Loren D. Estleman Explained

Loren D. Estleman
Caption:	Loren D. Estleman
Birth Date:	15 September 1952
Birth Place:	Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation:	Novelist
Education:	Eastern Michigan University (BA)

Loren D. Estleman (born September 15, 1952, in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is an American writer of detective and Western fiction. He is known for a series of crime novels featuring the investigator Amos Walker.^[1]

Life and work

Estleman graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 1974 with a BA in English and journalism. In 2002, Eastern Michigan University presented him with an honorary doctorate in humane letters. He married the mystery writer Deborah Morgan in 1993. He writes with a manual typewriter.^[2]

Estleman published his first novel, The Oklahoma Punk, in 1976,^[1] and published the first of his P.I. Amos Walker series, for which he is best known, in 1980.^[1] Other series center on Old West marshal Page Murdock and hitman Peter Macklin. He has also written a series of novels about the history of crime in Detroit (also the setting of his Walker books), and a more recent series about Valentino, who tracks down lost films, and crimes related to them. His non-series works include Bloody Season, a fictional recreation of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and several novels and stories featuring Sherlock Holmes, as well as contributions to several books on how to write and sell stories and novels. Estleman's literary works have been recognized and highlighted by Michigan State University in their Michigan Writers Series.^[3]

Estleman's Amos Walker stories occasionally acknowledge fellow Detroit P.I. Ben Perkins, created by Rob Kantner, and Kantner has done the same.

Bibliography

Amos Walker novels

1. Motor City Blue (1980) ISBN 9780449211335
2. Angel Eyes (1981) ISBN 978-0-395-31558-3
3. The Midnight Man (1982) ISBN 978-0-395-32204-8
4. The Glass Highway (1983) ISBN 9780395346365
5. Sugartown (1985) ISBN 978-0-395-36449-9
6. Every Brilliant Eye (1986) ISBN 978-0-395-39428-1
7. Lady Yesterday (1987) ISBN 9780395410721
8. Downriver (1988) ISBN 9780395410738
9. Silent Thunder (1989) ISBN 978-0-395-41075-2
10. Sweet Women Lie (1990) ISBN 9780395537671
11. Never Street (1997) ISBN 9780892966332
12. The Witchfinder (1998) ISBN 9780892966639
13. The Hours of the Virgin (1999) ISBN 9780892966837
14. A Smile on the Face of the Tiger (2000) ISBN 9780892967063
15. Sinister Heights (2002) ISBN 978-0-89296-738-4
16. Poison Blonde (2003) ISBN 9780765304476
17. Retro (2004) ISBN 9780765304483
18. Nicotine Kiss (2006) ISBN 9780765312235
19. American Detective (2007) ISBN 9780765312242
20. The Left-handed Dollar (2010) ISBN 9780765319548
21. Infernal Angels (2011) ISBN 9780765319555
22. Burning Midnight (2012) ISBN 9780765331205
23. Don't Look for Me (2014) ISBN 9780765331212
24. You Know Who Killed Me (2014) ISBN 9780765337351
25. The Sundown Speech (2015) ISBN 9780765337368
26. The Lioness Is the Hunter (2017) ISBN 9780765388452
27. Black and White Ball (2018) ISBN 9780765388476
28. When Old Midnight Comes Along (2019) ISBN 9781250197177
29. Cutthroat Dogs (2021) ISBN 9781250258656
30. Monkey in the Middle (2022) ISBN 9781250827173
31. City Walls (2023) ISBN 9781250827333^[4]

Amos Walker short-story collections

• General Murders (1988) ISBN 9780395410714
• Amos Walker: The Complete Story Collection (2010) ISBN 9781935562245

Other books

Western novels

see also under Contributions to collections, below

• The Hider (1978) ISBN 978-0-385-13627-3
• Aces and Eights (1981) ISBN 978-0-385-17469-5
• The Wolfer (1981) ISBN 9780515127041
• Mister St. John (1983) ISBN 978-0-385-18713-8
• This Old Bill (1984) ISBN 978-0-385-19165-4
• Gun Man (1985) ISBN 978-0-385-23067-4
• Bloody Season (1987) ISBN 9780553052312
• The Best Western Stories of Loren D. Estleman (1989; selected by Bill Pronzini and Martin H. Greenberg) ISBN 978-0-8040-0911-9
• Sudden Country (1991) ISBN 9780385247276
• Billy Gashade: An American Epic (1997) ISBN 9780312859978
• Journey of the Dead (1998) ISBN 978-0-312-85999-2
• Black Powder, White Smoke (2002) ISBN 9780765301895
• The Undertaker's Wife (2005) ISBN 9780765309136
• The Adventures of Johnny Vermillion (2006) ISBN 9780765309143
• Roy & Lillie: A Love Story (2010) ISBN 978-0-7653-2228-9
• Ragtime Cowboys (2014) ISBN 9780765334541
• The Long High Noon (2015) ISBN 9780765334558
• The Ballad of Black Bart (2017) ISBN 9780765383532

Page Murdock

• The High Rocks (1979)
• Stamping Ground (1980) ISBN 978-0-385-15563-2
• Murdock's Law (1982) ISBN 978-0-385-17957-7
• The Stranglers (1984) ISBN 978-0-385-19326-9
• "The Angel of Santa Sofia" (1989, in The Best Western Stories of Loren D. Estleman)
• City of Widows (1995) ISBN 9780312856670
• White Desert (2000) ISBN 9780312869694
• Port Hazard (2004) ISBN 9780765301901
• The Book of Murdock (2010) ISBN 9780765316004
• Cape Hell (2016) ISBN 9780765383525
• Wild Justice (2018) ISBN 9781250197092

Sherlock Holmes

see also under Contributions to collections, below

• Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula

or, The Adventures of the Sanguinary Count (1978) ISBN 978-0-385-14051-5

• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Holmes (1979) ISBN 978-0-385-15257-0
• The Perils of Sherlock Holmes (2012) ISBN 9781440544149

Peter Macklin

• Kill Zone (1984)
• Roses Are Dead (1985) ISBN 978-0-89296-136-8
• Any Man's Death (1986) ISBN 978-0-445-40266-9
• Something Borrowed, Something Black (2002) ISBN 9780312878634
• Little Black Dress (2005) ISBN 9780765308948

The Detroit novels

The Detroit series sets out "to tell the story of America in the twentieth century through the microcosm of Detroit, the one city whose history mirrors precisely the history of the United States of America".^[5]

• Whiskey River (1990) ISBN 978-0-553-07042-2
• Motown (1991) ISBN 9780553074215
• King of the Corner (1992) ISBN 9780553089264
• Edsel (1995) ISBN 9780892965526
• Stress (1996) ISBN 9780892965533
• Jitterbug (1998) ISBN 9780312863609
• Thunder City (1999) ISBN 9780312863692

Given its historical fiction nature, the series is often given "in order of chronology rather than date of publication: Thunder City (1900–1910); Whiskey River (1928–1939); Jitterbug (1943); Edsel (1951–1959); Motown (1966); Stress (1973); and King of the Corner (1990)".

Valentino, film detective

• Frames: A Valentino Mystery (2008) ISBN 9780765315755
• Alone: A Valentino Mystery (2009) ISBN 9780765315762
• Valentino: Film Detective (Crippen & Landru, 2011; short stories) ISBN 9781932009958
• Alive! A Valentino Mystery (2013) ISBN 9780765333315
• Shoot: A Valentino Mystery (2016) ISBN 9780765380456
• Brazen: A Valentino Mystery (2016) ISBN 9780765380463
• Indigo: A Valentino Mystery (2020) ISBN 9781250258359
• Vamp: A Valentino Mystery (2023) ISBN 9781250892478

Other

• The Oklahoma Punk (1976; AKA Red Highway) ISBN 978-0-7862-2180-6
• Peeper (1989; Ralph Poteet) ISBN 9780553053630
• People Who Kill (1993; short story)
• The Rocky Mountain Moving Picture Association (1999; historical) ISBN 9780312866761
• The Master Executioner (2001) ISBN 9780312869700
• Gas City (2008) ISBN 9781400106202
• The Branch and the Scaffold: A Novel of Judge Parker (2009) ISBN 9780765315991
• The Confessions of Al Capone (2013) ISBN 9780765331199
• The Eagle and the Viper (2021) ISBN 9781250258625
• Paperback Jack (2022) ISBN 9781250827319

Story collections

• Detroit Is Our Beat: Tales of the Four Horsemen (2015; short story collection) ISBN 9781440588440
• Nearly Nero (2017; short story collection) ISBN 978-1-5072-0327-9
• Desperate Detroit: And Stories of Other Dire Places (2016) ISBN 9781440596209

Contributions to collections

Estleman's short stories have been collected in a variety of anthologies, including both western and crime collections:

• "Bloody July" in The New Black Mask Quarterly, number 1 (1985, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli & Richard Layman)
• "I'm in the Book" in Mean Streets: Volume 2: The Second Private Eye Writers of America Anthology (1986, edited by Robert J. Randisi)
• "The Used" in The Black Lizard Anthology of Crime Fiction (1987, edited by Edward Gorman) ISBN 978-0-88739-039-5
• "The Tree on Execution Hill" in Uncollected Crimes (1987, edited by Bill Pronzini and Martin H. Greenberg) ISBN 978-0-8027-0967-7
  • "The Tree on Execution Hill" also appeared in Opening Shots: Great Mystery and Crime Writers Share Their First Published Stories (2000, edited by Lawrence Block)
• "Blond and Blue" in Homicidal Acts #4 (1988, edited by Bill Pronzini and Martin H. Greenberg)
• "Gun Music" in Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe: A Centennial Celebration (1988, edited by Byron Preiss) ISBN 978-0-394-57327-4
• "Mago's Bride" in Westeryear: Stories About the West, Past and Present (1988, edited by Edward Gorman) ISBN 978-0-87131-553-3
• "Dead Soldier" in City Sleuths and Tough Guys (1989, edited by David Willis McCullough) ISBN 978-0-395-51318-7
• "Hell on the Draw" in The New Frontier: The Best of Today's Western Fiction (1989, edited by Joe R. Lansdale) ISBN 978-0-385-24569-2
  • "Hell on the Draw" also appeared in The Western Hall of Fame Anthology (1997, edited by Dale L. Walker, ISBN 978-0-425-15906-4) and A Century of Great Western Stories (2000, edited by John Jakes, ISBN 978-0-312-86986-1)
• "The Death of Dutch Creel" in Christmas out West (1990, edited by Bill Pronzini and Martin H. Greenberg) ISBN 978-0-385-41561-3
• "The Crooked Way" in P.I. Files (1990, edited by Estleman and Martin H. Greenberg) ISBN 978-0-8041-0555-2
• "I, Monster" in The Ultimate Frankenstein (1991, edited by Byron Preiss) ISBN 978-0-440-50352-1
• "Slipstream" in Deadly Allies II: Private Eye Writers of America and Sisters in Crime Collaborative Anthology (1994, edited by Robert J. Randisi and Susan Dunlap) ISBN 978-0-385-42468-4
• "The Hack" in Deals with the Devil (1994, edited by Mike Resnick, Martin H. Greenberg, and Estleman) ISBN 978-0-88677-623-7
• "The Bandit" in Great Stories of the American West (1994, edited by Martin H. Greenberg) ISBN 978-1-55611-417-5
• "Iron Heart's Story" in New Trails: Twenty-Three Original Stories of the West from Western Writers of America (1994, edited by John Jakes and Martin H. Greenberg) ISBN 978-0-385-46990-6
• "Gun Man" in Frontier Legends (1995)
• "Greektown" in A Century of Mystery, 1980-1989: The Greatest Stories of the Decade (1996, edited by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini)
• "Robbers' roost" in First Cases: First Appearances of Classic Private Eyes (1996, edited by Robert J. Randisi) ISBN 978-0-525-94104-0
• "The Adventure of the Three Ghosts" in Holmes for the Holidays (1996, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Jon L. Lellenberg, and Carol-Lynn Waugh) ISBN 978-0-425-15473-1
• "Web of Books" in Senior Sleuths (1996, edited by Cynthia Manson and Constance Scarborough) ISBN 9780425152584
• "The Alchemist" in The Best of the American West: Outstanding Frontier Fiction (1998, edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg) ISBN 978-0-425-16508-9
• "Redneck" in The Best American Mystery Stories, 1999 (1999, edited by Ed McBain)
• "The Pilgrim" in The Best of the American West II: Frontier Adventure (1999, edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg) ISBN 978-0-425-17145-5
• "Dr. and Mrs. Watson at Home" in The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Original Stories (1999, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Jon L. Lellenberg, and Carol-Lynn Rössel Waugh) ISBN 978-0-7867-0698-3
• "Cat King of Cochise County" in Tales of the American West: The Best of Spur Award-Winning Authors (2000, edited by Richard S. Wheeler) ISBN 978-0-451-20030-3
• "The Man in the White Hat" in The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories: First Annual Collection (2000, edited by Ed Gorman)
• "Thirteen Coils" in American West: Twenty New Stories from the Western Writers of America (2001, edited by Estleman) ISBN 9780312873172
• "South Georgia Crossing" in The Blue and the Gray Undercover: All New Civil War Spy Adventures (2001, edited by Ed Gorman) ISBN 978-0-312-87487-2
• "The Adventure of the Arabian Knight" in Murder in Baker Street: New Tales of Sherlock Holmes (2001, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Jon L. Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower)
• "Used" in A Century of Noir: Thirty-Two Classic Crime Stories (2002, edited by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins) ISBN 978-0-451-20596-4
• "Evil Grows" in Mystery: The Best of 2001 (2002, edited by Jon L. Breen)
• "Lady on Ice" in A Hot and Sultry Night for Crime (2003, edited by Jeffery Deaver) ISBN 978-0-425-18839-2
  • "Lady on Ice" also appears in The Shamus Winners: America's Best Private Eye Stories. Volume II, 1996-2009 (2010, collected and introduced by Robert J. Randisi) ISBN 9780982515761
• "Riddle of the Golden Monkeys" in Murder, My Dear Watson: New Tales of Sherlock Holmes (2003, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower) ISBN 978-0-7867-1081-2
• "Hangman's Choice" in Stagecoach (2003, edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg) ISBN 978-0-425-19205-4
• "Bog" in Wild Crimes: Stories of Mystery in the Wild (2004, edited by Dana Stabenow)
• "The Devil and Sherlock Holmes" in Ghosts in Baker Street (2006, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Jon Lellenberg and Daniel Stashower) ISBN 9780786714001
• "Kill the Cat" in Detroit Noir (2007, edited by E.J. Olsen & John C. Hocking) ISBN 9781933354392
• "Mark and Bill" in Lost Trails (2007, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Russell Davis) ISBN 9780786018246
• "Smart Aleck" in At the Scene of the Crime: Forensic Mysteries from Today's Best Writers (2008, edited by Dana Stabenow) ISBN 9780786720552
• "The Profane Angel" in A Prisoner of Memory: And 24 of the Year's Finest Crime and Mystery Stories (2008, edited by Ed Gorman & Martin H. Greenberg)
• "Adventure of the Coughing Dentist" in Sherlock Holmes in America (2009, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Jon L. Lellenberg, and Daniel Stashower) ISBN 9781602393523
• "Long High Noon" in Law of the Gun (2010, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Russell Davis) ISBN 9780786019571
• "Curve" in More Stories from the Twilight Zone (2010, edited by Carol Serling) ISBN 9780765325815
• "Sometimes a Hyena" in The Best American Mystery Stories: 2011 (2011, edited by Harlan Coben)
• "The List" in The Interrogator: And Other Criminally Good Fiction (2012, edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg)

Non-fiction

• "Method for Murder" in Writing Mystery and Crime Fiction (1985, edited by Sylvia K. Burack) ISBN 978-0-87116-141-3
• Introduction to Bantam's two-volume Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories (1986)
• Introduction to Bantam Crimeline's reprint of Rex Stout's Fer-de-Lance, (1992)
• "Owen Wister" in Nineteenth-century American Western Writers (1997, Dictionary of Literary Biography v. 186, edited by Robert L. Gale) ISBN 978-0-7876-1682-3
• "And the Murderer Is ..." in Writing the Private Eye Novel: A Handbook by the Private Eye Writers of America (1997) ISBN 978-0-89879-767-1
• "Twilight for High Noon: Today's Western" in The Writer's Handbook (1999, edited by Sylvia K. Burack)
• "Perspectives on Point of View" in Writing Mysteries: A Handbook by the Mystery Writers of America (2002, edited by Sue Grafton with Jan Burke and Barry Zeman) ISBN 978-1-58297-102-5
• Introduction to Lee Silva's Wyatt Earp: A Biography of the Legend (2002) ISBN 9780971471900
• Writing the Popular Novel: A Comprehensive Guide to Crafting Fiction that Sells (2004) ISBN 978-1-58297-287-9
• Amos Walker's Detroit (2007; photographs by Monte Nagler) ISBN 9780814333570
• Introduction to Jory Sherman's Shadows of Yesteryear: Western Short Stories (2010)
• The Wister Trace: Assaying Classing Western Fiction University (2014) ISBN 9780806144818 (2nd ed.)

Awards

Estleman has won many awards for his writing including American Mystery Awards,^[1] Golden Spurs,^[1] and three Western Heritage Awards.^[1] He has been honored by the Michigan Foundation of the Arts and the Michigan Library Association.^[1]

Wins

• 1985 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Novel, Sugartown^[6]
• 1986 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, "Eight Mile and Dequindre"^[6]
• 1989 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, "The Crooked Way"^[6]
• 2004 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, "Lady on Ice"^[6]

Nominations

• 1983 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, "Dead Soldier"^[6]
• 1984 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Novel, The Glass Highway^[6]
• 1984 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, "Greektown"^[6]
• 1986 Anthony award, Best Short Story, "Eight Mile and Dequindre"^[7]
• 1987 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, "I'm in the Book"^[6]
• 1988 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Novel, Lady Yesterday^[6]
• 1988 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, "Bodyguards Shoot Second"^[6]
• 1991 Edgar Award, Best Mystery Novel, Whiskey River^[8]
• 1991 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, "Cigarette Stop"^[6]
• 1992 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, "The Man Who Loved Noir"^[6]
• 1993 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, "Safe House"^[6]
• 1995 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, "Slipstream"^[6]
• 2001 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Novel, A Smile on the Face of the Tiger^[6]
• 2007 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, "Square One"^[6]
• 2008 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, "Kill the Cat"^[6]
• 2008 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, "Trust Me"^[6]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Waller. Odell. The guy who isn't Elmore Leonard . Metro Times. October 29, 2008. January 22, 2019.
2. Web site: Authors and Creator: Loren D. Estleman . Thrillingdetective.com . March 5, 2012.
3. Web site: Michigan Writers Series . Michigan State University Libraries . 2012-07-15 . July 31, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190731050317/https://lib.msu.edu/branches/vvl/writers/index.jsp . dead .
4. Web site: City Walls: An Amos Walker Novel (starred review). . March 3, 2023. "Decades after his debut, [Amos] Walker remains as vigorous as ever. Fans of Chandler and Hammett will be thrilled."
5. Afterword by author in Thunder City
6. Web site: The Private Eye Writers of America and The Shamus Awards . Thrillingdetective.com . March 5, 2012.
7. Web site: Bouchercon World Mystery Convention : Anthony Awards Nominees . Bouchercon.info . October 2, 2003 . March 5, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120207060829/http://www.bouchercon.info/nominees.html . February 7, 2012 .
8. Web site: Best Mystery Novel Edgar Award Winners and Nominees - Complete Lists . Mysterynet.com . March 5, 2012.