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Nathan Heller #12
Chicago Confidential
It’s 1950 in Chicago, P.I. Nate Heller’s old stomping grounds. But things are different now, and the wind is blowing in a different, decidedly more dangerous direction. Congressman-with-a-cause and presidential-hopeful Estes Kefauver creates the Committee on Organized Crime to put the squeeze on the mob—and anyone who ever associated with them. Heller tries to lay low, but when ex-cop Bill Drury cooperates and mafia moll Jackie Payne sings, Heller finds himself catapulted into the middle of the investigation.
Quick wits and tough talk swirl in the middle of Kefauver’s senatorial charade as Max Allan Collins blends fact and fiction to stunning results. When Drury is murdered and Jackie disappears, Heller decides it’s time for a little payback—and maybe some ice cold justice. With the mob and Kefauver’s crime committee hot on his trial, Heller mixes with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Jayne Mansfield, and Senator Joe McCarthy on a wild Windy City ride.
Quick wits and tough talk swirl in the middle of Kefauver’s senatorial charade as Max Allan Collins blends fact and fiction to stunning results. When Drury is murdered and Jackie disappears, Heller decides it’s time for a little payback—and maybe some ice cold justice. With the mob and Kefauver’s crime committee hot on his trial, Heller mixes with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Jayne Mansfield, and Senator Joe McCarthy on a wild Windy City ride.
301 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2002
68 people are currently reading
224 people want to read
About the author
Max Allan Collins
803 books1,321 followersReceived the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 2006.
He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.
Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black
Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ
He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.
Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black
Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
April 30, 2025
Don’t let any genre labels fool you. Max Allan Collins is a writer of historical fiction…that happens to often involve a private investigator named Nathan Heller.
If historical fiction is about time and place, Collins is meticulous in doing his research and getting everything correct. Aside from that, his writing is both entertaining and (often) thrilling.
This book begins in Los Angeles where, after WW II, Heller set up a branch of his Chicago-based A-1 Detective Agency. It’s now the start of the Fifties and we have brief encounters with Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner and Jayne Mansfield before Heller returns to Chicago to face the minions of Estes Kefauver’s investigation into organized crime in America.
The plot is complex, moving from L.A. to Chicago to Washington, DC, and back to Chicago as Heller’s relationship with The Outfit (Chicago’s Mafia) is explored in detail. This is not just an intellectual exploration of the nexus of politics and crime. There is plenty of action and tragedy to go around. Individual ambitions are set against a mob-dominated city. Heller has a lot of personal commitments to juggle while dodging the Kefauver Committee and trying to run a business.
But it is the city of Chicago that is on display in all its tarnished glory. Both Collins and Heller have a lot to say about the place.
"Lake Shore Drive’s majestic mile—once an endless array of magnificent mansions—was now a row of high-rise tombstones; grand residences survived here and there, as a privileged few stubbornly clung to the city. Starting at the crossroads of the Gold Coast, where Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue met, posh hotels and plush shops lined the avenue, serving their wealthy, discriminating and oh so exclusive clientele. Minutes away, on Clark and Rush Streets, proprietors weren’t so fussy—anyone with five hundred bucks could deflower a virgin, and you don’t want to know what kind of wilted rose three bucks would buy. Guns (from a snubby to a burp), dope (from reefer to horse), and booze (from untaxed bubbly to rotgut whiskey) were available at prices even the middle class could afford. It was good to be home."
And later -
"I found a parking place for the Olds a block and a half away, and walked to the Silver Palm, which nestled under the El on Wilson Avenue near Broadway. My trenchcoat collars were up again—it was cold and drizzling, sending the streetwalkers and dope peddlers into the recesses of doorways for cover. This once respectable stretch had, during World War Two, developed into a war zone of burlesque houses, room-by-the-hour hotels and tattoo parlors, designed to service the servicemen from Fort Sheridan and the Great Lakes Naval Station, taking advantage of the Wilson Avenue express stop on the North Shore Electric railway."
If Chicago Confidential had to comply with the MPAA film rating system there would be warnings about smoking, explicit language, violence, sexual relationships and drug usage. But if the place and time where this tale is set interest you, then its grittiness shouldn't keep you from picking it up.
4.5*
If historical fiction is about time and place, Collins is meticulous in doing his research and getting everything correct. Aside from that, his writing is both entertaining and (often) thrilling.
This book begins in Los Angeles where, after WW II, Heller set up a branch of his Chicago-based A-1 Detective Agency. It’s now the start of the Fifties and we have brief encounters with Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner and Jayne Mansfield before Heller returns to Chicago to face the minions of Estes Kefauver’s investigation into organized crime in America.
The plot is complex, moving from L.A. to Chicago to Washington, DC, and back to Chicago as Heller’s relationship with The Outfit (Chicago’s Mafia) is explored in detail. This is not just an intellectual exploration of the nexus of politics and crime. There is plenty of action and tragedy to go around. Individual ambitions are set against a mob-dominated city. Heller has a lot of personal commitments to juggle while dodging the Kefauver Committee and trying to run a business.
But it is the city of Chicago that is on display in all its tarnished glory. Both Collins and Heller have a lot to say about the place.
"Lake Shore Drive’s majestic mile—once an endless array of magnificent mansions—was now a row of high-rise tombstones; grand residences survived here and there, as a privileged few stubbornly clung to the city. Starting at the crossroads of the Gold Coast, where Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue met, posh hotels and plush shops lined the avenue, serving their wealthy, discriminating and oh so exclusive clientele. Minutes away, on Clark and Rush Streets, proprietors weren’t so fussy—anyone with five hundred bucks could deflower a virgin, and you don’t want to know what kind of wilted rose three bucks would buy. Guns (from a snubby to a burp), dope (from reefer to horse), and booze (from untaxed bubbly to rotgut whiskey) were available at prices even the middle class could afford. It was good to be home."
And later -
"I found a parking place for the Olds a block and a half away, and walked to the Silver Palm, which nestled under the El on Wilson Avenue near Broadway. My trenchcoat collars were up again—it was cold and drizzling, sending the streetwalkers and dope peddlers into the recesses of doorways for cover. This once respectable stretch had, during World War Two, developed into a war zone of burlesque houses, room-by-the-hour hotels and tattoo parlors, designed to service the servicemen from Fort Sheridan and the Great Lakes Naval Station, taking advantage of the Wilson Avenue express stop on the North Shore Electric railway."
If Chicago Confidential had to comply with the MPAA film rating system there would be warnings about smoking, explicit language, violence, sexual relationships and drug usage. But if the place and time where this tale is set interest you, then its grittiness shouldn't keep you from picking it up.
4.5*
August 6, 2019
Some years back, Collins decided to try something audacious even for a gifted writer. Collins created a fictional character (Detective Nathan Heller) and injected this fictional character into twentieth century history, including having Heller work on the Lindbergh kidnapping, work with Elliot Ness and the Untouchables, become involved with Chicago gangster Nitty, and volunteer, along with his buddy, Barney Ross, to fight in the Pacific Theater in World War II. In the hands of a lesser writer, the Nathan Heller books would have become a laughable comedy, but somehow Collins has managed to create a fictional man who interacts with real historical figures and it works. I have read five of this series and they have all been terrific books, capped off with the Nathan Heller trilogy involving Marilyn Monroe, JFK, Jack Ruby, and the Kennedy assassination: Ask Not, Bye Bye Baby, and Target Lancer.
Collins prefaces this book by explaining to the reader that, although the historical incidents in the book are more or less portrayed accurately, "fact, speculation, and fiction are freely mixed here" and "historical personages exist side by side with composite characters and wholly fictional ones -- all of whom act and speak at the author's whim." There, he said it. Its fact and fiction all mixed together.
In this particular book, the year is 1950. Heller starts off at his Hollywood office, hiding out from the Kefauver committee which is investigating anyone with connections to organized crime (and Heller, through Nitti, has been connected over the years to the Organization, although he has never been part of it) and making time with his daughter, who is with his exwife, who is now engaged to a Hollywood producer.
Heller has a new client, the refreshing Vera Palmer. We learn later her married name in full is Vera Jayne Mansfield. He explains that "She still had a wholesome, smalltown, peaches-and-cream glow" and she wasn't a starlet yet, just a college student. He further explains that she wasn't blonde yet: "The shimmering brunette pageboy, the heart- shaped face, the full dark red-rouged lips, the wide, wide-set hazel eyes, the impossible wasp waist, the startling flaring hips, and the amazing full breasts riding her rib cage like twin torpedoes, had nothing to do with it." Interviewing her, Heller "felt like the Wolf discovering Little Red Riding Hood was packing heat." Of course, after a few hours together, he "felt like a truck had hit [him] - a 115-pound well-stacked one."
At dinner, they run into Frankie and Ava and, in between, Heller trades punches with Vera's stalker. Yes, this introductory interlude had little to do with the plot of the story, but it made for great reading and great atmosphere. It places Heller firmly in time as the forties are giving way to the fifties.
This story, after all, is not about movies stars, but about the Chicago Organization and Nathan Heller manuevering his way carefully between the Organization (headed in part by the Fischetti brothers) and the Kefauver investigations into organized crime. Of course, Heller also runs into Jack Rubinstein (better known as Jack Ruby) and Sam Giancana (who became well known over the years as a scary killer- indeed the coldest killer in the mob). The story is well-paced and moves quite rapidly and is a pleasure to read. Collins captures quite well the treacherous tightrope that Heller is walking and how carefully he must act to avoid becoming collateral damage.
There are great scenes and terrific dialogue in this book as Heller spars with the Fischettis, one of whom has an entire bedroom devoted to model trains, but is not any less dangerous. Also, great is Heller's give and take with Giancana and the sense of danger is simply omni- present with Giacana in the room.
Collins prefaces this book by explaining to the reader that, although the historical incidents in the book are more or less portrayed accurately, "fact, speculation, and fiction are freely mixed here" and "historical personages exist side by side with composite characters and wholly fictional ones -- all of whom act and speak at the author's whim." There, he said it. Its fact and fiction all mixed together.
In this particular book, the year is 1950. Heller starts off at his Hollywood office, hiding out from the Kefauver committee which is investigating anyone with connections to organized crime (and Heller, through Nitti, has been connected over the years to the Organization, although he has never been part of it) and making time with his daughter, who is with his exwife, who is now engaged to a Hollywood producer.
Heller has a new client, the refreshing Vera Palmer. We learn later her married name in full is Vera Jayne Mansfield. He explains that "She still had a wholesome, smalltown, peaches-and-cream glow" and she wasn't a starlet yet, just a college student. He further explains that she wasn't blonde yet: "The shimmering brunette pageboy, the heart- shaped face, the full dark red-rouged lips, the wide, wide-set hazel eyes, the impossible wasp waist, the startling flaring hips, and the amazing full breasts riding her rib cage like twin torpedoes, had nothing to do with it." Interviewing her, Heller "felt like the Wolf discovering Little Red Riding Hood was packing heat." Of course, after a few hours together, he "felt like a truck had hit [him] - a 115-pound well-stacked one."
At dinner, they run into Frankie and Ava and, in between, Heller trades punches with Vera's stalker. Yes, this introductory interlude had little to do with the plot of the story, but it made for great reading and great atmosphere. It places Heller firmly in time as the forties are giving way to the fifties.
This story, after all, is not about movies stars, but about the Chicago Organization and Nathan Heller manuevering his way carefully between the Organization (headed in part by the Fischetti brothers) and the Kefauver investigations into organized crime. Of course, Heller also runs into Jack Rubinstein (better known as Jack Ruby) and Sam Giancana (who became well known over the years as a scary killer- indeed the coldest killer in the mob). The story is well-paced and moves quite rapidly and is a pleasure to read. Collins captures quite well the treacherous tightrope that Heller is walking and how carefully he must act to avoid becoming collateral damage.
There are great scenes and terrific dialogue in this book as Heller spars with the Fischettis, one of whom has an entire bedroom devoted to model trains, but is not any less dangerous. Also, great is Heller's give and take with Giancana and the sense of danger is simply omni- present with Giacana in the room.
August 13, 2024
Heller is back and not just back...but back to his roots. After a brief sojourn in L.A. in the first few chapters and a tryst with a very young Vera Jayne Palmer (Jayne Mansfield) Heller is back in Chicago. And he's dealing with The Chicago Outfit and his long-term ties to the mob in Chicago. Senator Estes Kefauver is investigating organized crime and Heller would much prefer not to be called as a witness and have to potentially plead the Fifth. This, of course leads to very organic appearances by Frank Sinatra, Joe McCarthy, Sam Giancana and the Fischetti Brothers (cousins of Al Capone). This really is Heller going back to his roots as the first three books of the series are known as The Nitti Trilogy because of Heller's relationship with Outfit boss Frank Nitti. Collins also works in the mostly forgotten murders of ex-Chicago cop William Drury and attorney Marvin Bas.
The Heller series is generally very good and this was no exception. I really appreciated the return to basics as a bit of a palate cleanser. This one kept the pages turning.
The Heller series is generally very good and this was no exception. I really appreciated the return to basics as a bit of a palate cleanser. This one kept the pages turning.
December 30, 2022
Max Heller goes back to Chicago after meeting Jayne Mansfield. It seems an operative of his has gone off the rails, endangering the lives of everyone working for the firm with his vendetta against the mob. The Kefauver hearings are going on, and there's a lot of heat in Chicago.
Eventually, there's some murder and mayhem.
Eventually, there's some murder and mayhem.
February 1, 2018
Chicago Confidential isn’t the old expose’ on the “Outfit” from 1950. This is one of the Nathan Heller novels in which Max Allan Collins deftly dances on the fault-lines of history to present both the exposed crevices of authentic (though sometimes expedited via slight anachronisms for sake of the story) history and the seismic personal events of Heller and the real/fictional characters with whom he crosses paths. Although Collins admits to putting words in the mouths of the historical characters to tell this fictional story and using some of the composite characters to be more interesting and protect both the innocent and the guilty on which these characters are based, the verisimilitude of this imaginary history vis-à-vis authentic history is amazing. Plus, as always, Collins confesses where he may have blurred the lines in the afterword and provides an excellent bibliography with which to see for oneself. One book I wish had been used, though, was the fascinating Supermob: How Sidney Korshak and his Criminal Associates Became America’s Hidden Power Brokers and its allegations of Outfit connections coordinated largely by the late Sam (“Mooney” in the novel, “MoMo” behind his back I’ve heard) Giancana and his legal mouthpiece (alleged model for The Godfather’s Tom Hagen), Sidney Korshak.
Chicago Confidential is a story that builds quickly and interleaves layer upon layer of intrigue, misdirection, dilemmas, and sensuality. The sensuality begins immediately when Heller describes, in classic pulp adventure narration, a client whose “…elaborately brassiered breasts punched at the light fabric like shells almost breaching a submarine.” (p. 2) Said client proves to be an actual figure of note, eventually becoming one of the string of blonde bombshells in Hollywood. I didn’t recognize her until Heller’s confrontation with her husband, but it really worked. The sense of intrigue and dilemmas about who to trust (at least, a minute amount) might easily be summed up by this description of a famous columnist who appears as a character in the book: “Drew Pearson complaining about yellow journalism was like an infected mosquito bitching about yellow fever.” (p. 133) Collins perfectly captures the tone of vintage private-eye novels with parodying the style (A great parody of the style is the character named Hugh Jim Bissell in most of the shows by the Capitol Steps.) or cheapening the story.
Collins uses Heller to dredge up some of the taint which Chicago’s infamous “Outfit” attempted to smear upon Estes Kefauver’s famous hearings on organized crime and some of the dirt associated speculatively with the murder of a crusading ex-policeman named William Drury (an honest cop dishonorably discharged from a corrupt, police department). Collins doesn’t guarantee that the events in Chicago Confidential happened as Heller narrated them, but he has done enough research and cartwheels back and forth impressively enough between history and historical characters versus fiction and fictional characters that one definitely gets a taste of mid-20th century Chicago.
These Nathan Heller novels of historical fiction are, frankly, addictive. I keep going back for more much like a junkie in Chicago Confidential. I don’t have withdrawal pains when I finish one of them, but I certainly can’t resist when I find ones I haven’t read before. And, while it is clear that the novels have an in-story chronological order (as opposed to publishing order), each one stands enough on its own that one can read them outside of the logical progression and still love them. If you like gangsters, history, and clever mysteries, you must read all of the Heller novels, but especially Chicago Confidential.
Chicago Confidential is a story that builds quickly and interleaves layer upon layer of intrigue, misdirection, dilemmas, and sensuality. The sensuality begins immediately when Heller describes, in classic pulp adventure narration, a client whose “…elaborately brassiered breasts punched at the light fabric like shells almost breaching a submarine.” (p. 2) Said client proves to be an actual figure of note, eventually becoming one of the string of blonde bombshells in Hollywood. I didn’t recognize her until Heller’s confrontation with her husband, but it really worked. The sense of intrigue and dilemmas about who to trust (at least, a minute amount) might easily be summed up by this description of a famous columnist who appears as a character in the book: “Drew Pearson complaining about yellow journalism was like an infected mosquito bitching about yellow fever.” (p. 133) Collins perfectly captures the tone of vintage private-eye novels with parodying the style (A great parody of the style is the character named Hugh Jim Bissell in most of the shows by the Capitol Steps.) or cheapening the story.
