What do you think?
Rate this book
Amos Walker #9
Silent Thunder
The tabloids were full of it. Constance Thayer, after a night of clubbing, drinks, and drugs, had taken an automatic pistol from the collection of her industrialist husband Doyle Thayer Jr. and emptied it into his back, as he lay naked and unconscious in their Iroquois Heights home. The news of Constance Thayer's X-rated past breathed new life into the scandal for another month. Walker's job was to gather enough dirt on the late Mr. Thayer to make his widow look clean by comparison. What he found was a monstrous magnate, a dubious corpse, and a gang of country-style gunrunners.
202 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1989
26 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
Loren D. Estleman
314 books279 followersLoren D. Estleman is an American writer of detective and Western fiction. He writes with a manual typewriter.
Estleman is most famous for his novels about P.I. Amos Walker. Other series characters include Old West marshal Page Murdock and hitman Peter Macklin. He has also written a series of novels about the history of crime in Detroit (also the setting of his Walker books.) His non-series works include Bloody Season, a fictional recreation of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and several novels and stories featuring Sherlock Holmes.
Series:
* Amos Walker Mystery
* Valentino Mystery
* Detroit Crime Mystery
* Peter Macklin Mystery
* Page Murdock Mystery
Estleman is most famous for his novels about P.I. Amos Walker. Other series characters include Old West marshal Page Murdock and hitman Peter Macklin. He has also written a series of novels about the history of crime in Detroit (also the setting of his Walker books.) His non-series works include Bloody Season, a fictional recreation of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and several novels and stories featuring Sherlock Holmes.
Series:
* Amos Walker Mystery
* Valentino Mystery
* Detroit Crime Mystery
* Peter Macklin Mystery
* Page Murdock Mystery
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 21, 2023
The 9th book in the Amos Walker series, Silent Thunder once again satisfies my need for fast paced, in your face action accompanied by a wise-cracking PI who always seems to have a pithy rejoinder for any situation. While the case itself is a little tenuous in parts, there is no doubting the capabilities of the Detroit-based detective to stick his nose in where it’s liable to get shot off…and that makes it a winner in my book.
Walker is hired to help Constance Thayer in her upcoming court case. She shot her husband, Doyle Thayer Jnr 6 times in the back while he slept. He had been abusive for years and she is claiming self-defense. Walker’s job is to find evidence that will support the claim that he was a dangerous and violent man.
One of the avenues that appears to be a sensible one to follow, at least sensible to Walker, is a little digging into Thayer’s hobby. The hobby happens to be an extensive gun collection, although it’s far more than that with all kinds of arms, weapons and ordnance involved, some of it hi-tech and extremely lethal. By talking to his suppliers he hopes to build a picture of a dangerous man who was in the process of building an arsenal.
What he doesn’t expect is the hornets nest he’s stirred up by his inquiries. He also doesn’t expect his car to be riddled with bullets, his skull to be dented or a growing body count to be directly connected to the people he talks to.
Although it appears his initial investigation, the one he’s actually hired to perform, is sidetracked by the far more exciting prospect of bringing down a gang of gun-runners, somehow he manages to solve it - almost in an “oh, by the way” moment.
As so often happens, there is a plethora of dodgy cops looking the other way, halfwit bad guys who always seem to let their guards down at the crucial moment and a megalomaniac nutjob who thinks he’s going to rule the world. But, and this is quite unusual, Walker also manages to come across an honest cop or two, not to mention the introduction of Horace Livinggood, a federal agent who proves to be a reliable ally.
This is a pacy hardboiled detective novel that follows the traditional PI-style formula. Walker’s quick and sardonic wit, his sharp tongue and his absolute refusal to take any moment too seriously makes this another enjoyable outing in a consistently entertaining series.
Walker is hired to help Constance Thayer in her upcoming court case. She shot her husband, Doyle Thayer Jnr 6 times in the back while he slept. He had been abusive for years and she is claiming self-defense. Walker’s job is to find evidence that will support the claim that he was a dangerous and violent man.
One of the avenues that appears to be a sensible one to follow, at least sensible to Walker, is a little digging into Thayer’s hobby. The hobby happens to be an extensive gun collection, although it’s far more than that with all kinds of arms, weapons and ordnance involved, some of it hi-tech and extremely lethal. By talking to his suppliers he hopes to build a picture of a dangerous man who was in the process of building an arsenal.
What he doesn’t expect is the hornets nest he’s stirred up by his inquiries. He also doesn’t expect his car to be riddled with bullets, his skull to be dented or a growing body count to be directly connected to the people he talks to.
Although it appears his initial investigation, the one he’s actually hired to perform, is sidetracked by the far more exciting prospect of bringing down a gang of gun-runners, somehow he manages to solve it - almost in an “oh, by the way” moment.
As so often happens, there is a plethora of dodgy cops looking the other way, halfwit bad guys who always seem to let their guards down at the crucial moment and a megalomaniac nutjob who thinks he’s going to rule the world. But, and this is quite unusual, Walker also manages to come across an honest cop or two, not to mention the introduction of Horace Livinggood, a federal agent who proves to be a reliable ally.
This is a pacy hardboiled detective novel that follows the traditional PI-style formula. Walker’s quick and sardonic wit, his sharp tongue and his absolute refusal to take any moment too seriously makes this another enjoyable outing in a consistently entertaining series.
March 22, 2021
Amos Walker is hired/fired/hired to help defend Constance Thayer, who has admitted to shooting her husband to death in self-defense as he was beating her regularly. Besides the prospect of jail, she is scared that her son will be forced to live with his uber-wealthy grandfather and become like his psychotic father. Meanwhile, the Feds find enough military hardware in the husband's possession to start a full scale war. Amos spends much of the book following the guns and that the husband was planning, working with low life gun dealers and ex-military guys, trying to stay alive with the cops trying to figure Amos's agenda. Though few and far between, Amos does manage to find a few honest cops and solves the mysteries, including the killing.
April 8, 2014
I'm not sure why, but I missed this one when it was first published; probably because I was far too busy with sex, drugs & rock'n'roll (not to mention simultaneously working two or three "legit" jobs) during the early 1990s and consequently did not have much time for reading. I wouldn't class this with Mr. Estleman's best work, but it is still well worth reading for anyone who enjoys detective novels. Loren D. Estleman has been one of the best writers in this genre for decades at this point, and now that Robert B. Parker is dead, Mr. Estleman is not only the last remaining writer of old-school, traditional detective fiction of whom I am aware, but also one of the best American writers working in any genre. His other books, particularly his westerns, are quite good as well. In addition to that, he is a good guy and more-or-less a homeboy if one stretches the definition of that term to encompass both Detroit and Pinckney (or Whitmore Lake, or wherever he is living these days)...
February 25, 2017
SILENT THUNDER by Loren D. Estleman…..
Whenever I need a fix of hardboiled PI fiction I go to Amos Walker. This is the 9th installment of the Detroit private cop’s case files, but sadly, not one of my favorites.
However, Mr. Estleman doesn’t disappoint if you’re looking for a seemingly endless supply of “noirish” wisecracks and outstanding metaphors that would make Raymond Chandler jealous.
Walker is hired by the CEO of an upscale, hi-tech private investigation empire to find mitigating evidence that a former porn star, who killed her physically abusive husband, may have been justified in permanently ending the cycle of beatings. The CEO’s reasons for laying off the case on Walker are suspect from the beginning.
The easiest angle for Amos to pursue is the husband’s mania for military weapons, which seems to include undocumented and unlicensed destructive devices and fully automatic long guns. Delving into this world of black market weaponry puts Walker in the thick of Michigan’s most unsavory characters.
This where it goes astray for me and my suspension of disbelief was stretched a bit too far. The corrupt cops are over the top. The father of the victim is all powerful and appears to be unstoppable in his quest to convict his daughter-in-law and take custody of his grandson. The lower level arms dealers are just too unsophisticated to handle the class of weapons they’re in which supposed to be trafficking, and the maniacal ex-Marine officer/mercenary with serious delusions of grandeur takes this from the typical Amos Walker adventure to something that looks more like Hollywood lunatics grabbed a good Estleman novel and twisted the story to appeal to potential viewers with the lowest possible IQs.
The good stuff: It’s written in a minimalist style and reads quickly and sounds good. Although Walker’s friend Inspector John Alderdyce only gets a cameo role, a new ATF agent, Horace Livinggood, makes a good addition to the cast of recurring characters. And Estleman’s descriptions of the sleazier side of Metro Detroit never disappoint.
No one always hits a home run with his books. I’ll certainly come back for more Amos Walker in the future. 3.5 stars
Whenever I need a fix of hardboiled PI fiction I go to Amos Walker. This is the 9th installment of the Detroit private cop’s case files, but sadly, not one of my favorites.
However, Mr. Estleman doesn’t disappoint if you’re looking for a seemingly endless supply of “noirish” wisecracks and outstanding metaphors that would make Raymond Chandler jealous.
Walker is hired by the CEO of an upscale, hi-tech private investigation empire to find mitigating evidence that a former porn star, who killed her physically abusive husband, may have been justified in permanently ending the cycle of beatings. The CEO’s reasons for laying off the case on Walker are suspect from the beginning.
The easiest angle for Amos to pursue is the husband’s mania for military weapons, which seems to include undocumented and unlicensed destructive devices and fully automatic long guns. Delving into this world of black market weaponry puts Walker in the thick of Michigan’s most unsavory characters.
This where it goes astray for me and my suspension of disbelief was stretched a bit too far. The corrupt cops are over the top. The father of the victim is all powerful and appears to be unstoppable in his quest to convict his daughter-in-law and take custody of his grandson. The lower level arms dealers are just too unsophisticated to handle the class of weapons they’re in which supposed to be trafficking, and the maniacal ex-Marine officer/mercenary with serious delusions of grandeur takes this from the typical Amos Walker adventure to something that looks more like Hollywood lunatics grabbed a good Estleman novel and twisted the story to appeal to potential viewers with the lowest possible IQs.
The good stuff: It’s written in a minimalist style and reads quickly and sounds good. Although Walker’s friend Inspector John Alderdyce only gets a cameo role, a new ATF agent, Horace Livinggood, makes a good addition to the cast of recurring characters. And Estleman’s descriptions of the sleazier side of Metro Detroit never disappoint.
No one always hits a home run with his books. I’ll certainly come back for more Amos Walker in the future. 3.5 stars
May 17, 2025
This is not the perfect private eye novel, but it's darn close. Amos Walker is at his hard-boiled best, with lots of cynicism and an almost unlimited supply of one-liners. The motivation for the crime is a little shaky, but if you like Philip Marlowe or Lew Archer, you'll love Amos Walker. The secondary characters like Ma Chaney and Romero seem more amusing and developed than the marginal characters in the previous books of this series.
April 10, 2022
Another fun read about the Michigan Detective, Amos Walker
L.D.E. never disappoints on story or who done it's. He entertaines with words that weave a story and paint pictures of places I know since I'm from Detroit. It may take some time, but I'm looking forward to reading all of Amos Walker's stories.
L.D.E. never disappoints on story or who done it's. He entertaines with words that weave a story and paint pictures of places I know since I'm from Detroit. It may take some time, but I'm looking forward to reading all of Amos Walker's stories.
June 10, 2017
Humour, action, hard boiled detective fare. I enjoyed it! A lot!
June 9, 2015
An Amos Walker Mystery. After reading a rare Estleman clunker (Stress (Detroit Crime Series #5) - skip it), this is a welcome return to the quality of writing one expects from Mr. Estleman, almost a classic.
Tight plot, no wasted words or actions in 200 pages of paperback that would be 400 pages in any other private eye mystery writer's hands, or a 1,000 page 20-hour miniseries for James Michener if he were a private eye mystery writer.
Includes an excellent short story "The Anniversary Waltz" at the end.
Tight plot, no wasted words or actions in 200 pages of paperback that would be 400 pages in any other private eye mystery writer's hands, or a 1,000 page 20-hour miniseries for James Michener if he were a private eye mystery writer.
Includes an excellent short story "The Anniversary Waltz" at the end.
December 10, 2014
I've been enjoying Estleman's hard-boiled mysteries as I work my way through the lengthy Amos Walker series. This one was pretty good, although I thought that the plot was a little over the top, but Amos entertains as usual with his wise-guy persona and quick wit.
April 12, 2013
Another outstanding Amos Walker mystery. Estleman delivers.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews