"Exciting historical noir"
In 1959 Rochester, New York private detective Ike Van
Savage understands that the matrimonial assignments pay the
bills so he never refuses any of them. Currently his
client wants evidence that her husband Eddie Gill of Gill's
Texas Hots & Ground Round is cheating. Ike takes photos of
Eddie with an underage waitress that his wife can use to
blackmail her philandering spouse. His next client Vicky Petrone wants Ike to find
material on her husband that she plans to use to blackmail
her spouse into not murdering her. Vicky expects her
spouse, local mob chieftain Joe, to kill her as he has done
to two previous wives. Ike also works on an arson case
that he thinks ties back to the Petrone mob if he can stay
alive long enough to prove the link. MOBTOWN is an exciting historical noir that never
slows down as Ike bounces from case to case until he
realizes all three are connected. The story line will
remind readers of the movie Chinatown, but in upstate New
York instead of Southern California. Ike is a wonderful
lead character whose precocious almost ten-year-old
daughter humanizes him so that he never becomes a
caricature of Sam Spade. Fans of historical urban noirs
will relish a trip to Jack Kelly's hometown. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted December 1, 2001
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