Thin Walls

Smokey Dalton #3

by Kris Nelscott

Smokey Dalton and Jimmy, the young boy he protects, have settled into a new life on Chicago’s South Side. But when Smokey gets hired to investigate the death of a black man in a local park, he realizes that the murder might not be an isolated case. The Chicago Police Department doesn’t really investigate black deaths, particularly near the South Side. Smokey thinks the case easy, until he digs deeper into the history of the area, a history that includes gangs, racism, and secrets so dark they threaten his very existence.

Chosen as one of the top 10 mystery novels of the year by the Chicago Tribune, Thin Walls shows why Publisher's Weekly gave it a starred review, and Booklist calls it "another fine entry in an outstanding series."

©2012 Kristine K. Rusch (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, African American, Historical Mystery, Historical Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction

Audiobook

First published September 16, 2002

About the author

Kristine Kathryn Rusch is an award-winning mystery, romance, science fiction, and fantasy writer. She has written many novels under various names, including Kristine Grayson for romance, and Kris Nelscott for mystery. Her novels have made the bestseller lists--even in London--and have been published in 14 countries and 13 different languages.

Reviews

[Andrea]

Smokey's decision to stay in Chicago means he can't just walk away from a problem, whether it's gangs, Civil Rights movements, or white flight.

Another powerful outing. Nelscott is a white woman (it's a pen name of Kristine Kathryn Rusch) but these books are meticulously researched and very careful in their portrayal of a MOC in a time of increasing change.

[carol. · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Thin Walls was an enjoyable read, it did not hold up to the amazing, complex storytelling of the prior two books in the Smokey Dalton series.

Smokey and his sort-of-son, Jimmy are settling into Chicago after the events of the Democratic National Convention. Smokey lost his job at the Hilton, so he's finding work doing odd jobs. A woman comes to him looking for help resolving her husband's murder. Not only have the police not made any progress, Smokey discovers they aren't even working the case at all. There are troubles on the home front as well, with Jimmy approached by the local gang members and Laura facing stiff, connected opposition in her attempt to wrest control of her father's company from its board.

Characterization continues to shine. Off the top of my head, almost no one in Smokey's sphere feels cardboard cutout; they all have a variety of positive and negative traits, but generally good motivations. It translates into keeping me interested in the story without thinking the outcome was entirely predictable. Mostly people are just people, responding to events from their perspective. However, I appreciate Nelscott's affirmation that people can change if they try--and if they are given the benefit of the doubt. In the era of the anti-hero, this is highly welcome.

The ethics of the story are solidly in place. I'd highly recommend this to most anyone, just so they can get a feel for being black in the late sixties, and how even 'progressive' cities were cesspools of hate. It isn't even a thread through the book so much as a rope tying everything together. Crossing race lines is the worst crime of all, and Smokey is a man who does it professionally and personally. While some of the discussions regarding cross-culturalism are quite overt, it's a lesson many of us need to learn, and to remember. There's something to be said for 'mainstream' books making this part of a thematic inclusion. I tend to find it instructive--there are people around that lived through this period, and while wounds may be healed, it's likely they are still scarred. The events in this story foreshadow the 'Black Lives Matter' movement.

The weakness here is in the narrative, which stumbles from one distracting event to another--much like real life. Search for the crime scene photographer takes us to a Black Panther rally, to the home of a couple of neighbor boys who were in the park seeking a lost watch, and to the home of a pleasant Jewish woman and her photographer son. There's a major event with them which takes more than a couple of scenes and becomes a minor lesson for Smokey's own life. When Smokey also takes on finding the watch, it gets to be a bit much. While it all almost connects, it just feels more stuttering beats than smooth jazz. Smokey himself becomes frazzled with all his loose ends, so I suppose Nelscott achieves a congruence in plotting and characterization. Still, it leaves the reader also feeling sort of frazzled and incomplete.

Don't get me wrong; this is still an enjoyable book and well worth the time. It just didn't speak to me as loudly as the first two did. Recommended for mystery fans and anyone currently living in America.

Three and a half stars

[Jodi Pomerleau · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really enjoying this series. Smokey is still on the hunt for whoever is killing black people and leaving them in public places. He is also helping Laura to take over her father's company and do good with her wealth. The situations in the story really bring home what 1960's Chicago was like for black people. I felt indignant over the situation in the grocery store that Smokey handled with more grace and intellect than I would have. What a fine edge he must travel on to be able to keep his identity a secret. He must always be aware of avoiding conflict that could expose his real identity. He has to travel between both the white world and the black world without bringing any attention to himself. I find the historical aspects of the novels interesting and in some cases, eye opening. I hope there are a lot more Smokey Dalton novels.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning entry in the Smokey Dalton series; Chicago in 1968 immediately after the riots at the Democratic National Convention is not a safe place for many disturbing reasons. Smokey is working under the radar to keep those around him safe, the danger is unimaginable, the suspense and tension is palpable.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le cuesta muchísimo arrancar, pero luego tiene sus momentos. Lejos de los anteriores, eso sí.

[MMB · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I went into this book totally unprepared and knew nothing about it, nor the fact that it was the third in a series. Wow! Not what I expected at all. Powerful, intriguing, engaging, and profound. Not a "fun" or light story, but a very impactful and important one to tell. The disgusting overt racism that previous generations lived through is starkly portrayed in this novel. It is unfortunate that it has not gone away but morphed into a subtle and systemic racism the current black generation experiences now in USA and abroad. I missed more of a backstory to the characters, but that is my fault for starting on Book #3 instead of Book #1. I will definitely seek out the first book and read the series in order.

[GREGORY · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third of this series and they just keep getting better and better!

I am 72 and have been a prolific reader since 14 after reading "The Egyptian" and others by Mika Walteri. Having read classics of many styles and themes, they are not always as down right enjoyable as these Nelscott page turners. Having lived in the years these stories take place. Having been a policemen in the early sixties, I know how well she has captured the essence of those years. And the sad state of what went on in too many American communities. Give yourself a treat starting with a "Dangerous Road while I move on to #4 in this terrific series I can't put down.

[Dan Downing · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is tough stuff. Noir without the cuss words or guns or tough guys. Not that Smokey Dalson isn't tough. He is. More so because he has limits, scruples and intelligence.
Chicago. Late 60s. Murder. Gangs. Business shenanigans. And race hatred. The kind of race hatred which we knew then and somehow are surprised about when today's thugs in Blue kill, or the nice looking lady turns up at the school board meeting dripping enmity.
How Smokey picks his way through the danger and outthinks the nasties makes for good storytelling. In many ways, this is serious fiction saved from the usual egotistical self-involved foolishness by the simple device of making the central issue something serious as opposed to a darling character finding oneself.
Recommended.

[D. Jane Akins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Third book of a great series

T am reading this series in order and I recommend that you do that. You need the development of the previous books to understand the nuances of the current book. Great character development and research as to the time period. They could be categorized as historical novels almost as much as a detective series. I'm on to the next one.

[Alette S. Kohl-Forman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

This book is an excellent slice of AmericA. It sadly portrays the blacks in a role , that I hope now is improving. Making all of us EQUAL.! I think the author does some justice and makes people really feel how it was and how it could be ! How it should be.

[Sharon Fuhrman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smokey Dalton...again

Another winner for Kris Nelscott! Quality writing in a superb story. It's not hard to see why these books have been so well recognized. The third book in this series holds up as a stand alone but supports the serias as well.

Since I'm not probed to giving book reports, I will just say "READ IT!!"

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent writing.

The author's characters came so alive I felt I was experiencing the raw emotions & shame of our country during that time. As a white southern woman I still struggle with the prejudices that raise their ugly head when I see a mixed race couple. Shame on me.

[Wilma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Smokey Dalton novel and it was just as good as the first two. Someone is killing black people who wander into a certain white neighborhood and Smokey is determined to find out who.

I highly recommend this book as well as the others. Now to find the next one...

[Bruce Raterink · Rating 5 out of 5]

I continue to be impressed with the Smokey Dalton series. Part suspense, part police procedural, part thriller, all in the racially tense setting of Chicago of the late 1960's. This is character driven suspense at its best. Highly recommended

[Marsha Valance · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my 17 best mysteries read in 2002.

[Bianka Brankovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love the Smokey Dalton mysteries, well-researched, realistic and gripping tales with a keen eye for social justice issues. I am definitely going to read more of those.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great series that I am way behind on. Excellent narration. 4.5/B+

[Kathleen Hagen]

Thin Walls, by Kris Nelscott, a-minus, Narrated by Mirron Willis, Produced by audible Inc. downloaded from audible.com.

In this, the third in the Dalton series, Smokey and Jimmy, the boy he’s taken in, are living with a friend of his and posing as cousins of this friend. Smokey is a private eye without a license, and he works for the Black community looking into things that the Chicago police don’t pay attention to, due to racism and the fact that White cops won’t even go into parts of south Chicago. He looks into the death of a Black man who was killed. He was trying to buy a house in what had previously been a working class White neighborhood, and the neighbors want to keep it that way. Then Smokey finds other deaths, all with a very similar MO, that seem to indicate more is going on than meets the eye. Also, Jimmy has started school and is having difficulties because a gang is trying to recruit him to carry out errands the older boys can’t do without getting caught. So, in addition to solving the murders, Smokey works on pulling the neighbors together to give their children protection going to and from school. Quite good.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's the winter of 1968 in Chicago. Smokey Dalton is visited by a woman who wants him to find out who killed her husband, a prosperous and prominent dentist, and left his body in a park. Because he was black, the police are writing it off as a gang killing and not spending any effort on the crime.

Two boys found the body, and a young freelance photographer was on the scene. He took photos that showed that the police, when they did come, contaminated the crime scene and flicked ashes on the body.

It's mostly an ugly story about block busting and violent neighborhood resistance to integration, with a subplot about the rise of the Blackstone Rangers (who are harassing Dalton's son Jimmy and his friends at school) and the rivalry between them and the Black Panthers.

The portrayal of the race and class issues of the late 60's is very well done. For anyone who actually lived through some of those experiences (in Chicago and elsewhere in the country), it's a grim reminder of the bad old days.

[Clyde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smokey Dalton, the Kris Nelscott's unlicensed Black PI, is a real American hero. In Thin Walls, he gets very busy. He has to find a serial killer targeting blacks, he has to help his lady love take charge of her life, and he has to face down a gang that is trying to recruit Jimmy. It all starts when a widow asks him to find her husband's killer. The police have written the case off as a mugging gone bad, but Smokey notices similarities to some earlier unsolved murders. He enlists the somewhat reluctant help of some Chicago police officers and a young photojournalist in his investigation. Things soon get tense and very dangerous. Good book.
Thin Walls is the third Smokey Dalton novel. They just keep getting better. You don't have to read the Smokey Dalton novels in order, but the reading experience will be a little better if you do.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the third book in the Smokey Dalton series, about an African American detective back in the 1960s in Chicago.
The mystery deals with the death of a middle class black man who is discovered in a place where there is no logical reason for him to be. His wife is not satisfied with the police investigation and asks Smokey to look into the death.
At the same time as he is looking into this and discovering other similar deaths, he is trying to act as a parent and keep Jimmy free from the street gangs that are omnipresent.
The casual and overt racism is horrifying.
Compelling read.

[Marty Greenwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the Smokey Dalton private detective character. This is the last of the books my brother bought for me at Friend of the Public Library of Cincinnati...about $2.00 each. Go there. Liked the book a lot, especially about the reminder of how racist the country was in the late 60s. The story, told in Chicago, is family and community oriented. Smokey, black, has an interesting relationship with Laura, a rich white woman which is a side story to the solving of the serial murders of blacks. Good book. Not as good as the Dave Robicheaux series by James Lee Burke, but good

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read!!! It was hard for me to put down. This is a great book for anyone who likes a good mystery book. Some parts of the book are hard to read,because it accurately captures the racist environment of the past. But this book is one of the best. I'm going to be reading all the books in the series in the near future.

[Adam Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third novel in the Smokey Dalton series, this time Dalton is up against a serial killer the police won't even bother tracking - because he's murdering black people in 1968 Chicago. Another great entry in the series, can't wait to read the fourth one.

[Mary Thomas]

Smokey Dalton novel

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

concerns the unsolved murder of a black dentist

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

RATING: 3.25

[Katie Sunsdahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enjoying this series of books.