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Paul Whelan #1
Death in Uptown
Hours after he agrees to help his best people of Uptown in Chicago, private eye Paul Whelan finds out that Artie has been murdered in a Windy City alley, and he must find out who wanted to silence the would-be author
247 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1991
34 people are currently reading
98 people want to read
About the author
Michael Raleigh
13 books21 followersMichael Raleigh is the author of eleven novels. His novel POE STREET (Level Best Books) will come out in March. His most recent book is MURDER IN THE SUMMER OF LOVE (Coffeetown Press), 2021. Previous books include PEERLESS DETECTIVE, 2015 (Diversion Books), THE CONJURER'S BOY, 2013 (Harvard Square Editions), IN THE CASTLE OF THE FLYNNS (Sourcebooks 2002, reprinted 2012) THE BLUE MOON CIRCUS (Sourcebooks 2003) and the five Paul Whelan mysteries (DEATH IN UPTOWN, A BODY IN BELMONT HARBOR, THE MAXWELL STREET BLUES, A KILLER ON ARGYLE STREET, AND THE RIVERVIEW MURDERS, all originally published by St. Martin's Press and re-released by Diversion Books in February 2015). The Riverview Murders won the first Eugene Izzi Award. He has received four Illinois Arts Council Grants for fiction.
Along the way to becoming a novelist, Michael worked in a bank, tended bar for many years, operated a punch press in a factory, made microfiche, ran an office for the City of Chicago's anti-poverty program, wrote grants for the Salvation Army, and taught English and Chicago History at Truman College. He currently teaches freshman writing for DePaul University's Honors Program and First Year Writing Program.
Michael is married to Katherine and has three children, Sean, Peter, and Caitlin.
Along the way to becoming a novelist, Michael worked in a bank, tended bar for many years, operated a punch press in a factory, made microfiche, ran an office for the City of Chicago's anti-poverty program, wrote grants for the Salvation Army, and taught English and Chicago History at Truman College. He currently teaches freshman writing for DePaul University's Honors Program and First Year Writing Program.
Michael is married to Katherine and has three children, Sean, Peter, and Caitlin.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 23, 2014
The version I listened to was from "Books In Motion" read by Ron Verella. He did a good job. The quality started out poorly, but then got better. Not sure what was up with that whether it was damage to the file or not. I suspect it was just poor quality on their part since at least 3 times there were misreads & then repeats. They obviously should have been edited out, but weren't. I also tried another audio book by this producer just before this & turned it off quickly due to the quality. I may give it another chance to see if it gets better, although that reader wasn't very good.
This was a pretty good murder mystery, reminding me of Block's writing in the understated tone. Our hero was fairly tough, but not a great fighter & fairly stupid in the art of self defense. That last hurt the novel in a couple of situations as it undercut the motivations. Raleigh did paint a good picture of skid row in Chicago, not that I've ever been there, but it felt real.
The characters were full blown, a little too much so in some cases. One gets a couple of drinks in him & then does an info dump. Interesting, but not really in character. Still, it was an interesting look into him & he was a more fun than the hero in some ways.
One surprising aspect was the dated feel to this novel. It was first published in 1990 & I would have guessed 5 or more years earlier. That's still only 20 or 30 years ago, but it felt dated due to the lack of cell phones & the smoking. People smoked in so many public places & a phone answering service played a fairly part. Amazing how times have changed.
I have one more of these from the library. I think I'll listen to it soon.
This was a pretty good murder mystery, reminding me of Block's writing in the understated tone. Our hero was fairly tough, but not a great fighter & fairly stupid in the art of self defense. That last hurt the novel in a couple of situations as it undercut the motivations. Raleigh did paint a good picture of skid row in Chicago, not that I've ever been there, but it felt real.
The characters were full blown, a little too much so in some cases. One gets a couple of drinks in him & then does an info dump. Interesting, but not really in character. Still, it was an interesting look into him & he was a more fun than the hero in some ways.
One surprising aspect was the dated feel to this novel. It was first published in 1990 & I would have guessed 5 or more years earlier. That's still only 20 or 30 years ago, but it felt dated due to the lack of cell phones & the smoking. People smoked in so many public places & a phone answering service played a fairly part. Amazing how times have changed.
I have one more of these from the library. I think I'll listen to it soon.
January 14, 2017
Hard Boiled detective story...set in my neighborhood
Roger Ebert allegedly said that no one can enjoy a movie shot in their dining room, because all they could see was the flaw in the wallpaper. I would add, but no one could resist seeing a movie shot in their own dining room anyway.
That is kinda how I feel about this book. On the one hand, I like noir, hard boiled detectives and I was specifically drawn to this book because it takes place almost exclusively in the four blocks where I live and work.
On the other hand, every time he got small details wrong, it was annoying. Crucially, the murder scene can not exist as he described it; it isn't physically possible. He also consistently referred to going up Broadway or Sheridan, when people were in fact headed south. No one in Uptown describes heading south as going "up."
As to the story self: pretty simple story line. Private eye finds out an old friend of his was murdered right after he met with the detective, and is of course driven to find out what happened. Then he is hired by a stunning young woman to find her brother, who allegedly disappeared into the dives of Uptown. Surprising absolutely no one, these two story lines converge, and become the same case. Nonetheless, despite the predictable set up, good narrative pacing keeps you turning the pages to see what twist the plot will take next.
I'll read some more in the series (each set in a different neighborhood), and will report back on whether my view of this volume is biased by the "flaws in the wallpaper" phenomenon.
Roger Ebert allegedly said that no one can enjoy a movie shot in their dining room, because all they could see was the flaw in the wallpaper. I would add, but no one could resist seeing a movie shot in their own dining room anyway.
That is kinda how I feel about this book. On the one hand, I like noir, hard boiled detectives and I was specifically drawn to this book because it takes place almost exclusively in the four blocks where I live and work.
On the other hand, every time he got small details wrong, it was annoying. Crucially, the murder scene can not exist as he described it; it isn't physically possible. He also consistently referred to going up Broadway or Sheridan, when people were in fact headed south. No one in Uptown describes heading south as going "up."
As to the story self: pretty simple story line. Private eye finds out an old friend of his was murdered right after he met with the detective, and is of course driven to find out what happened. Then he is hired by a stunning young woman to find her brother, who allegedly disappeared into the dives of Uptown. Surprising absolutely no one, these two story lines converge, and become the same case. Nonetheless, despite the predictable set up, good narrative pacing keeps you turning the pages to see what twist the plot will take next.
I'll read some more in the series (each set in a different neighborhood), and will report back on whether my view of this volume is biased by the "flaws in the wallpaper" phenomenon.
March 29, 2023
I bought this novel because it's set in Chicago and written by a local author. I was pleased and surprised to find that it's quite good! Set in the early 1980s, I think (published in 1991), with a vintage feel--1970s with a tinge of 1940s--it has a leisurely pace, an interesting voice, rich settings and a good plot. Very enjoyable! I thank the folks at Centuries and Sleuths bookstore in Forest Park, IL, for carrying it!
February 4, 2024
Nostalgic Read
Grew up a little North of Uptown. When I went to high school I would ride the bus from Glen lake down to Irving Park Rd. Rode through Uptown twice a day. Used to go to the Riviera and Uptown theaters. Enjoyed this thriller very much. Thank you. I also purchased 2 other books by this author.
Grew up a little North of Uptown. When I went to high school I would ride the bus from Glen lake down to Irving Park Rd. Rode through Uptown twice a day. Used to go to the Riviera and Uptown theaters. Enjoyed this thriller very much. Thank you. I also purchased 2 other books by this author.
September 17, 2025
Raleigh wrote one of my all time favorite books, Blue Moon Circus. I keep trying his books to see if recaptured that magic. DIU was ok. It had its moments for sure. Whelan is good character. All in all, not a bad read
February 17, 2016
This is to me my first book by this author and I admit I was a bit skeptical at first, not really knowing what to expect, or if it will worth my time. It turned out to be time well spent in my opinion, as this is a good book, very easy, pleasant and entertaining, with quite a lot of humor in the dialogue.
There is a well constructed plot, some well defined characters with their own agendas, bringing quite some twists and turns in the main plot unfolding and very pleasant dialogue, with plenty, and I really mean plenty of humor lighting up the atmosphere, even if at the core everything is kind of sad as far as the scenes and the characters living in those scenes.
A very entertaining and pleasant book, quite amusing and pleasant written in an unique style, mixing humor with the dark and sad tableaux of derelicts living on the streets of Uptown Chicago.
I for one, will definitely follow this author work and I'll read more of his books.
There is a well constructed plot, some well defined characters with their own agendas, bringing quite some twists and turns in the main plot unfolding and very pleasant dialogue, with plenty, and I really mean plenty of humor lighting up the atmosphere, even if at the core everything is kind of sad as far as the scenes and the characters living in those scenes.
A very entertaining and pleasant book, quite amusing and pleasant written in an unique style, mixing humor with the dark and sad tableaux of derelicts living on the streets of Uptown Chicago.
I for one, will definitely follow this author work and I'll read more of his books.
March 1, 2010
I loved Blue Moon Circus and the Castle of the Flynns, and I enjoy reading mysteries, so I was excited to learn that Raleigh had written a mystery series. I was a little surprised by how fabulous this first in the series was, I guess I just thought that his genre fiction would be flatter than his more literary work, but I was totally wrong. I enjoyed this very much, and have just ordered the rest of the series.
March 18, 2015
Great stiry line
Story line is good. Lots of typos makes it frustrating at times and a grammatical error that should have been caught, made me shake my head a few times. Love the PI and is life and love of the "lost ones" in the city. Worth reading and I'm going to read a few more of PI Whelan's adventures.
Story line is good. Lots of typos makes it frustrating at times and a grammatical error that should have been caught, made me shake my head a few times. Love the PI and is life and love of the "lost ones" in the city. Worth reading and I'm going to read a few more of PI Whelan's adventures.
January 24, 2014
Great suspense mystery! This book kept me guessing and had a great unexpected ending. I love a good mystery and was not disappointed at all!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews