Bruce Von Stiers

Amos Walker is one of those tough, throw back private eyes. He works out of Detroit and sometimes gets more than he bargained for. His latest case is one that could definitely cost Walker his life if he isn’t careful. The title of this new Amos Walker novel is Sinister Heights. The writer behind Walker is Loren D. Estleman, who also writes about hitman Peter Macklin. Sinister Heights was published by Warner Books.

Walker occasionally does work for Conner Thorpe. It seems that Conner does security work for the three major car manufacturers in Detroit. He has a job to contract out to Walker. One of the Detroit greats, Leland Stutch had left a fairly young widow. Reyleen Stutch wants to make things right by some of Leland’s heirs that never got to claim the Stutch name. She wants to hire Amos to find these people and let them know that they will share in some of Leland Stutch’s wealth.

What Amos doesn’t know is that he will once again be up against old foes from the police department in Iroquois Heights. The political machine is the small Detroit suburb is as corrupt as they come. Cops and politicians that he help bust are now slithering their way back into power.

One nice thing about the job is that Amos gets to meet up with an old lover. Iris had been part of a much earlier case in Amos’ career. He connects with her after running down one of the heirs for Rayleen Stutch. The young woman, Constance Glendowning, is on the run from an abusive husband. She and her son Matthew are staying at a shelter that is owned by Iris. But just when Amos and Iris reconnect a tragedy happens. Someone is killed and Matthew is kidnapped.

Just about everywhere Amos turns there is someone who is out to stop him from completing his task. Constance Glendowning’s husband David plays into it some until someone takes him off the board. A cop that Amos put out of business is gunning for him and a slick political hack tries to get one over on him.

Sinister Heights takes Amos to places that he thought long forgotten. Feelings for Iris come flooding back and the contempt for the corrupt people involved in the case make this a rollercoaster ride for Amos.

I liked the plot device that brings Iris back into the picture, albeit for too short a time. And bringing in old enemies makes interesting story elements.

Power, corruption, greed and automobiles are what Detroit is all about in an Amos Walker novel. Sinister Heights proves that Estleman is once again at the top of the heap in private eye novelists. The content is gritty without having all the gratuitous sex and language that some authors stoop to for shock value. Amos is tough as nails but has a heart of slightly tarnished gold. The plot is fairly plausible and even the ending isn’t quite as predictable as it could have been.