Eye Opener

Albert Samson #9

by Michael Z. Lewin

Albert Samson is ecstatic when he finally gets his private investigator's license back. Within days he has a couple of cases - one being the best-paying job he's ever had. He's working for lawyers defending a man accused of being the rapist and serial killer who has terrified Indianapolis women for years. It turns out that the job he was hired for is quite different from what it first appeared to be. Samson must keep all his wits about him to get to the bottom of each case, all the while looking out for his family and friends, each of whom may become the next target for a killer.Michael Z. Lewin, nominated for the Edgar Award three times, resides in Bath, England.

Genres: Mystery

339 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2004

About the author

Michael Zinn Lewin is an American writer of mystery fiction perhaps best known for his series about Albert Samson, a distinctly low-keyed, non-hardboiled private detective who plies his trade in Indianapolis, Indiana. Lewin himself grew up in Indianapolis, but after graduating from Harvard and living for a few years in New York City, has lived in England for the last 40 years. Much of his fiction continues to be set in Indianapolis, including a secondary series about Leroy Powder, a policeman who frequently appears in the Samson novels, generally in a semi-confrontational manner.

Another series, however, is set in Bath, England, where Lewin now lives. This features the Lunghis who run their detective agency as a family business. So far there are three novels and nine short stories about them.

Lewin has also written a number of stand-alone novels. Some have been set in Indianapolis and others elsewhere. His latest novel, Confessions of a Discontented Deity, is even set partly in Heaven. A satire, it breaks from Lewin's history of genre fiction.

Lewin is the son of Leonard C. Lewin, author of the 1967 bestselling satire The Report from Iron Mountain: On the Possibility and Desirability of Peace.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Albert Samson finally gets his PI license back, after losing it for a good period of time. Almost immediately, things start to happen for him. He gets hired by a law firm to help defend an accused rapist/criminal, he gets asked to help clean up the neighborhood, his daughter seems interested in becoming a PI, and he meets a new woman.

Much of the plot is telegraphed from the start, but the journey is still pretty interesting.

[N Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast reading. Albert Samson mystery (8th in the series). Set in Indianapolis with lots of local color, and plenty of snappy repartee. Several sub-plots to keep it interesting. Disappointing in the character-building department.