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The Lydecker Mysteries #6
The Compton File: A Tale of Intrigue
Lester Compton, a junior partner in a Chicago brokerage firm, is arrested for embezzlement and contract murder in the shooting death of the firm's socially prominent founder. Private investigator Frank Lydecker is hired by Lester Compton's lawyer and begins an investigation on the premise that Compton has been framed by someone else in the firm in collusion with the victim's much younger wife, sole beneficiary of her husband's life insurance policy. Collaborating with lifelong friends, Detective Lieutenant Andrew Brooke and fellow private investigator Alvin Stoddard, Lydecker navigates a maze of intrigue and diversions that leave him with a renewed reminder that all assumptions are suspect.
- GenresFiction
237 pages, Paperback
Published May 6, 2019
4 people are currently reading
225 people want to read
About the author
William Cheevers
16 books69 followersWilliam Cheevers writes historical fiction with themes of contemporary interest. He also enjoys writing mysteries featuring Chicago private investigator Frank Lydecker, police detective Andrew Brooke and defense lawyer Adrian Tiller in the transitional world of the 1950s. William's favorite writers are Mark Twain, Joseph Conrad, Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Hemingway, Faulkner, Hammett and Chandler, Doris Kearns Goodwin, David McCullough, Jean Edward Smith and Cormac McCarthy and two of the people from history he admires most are Mark Twain and Albert Einstein.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 18, 2019
Thank you for the free kindle edition of this book.
The Compton File reminded me of an old movie on TCM - Noir, is what comes to mind.
I really like those old movies, and this book will bring you back in time, keep you engaged and hungry for more.
A solid detective novel with great characters and plot.
Recommend.
The Compton File reminded me of an old movie on TCM - Noir, is what comes to mind.
I really like those old movies, and this book will bring you back in time, keep you engaged and hungry for more.
A solid detective novel with great characters and plot.
Recommend.
August 21, 2019
Just the Facts, ma’am
I received a free copy of “ The Compton File” through Goodreads.”
As I was reading “ The Compton File” by William Cheever’s, I had a feeling that I was reading the novelization of a script of the old radio/ TV cop reality show, “Dragnet.” Lydecker, an ex- Chicago cop now a private investigator tells the story tersely and without emotion- a bare recitation of the facts of the case. There are only sparse descriptions of Chicago, just a recitation of streets, an attorney’s office, a restaurant or two. There is no sense of place, just a flat landscape on which to hang a tale. Moreover, after a reading a few pages, the reader has the idea that the time setting is the early ‘Fifties, gleaned from a mention of the war and of Lydecker having nightmares of blasting a German bunker in Belgium. So much could have been done, here, but ....There are a few anachronisms: a security guard watching the monitors in a bank, and something about the witness protection program.I do not think either were around in 1950.
The story begins with a wealthy investment banker named Chase shot and killed leaving his Hyde Park house. He leaves behind a young wife. Suspicion falls upon her, then on an associate of the firm , Leonard Compton, who is suspected of embezzling money from the firm. Were the wife and Compton involved? PI Lydecker is hired by Compton’s lawyer to find the facts.
It is certainly a familiar plot and the author’ lack of color and emotion simply leaves the reader flat. I could not help but compare this book to to the “Nate Heller” books by Max Allan Collins, crime novels in the same setting of Chicago of the Thirites to the Sixties. In those, the reader is involved in the rhythms of a great city of dangerous men and sleek women. Only when Lydecker meets with a mysterious gang boss named Macfarland, does a spark glimmer in the narrative. Too little.
A few times in the book, the author lets us read Lydecker’s daily summary of the case notebooks. Just the facts, like the story overall. Not enough to enliven a novel. Too bad.
I received a free copy of “ The Compton File” through Goodreads.”
As I was reading “ The Compton File” by William Cheever’s, I had a feeling that I was reading the novelization of a script of the old radio/ TV cop reality show, “Dragnet.” Lydecker, an ex- Chicago cop now a private investigator tells the story tersely and without emotion- a bare recitation of the facts of the case. There are only sparse descriptions of Chicago, just a recitation of streets, an attorney’s office, a restaurant or two. There is no sense of place, just a flat landscape on which to hang a tale. Moreover, after a reading a few pages, the reader has the idea that the time setting is the early ‘Fifties, gleaned from a mention of the war and of Lydecker having nightmares of blasting a German bunker in Belgium. So much could have been done, here, but ....There are a few anachronisms: a security guard watching the monitors in a bank, and something about the witness protection program.I do not think either were around in 1950.
The story begins with a wealthy investment banker named Chase shot and killed leaving his Hyde Park house. He leaves behind a young wife. Suspicion falls upon her, then on an associate of the firm , Leonard Compton, who is suspected of embezzling money from the firm. Were the wife and Compton involved? PI Lydecker is hired by Compton’s lawyer to find the facts.
It is certainly a familiar plot and the author’ lack of color and emotion simply leaves the reader flat. I could not help but compare this book to to the “Nate Heller” books by Max Allan Collins, crime novels in the same setting of Chicago of the Thirites to the Sixties. In those, the reader is involved in the rhythms of a great city of dangerous men and sleek women. Only when Lydecker meets with a mysterious gang boss named Macfarland, does a spark glimmer in the narrative. Too little.
A few times in the book, the author lets us read Lydecker’s daily summary of the case notebooks. Just the facts, like the story overall. Not enough to enliven a novel. Too bad.
June 1, 2019
DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary advance reading copy of The Compton File in exchange for an unbiased review.
The Compton File is a hard-boiled detective novel taking place in the late 40s, early 50s after WWII. This isn't typically my type of mystery,I but there's a lot to like in this book. The author's pays attention to detail as noted by his detailed descriptions of walks and bus/train rides through Chicago as well as his descriptions and comparisons of the grand old buildings in stark contrast to the new and highly unattractive post-war modern buildings.
The characters are well developed and the backstory of their early friendship and adventures as kids lends credibiity to the story and their roles in it. The dialog is very natural and appropriate for the time setting. The Compton File tells the from the point of view of Frank Lydecker, a private detective. An wealthy citizen has been murdered, and his much younger wife is suspected of murdering him for his estate and insurance policy. When Lydecker takes on a seemingly unrelated case, the cases soon become interrelated and in the end, the solution is so different from what the police and Frank Lydecker, assumed it to be.
There are many characters in this book, but once I had them sorted out, the book was a quick read. My only recommendation is to correct the typos (which I've identified in my posted Notes & Highlights on Goodreads).
The Compton File is a hard-boiled detective novel taking place in the late 40s, early 50s after WWII. This isn't typically my type of mystery,I but there's a lot to like in this book. The author's pays attention to detail as noted by his detailed descriptions of walks and bus/train rides through Chicago as well as his descriptions and comparisons of the grand old buildings in stark contrast to the new and highly unattractive post-war modern buildings.
The characters are well developed and the backstory of their early friendship and adventures as kids lends credibiity to the story and their roles in it. The dialog is very natural and appropriate for the time setting. The Compton File tells the from the point of view of Frank Lydecker, a private detective. An wealthy citizen has been murdered, and his much younger wife is suspected of murdering him for his estate and insurance policy. When Lydecker takes on a seemingly unrelated case, the cases soon become interrelated and in the end, the solution is so different from what the police and Frank Lydecker, assumed it to be.
There are many characters in this book, but once I had them sorted out, the book was a quick read. My only recommendation is to correct the typos (which I've identified in my posted Notes & Highlights on Goodreads).
May 22, 2019
Goodreads Kindle Copy Win
A junior partner at a brokerage house is charged with embezzlement. To clear his name he hires a private investigator to clear his name; especially, after he is also charged with hiring the contract kill on his firm’s founder.
They at first seek the angle that he is being framed by another worker who is having an affair with his younger wife who is the sole benefactor of his insurance policy. Is it possible or is it what he wants you to believe?
It will be up to them and the private detective friends to sort through the truth. It was an engaging storyline that flew by.
A junior partner at a brokerage house is charged with embezzlement. To clear his name he hires a private investigator to clear his name; especially, after he is also charged with hiring the contract kill on his firm’s founder.
They at first seek the angle that he is being framed by another worker who is having an affair with his younger wife who is the sole benefactor of his insurance policy. Is it possible or is it what he wants you to believe?
It will be up to them and the private detective friends to sort through the truth. It was an engaging storyline that flew by.
July 8, 2019
I received a free Kindle copy through Goidreads. All opinions are my own.
I did enjoy this book, though it was slow at times. It reminded me of an old movie. It's set after WWII, in Chicago. The characters were developed okay. I feel like I was reading part of a series, because it talked about some case from the past. The main character once was a detective, but now a private eye working with a lawyer.
Happy Reading 😊
I did enjoy this book, though it was slow at times. It reminded me of an old movie. It's set after WWII, in Chicago. The characters were developed okay. I feel like I was reading part of a series, because it talked about some case from the past. The main character once was a detective, but now a private eye working with a lawyer.
Happy Reading 😊
May 28, 2019
Kept my interest from the first page to the last
July 31, 2019
I would like to thank Mr. Cheevers, and Goodreads for the privilege of reading this novel. It was a good little read and well worth the time.
Want to read
May 23, 2019Placeholder
I won this book via Goodreads Giveaways.
I won this book via Goodreads Giveaways.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews