Amos Walker: A Mysterious Profile

By Loren D. Estleman

The four-time Shamus Award–winning author takes his readers behind-the-scenes of his long running detective series.
 
In 1980, readers first encountered hard-boiled private detective Amos Walker as he searches for an ex-mobster’s missing daughter in Motor City Blue. Many mysteries and decades later, the investigator is still scuffling with bad guys on the streets of Detroit. But when and where did award-winning author Loren D. Estleman conceive the idea of Walker and his adventures?
 
In this essay, Estleman tells the story of how Walker and his world transpired. From the 1975 film that inspired the character to Walker’s weapons and cars, Estleman offers fans a look into his process of fleshing out Walker as a complex character with friends and enemies. Learn how television influenced him as a writer and how he chose Walker’s name, hometown, and background. Fans looking to get to know their favorite tough-guy detective better won’t want to miss this . . .
 
Praise for Loren D. Estleman and the Amos Walker series
 
“A touchstone for fans of hard-boiled crime fiction: irrepressible tough-guy dialogue, great plotting, a vibrant Detroit milieu, and a hero who has whiskey on his breath and nicotine stains on his fingers.” —Booklist
 
“For readers who can’t get enough of Elmore Leonard and Ross Thomas, try Estleman. He’s that good.” —People
 
“Estleman’s latest intricate and wholly enjoyable yarn is peppered with mob lore, Detroit history, and the ever-present one-liners. It’s sure to please fans of urban mysteries as well as classic detective genre devotees. Strongly recommended.” ―Library Journal
 
“Amos Walker, the throwback private eye who operates out of Detroit in Loren D. Estleman’s hard-boiled mysteries, is a lot like the old Cutlass he drives. The guy may look beat up, but under the hood he's a clean machine.” ―The New York Times Book Review

• Language: English
• Publisher: MysteriousPress.com Open Road
• Release date: Jun 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9781504074599

Loren D. Estleman

Loren D. Estleman (b. 1952) has written over sixty-five novels. His most enduring character, Amos Walker, made his first appearance in 1980’s Motor City Blue, and the hardboiled Detroit private eye has been featured in twenty books since. Estleman has also won praise for his adventure novels set in the Old West, receiving awards for many of his standalone westerns. In 1993 Estleman married Deborah Morgan, a fellow mystery author. He lives and works in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Book preview

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Amos Walker

A Mysterious Profile

Loren D. Estleman

Amos Walker

I first met Amos Walker in the glaringly lit hallway outside a movie theater in Ann Arbor in 1975. This was the nadir of the motion picture-going experience, when the fabulous popcorn palaces of the Golden Age were being gutted for conversion in to public parking garages and the only place to see a first-run movie was in a concrete bunker at the end of the shopping mall, with cramped tourist-class seating and a carpet that made nasty little smacking sounds when you lifted your feet from it. (People used to slip off their shoes in the theaters, can you imagine?)

He was standing in the shadow of a kiosk, a somewhat tall figure (six-one, I think I’ve described him here and there), in a suit off the rack. No hat; I made the mistake of giving him one in his first adventure, which took place in a snowy November, and people have kept trying to haberdash him ever since. A well-built stranger, square-shouldered. He could have done with a shave, but that could be a permanent condition no matter how much time he spent with a razor.

A fleeting glimpse, no