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Michael Kelly #1
The Chicago Way
Private detective Michael Kelly is hired by his former partner to solve an eight-year old rape and battery case long gone cold. But when the partner turns up dead, Kelly enlists a team of his savviest colleagues to connect the dots between the recent murder and the cold case it revived: a television reporter whose relationship with Kelly is not strictly professional; his best friend from childhood, a forensic DNA expert; and an old ally from the DA's office. To close the case, Kelly will have to face the mob, a serial killer, his own double-crossing friends, and the mean streets of the city he loves.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2007
224 people are currently reading
1541 people want to read
About the author
Michael Harvey
9 books392 followersMichael is the best-selling author of seven crime novels, The Chicago Way, The Fifth Floor, The Third Rail, We All Fall Down, The Innocence Game, The Governor’s Wife and Brighton, scheduled for release in June of 2016. Film rights to Brighton, a stand-alone thriller set in Michael’s hometown of Boston, were recently optioned by Graham King, producer of The Departed and The Town.
Michael is also an investigative reporter, documentary producer and co-creator, producer and executive producer of A&E’s groundbreaking forensic series, Cold Case Files.
Michael’s investigative journalism and documentary work has won multiple news Emmys and CableACE awards, numerous national and international film festival awards, a CINE Golden Eagle, two Prime-Time Emmy nominations, as well as an Academy Award nomination. Michael was also selected by the Chicago Tribune as Chicagoan of the Year in Literature for 2011.
Michael holds a bachelors degree, magna cum laude with honors, in classical languages from Holy Cross College, a law degree with honors from Duke University and a masters degree in journalism from Northwestern University. Michael is currently an adjunct professor at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.
Michael was born in Boston and lives in Chicago.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 490 reviews
November 20, 2025
After reading The Governor’s Wife by Michael Harvey a few days ago (2018 review), I decided I wanted to read his first in the series of Michael Kelly, Private Investigator.
So the next day I ventured to my local Library, and there was a copy of The Chicago Way waiting for me on the shelf, which I happily checked out.
I learned that not only does the author have quite the resume, but this was his debut novel.
He is a journalist, documentary producer and writer, as well as co-creator and executive producer of the television show Cold Case Files.
As with The Governor’s Wife, I found myself flying through the pages and finishing the book in a few hours. (I love an author who can capture me in this way!) This was satisfying for all the reasons that I love about reading mysteries.
It reads like a classic crime story.
The characters were intriguing and engaging.
The mystery was quick yet intricate enough to not be obvious.
The city was dark and gritty.
There was a damsel in distress, and a dark, brooding detective with a history of his own.
The perfect mystery for a lazy afternoon.
I recommend this to anyone who enjoys mysteries.
So the next day I ventured to my local Library, and there was a copy of The Chicago Way waiting for me on the shelf, which I happily checked out.
I learned that not only does the author have quite the resume, but this was his debut novel.
He is a journalist, documentary producer and writer, as well as co-creator and executive producer of the television show Cold Case Files.
As with The Governor’s Wife, I found myself flying through the pages and finishing the book in a few hours. (I love an author who can capture me in this way!) This was satisfying for all the reasons that I love about reading mysteries.
It reads like a classic crime story.
The characters were intriguing and engaging.
The mystery was quick yet intricate enough to not be obvious.
The city was dark and gritty.
There was a damsel in distress, and a dark, brooding detective with a history of his own.
The perfect mystery for a lazy afternoon.
I recommend this to anyone who enjoys mysteries.
January 6, 2012
Cool title, cool cover art... Maybe the worst book I have ever read. I'm generally pretty forgiving and easy to please with anything either crime noir or Chicago-centric but this was so bad that my mouth was sweating the entire twenty-five minutes it took me to read it.
The book is written as though the author visited the city for a convention, went to a Cubs game, drank a few MGD 64s at one of the meat head bars in Wrigleyville,then went a few blocks over to Boystown for action on the DL. Then, thoroughly infatuated with the whole entire city of Chicago, (meaning the few tourist traps that he visited and, of course, nothing south of Roosevelt) but also needing to prove his masculinity after his aforementioned bi-curious adventures, he got back to his room at the Hilton and decided he needed to write a REAL old school CHICAGO detective novel with a really super tough super douche main guy with a really great original name.
The whole time I was reading the book I kept wondering "Why does this guy keep mentioning this D-bag bar in Lincoln Park?" So I Googled the bar. It turns out the Author, a Boston transplant, owns it. Go figure.
The book is written as though the author visited the city for a convention, went to a Cubs game, drank a few MGD 64s at one of the meat head bars in Wrigleyville,then went a few blocks over to Boystown for action on the DL. Then, thoroughly infatuated with the whole entire city of Chicago, (meaning the few tourist traps that he visited and, of course, nothing south of Roosevelt) but also needing to prove his masculinity after his aforementioned bi-curious adventures, he got back to his room at the Hilton and decided he needed to write a REAL old school CHICAGO detective novel with a really super tough super douche main guy with a really great original name.
The whole time I was reading the book I kept wondering "Why does this guy keep mentioning this D-bag bar in Lincoln Park?" So I Googled the bar. It turns out the Author, a Boston transplant, owns it. Go figure.
June 4, 2024
Свежо криминале, което се чете на един дъх.
Кели е бивше ченге, което се забърква в разследване на старо изнасилване. Следват камара трупове и куп неочаквани обрати, защото - "така го правят в Чикаго".
Има по малко за всеки - свежи лафове, малко мелодрама, готни мадами, както си е по каноните на жанра.
На български са излезли още четири книги от тази поредица, но тя не е добре рекламирана и вероятно е пропусната от много почитатели на добрия криминален роман.
Кели е бивше ченге, което се забърква в разследване на старо изнасилване. Следват камара трупове и куп неочаквани обрати, защото - "така го правят в Чикаго".
Има по малко за всеки - свежи лафове, малко мелодрама, готни мадами, както си е по каноните на жанра.
На български са излезли още четири книги от тази поредица, но тя не е добре рекламирана и вероятно е пропусната от много почитатели на добрия криминален роман.
February 3, 2009
It may be Michael Harvey's debut novel, but it reads like a classic crime story. I hadn't intended to start a new book today; I intended even less to finish it. I picked up The Chicago Way as a quick distraction, imagining that I would read a few pages and then put it down for a few years until I had the time again. Instead, I found myself flying through the pages and finishing the book in a few hours.
Michael Kelly, a former Chicago cop and current private detective, is hired by his old partner to work on an almost decade-old rape case. Almost immediately after Kelly is hired, however, his partner is found dead and the real mystery begins. This was satisfying for all the reasons that I read mysteries. The characters were intriguing and engaging. The mystery was quick yet intricate enough to not be obvious. The city was dark and gritty. There was a damsel in distress, and a dark, brooding detective with a history of his own. The perfect mystery for an afternoon of rain and tea.
Recommend to anyone who enjoys a mystery.
Michael Kelly, a former Chicago cop and current private detective, is hired by his old partner to work on an almost decade-old rape case. Almost immediately after Kelly is hired, however, his partner is found dead and the real mystery begins. This was satisfying for all the reasons that I read mysteries. The characters were intriguing and engaging. The mystery was quick yet intricate enough to not be obvious. The city was dark and gritty. There was a damsel in distress, and a dark, brooding detective with a history of his own. The perfect mystery for an afternoon of rain and tea.
Recommend to anyone who enjoys a mystery.
September 28, 2019
The title pulled me in, the writing was okay but the style was off kilter. The author tries too hard to be like other authors and never develops his own style.
June 6, 2024
3.5/5
October 8, 2014
Michael Kelly is a Chicago cop-turned private investigator after having been railroaded off the force. His former partner, now retired, hires him to pursue a forgotten rape case that almost ended his own career. When the partner and client is murdered, and when Kelly is hired by the woman who was raped, things heat up. The deeper Kelly digs, the deadlier the case becomes.
Kelly is a classic hardboiled p.i. The reviews of the novel often make reference to Raymond Chandler, but the atmosphere is more like Dashiell Hammitt. Though the writing can be hard-guy affected, it can also be powerful, and the plotting is impeccable. There are several interesting characters and enough heartbreak, past and present, to sink an ore ship in Lake Michigan. Kelly is complicated. What other p.i. reads Aeschylus in classical Greek or has the guts to play his hunches by crossing over the line as often as he does?
This is a second reading for me, and I elevated it from three stars (blinded by the tough guy talk) to four (won over by the solid plotting). I was born on the South Side, and the Chicago sense of place is done very well. Next stop: "The Fifth Floor.
Kelly is a classic hardboiled p.i. The reviews of the novel often make reference to Raymond Chandler, but the atmosphere is more like Dashiell Hammitt. Though the writing can be hard-guy affected, it can also be powerful, and the plotting is impeccable. There are several interesting characters and enough heartbreak, past and present, to sink an ore ship in Lake Michigan. Kelly is complicated. What other p.i. reads Aeschylus in classical Greek or has the guts to play his hunches by crossing over the line as often as he does?
This is a second reading for me, and I elevated it from three stars (blinded by the tough guy talk) to four (won over by the solid plotting). I was born on the South Side, and the Chicago sense of place is done very well. Next stop: "The Fifth Floor.
April 24, 2012
After having this on my "to-read" shelf for a long time, I finally found a used autographed copy at my local store.
This was a well done "hard-boiled" detective story, in which the outcome was pretty shocking and not really expected. I liked the details about cold cases and the use of science at crime scenes the best because I just find that kind of stuff fascinating.
I am intigued to read the second installment, but I'm also prepared to be disappointed at the same time because it's hard to write a sequel that's as appealing as the original when you're working within the same genre. However, I need to see for myself.
This was a well done "hard-boiled" detective story, in which the outcome was pretty shocking and not really expected. I liked the details about cold cases and the use of science at crime scenes the best because I just find that kind of stuff fascinating.
I am intigued to read the second installment, but I'm also prepared to be disappointed at the same time because it's hard to write a sequel that's as appealing as the original when you're working within the same genre. However, I need to see for myself.
July 31, 2019
В жанр, в който жалоните отдавна са побити, демек всичко вече е измислено, нямам големи изисквания към авторите - искам добре разказана (по възможност и хубаво увъртяна) история и герои, които да ми станат симпатични. Майкъл Харви изпълни безапелационно и двете условия. Историята, базирана, разбира се, върху всички възможни клишета, прикова вниманието ми от началото до края, а детектив Майкъл Кели се оказа устат отворко, досущ един съвременен Филип Марлоу.
January 13, 2018
He always called me Michael, which was okay since that was my name.
When a line of early Woody Allen-ish dialogue showed up on the second page of The Chicago Way, I honestly thought that this would be a parody of hard-boiled mystery fiction. I'm still not entirely sure it isn't.
This is a very by the numbers book, cramming in as many clichés as possible. The narrator, private detective Michael Kelly (who, not coincidentally, shares a first name with the author), is an amazing, brilliant man. He had been both a police officer and a professional boxer. He reads Aeschylus in the untranslated ancient Greek. Glamorous TV newswomen fall into his bed. The man likes dogs. True, he has something of a temper and assaults a couple of guys for no particular reason, but nobody's perfect.
As for the tough-guy prose, an earlier reviewer named Clifton quoted a line that I think might be my favorite in the book:
For my money it's the best joe in the city.
The one section of the book that I did like is Chapter 39, in which Kelly's former lover, Annie, briefly (and realistically) reenters Kelly's life. This neither helps further the plot nor shows what a great guy Kelly is. It is there purely because it is interesting and touching.
You are not likely to guess the ending, partly because it's very poorly set up and partly because it's idiotic.
And one totally irrelevant point: why is the picture on the cover upside down?
Clearly most of the people commenting on The Chicago Way liked it more than I did, so there may be more to it than I can see. I am sorry that I can't be more enthusiastic.
When a line of early Woody Allen-ish dialogue showed up on the second page of The Chicago Way, I honestly thought that this would be a parody of hard-boiled mystery fiction. I'm still not entirely sure it isn't.
This is a very by the numbers book, cramming in as many clichés as possible. The narrator, private detective Michael Kelly (who, not coincidentally, shares a first name with the author), is an amazing, brilliant man. He had been both a police officer and a professional boxer. He reads Aeschylus in the untranslated ancient Greek. Glamorous TV newswomen fall into his bed. The man likes dogs. True, he has something of a temper and assaults a couple of guys for no particular reason, but nobody's perfect.
As for the tough-guy prose, an earlier reviewer named Clifton quoted a line that I think might be my favorite in the book:
For my money it's the best joe in the city.
The one section of the book that I did like is Chapter 39, in which Kelly's former lover, Annie, briefly (and realistically) reenters Kelly's life. This neither helps further the plot nor shows what a great guy Kelly is. It is there purely because it is interesting and touching.
You are not likely to guess the ending, partly because it's very poorly set up and partly because it's idiotic.
And one totally irrelevant point: why is the picture on the cover upside down?
Clearly most of the people commenting on The Chicago Way liked it more than I did, so there may be more to it than I can see. I am sorry that I can't be more enthusiastic.
July 1, 2011
Ably read by Stephen Hoye who brings just the right amount of bemused detachment and cynicism to the character. Ex-cop Michael Kelly is now a P.I. whose former partner shows up at his door and tells about a case he wants to hire Kelly to work on, a rape that was being covered up by his superiors.
Let me say that while I liked this book, there were some things that just didn’t fit or seemed implausible: the blackmail, the raped hooker from an original crime, the killings that seemed to be, in the end, totally unnecessary. Many of these issues left me with a feeling that it could have been done with more subtlety. The prose is good and the dialogue often witty, but it’s not enough to carry the story.
One thing that makes this book unique in the annals of hard-boiled noir is the subtext of Greek tragedy. Kelly refers several times to the Greek trilogy Oresteia, quoting from the original Greek. (Having had Greek many decades ago in high school I feel somewhat qualified to despair over Hoye's pronunciation, but it was a long time ago.) The plays have to do with revenge and three women bent on that revenge. But enough spoilers.
Enjoyable, if formulaic, hard-boiled noir.
Let me say that while I liked this book, there were some things that just didn’t fit or seemed implausible: the blackmail, the raped hooker from an original crime, the killings that seemed to be, in the end, totally unnecessary. Many of these issues left me with a feeling that it could have been done with more subtlety. The prose is good and the dialogue often witty, but it’s not enough to carry the story.
One thing that makes this book unique in the annals of hard-boiled noir is the subtext of Greek tragedy. Kelly refers several times to the Greek trilogy Oresteia, quoting from the original Greek. (Having had Greek many decades ago in high school I feel somewhat qualified to despair over Hoye's pronunciation, but it was a long time ago.) The plays have to do with revenge and three women bent on that revenge. But enough spoilers.
Enjoyable, if formulaic, hard-boiled noir.
September 15, 2008
The Chicago Way is a brisk, entertaining read about a private detective and ex cop named Michael Kelly. I couldn't put it down once I began reading. Set in Chicago, the book is a love letter to The Windy City, and those familiar with the neighborhoods, politics, and media there will find themselves smiling--often. (Loved the joke at Chicago TV newscaster Jackie Bange's--pronounced "bang!"--expense--every guy I know has made the same or similar wisecracks about that name).
My favorite line that shows Kelly's wry wit: "He stopped renewing his license in 2004, when he did of a massive heart attack. Made sense to me." Reminded me of Robert B. Parker's Spenser.
I didn't feel like I had a good sense of who Michael Kelly was by the end of the book, but I think that's okay; not telling all leaves more facets to reveal later and also something for the reader's imagination. I also liked how the theme of the story--here, sexual assault--is woven throughout the fabric of the story and viewed from multiple angles, whether investigators on the scene, activists raising money for awareness and prevention, or the stories and memories of victims and the horrific toll this horrific crime exacts on its victims. His depiction of the loneliness of Kelly's existence was also superbly done.
[This next sentence is slightly spoiler-ish in that it reveals how the story wrapped up--no detail is given, however] I'd say the main thing I didn't like was that the characters all came together a little too neatly at the end, each serving a purpose integral to the mystery itself; it felt a bit more contrived than I'd expected from this story. That won't stop me from reading Harvey's subsequent novels, however; I finished his second Michael Kelly mystery in the same week I read The Chicago Way.
My favorite line that shows Kelly's wry wit: "He stopped renewing his license in 2004, when he did of a massive heart attack. Made sense to me." Reminded me of Robert B. Parker's Spenser.
I didn't feel like I had a good sense of who Michael Kelly was by the end of the book, but I think that's okay; not telling all leaves more facets to reveal later and also something for the reader's imagination. I also liked how the theme of the story--here, sexual assault--is woven throughout the fabric of the story and viewed from multiple angles, whether investigators on the scene, activists raising money for awareness and prevention, or the stories and memories of victims and the horrific toll this horrific crime exacts on its victims. His depiction of the loneliness of Kelly's existence was also superbly done.
[This next sentence is slightly spoiler-ish in that it reveals how the story wrapped up--no detail is given, however] I'd say the main thing I didn't like was that the characters all came together a little too neatly at the end, each serving a purpose integral to the mystery itself; it felt a bit more contrived than I'd expected from this story. That won't stop me from reading Harvey's subsequent novels, however; I finished his second Michael Kelly mystery in the same week I read The Chicago Way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2010
For this reader Michael Harvey's freshman venture into the hard-boiled crime drama genre is more James M. Cain than Dashiell Hammett and the hero is more Dana Andrews in Laura than Humphrey Bogart. If compared to the noir movies of the 40's the reader is left with a picture of Robert Mitchum or Sterling Hayden as the protagonist Mike Kelly, Barbara Stanwyck as Elaine Remington and Lauren Bacall as Diane Lindsey. Today casting directors would probably give us Gerard Butler, Cameron Diaz, and Nicole Kidman in those parts.
The story is a fascinating patchwork of Chicago settings from the Drake Hotel ballroom to the back alleys of the windy city "burbs" with bleak pessimistic observations on everything from serial killers, politics, race and gender to pondering observations of ancient Greek philosophers.
Unlike many writers today who feel obligated to fill 500 plus pages with entire chapters describing the color of the sky, Harvey's background in journalism and television documentary production is obvious in his writing style. His sparse "who, what, where, when, why and how" approach to storytelling is a good thing. He hooks you from chapter one, succinctly gives you the information you need while moving the story along at a healthy clip. Things never get boring and the plot never lags as we play "armchair shamus" to Mike Kelly's real deal.
This is a better than average debut and I look forward to another walk on Chicago's wild side in the company of PI Mike Kelly.
3 1/2 stars
The story is a fascinating patchwork of Chicago settings from the Drake Hotel ballroom to the back alleys of the windy city "burbs" with bleak pessimistic observations on everything from serial killers, politics, race and gender to pondering observations of ancient Greek philosophers.
Unlike many writers today who feel obligated to fill 500 plus pages with entire chapters describing the color of the sky, Harvey's background in journalism and television documentary production is obvious in his writing style. His sparse "who, what, where, when, why and how" approach to storytelling is a good thing. He hooks you from chapter one, succinctly gives you the information you need while moving the story along at a healthy clip. Things never get boring and the plot never lags as we play "armchair shamus" to Mike Kelly's real deal.
This is a better than average debut and I look forward to another walk on Chicago's wild side in the company of PI Mike Kelly.
3 1/2 stars
March 15, 2016
"A large pair of 1950s cat-eye glasses appeared over the top of the TV. Directly underneath said glasses was a pallid face twisted into a silent shriek, masquerading as a smile." And that second sentence (on p. 13) is when I stopped seriously reading this book. I mean, what a ridiculous set of words. I managed to plow on until page 30, then gave up and just skimmed the rest. This book was just so poorly written. It reads like someone was given an assignment to write a hard-boiled detective story, and worked very hard to trot out as many hackneyed cliches as possible. When the plot falters, someone gets bumped off. There are lots of dead bodies and plenty of dubious characters, but absolutely no skill in knitting together a good story. Will definitely skip anything else by this author.
October 20, 2014
This book started off a little slow with an annoying style of narrative, kind of like it was trying to come over all "Phillip Marlowe" but then it improved - a lot. I like the Mike Kelly character, he seems fair. The story got more complex and interesting with a nice little twist at the end. Altogether a good start to a series and I'm looking forward to the next one.
May 29, 2008
Reads like he was wishing he wrote a movie script, not a book. Blah. I am wishing he wrote nothing at all.
December 3, 2018
Decent if not spectacular debut novel from the co-creator and executive producer of Cold Case Files (which makes a cameo appearance in the story). Michael Kelly, a Windy City private eye and retired cop, is recruited by an old partner to help solve an eight-year-old cold case. Soon the old detective turns up dead and Kelly must connect the dots between the old case and this new one. He brings together his own dream team of investigators including a TV reporter he is involved with; a forensic DNA expert; a detective with expertise in rape cases (the cold case is one of rape and battery); and a lawyer from the DA's office. This ragtag team of sleuths must face the Mob, a serial killer and the city itself. Like any good noir update, the locale is an important part of the story. In fact, Chicago makes a more vivid impression than does Kelly. Still, the book is a solid enough mystery to make me look forward to his next case.
November 10, 2016
Perhaps I could have enjoyed this book more had I not just finished a 470+page book focused on crimes of rape...but by simply selecting this book that was available to borrow from my Chicago Public Library I was forced to read another book with same theme. Two in a row is too much, so I will have to select next book more carefully. I did, however, enjoy this book for several reasons, and I intend to read more in this Michael Kelly series now I know there are 4 more books to try. I have not spent much time with "noir" (or hard-boiled?) murder mysteries so I don't have much to compare this to. Michael Kelly is a former cop with hard edges and soft insides. He is hired by a woman with a gun to investigate a crime of rape that she was the victim of -- a woman dissatisfied with the police handling of the crime. It is more than a complex web of rape and murder. A serial murderer imprisoned yet being implicated in current rape/murder crimes; a childhood friend who is DNA tech; a bent DA; a private investigator who reads Greek and quotes the Iliad,and on it goes. It was a creative plot, and the author managed to make me laugh several times due to my intimate knowledge of various Chicago neighborhoods as well as "da beef." River North does have a restaurant known for beef sandwiches.
"It is sliced thin off a roasting skewer and slid into a soft Italian roll. The beef is ordered dipped or not, with hot, sweet, or both. Dipped means the entire sandwich is dipped in its own juices before being wrapped up in white paper and shoved across the counter." His description of the customers, however, comes from central casting. "They sit like the peanut gallery they are, stacked on stools along the front window, all day, every day. They sip coffee and talk about sex they haven't had since Christ was a carpenter. Nice guys, funny guys. A lot of fake hair, a lot of chains, a lot of grabbing themselves. There are worse things to be doing when you are 107. Like being dead."
Obviously there is comic relief in this book that is mostly about rape and murder and some bad characters.
FYI: I can't recommend the dipped!
"It is sliced thin off a roasting skewer and slid into a soft Italian roll. The beef is ordered dipped or not, with hot, sweet, or both. Dipped means the entire sandwich is dipped in its own juices before being wrapped up in white paper and shoved across the counter." His description of the customers, however, comes from central casting. "They sit like the peanut gallery they are, stacked on stools along the front window, all day, every day. They sip coffee and talk about sex they haven't had since Christ was a carpenter. Nice guys, funny guys. A lot of fake hair, a lot of chains, a lot of grabbing themselves. There are worse things to be doing when you are 107. Like being dead."
Obviously there is comic relief in this book that is mostly about rape and murder and some bad characters.
FYI: I can't recommend the dipped!
February 17, 2012
Sam Spade meets modern-day Chicago. Very entertaining. While Ihhad figured out the idetity of the "bad guy," my interest was very much kept alive with various plot twists right up to the last page. Will definitely read another by this author. Think this is first in the series.
March 9, 2024
2.5 this was a huge disappointment to me. Although Chicago is a favorite setting for me, this one seemed to struggle with time and place. It took place in Chicago (my kind of town) in the early 2000s it often read like a 1940 gumshoe detective story. The references to Chicago were disjointed and I could not get a feel for the city. The story line was okay and ended well, however overall not a win.
February 26, 2017
It was a decent read & I kept thinking it came across as an attempt at noir fiction that highlighted Chicago (both of which I have a weakness for) but in the end he missed the mark.
November 20, 2021
Really enjoyed this book and its Chicago setting......plot was excellent !!!
October 23, 2022
I enjoyed this book and will look for more from this author. The main character, Michael Kelly reminded me a little bit of Robert Parker's Spenser.
June 26, 2017
Good book! Kind of a John Sanford type writer. My next read will be one more by the same author.
June 24, 2013
Although the famous quotation by Sean Connery’s character in The Untouchables where he told Elliott Ness that the Chicago Way was essentially paying back more than you received (ie. gunshots for bludgeoning, deaths for injuries), it really doesn’t have anything to do with this debut mystery, The Chicago Way than to provide a mental landmark for the story’s venue. Of course, it does feature real “landmarks” like the Golden Apple restaurant and a few local watering holes (including the Hidden Shamrock where Harvey is part-owner if I’m recalling correctly), but it isn’t quite as rich in local color as Sara Paretzky’s work. It does, however, have the requisite amount of city level corruption for a locale known both historically and in the present as a hotbed of government corruption.
Michael Harvey, at least before this debut novel was published, was best known for his work on Cold Case Files, the Arts and Entertainment Network’s documentary. In the course of his work, he was able to interview serial killers such as John Wayne Gacy and, naturally, when he draws from real life, there is a serial killer in the novel who resonates horrifically with Gacy (though said character is definitely a composite character and not merely Gacy himself). So, aptly enough, The Chicago Way begins with a “cold case file” and escalates. This isn’t the typical “cold case file.” It doesn’t appear to have merely been forgotten and ignored; it seems to have been obfuscated and deliberately hidden. And that’s just the beginning.
Mike Kelly is the genre’s typical hard-case P.I. with a background on the police force. In one of the tropes of the genre, his departure from the force was not a gentle retirement with mutual respect. There’s a background here that the reader has to discover. In another trope of the genre, there is an individual in authority who was either responsible for or a true believer in the circumstances surrounding Kelly’s rough departure. Naturally, said authority has the ability to get in the way.
Then, there is the drop-dead, gorgeous love interest of the story, an anchorwoman who seems to have sources inside the police department which are too good to be true. Kelly is trying to move on beyond a rough break-up (a previous relationship which took place “off-stage” in the protagonist’s past but encounters him in two short but interesting scenes in the novel) and the anchorwoman provides some promise in moving on. She even introduces him to a charity that helps rape victims move on with their lives and one senses that there is more to her than her “on-air” presence and the fact that she seems to have better sources than she should. Alas, for those who have read my complaints with regard to other books about “Quincyitis,” the tendency to interrupt this story for a “sermon” on social ills, the charity event provides a “quick hit” opportunity to inject some “Quincyitis” into the story. Fortunately, it is very relevant to the advancement of Kelly’s own understanding and mercifully, it is deliberately very short.
I can’t really share any more about the misdirection and “Agatha Christie” moment (the “reveal” which seems inadequately foreshadowed that was so brilliantly parodied in the film, Murder By Death) without providing spoilers (I hope I haven’t already). Suffice it to say that the book is realistic enough that I want to read more and that The Chicago Way pours a foundation for even better things in the two sequels which are now out. I’ll be reading them and hoping for less “Agatha Christie” and more Michael Harvey. The insights he injects into the story are welcome, but uneven—making me a fan, but not a fan-boy.
Michael Harvey, at least before this debut novel was published, was best known for his work on Cold Case Files, the Arts and Entertainment Network’s documentary. In the course of his work, he was able to interview serial killers such as John Wayne Gacy and, naturally, when he draws from real life, there is a serial killer in the novel who resonates horrifically with Gacy (though said character is definitely a composite character and not merely Gacy himself). So, aptly enough, The Chicago Way begins with a “cold case file” and escalates. This isn’t the typical “cold case file.” It doesn’t appear to have merely been forgotten and ignored; it seems to have been obfuscated and deliberately hidden. And that’s just the beginning.
Mike Kelly is the genre’s typical hard-case P.I. with a background on the police force. In one of the tropes of the genre, his departure from the force was not a gentle retirement with mutual respect. There’s a background here that the reader has to discover. In another trope of the genre, there is an individual in authority who was either responsible for or a true believer in the circumstances surrounding Kelly’s rough departure. Naturally, said authority has the ability to get in the way.
Then, there is the drop-dead, gorgeous love interest of the story, an anchorwoman who seems to have sources inside the police department which are too good to be true. Kelly is trying to move on beyond a rough break-up (a previous relationship which took place “off-stage” in the protagonist’s past but encounters him in two short but interesting scenes in the novel) and the anchorwoman provides some promise in moving on. She even introduces him to a charity that helps rape victims move on with their lives and one senses that there is more to her than her “on-air” presence and the fact that she seems to have better sources than she should. Alas, for those who have read my complaints with regard to other books about “Quincyitis,” the tendency to interrupt this story for a “sermon” on social ills, the charity event provides a “quick hit” opportunity to inject some “Quincyitis” into the story. Fortunately, it is very relevant to the advancement of Kelly’s own understanding and mercifully, it is deliberately very short.
I can’t really share any more about the misdirection and “Agatha Christie” moment (the “reveal” which seems inadequately foreshadowed that was so brilliantly parodied in the film, Murder By Death) without providing spoilers (I hope I haven’t already). Suffice it to say that the book is realistic enough that I want to read more and that The Chicago Way pours a foundation for even better things in the two sequels which are now out. I’ll be reading them and hoping for less “Agatha Christie” and more Michael Harvey. The insights he injects into the story are welcome, but uneven—making me a fan, but not a fan-boy.
September 10, 2018
The title of Michael Harvey's "The Chicago Way" is derived from a Sean Connery (as Officer Jim Malone) quote in the movie "The Untouchables," where he describes how to catch Al Capone: "You wanna get Capone? Here's how you get him. He pulls a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the Chicago way." Used as one of the prologues to this novel, it reminded me that there are several elements to successful hard-boiled fiction and its close kin, film noir.
1. An engaging, tough, lone detective. Here, the lead is a PI and former cop named Michael Kelly. He's street-smart and lonely enough, and there is some snappy dialogue although mannered and derivative, as though the author drank sixteen cups of coffee followed by watching a film noir marathon on TCM just before putting pen to paper. At one point, there is literally a verbatim crib (let's call it an homage) to the greatest and noir-est film of all time - "The Big Sleep" (1946) based on Raymond Chandler's 1939 hard-boiled novel of the same name - a film with a plot so indecipherable that the production team actually called in William Faulkner (he of "The Sound and the Fury") to help 'simplify' and clean it up. It's a tremendous film, one of my favorites, but not even Humphrey Bogart's fedora or Lauren Bacall as a rich and troubled sexpot can help it make any sense. The Big Sleep, however, has a number of famous, brilliant scenes, enough so that in 1997, the Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry as a "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" film.
2. An engaging, tough environment. Chicago. Check. Historically, everything about Chicago - other than the Bears' offense - is tough.
3. An engaging, tough plot. Like "The Big Sleep," there are good pieces in this novel, but it doesn't have enough Bogart or Bacall star power to help the reader press the "I believe" button. The plot machinations are so unlikely as to be painful. It begins strongly with the death of Michael Kelly's former partner, who is reinvestigating an old case involving a rape and botched police procedures. Along the way, characters related in some fashion to the original case begin to die. But this novel begins to lose its way as Kelly interviews an imprisoned John Wayne Gacy-like serial rapist/killer, much like the core of the recent Netflix show based on John Douglas and Mark Olshaker's non-fiction book "Mindhunter, Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit." There is a highly unlikely subplot involving a local (and beautiful) newscaster who is not quite what she appears to be and another involving Michael Kelly's childhood friend who is coincidentally an excellent DNA lab tech, and another involving an acolyte of the serial killer. Meanwhile, across the mean streets of Chicago, nearly everyone from bartender to journalist knows Michael Kelly. As I read this novel, I kept thinking how could all of these people know this guy ... would all of these people even know who the Mayor is ...? Or the President? Or the Pope?
There are at least four more novels in the Michael Kelly series. This one, which I had originally read back in 2007 when it was first released, is enough for me. I read it again in preparation for our beloved Moline Public Library Mystery Book Club's September meeting. There is a real appeal to hard-boiled fiction and its kissin' cousin (and shootin' cousin and cussin' cousin) film noir. I occasionally get in the mood for one or the other, especially on a rainy evening. Next time, I will rewatch "The Big Sleep" rather than re-read this book.
1. An engaging, tough, lone detective. Here, the lead is a PI and former cop named Michael Kelly. He's street-smart and lonely enough, and there is some snappy dialogue although mannered and derivative, as though the author drank sixteen cups of coffee followed by watching a film noir marathon on TCM just before putting pen to paper. At one point, there is literally a verbatim crib (let's call it an homage) to the greatest and noir-est film of all time - "The Big Sleep" (1946) based on Raymond Chandler's 1939 hard-boiled novel of the same name - a film with a plot so indecipherable that the production team actually called in William Faulkner (he of "The Sound and the Fury") to help 'simplify' and clean it up. It's a tremendous film, one of my favorites, but not even Humphrey Bogart's fedora or Lauren Bacall as a rich and troubled sexpot can help it make any sense. The Big Sleep, however, has a number of famous, brilliant scenes, enough so that in 1997, the Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry as a "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" film.
2. An engaging, tough environment. Chicago. Check. Historically, everything about Chicago - other than the Bears' offense - is tough.
3. An engaging, tough plot. Like "The Big Sleep," there are good pieces in this novel, but it doesn't have enough Bogart or Bacall star power to help the reader press the "I believe" button. The plot machinations are so unlikely as to be painful. It begins strongly with the death of Michael Kelly's former partner, who is reinvestigating an old case involving a rape and botched police procedures. Along the way, characters related in some fashion to the original case begin to die. But this novel begins to lose its way as Kelly interviews an imprisoned John Wayne Gacy-like serial rapist/killer, much like the core of the recent Netflix show based on John Douglas and Mark Olshaker's non-fiction book "Mindhunter, Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit." There is a highly unlikely subplot involving a local (and beautiful) newscaster who is not quite what she appears to be and another involving Michael Kelly's childhood friend who is coincidentally an excellent DNA lab tech, and another involving an acolyte of the serial killer. Meanwhile, across the mean streets of Chicago, nearly everyone from bartender to journalist knows Michael Kelly. As I read this novel, I kept thinking how could all of these people know this guy ... would all of these people even know who the Mayor is ...? Or the President? Or the Pope?
There are at least four more novels in the Michael Kelly series. This one, which I had originally read back in 2007 when it was first released, is enough for me. I read it again in preparation for our beloved Moline Public Library Mystery Book Club's September meeting. There is a real appeal to hard-boiled fiction and its kissin' cousin (and shootin' cousin and cussin' cousin) film noir. I occasionally get in the mood for one or the other, especially on a rainy evening. Next time, I will rewatch "The Big Sleep" rather than re-read this book.
January 3, 2011
I bought The Chicago Way by Michael Harvey several months ago because Amazon had it on sale for cheap. I’m glad I did.
Most fictional detectives have sad lives and hard upbringings. It seems this is a prerequisite for becoming a good fictional detective. Harvey’s private investigator protagonist, Michael Kelly, is has a life filled with next level sadness. As I said to my wife, the best way to describe how rough Kelly’s life has been is that he’s a White detective in Chicago whose life-long best friend is a Black woman. Yeah, it’s that bad.
Kelly is a 35-year old private investigator who was formerly a detective with the Chicago Police Department. The case at the heart of The Chicago Way is a nine-year old rape of a woman named Elaine Remington. Kelly is approached by his former partner for help solving the case. Fighting for Elaine costs Kelly pretty much everything that matters to him, yet he never backs down. Even though he must meed the Chicago Mob and fight enemies in the District Attorney’s office, Kelly uses every single resource at his disposal—legal or not—to find answers. Throughout this novel, the reader gets to see all the reasons why Michael Kelly is a great detective and a pretty bad everything else.
Following the lead of its main character, The Chicago Way is one of the sadder detective novels I’ve ever read. Without giving anything away, I can say that everything in Kelly’s life takes a pretty sharp downturn in this novel. If he possessed the ability to step outside of himself, I’m not sure he would even want to solve the case that is at the center of The Chicago Way. One could argue that Kelly’s persistence in closing a case is nothing more than masochism. Even in the end, in the novel’s final scene, Kelly undertakes his most masochistic quest.
The Chicago Way is gritty. It’s hard and edgy and dark. And it deals with rape and murder and pedophilia. This is not some cute Hollywood detective story. It’s grim, and not very hopeful. And it’s all Chicago.
As with any mystery, there are twists and turns. I didn’t figure them all out before they came, and that’s a good thing. In most cases, I only saw them a matter of moments before the detective did. In some cases, I was wrong. I like that. The Chicago Way was a fully satisfying read.
I know that Michael Harvey has written two Michael Kelly novels that follow The Chicago Way. I will begin reading the next one right away. This was a great debut detective story.
Most fictional detectives have sad lives and hard upbringings. It seems this is a prerequisite for becoming a good fictional detective. Harvey’s private investigator protagonist, Michael Kelly, is has a life filled with next level sadness. As I said to my wife, the best way to describe how rough Kelly’s life has been is that he’s a White detective in Chicago whose life-long best friend is a Black woman. Yeah, it’s that bad.
Kelly is a 35-year old private investigator who was formerly a detective with the Chicago Police Department. The case at the heart of The Chicago Way is a nine-year old rape of a woman named Elaine Remington. Kelly is approached by his former partner for help solving the case. Fighting for Elaine costs Kelly pretty much everything that matters to him, yet he never backs down. Even though he must meed the Chicago Mob and fight enemies in the District Attorney’s office, Kelly uses every single resource at his disposal—legal or not—to find answers. Throughout this novel, the reader gets to see all the reasons why Michael Kelly is a great detective and a pretty bad everything else.
Following the lead of its main character, The Chicago Way is one of the sadder detective novels I’ve ever read. Without giving anything away, I can say that everything in Kelly’s life takes a pretty sharp downturn in this novel. If he possessed the ability to step outside of himself, I’m not sure he would even want to solve the case that is at the center of The Chicago Way. One could argue that Kelly’s persistence in closing a case is nothing more than masochism. Even in the end, in the novel’s final scene, Kelly undertakes his most masochistic quest.
The Chicago Way is gritty. It’s hard and edgy and dark. And it deals with rape and murder and pedophilia. This is not some cute Hollywood detective story. It’s grim, and not very hopeful. And it’s all Chicago.
As with any mystery, there are twists and turns. I didn’t figure them all out before they came, and that’s a good thing. In most cases, I only saw them a matter of moments before the detective did. In some cases, I was wrong. I like that. The Chicago Way was a fully satisfying read.
I know that Michael Harvey has written two Michael Kelly novels that follow The Chicago Way. I will begin reading the next one right away. This was a great debut detective story.
September 3, 2010
I was pleasantly surprised by how true this was to the tradition of detective noir novels. In addition to taking place in Chicago there are also crooked civil servants, a brief appearance by the mob, and a new client tied to an old case. Michael Kelly, Harvey’s principle character, reads like the Sam Spade archetype come true. A former cop and current PI, he has the traditional sarcastic wit, limited personal attachments, and excellent sleuthing skills one would want of a detective. Despite the traditional form, this novel is far from cliché or uninteresting.
I found the plot to well-paced and very engaging. It was very easy for me to be drawn in and want to keep going. It followed the form just enough for me to love the gritty feel of the seedy side of Chicago but had enough originality to make me happy. The characters are believable and interesting, the plot completely plausible, and the facts of the case make sense of all the existing evidence and the surprising twist at the end. I cannot wait to read Harvey’s second novel.
I found the plot to well-paced and very engaging. It was very easy for me to be drawn in and want to keep going. It followed the form just enough for me to love the gritty feel of the seedy side of Chicago but had enough originality to make me happy. The characters are believable and interesting, the plot completely plausible, and the facts of the case make sense of all the existing evidence and the surprising twist at the end. I cannot wait to read Harvey’s second novel.
Read
January 4, 2009The Chicago Way,by Michael Harvey, B-plus. Narrated by Stephen Hoye, produced by Books on Tape, downloaded from audible.com.
Michael Kelly is a tough Irish ex-cop now private investigator. He is approached by his former partner from the force, John Gibbons, and is asked to help John solve a case he had been ordered to forget nine years previously. Then a day later, Gibbons turns up dead. There seems to be no file on the case in the cold case files, and everyone who knew anything about the case has disappeared or moved away. Michael enlists his best friend, Nicole Andrews, a forensic scientist; Vince Rodriguez, a cop who is becoming interested in Nicole; and Dianne Lindsay, a t.v. anchorwoman. As he begins to solve the mystery, Michael must face betrayal and tragedy as the mystery unravels. This is a debut novel, and apparently the author writes the scripts for the t.v. show, Cold Case Files.
Michael Kelly is a tough Irish ex-cop now private investigator. He is approached by his former partner from the force, John Gibbons, and is asked to help John solve a case he had been ordered to forget nine years previously. Then a day later, Gibbons turns up dead. There seems to be no file on the case in the cold case files, and everyone who knew anything about the case has disappeared or moved away. Michael enlists his best friend, Nicole Andrews, a forensic scientist; Vince Rodriguez, a cop who is becoming interested in Nicole; and Dianne Lindsay, a t.v. anchorwoman. As he begins to solve the mystery, Michael must face betrayal and tragedy as the mystery unravels. This is a debut novel, and apparently the author writes the scripts for the t.v. show, Cold Case Files.
December 5, 2008
A solid debut novel and a good introduction to an interesting character that doesn't seek to compulsively explain everything right away. It was one of those books that made me skip lunch in the teachers' lounge so I could read instead.
The author Michael Harvey is a co-creator of the TV show Cold Case Files and does a good job writing about crime. In this book, he focused on sexual assault in a way that conveys the violent nature of the crime with a stark matter-of-factness, setting out reality without being pedantic or puerile.
A lot of what I wrote for Harvey's second book The Fifth Floor holds true here. I liked the spare style and the Chicago color. Harvey manages to show how the city can be dirty and dangerous and attractive, all at once.
The author Michael Harvey is a co-creator of the TV show Cold Case Files and does a good job writing about crime. In this book, he focused on sexual assault in a way that conveys the violent nature of the crime with a stark matter-of-factness, setting out reality without being pedantic or puerile.
A lot of what I wrote for Harvey's second book The Fifth Floor holds true here. I liked the spare style and the Chicago color. Harvey manages to show how the city can be dirty and dangerous and attractive, all at once.
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