Gumshoe

by Michael Compton

Nothing focuses the mind like being strapped to the electric chair. When an old flame steps out of the past to hire private eye Ellis York to find her missing millionaire boyfriend, he thinks it’s easy money. Mysterious threats, deadly dames, and hired guns don’t faze him. But when his quarry turns up dead, it’s York in the hot seat. It’s a situation that could only happen in a Hollywood movie, but as his last seconds tick away, York realizes he can’t wisecrack his way out of this one. Then he gets a 10,000 volt brainstorm...

Gumshoe is a fast-paced psychological noir that plays out against a nightmare landscape of 1940s Hollywood.

Genres: Mystery

195 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 31, 2015

About the author

Michael Compton is the author of the mystery novel Gumshoe, co-author of the sci-fi series Inferno 2033, and screenwriter of the 2011 thriller Carjacked, starring Stephen Dorff and Maria Bello. His poetry and short fiction have appeared in Mystery Weekly, African American Review, The Baltimore Review, and many others. He is retired from The University of Memphis.

Reviews

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that will take you back to your favorite detective stories of the past. When Private investigator Ellis York meets and is hired by Hellen Vergos to look for the missing Hamlet Heffington Ravenswood the third, his life will never be the same and the adventure begins. I found this book a fast compelling read that I think mystery buffs are going to love.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something different. It's "Gumshoe", from author Michael Compton. Rolling back several decades for a hard boiled detective yarn that delivers a pretty good story. It's the late 1940's, the aura that is awaken, is like stepping out of an old Hollywood B-picture. A droll and not particularly successful P.I. named Ellis P. York gets a client who drops $100 on him. She's Hellen Vergos, a childhood friend from many years ago. Hellen's "Boyfriend" Hamlet Huffington Ravenswood III is missing. ( The character names are priceless !) Hammie's father it seems is not worried as to the whereabouts of his son. The Colonel HH Ravenswood knows his son will turn up from a bar or saloon sooner or later. However, the Colonel sees an opportunity to hire York to find an ancient Horn that's missing from his mansion. They agree on calling it a "Dingus". Ellis gets a hefty check to assure it's return. Everywhere York turns to investigate he is sidetracked by Inez, who is the Colonel's "wife", or Hellen, or nightclub singer named Dahlia. I have to admit the dialog was pretty unique. The characters through the book really made this a special read using their dialog. The twists and turns in the search for Hammie, and the Dingus were pretty unexpected as well. It was just classic when Ellis pops out a "Chesterfield" to light up. As a long time retail manager I knew exactly how he'd open his pack and lite the Chesterfield up. Does 10 % of the country even know what Chesterfield is and how important it was to the era ? The incredible late 1940's period characters harken a time that produced some of the best pulp fiction, and Hollywood gangster classics. A very short 171 enjoyable pages flew very quickly. I knew by about page 10, this book was a five star out of a possible five star read. The ending left me kind of stunned. That's a great way to ride out of a book ! It's "Gumshoe" by author Michael Compton. This is a must read. Do not miss out on this mystery thriller. I don't see near enough of this noir that would be available for my Kindle, or out of Amazon's specials. Highly recommend ! Grab it now !

[Lavern Winters · Rating 5 out of 5]

A couple months ago I put Gumshoe by Michael Compton on my TBR list. The book is a thoroughly entertaining read. The characters are out of the mid 20th century. A detective who drives a Packard and smokes Chesterfields with a penchant for booze. A lovely young client looking for a man she loves. A wealthy old man wanting to retrieve a valuable artifact that was stolen. Lies and deceit, thugs, a nightclub singer, and a gold digging young wife all make for a great detective story with a real surprise twisted ending. The plot was well done, the characters just as you would expect for a novel of this genre in the time setting. Reminiscent of old detective novels I read years ago with a little different edge to it. I loved this book! Worth all of a 5 star rating.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a loving and well executed tribute to the noir streets previously navigated by Chandler and Hammett. It's a first rate detective story filled with twists, turns, fisticuffs, femme fatales, and even a dingus!

Gumshoe is a fun and well written read for any fan of the genre. Compton has a great command of the noir lexicon and uses it to great effect.

[Jay Storey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Like being trapped in a Bogart movie. Harkens back to the noir detective novels and movies of yesteryear. Sometimes skirts close to being a parody, but always manages to recover before going too far. Great language, descriptions, dialog, and characters. Very entertaining.

[Karen greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

This book was simply wonderful. A must read. The end is amazing! I never saw it coming! All I can say is get the book and read. When you to the end you will think WOW!

[Bernie MacKinnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether you're drawn to noir passionately or just casually, this story will stoke the love, making you feel like a patient strapped to a runaway gurney. Set, of course, in late-40's Los Angeles and starting, of course, with a dame walking through the private dick's frosted-glass door, it reads like an homage—tipping its fedora toward noir conventions and even specific celebrated passages in the genre—until you realize that Michael Compton is out-Chandlering Chandler and out-Hammetting Hammett, giving those slovenly gods more than a run for their money. Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe never presented a harder shell than Compton's Ellis P. York, whose sensibility could brine a whole warehouse full of pickles. Central casting or not, the characters—the wealthy, sinister ex-military man, his fur-wrapped young wife (the fatale-est of femmes), the deceptively fresh-faced client, the scarred torch singer and the inevitable posse of low-lifes and snide cops—are touched with vitality. The action snaps along like a gang-moll's gum, while the bee-sting dialogue will keep you upright even in the quieter moments. Nothing, however, prepares you for the hairpin, whipsaw, corkscrew ending, which practically put this reader in a neck brace. From its time-honored groove, the story jumps the guardrail into far more psychologically daring territory. To top it all off—for anyone whose humor tilts more toward the literal than the literary, the book's spare cover image echoes with wondrous good humor.

[JM · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bought a long time ago and just found it again on my Kindle. I've had more time on my hands to read with lockdowns, and thought I'd enjoy this more. It wasn't bad, but was too easy to figure out.

[Calvin Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellis York is a private eye hired to find a missing person. Every character he meets has a past that keeps catching up with them -- and with Ellis. The book reads like a 1940s noir movie--something you'd expect on Turner Classic Movies. Author Michael Compton, an English professor at the University of Memphis, does a good job of capturing the mood and language of the era. An enjoyable read. 4-Stars.