Collins uses Heller to dredge up some of the taint which Chicago’s infamous “Outfit” attempted to smear upon Estes Kefauver’s famous hearings on organized crime and some of the dirt associated speculatively with the murder of a crusading ex-policeman named William Drury (an honest cop dishonorably discharged from a corrupt, police department). Collins doesn’t guarantee that the events in Chicago Confidential happened as Heller narrated them, but he has done enough research and cartwheels back and forth impressively enough between history and historical characters versus fiction and fictional characters that one definitely gets a taste of mid-20th century Chicago.
These Nathan Heller novels of historical fiction are, frankly, addictive. I keep going back for more much like a junkie in Chicago Confidential. I don’t have withdrawal pains when I finish one of them, but I certainly can’t resist when I find ones I haven’t read before. And, while it is clear that the novels have an in-story chronological order (as opposed to publishing order), each one stands enough on its own that one can read them outside of the logical progression and still love them. If you like gangsters, history, and clever mysteries, you must read all of the Heller novels, but especially Chicago Confidential.
December 20, 2011
Again, Max Allan Collins' novels are improving with age. This one was a riveting, 1950s gangster story that has Nate Heller return to the corrupt Chicago he left behind. Collins mentions this was a departure considering the books that came before, but having not read these in order, it wasn't as jarring to me. In fact I enjoyed it more than the Nitti trilogy of the first few novels. There's the Hollywood glamour but at times this book reads like Martin Scorsese wrote it. It's filled with sex and violence, but an incredibly smart mystery and a lot of historical connection. It's a smooth blend of Hollywood and the Mafia!
July 10, 2012
This is my second book by this author and I will read more of his books, especially those featuring Nate Heller. This one does almost overdue the descriptions of places and clothing. Especially the clothing - it's like he's setting the scene for a movie. Still, his characters, mostly based on real people, and his story based on historical events are well written and totally believable. This one has gangsters we've all heard of and politicians like Estes Kefauver and that nasty piece of work, Joe McCarthy.
At the end of his book, the author has included information on the characters eventual lives, also a great source listing for his material.
February 14, 2010
Max Allan Collins and his Nathan Heller Books is assiduously documenting the crime history of the 30s and 40s. There are some terribly nice touches here in terms of wry comments and subtle connections. This departure from the world of Hollywood and politics takes us to the windy city and the atmosphere and characters are a late night delight.
February 24, 2016
Have read Collins's Road to Perdition, but this was my first Nathan Heller. 1950 Hollywood, Jayne Mansfield, Chicago, Sinatra, mobsters, Riverview, politics, Kefauver. Hard-boiled; sex, language. Might try something earlier in the series. Collins prides himself on historical accuracy; I got a little bogged down in the extensive cast of characters.
December 29, 2017
Sort of atypical heller novel this time around.
Despite appearances of well known names, the actual story is a relatively straightforward thriller set in 1950’s Chicago amongst the underworld and senate hearings into the same.
Very good read and possibly a good introduction to Nate heller away from the glare of famous cases that feature in the majority of the other novels.
Despite appearances of well known names, the actual story is a relatively straightforward thriller set in 1950’s Chicago amongst the underworld and senate hearings into the same.
Very good read and possibly a good introduction to Nate heller away from the glare of famous cases that feature in the majority of the other novels.
April 14, 2014
A slow read...the first 3rd of the book was confusing w/ so many characters, but I kept reading and they all fell into place. The ending was a real surprise. It was difficult to tell the "good guys" from the "bad guys". Loved all the "made up" and factual personalities.
July 10, 2024
A private investigator named Nate Heller, with ties to both the mob and police, is being pushed around by, well, both the mob and the police in 2003's "Chicago Confidential," which is set in real-life 1950's Chicago. Everyone involved is ducking a Senate investigation into the Chicago mafia.
The first 70 pages are mostly backstory and rehashing prior books in the series and name-dropping historical figures. Frank Sinatra, Elliot Ness, Jayne Mansfield, Jack Ruby, Joe McCarthy, Sam Giancana, Frank Nitti, other real-life mobsters, celebrities, and politicians. There is a large cast of characters, introduced quickly, and with interconnected backstories that made it hard for me to follow.
Collins has a narrative style in "Chicago Confidential" where he'll jump back and forth between the present and the past, not chapter to chapter but sentence to sentence, first showing us something (either an action or dialogue) and then explaining what happened in the past that is influencing the current action or dialogue. You definitely want to read the first books in the series before tackling this one, if you want to read this one. Those problems mostly fade out by the final third when mob infighting leads our protagonist Heller to connect some dots, deal with his lady friend, and there's a three-part finale that wraps up the loose threads.
Verdict: The politics-driven investigation story isn't interesting and the hearings and depositions are boring. I'll add that using real people in fictional stories, and the author Collins having his stand-in protagonist Heller interact with them in descriptive adult ways, is creepy and pathetic. There's a specific hated sequence I read late in the book that would be offensive to share here and dropped this from a 2 to a 1 for me.
Jeff's Rating: 1 / 5 (Bad)
movie rating if made into a movie: R
The first 70 pages are mostly backstory and rehashing prior books in the series and name-dropping historical figures. Frank Sinatra, Elliot Ness, Jayne Mansfield, Jack Ruby, Joe McCarthy, Sam Giancana, Frank Nitti, other real-life mobsters, celebrities, and politicians. There is a large cast of characters, introduced quickly, and with interconnected backstories that made it hard for me to follow.
Collins has a narrative style in "Chicago Confidential" where he'll jump back and forth between the present and the past, not chapter to chapter but sentence to sentence, first showing us something (either an action or dialogue) and then explaining what happened in the past that is influencing the current action or dialogue. You definitely want to read the first books in the series before tackling this one, if you want to read this one. Those problems mostly fade out by the final third when mob infighting leads our protagonist Heller to connect some dots, deal with his lady friend, and there's a three-part finale that wraps up the loose threads.
Verdict: The politics-driven investigation story isn't interesting and the hearings and depositions are boring. I'll add that using real people in fictional stories, and the author Collins having his stand-in protagonist Heller interact with them in descriptive adult ways, is creepy and pathetic. There's a specific hated sequence I read late in the book that would be offensive to share here and dropped this from a 2 to a 1 for me.
Jeff's Rating: 1 / 5 (Bad)
movie rating if made into a movie: R
November 22, 2017
My Kinda Detective
A late mid period Heller, back at last in Chicago, is a cracker with some incredible plot points. For those who don't know, Nate Heller is a fictional Chicago detective who somehow finds himself in the middle of famous cases, entwined with the famous, rich and the downright awful crooks.
This Heller is better than most - no really famous case, like the Kennedy assassination or the Lindbergh kidnapping, just plain old Chicago gang violence mixed with the Estes Kefauver hearings into organised crime. It is full of sex (with Jayne Mansfield and one other) and gobs of violence, making it an even more hard boiled tale than usual, and it is all the better for it. We love Nate Heller, the barely moral, priapic and hard as nails detective.
However wonderful it is, it does 'jump the shark' at times in depicting Heller's toughness, especially with the Mob and in the very final act. I guess I can forgive MAC these excesses because this is one of the better Heller books, not quite as jumped up on fame and deeply involved in the plot details.
A late mid period Heller, back at last in Chicago, is a cracker with some incredible plot points. For those who don't know, Nate Heller is a fictional Chicago detective who somehow finds himself in the middle of famous cases, entwined with the famous, rich and the downright awful crooks.
This Heller is better than most - no really famous case, like the Kennedy assassination or the Lindbergh kidnapping, just plain old Chicago gang violence mixed with the Estes Kefauver hearings into organised crime. It is full of sex (with Jayne Mansfield and one other) and gobs of violence, making it an even more hard boiled tale than usual, and it is all the better for it. We love Nate Heller, the barely moral, priapic and hard as nails detective.
However wonderful it is, it does 'jump the shark' at times in depicting Heller's toughness, especially with the Mob and in the very final act. I guess I can forgive MAC these excesses because this is one of the better Heller books, not quite as jumped up on fame and deeply involved in the plot details.
April 15, 2020
Lacking Greatness
I am a big fan of the earlier novels in the series but this one is not quite up to those levels. To be sure, the characters and dialogue ring true and there is a historical element to that book. While the story is well told, I am missing the point of the story the author is attempting to communicate.
I am a big fan of the earlier novels in the series but this one is not quite up to those levels. To be sure, the characters and dialogue ring true and there is a historical element to that book. While the story is well told, I am missing the point of the story the author is attempting to communicate.
December 29, 2020
#14 in the Nathan Heller historical mystery series. Heller makes a welcome return to Chicago after a brief sojourn to Los Angeles, where he finds himself embroiled in the Kefauver hearings. While this is necessary given the series arc, it is lacking in narrative interest. Cameos by Frank Sinatra and Jayne Mansfield provide a welcome respite. As always, the author's afterword separating fact from fiction, and a suggested reading list, are worthwhile.
August 25, 2019
Heller back in Chicago - meeting Frank Sinatra and bedding a young Jayne Mansfield as he negotiates the Senate hearings into gambling and organised crime
January 30, 2020
A fun read for a trip down memory lane of people and places. Held my interest as a story as well.
April 16, 2024
More of a fictional history than a mystery.
May 14, 2025
Couldn’t go on after 100 pages. Cliche tough guy, womanizing PI. Yuk
December 4, 2025
I can’t believe I’ve never read these. My fall back comfort reading.
January 28, 2022
Quite the surprising first chapter. Other than that, figures from the red-baiting era of American politics and mob influence.
It may be minor, but I'm finding Collins' exhaustive descriptions of settings a bit laborious and tedious.
Quite surprising scene with Heller's strong action.
Overall satisfyingly well-paced.
Looking forward to Heller's new era.
It may be minor, but I'm finding Collins' exhaustive descriptions of settings a bit laborious and tedious.
Quite surprising scene with Heller's strong action.
Overall satisfyingly well-paced.
Looking forward to Heller's new era.
April 28, 2021
Mixes true events and personages with his characters and events. Kefauver/McCarthy era. Mob connections.
May 7, 2013
Nathan Heller is out in Hollywood putting in some time at the LA office. He is also spending some with his son. Recently divorced from his cheating wife he is also trying to avoid talking to a new crime commission that is looking for information on organized crime. Over the years Heller has had more dealings with the mob than he would like. Now people want to know what he knows. While in LA he takes on a client. A young college student claims that an old boyfriend won’t leave her alone. Heller helps her out. The young college student turns out to be none other than the the young busty (and with Heller lusty) Jayne Mansfield. Problems arise in the business and he returns to Chicago.
It seems that an old police colleague that he hired is using Heller’s equipment to spy on some of the big names in organized crime for the commission. Heller has to deal with this problem. He also has to deal with some of the mobsters to make sure that they know that he is not going to talk about anything that he knows. As if that wasn’t enough his old buddy Frank Sinatra asks him to call another old acquaintance, Senator Joe McCarthy, and tell the Senator that Sinatra is not a Communist. With all of this it is not going to be easy for Heller to get out of all of this in one piece.
More classic hard boiled noir from the wonderful Max Allan Collins. After a couple of week novels the series has really bounced back. Lots of mystery, smart aleck remarks, danger, gangsters, and gorgeous women who can’t wait to have sex with the main character. Great fun.
It seems that an old police colleague that he hired is using Heller’s equipment to spy on some of the big names in organized crime for the commission. Heller has to deal with this problem. He also has to deal with some of the mobsters to make sure that they know that he is not going to talk about anything that he knows. As if that wasn’t enough his old buddy Frank Sinatra asks him to call another old acquaintance, Senator Joe McCarthy, and tell the Senator that Sinatra is not a Communist. With all of this it is not going to be easy for Heller to get out of all of this in one piece.
More classic hard boiled noir from the wonderful Max Allan Collins. After a couple of week novels the series has really bounced back. Lots of mystery, smart aleck remarks, danger, gangsters, and gorgeous women who can’t wait to have sex with the main character. Great fun.
February 27, 2015
It's 1950 and the twelfth book in the Nate Heller historical fiction/crime series takes him back to his roots in Chicago.
The story, which began with Heller still on the police force in the late 30's, has come a long way. He and his city have changed a lot.
But the organized crime background, which provided the foundation for the series in its initial offerings, is back at the forefront as Sen. Estes Kefauver is holding Congressional hearings into the mob -- and looking for Heller to provide assistance.
There is no central unsolved mystery this time around (unlike previous works which have looked into the Lindbergh kidnapping, the search for Amelia Earhart, the Black Dahlia murder and others -- he even investigated UFO's in Roswell).
But there are repeat appearances by Frank Sinatra, Drew Pearson and Joe McCarthy and an interlude with Jayne Mansfield to keep it interesting.
Max Allan Collins says he intended this book to provide the bridge for his young PI to carry on into the 50's and 60's, paving the way for his trilogy looking into Marilyn Monroe's death and JFK's assassination. It ties a nice bow around the Chicago foundation and provides background which will prove critical in the next three books.
All in all, it's another worth-while effort in this interesting mix of genres.
The story, which began with Heller still on the police force in the late 30's, has come a long way. He and his city have changed a lot.
But the organized crime background, which provided the foundation for the series in its initial offerings, is back at the forefront as Sen. Estes Kefauver is holding Congressional hearings into the mob -- and looking for Heller to provide assistance.
There is no central unsolved mystery this time around (unlike previous works which have looked into the Lindbergh kidnapping, the search for Amelia Earhart, the Black Dahlia murder and others -- he even investigated UFO's in Roswell).
But there are repeat appearances by Frank Sinatra, Drew Pearson and Joe McCarthy and an interlude with Jayne Mansfield to keep it interesting.
Max Allan Collins says he intended this book to provide the bridge for his young PI to carry on into the 50's and 60's, paving the way for his trilogy looking into Marilyn Monroe's death and JFK's assassination. It ties a nice bow around the Chicago foundation and provides background which will prove critical in the next three books.
All in all, it's another worth-while effort in this interesting mix of genres.
June 19, 2008
Nathan Heller is a private investigator battling many demons. On one hand, he has a thriving P.I. business and a way with the women, including an as-yet-unknown Jayne Mansfield. On the other hand, one of his partners is a disgraced Chicago cop hellbent on bringing down the Mafia even though Heller is in good standing with many high-ranking members of said mafia. This affiliation makes him the target of a congressional inquiry into organized crime which would like to see him testify about what he knows. Of course, his partner wants him to testify while the mafia would rather he not enlighten them. As the two sides start clashing, Heller finds himself stuck in the middle trying to wade his way out of an ever-deepening pool of double crosses and backstabs. Very well-paced and well-written thriller by Collins that diverges from the norm not only in the fact that it is set in the 1950s, but also because it is not written from an omniscient point of view but solely from Heller's perspective with a very noirish feel that does a great job of grounding the story and giving it a very comfortable read.
January 26, 2017
Timing is everything and my reading of this bit of noire is probably poorly timed. As the genre suggests, the narrative is not only placed in another time, 1950, but also is well based in that time. From the misogyny and inappropriate sexual encounters to the vigilante justice, I felt oddly guilty to enjoy this novel in our time of culture wars and debate over the treatment of women, the use of guns and the corruption of politics in general. Still, it is a solid detective story with enough name dropping to give it a sense of reality. Finally, as Nate Heller spends the bulk of this story in Chicago, I suspect a native of the Second City would get a nice, nostalgic buzz from the descriptions of real places in the city.
July 26, 2009
Chicago Confidential has it's moments, but I find the interweaving of historical figures with a somewhat standard detective story a little forced. Detective Nathan (Nate) Heller is just a little too smooth and unbelievable for my tastes. It's seems as if he's having sex with just about every starlet he encounters. Raymond Chandler set a pretty high bar for other authors to measure themselves by and one which I also use to judge other authors writing in the same genre.
August 9, 2011
In the ongoing blending of fact and fiction Collins weaves another great tale of PI Nathan Heller as this time he's tied up in the Kefauver hearings of organized crime. Chicago in the 50s also brings about run-ins with Jane Mansfield, McCarty, and brilliant dialogues with Sinatra. Collins once again shows his love for the hard-boiled genre as he writes as good as any of the masters.
May 22, 2013
You get exactly what you expect with the Nate Heller books... And that isn't a bad thing. Loads of description and an action packed PI novel that can appeal to both men and women. Loved the descriptions of 1950s Chicago. Well written and entertaining.
June 9, 2015
A Nathan Heller novel. The worst of Collins' historical mysteries I've read so far. No real mystery, just recounting the Mafia hearings of the 50's with too much gratuitous swearing.
A Mickey Spillane wanna be.
A Mickey Spillane wanna be.
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