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Sam McCain #5
Everybody's Somebody's Fool
It’s Christmastime 1960 in Black River Falls, Iowa, but with an Indian summer keeping the temperature at 75 degrees, it sure doesn’t feel like winter. It’s so warm, in fact, that the Lucky Star Drive-In is still open, and Rick Conroy is still drag-racing the nights away with his friends on a deadly stretch of highway outside of town. When Rick slams fatally into a bridge at 90 miles an hour, holiday cheer veers toward foul play, for the police find his brake line to be as lacerated as his spine. The solution does not come easily for struggling lawyer and sometime-investigator Sam McCain, who is dragged into the case by the incorrigible Judge Esme Anne Whitney. Leads go nowhere, tensions mount. Add to that his personal problems—his father has lung cancer and a recent one-night stand is pointing to scandal—and it’s no wonder the holiday heat wave is making this McCain Christmas the darkest, and most dangerous, of the decade. [Sam McCain is] “the kind of hero any small town could take to its heart.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review Gorman wonderfully evokes the sorrows and pleasures of a certain Midwestern past.”—The Wall Street Journal “Gorman’s successful capturing of time and place ... sharply evokes the twilight of the ’50s.”—Los Angeles Times
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
14 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
Ed Gorman
468 books120 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Edward Joseph Gorman Jr. was a prolific American author and anthologist, widely recognized for his contributions to crime, mystery, western, and horror fiction. Born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Gorman spent much of his life in the Midwest, drawing on that experience to set many of his novels in small towns. After working over two decades in advertising, political speechwriting, and industrial filmmaking, he published his first novel, Rough Cut, in 1984 and soon transitioned to full-time writing. His fiction is often praised for its emotional depth, suspenseful storytelling, and nuanced characters. Gorman wrote under the pseudonyms Daniel Ransom and Robert David Chase, and contributed to publications such as Mystery Scene, Cemetery Dance, and Black Lizard. He co-founded Mystery Scene magazine and served as its editor and publisher until 2002, continuing his “Gormania” column thereafter. His works have been adapted for film and graphic novels, including The Poker Club and Cage of Night. In comics, he wrote for DC and Dark Horse. Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2002, he continued writing despite his illness until his passing in 2016. Critics lauded him as one of the most original crime writers of his generation and a “poet of dark suspense.”
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Edward Joseph Gorman Jr. was a prolific American author and anthologist, widely recognized for his contributions to crime, mystery, western, and horror fiction. Born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Gorman spent much of his life in the Midwest, drawing on that experience to set many of his novels in small towns. After working over two decades in advertising, political speechwriting, and industrial filmmaking, he published his first novel, Rough Cut, in 1984 and soon transitioned to full-time writing. His fiction is often praised for its emotional depth, suspenseful storytelling, and nuanced characters. Gorman wrote under the pseudonyms Daniel Ransom and Robert David Chase, and contributed to publications such as Mystery Scene, Cemetery Dance, and Black Lizard. He co-founded Mystery Scene magazine and served as its editor and publisher until 2002, continuing his “Gormania” column thereafter. His works have been adapted for film and graphic novels, including The Poker Club and Cage of Night. In comics, he wrote for DC and Dark Horse. Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2002, he continued writing despite his illness until his passing in 2016. Critics lauded him as one of the most original crime writers of his generation and a “poet of dark suspense.”
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
March 14, 2014
I'm of the opinion that when you find an Ed Gorman novel in a secondhand bookshop you buy it without hesitation. It doesn't matter what title it is, if you haven't read it yet then it's a momentous day. I had such a day recently. This particular Ed Gorman is number five in a series of softboiled mysteries featuring lawyer and private investigator Sam McCain and luckily for me this is not a series that you need to read in publication order.
Sam McCain lives in Black River Falls circa 1961, some of you may have heard of the town via Michael Lesey's Wisconsin Death Trip only Ed has moved his version of this seemingly harsh and tragic place from Wisconsin to Iowa. The chief of police is a moron (naturally) and the judge that McCain does a lot of his work for is respectable old money, the people of Black River Falls are either from the wrong side of the tracks or largely arrogant pricks (a few exceptions allowed) and Sam himself likes to think that he has a heart of gold, he is at least a sensitive new age guy.
I call this series softboiled as Gorman has developed McCain from a hardboiled archetype, complete with arrogance and wisecracks only the essence of your Marlowe and Spade has been softened by being surrounded with largely cheerful small city folk and suspects who are more than a little naive in the ways of crime and without the ability to deceive, inveigle and obfuscate. He has a moron for a secretary/comic relief, a friend who writes pulp pornography who happens to have the answer whenever McCain doesn't have a clue and despite the appearance of three dead bodies the details are largely glossed over. In some ways this could be seen as a cozy mystery I guess but then there are passages that have no place in the cozy format, musings on the nature of man and all that other existential stuff so prevalent in the very best of the genre.
“There's a special quality to the loneliness of dusk, a melancholy more brooding even than the night's.”
The writing is, as always, fast paced and intelligent, he weaves a good story with interesting characters, I assume the lifestyle of the period is accurate although that could just be a pop culture smokescreen, McCain has a believable and somewhat unique backstory (not that he was an orphan who trained with the Navy Seals and the Catholic church to become a stealth assassin or anything that unique) and his relationships with the townsfolk he has grown up with give the piece a real sense of reality.
The instigating even of finding a dead teenager in the garden of a respectable member of the town community whilst he throws a large party may be more than a little traditional but the events put in motion by it are less than predictable and Gorman writes a curveball in to proceedings that is disguised so well that you never see it coming.
Now where's that next Ed Gorman coming from?
Sam McCain lives in Black River Falls circa 1961, some of you may have heard of the town via Michael Lesey's Wisconsin Death Trip only Ed has moved his version of this seemingly harsh and tragic place from Wisconsin to Iowa. The chief of police is a moron (naturally) and the judge that McCain does a lot of his work for is respectable old money, the people of Black River Falls are either from the wrong side of the tracks or largely arrogant pricks (a few exceptions allowed) and Sam himself likes to think that he has a heart of gold, he is at least a sensitive new age guy.
I call this series softboiled as Gorman has developed McCain from a hardboiled archetype, complete with arrogance and wisecracks only the essence of your Marlowe and Spade has been softened by being surrounded with largely cheerful small city folk and suspects who are more than a little naive in the ways of crime and without the ability to deceive, inveigle and obfuscate. He has a moron for a secretary/comic relief, a friend who writes pulp pornography who happens to have the answer whenever McCain doesn't have a clue and despite the appearance of three dead bodies the details are largely glossed over. In some ways this could be seen as a cozy mystery I guess but then there are passages that have no place in the cozy format, musings on the nature of man and all that other existential stuff so prevalent in the very best of the genre.
“There's a special quality to the loneliness of dusk, a melancholy more brooding even than the night's.”
The writing is, as always, fast paced and intelligent, he weaves a good story with interesting characters, I assume the lifestyle of the period is accurate although that could just be a pop culture smokescreen, McCain has a believable and somewhat unique backstory (not that he was an orphan who trained with the Navy Seals and the Catholic church to become a stealth assassin or anything that unique) and his relationships with the townsfolk he has grown up with give the piece a real sense of reality.
The instigating even of finding a dead teenager in the garden of a respectable member of the town community whilst he throws a large party may be more than a little traditional but the events put in motion by it are less than predictable and Gorman writes a curveball in to proceedings that is disguised so well that you never see it coming.
Now where's that next Ed Gorman coming from?
March 17, 2019
Sam McCain investigates the murders of a pregnant young woman found dead in her married lover's gazebo; the young man suspected of the murder, after he dies when his dragster black Merc goes off a cliff after having its brake lines cut.... Then the murder of the young man's married lover.....
Young man was a belligerent womanizing punk who was living w/ his two elderly spinster aunts, as his parents had died when he was a child. His girlfriends ranged from sweet to tough to married to rich, who he all played against each other.
The side story is of Sam's new relationship w/ Linda, who is learning to trust again after her husband dumped her after her mastectomy.
Sam McCain is a very decent guy as is Linda a very nice woman, the Judge Sam works for is a piker, the sheriff is an idiot... and the rest of the assorted characters, I really didn't have much empathy for, which is why I gave this only 3 stars....
Young man was a belligerent womanizing punk who was living w/ his two elderly spinster aunts, as his parents had died when he was a child. His girlfriends ranged from sweet to tough to married to rich, who he all played against each other.
The side story is of Sam's new relationship w/ Linda, who is learning to trust again after her husband dumped her after her mastectomy.
Sam McCain is a very decent guy as is Linda a very nice woman, the Judge Sam works for is a piker, the sheriff is an idiot... and the rest of the assorted characters, I really didn't have much empathy for, which is why I gave this only 3 stars....
March 12, 2018
A small town in Iowa. 1960. Sam McCain is a slightly successful lawyer and investigator. In this entry, he gets involved in finding out who was responsible for several murders in the town. A young delinquent drag racer is killed, a young girl is killed, etc. Gorman is very good at a sort of deadpan writing style, with subtle humor. He was one of the last of the writers from the Golden Age of American detective fiction, and this book shows why he was so successful. It's not great literature, but it makes for very enjoyable reading. Unfortunately, he passed away last Fall, but there a lot of books that are being reissued, so we can look forward to more of his work.
November 15, 2024
Eelmise looga võrreldes oli algus nõrgem. Kuigi need uued tegelased olid (taas) hästi välja kukkunud, ei saanud lugu tükk aega hoogu sisse. See pole teps mitte esimene kord, kui Sam kohalike rikkurite peol mõrva otsa komistab. Tuleb tunnistada, et vaeste ja rõhutute eestvõitleja kohta veedab ta kuidagi palju aega rikaste ja ilusate korrumpeerunud seltskonnas. Äkki see on üksnes rafineeritud plaan, et süsteemi seestpoolt õõnestada?
Aga ennäe, teise mõrva kohal tuli kirjanikul uus hingamine peale, pinge tõusis ja lõpp oli jälle päris korralik. Väljas on pime, õhtud venivad aina pikemaks ja mul on kindel kavatsus kõik järelejäänud osad selle aasta sees ette võtta.
Aga ennäe, teise mõrva kohal tuli kirjanikul uus hingamine peale, pinge tõusis ja lõpp oli jälle päris korralik. Väljas on pime, õhtud venivad aina pikemaks ja mul on kindel kavatsus kõik järelejäänud osad selle aasta sees ette võtta.
June 16, 2020
A young girl is found dead in a gazebo of a rich prominent couple during a reunion party. She was dating a lowlife but was herself from a wealthy family. Soon the hoodlum is killed in a race car accident and his alibi is also found murdered.
Sam falls in love with a breast cancer patient and looks into all the deaths. It is the most unlikely person in town, the aunt who raised him. She kills her sister and herself the night before turning herself in.
Very unsatisfactory solution and not set up sufficiently by the plot.
Sam falls in love with a breast cancer patient and looks into all the deaths. It is the most unlikely person in town, the aunt who raised him. She kills her sister and herself the night before turning herself in.
Very unsatisfactory solution and not set up sufficiently by the plot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2019
This reminds me of a film noir. It is set in the past when gentlemen were gentleman and ladies were ladies. At a party, a body is found and McCain is pulled into the trouble. The man accused of the murder is McCain's client. He goes through the clues searching for the truth. This wasn't the first in the series and I'm not sure if I would read another. The mystery itself was intriguing and I was surprised at the end.
September 24, 2018
Our intrepid attorney/lawyer is back again investigating a murder that puts the upper scrum against the lower have more because the need for employees, as always, are the ones who always get laid off and then called back at lower wages. Big business against the little guy. Unfortunately, a murder is about to change the way the two co exists. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS
December 14, 2018
Nothing special, but it was an entertaining read.
October 11, 2021
Fun read, enjoy the characters and the time period. Have read 5 of his books enjoy the series.
October 22, 2025
Enjoyable small town mystery set in 1961. My 2nd Sam McCain mystery and they both worked well. This is easy to read and kind of cozy. 3.5 stars
February 1, 2015
This is a very special 'private eye' series built around a lawyer and special court investigator, Sam McCain, in a small town in the midwest (Iowa) in the fifties and sixties. I absolutely love this series for several reasons:
1. the wonderful immersion into a different time, spanning a decade from the late fifties to the late sixties. The descriptions are detailed, evocative, engaging and realistic. They are exceptionally well done.
2. The protagonist is a likeable average joe, who is easy to identify with and tells the stories in the first person. His back story is as engaging and interesting as the murder mysteries he gets involved in, and has become the main reason why I have become hooked on this series.
3. There are plenty of connections to the pop culture of the fifties and sixties, which is a bonus for any lover of music, books, cinema and culture of the period.
4. The mysteries are well crafted and keep you guessing until the end.
5. Every single one of the entries in these series is excellent without exception and well worth the read.
Give this a try, you won't regret it. I read all 9 books in 2 months and can't wait for the 10th entry, 'Riders' on the Storm', that will appear in October 2014! I hope Mr. Gorman gets the opportunity to write several more before he retires.
1. the wonderful immersion into a different time, spanning a decade from the late fifties to the late sixties. The descriptions are detailed, evocative, engaging and realistic. They are exceptionally well done.
2. The protagonist is a likeable average joe, who is easy to identify with and tells the stories in the first person. His back story is as engaging and interesting as the murder mysteries he gets involved in, and has become the main reason why I have become hooked on this series.
3. There are plenty of connections to the pop culture of the fifties and sixties, which is a bonus for any lover of music, books, cinema and culture of the period.
4. The mysteries are well crafted and keep you guessing until the end.
5. Every single one of the entries in these series is excellent without exception and well worth the read.
Give this a try, you won't regret it. I read all 9 books in 2 months and can't wait for the 10th entry, 'Riders' on the Storm', that will appear in October 2014! I hope Mr. Gorman gets the opportunity to write several more before he retires.
October 24, 2011
Anther very good story in the Sam McCain saga. In this story a young girl is found dead in a gazebo during a party. The main suspect is an angsty young lothario named David Egan who was having an on again, off again relationship with her. When Egan dies in a car crash, the bumbling sherrif Cliffie Sykes decides it's a murder followed by a suicide. As usual, he is wrong, but this time only partially so. When another of Egan's woman is found dead, after Egan himself is dead, the mystery deepens. The ending is a major surpise to me, though there are some hints along the way.
What makes this book good is the other people in the book. Sam's relationship with Linda, a breast cancer survivor, is touching and topical.
What makes this book good is the other people in the book. Sam's relationship with Linda, a breast cancer survivor, is touching and topical.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 5, 2010
Lawyer and part-time private eye Sam McCain is attending a class reunion party at a private residence when the body of a young woman is found murdered in a gazebo. The police chief, Clifford Sykes, redneck and McCain's bitter enemy arrests a young man, David Egan, for the crime.
Egan, the local bad boy who fancies himself a romeo, just happens to be a client of McCain's. He swears he's innocent. When he dies in a fiery car crash while drag racing, Sykes is ready to wrap it up as a murder-suicide.
Then a cut brake line shows it to be another murder. McCain is suddenly working to clear the dead young man's name.
Egan, the local bad boy who fancies himself a romeo, just happens to be a client of McCain's. He swears he's innocent. When he dies in a fiery car crash while drag racing, Sykes is ready to wrap it up as a murder-suicide.
Then a cut brake line shows it to be another murder. McCain is suddenly working to clear the dead young man's name.
November 4, 2014
This is a great nostalgic piece from a great crime writer. Gorman pulls out all the stops in creating this look back at the 'Fifties as a small town lawyer/PI tries to make sense of a mystery with more twists than a box full of tangled Christmas lights. The only problem I had was with the solution to the mystery. It didn't feel right to me. What happens after the solution is great, but the killer's identity? I didn't buy it. Aside from that, it's a fun, small town noir tale.
March 15, 2008
Another ethical/moral imbedded in the mystery - breast cancer - how women deal with it and how men deal with it. Ed always brings in a serious social issue that's woven intot the ostensibly "light" mysteries.
August 16, 2009
This Sam McCain mystery was wonderful. The 1960's setting, politics, and characters are masterfully written by Gorman. He is one of the few that can make me feel for the bad guy. And he never ceases to surprise me as he did again with how this book ended. I never saw it coming.
April 13, 2014
I found this book (number four in the series) to be much less light hearted. Sam's new girl friend has had breast cancer and the subject matter came across as darker. It was still very good but didn't leave me feeling particularly cheery.
June 8, 2015
Enjoyable - for the setting, for the period, for the politics. The mystery per se is less the attraction than the excuse to read the book. I enjoy Gorman's reading back to the bygone days with the wise, if a bit hapless sleuth Sam McCain. (Mr. C :)
July 23, 2008
Gorman has a nice easy reading style that pulls you along through the story. I liked the character a lot as well.
October 19, 2012
Good review of pop culture in the 1950's and 1960's. The main character (lawyer/investigator) is lovable for his kindness and his willingness to think the best of each person.
October 30, 2013
Good entry into Sam McCain series. In this one Sam must investigate three interconnected murders with no help from Cliffie. Recommended.
November 18, 2013
Interesting plot with a surprise ending...worthy entry in the series...I just wish we'd be done with Jamie at last...she just gets more annoying each book
May 18, 2016
Enjoyed this, Sam is a clever interesting lead character, and the twists and turns are fun. Good period stuff, too.
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November 30, 2016This is the first novel I've read by Ed Gorman. Of course, I've read several anthologies in which he participated as an editor, but I'm hooked. The simplicity of his language, his turn of phrase have made me a fan.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews