor guy. He just doesn't give up. Jules wasn't about to let Snooky's murderer get away, so all the warnings were for naught. Along the way, he runs into some interesting people, including a beautiful tattoo artist who isn't quite what she seems, a crooked college president, shady businessmen, crooked cops, just to name a few.
I really enjoyed following Jules as he gathered the evidence needed to figure out why Snooky was killed and who did it. I have to admit that I was totally wrong about the killer -- but I was sort of right about a couple of characters. I really like it when I don't guess who the murderer is right away.
I loved that it takes place in Chicago with all the landmarks and history -- including many of the exact things in the book -- corruption, gangsters, etc. This is one of those books that I am happy to recommend and will be suggesting to friends. The story is fast-paced and drew me in from the very first page. It is definitely worth the read.
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About Marc Krulewitch
Marc Krulewitch’s Jules Landau mysteries take place in Chicago, where he was born and where his family has lived for generations. He now resides in Colorado.Marc Krulewitch’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:
Monday, July 28th: Reading RealityTuesday, July 29th: Mystery Playground
Wednesday, July 30th: Dwell in Possibility
Monday, August 4th: Omnimystery News - author guest post
Thursday, August 7th: Rhodes Review
Thursday, August 14th: Book Dilettante
Tuesday, August 19th: From the TBR Pile
Tuesday, August 19th: Words by Webb
Monday, August 25th: Just One More Chapter
Monday, August 25th: By the Book Reviews
Tuesday, August 26th: Fiction Zeal
Thursday, August 28th: Musings of a Bookish Kitty
Wednesday, September 3rd: Kritter’s Ramblings
Friday, September 5th: A Book Geek
I'm glad to see that the author kept you guessing up to the end!
ReplyDeleteThanks for being a part of the tour.