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Smokey Dalton #6
Days of Rage
Chicago, 1969: The trial of eight protestors from the Democratic Convention the previous year has the whole world watching—and all of Chicagoland on edge. Smokey Dalton feels the pressure: more cops on the streets, more FBI in his neighborhood. But when the landlord at one of Sturdy Investments’ South Side properties dies alone in his apartment, Smokey agrees to investigate. He finds old human bones in the basement, along with hints of more. Smokey and his girlfriend, Sturdy’s CEO Laura Hathaway, worry that Laura’s father knew who used that basement and why. Without involving law enforcement, they decide to hold a thorough investigation and discover secrets they never ever imagined, secrets that could threaten Smokey, Laura, Sturdy, and one of Chicago’s greatest institutions. Secrets worth killing for.
“When Kris Nelscott started her impressive series about Smokey Dalton…, many critics and readers wondered how long she could keep up the pace. Days of Rage, her sixth book in the Dalton series, indicates there seems to be no end in sight.” —Chicago Tribune
Kris Nelscott is an open pen name used by USA Today bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
The first Smokey Dalton novel, A Dangerous Road, won the Herodotus Award for Best Historical Mystery and was short-listed for the Edgar Award for Best Novel; the second, Smoke-Filled Rooms, was a PNBA Book Award finalist; and the third, Thin Walls, was one of the Chicago Tribune’s best mysteries of the year. Kirkus chose Days of Rage as one of the top ten mysteries of the year and it was also nominated for a Shamus award for The Best Private Eye Hardcover Novel of the Year.
Entertainment Weekly says her equals are Walter Mosley and Raymond Chandler. Booklist calls the Smokey Dalton books “a high-class crime series” and Salon says “Kris Nelscott can lay claim to the strongest series of detective novels now being written by an American author.”
“When Kris Nelscott started her impressive series about Smokey Dalton…, many critics and readers wondered how long she could keep up the pace. Days of Rage, her sixth book in the Dalton series, indicates there seems to be no end in sight.” —Chicago Tribune
Kris Nelscott is an open pen name used by USA Today bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch.
The first Smokey Dalton novel, A Dangerous Road, won the Herodotus Award for Best Historical Mystery and was short-listed for the Edgar Award for Best Novel; the second, Smoke-Filled Rooms, was a PNBA Book Award finalist; and the third, Thin Walls, was one of the Chicago Tribune’s best mysteries of the year. Kirkus chose Days of Rage as one of the top ten mysteries of the year and it was also nominated for a Shamus award for The Best Private Eye Hardcover Novel of the Year.
Entertainment Weekly says her equals are Walter Mosley and Raymond Chandler. Booklist calls the Smokey Dalton books “a high-class crime series” and Salon says “Kris Nelscott can lay claim to the strongest series of detective novels now being written by an American author.”
352 pages, Hardcover
First published March 7, 2006
About the author
Kris Nelscott
44 books38 followersKristine Kathryn Rusch is an award-winning mystery, romance, science fiction, and fantasy writer. She has written many novels under various names, including Kristine Grayson for romance, and Kris Nelscott for mystery. Her novels have made the bestseller lists--even in London--and have been published in 14 countries and 13 different languages.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
November 16, 2022
DAYS OF RAGE is a shocking and thought-provoking read!
Smokey Dalton is a private investigator living in 1969 Chicago with his son Jimmy when he is asked to inspect a building for Sturdy CEO, Laura Hathaway.
An unsettling situation arises against a backdrop of toxic times formed by demonstrations, riots, the SDS, the Weathermen, the Black Panthers and a corrupt police department just for starters.
Dalton is saddled with a huge task before him and must carry it out without stepping on too many toes. Will he or won’t he?…that is the proverbial question.
Smokey Dalton is a private investigator living in 1969 Chicago with his son Jimmy when he is asked to inspect a building for Sturdy CEO, Laura Hathaway.
An unsettling situation arises against a backdrop of toxic times formed by demonstrations, riots, the SDS, the Weathermen, the Black Panthers and a corrupt police department just for starters.
Dalton is saddled with a huge task before him and must carry it out without stepping on too many toes. Will he or won’t he?…that is the proverbial question.
April 21, 2016
Book series have a certain degree predictability: familiar characters, a known setting, the writing style, plotting, details important to the author. I have no doubt that that is a double-edged sword for an author, as it becomes challenging to write new stories without disappointing reader expectations for the familiar and yet avoid boredom. Days of Rage seems like the book Nelscott decided to push her series boundaries, resulting in only moderate success.
Smokey is investigating on of Study Investments' older homes that has recently become vacant. The property manager was recently found dead, and the house still has lingering stench. Investigating the basement reveals a concealed door leading to a bricked room and skeletons inside. He and Laura discuss their options, but both are afraid that either the Chicago police will use it against Laura, or her former board of directors will, so they decide to follow a protocol of investigating on their own but using police evidentiary techniques by bringing in a nationally known forensics specialist and a local mortician. This protocol will hopefully allow them to gather enough information while bringing some justice to the victims, much in the way justice was obtained for black victims of police violence after official cover-ups. Meanwhile, Chicago continues to experience protests as the trial for the Chicago Eight has started.
The story ranges back in time to 1916 when the first of the discovered bodies disappeared. Very slowly, Smokey is able to contact still-living relatives, bringing the time period to life. It's an interesting concept but I'm not entirely sure it always works. Smokey isn't just about work, so the narrative isn't either, but instead of achieving a seamless back and forth, its punctuated by awkward home interludes following the Mets with Jimmy, library visits and traffic as he travels around the city. In contrast to earlier books, there isn't much about the Chicago Eight or the associated riots, but there are additional socio-political details scattered in about the Black Panther Party and a young teen who was killed protesting for safer traffic signals. While it's interesting, it doesn't mesh very well with the sequences from 1916.
Smokey's relationship with Laura appears on the outs again, which is not well integrated within the narrative. Smokey will think about the state of their relationship--and it will usually be at the opposite condition of the last book; I found myself wondering why it had changed or was even included. Autobiographical detail perhaps?
I would have enjoyed more time spent in the 'current' setting of 1969. Hints about the trial reveal that the Chicago Eight became the Chicago Seven after the lone black man, Bobby Seale, was separated out of the group for contempt. Ultimately sentenced to four years, further research reveals he was the only one to actually serve prison time. The one benefit to the historical mystery from the 1916s is the insight to the tremendous legacy of police brutality embedded in the Chicago police department.
I've made remarks before about my lack of historical appreciation, and this book did a great deal to change my perception of current events. Recent police camera videos clearly demonstrated Chicago police over-reacting to young black men-- Laquan McDonald, Cedric Chatman and Michael Westley are only a few of the recent victims--and it's tempting to view this as a problem within the department at this particular period in time. However, added to pervasive killing from 1916 to the late 1960s, it becomes clear there is an institutional disregard of life and the rights of the police to kill within the department. With the weight of generations of abuse behind the killings, it is only surprising to me that protests in 2016 weren't as violent as those in the 1960s.
Overall, not a bad book, but not the one I was expecting. Nonetheless, it still provided a solid meal of food for thought. Any book that can do that is above average.
Three and a half stars, rounding up for inspiring me to do some research.
Smokey #4 Stone Cribs: my review
Smokey #5 War at Home: my review
Smokey is investigating on of Study Investments' older homes that has recently become vacant. The property manager was recently found dead, and the house still has lingering stench. Investigating the basement reveals a concealed door leading to a bricked room and skeletons inside. He and Laura discuss their options, but both are afraid that either the Chicago police will use it against Laura, or her former board of directors will, so they decide to follow a protocol of investigating on their own but using police evidentiary techniques by bringing in a nationally known forensics specialist and a local mortician. This protocol will hopefully allow them to gather enough information while bringing some justice to the victims, much in the way justice was obtained for black victims of police violence after official cover-ups. Meanwhile, Chicago continues to experience protests as the trial for the Chicago Eight has started.
The story ranges back in time to 1916 when the first of the discovered bodies disappeared. Very slowly, Smokey is able to contact still-living relatives, bringing the time period to life. It's an interesting concept but I'm not entirely sure it always works. Smokey isn't just about work, so the narrative isn't either, but instead of achieving a seamless back and forth, its punctuated by awkward home interludes following the Mets with Jimmy, library visits and traffic as he travels around the city. In contrast to earlier books, there isn't much about the Chicago Eight or the associated riots, but there are additional socio-political details scattered in about the Black Panther Party and a young teen who was killed protesting for safer traffic signals. While it's interesting, it doesn't mesh very well with the sequences from 1916.
Smokey's relationship with Laura appears on the outs again, which is not well integrated within the narrative. Smokey will think about the state of their relationship--and it will usually be at the opposite condition of the last book; I found myself wondering why it had changed or was even included. Autobiographical detail perhaps?
I would have enjoyed more time spent in the 'current' setting of 1969. Hints about the trial reveal that the Chicago Eight became the Chicago Seven after the lone black man, Bobby Seale, was separated out of the group for contempt. Ultimately sentenced to four years, further research reveals he was the only one to actually serve prison time. The one benefit to the historical mystery from the 1916s is the insight to the tremendous legacy of police brutality embedded in the Chicago police department.
I've made remarks before about my lack of historical appreciation, and this book did a great deal to change my perception of current events. Recent police camera videos clearly demonstrated Chicago police over-reacting to young black men-- Laquan McDonald, Cedric Chatman and Michael Westley are only a few of the recent victims--and it's tempting to view this as a problem within the department at this particular period in time. However, added to pervasive killing from 1916 to the late 1960s, it becomes clear there is an institutional disregard of life and the rights of the police to kill within the department. With the weight of generations of abuse behind the killings, it is only surprising to me that protests in 2016 weren't as violent as those in the 1960s.
Overall, not a bad book, but not the one I was expecting. Nonetheless, it still provided a solid meal of food for thought. Any book that can do that is above average.
Three and a half stars, rounding up for inspiring me to do some research.
Smokey #4 Stone Cribs: my review
Smokey #5 War at Home: my review
July 19, 2020
A very intense and well written mystery.
The story starts in 1969 in Chicago. During a building evaluation, Dalton comes across some bodies being hidden in the building. That starts Dalton’s investigation which was in the backdrop of great tensions of the times.
Very interesting story for all mystery lovers.
The story starts in 1969 in Chicago. During a building evaluation, Dalton comes across some bodies being hidden in the building. That starts Dalton’s investigation which was in the backdrop of great tensions of the times.
Very interesting story for all mystery lovers.
January 24, 2026
My reading was sporadic, which means I had trouble keeping track of characters. Despite my neglect, it is still an interesting book.
July 21, 2020
I lived through the Sixties, SDS, March on Washington, teargas, getting attacked by the American Legion, despairing that our government was out to get us to support a ridiculous, endless war, and racism that was sickening. Not to mention one of the stupidest trials in history.
Here we are, decades later, and not that much has changed. We're still involved in ridiculous, endless wars, our president is itching to call out the troops on anyone who disagrees with him, and Americans are finally discovering yet again, white Americans, that is, that this country is fundamentally racist.
We've been here before, again and again, only this time, throw in a pandemic where Americans are dying by the tens of thousands. The people who call a disease political, refuse to recognize science, area a death cult who take comfort of the fact that more people of color die of it, and somehow think they're invincible. Racism is something that has never left our nation, not for a minute.
Days of Rage is a great way to put yourself back into our past, in the Sixties when anyone who stood up for the people instead of the rich was killed. I still remember the shock as Dr. King and Malcolm X and Bobby Kennedy and Fred Hampton and so many others were killed. Of course, gunning down African Americans by the police is simeply part of this tradition.
The story, plot, emotions in Days of Rage all ring true. The red in the Red White and Blood indeed stands for blood, a straight line to today.
To understand the present, understand the past, and this book is a great way to learn it with emotion and connection to a history that must change.
I hope this time we get it right. Because one step forward, two steps back, is killing our people and our future. In the Sixties, I was young and put myself into the thick of the struggle. I wish this time around I wasn't stuck inside, afraid to protest and catch COVID and die. I long to be out there again. No Justice, No Peace, is the only way to live.
Here we are, decades later, and not that much has changed. We're still involved in ridiculous, endless wars, our president is itching to call out the troops on anyone who disagrees with him, and Americans are finally discovering yet again, white Americans, that is, that this country is fundamentally racist.
We've been here before, again and again, only this time, throw in a pandemic where Americans are dying by the tens of thousands. The people who call a disease political, refuse to recognize science, area a death cult who take comfort of the fact that more people of color die of it, and somehow think they're invincible. Racism is something that has never left our nation, not for a minute.
Days of Rage is a great way to put yourself back into our past, in the Sixties when anyone who stood up for the people instead of the rich was killed. I still remember the shock as Dr. King and Malcolm X and Bobby Kennedy and Fred Hampton and so many others were killed. Of course, gunning down African Americans by the police is simeply part of this tradition.
The story, plot, emotions in Days of Rage all ring true. The red in the Red White and Blood indeed stands for blood, a straight line to today.
To understand the present, understand the past, and this book is a great way to learn it with emotion and connection to a history that must change.
I hope this time we get it right. Because one step forward, two steps back, is killing our people and our future. In the Sixties, I was young and put myself into the thick of the struggle. I wish this time around I wasn't stuck inside, afraid to protest and catch COVID and die. I long to be out there again. No Justice, No Peace, is the only way to live.
June 18, 2021
An endless war, protesters being brutalized by police and arrested, Black men being murdered with impunity, the young people speaking out... nope, not today, it's 1969 in Chicago.
During the "Days of Rage" (a Weathermen protest) that took place during the trial of the Chicago 7 (originally 8), private eye Smokey discovers what he fears is the work of what we now call a serial killer in the basement of a decrepit house owned by a friend. He wants to at least identify the bodies and make sure his friend's late criminal father wasn't involved.
Smokey has to figure out what happened, plus keep himself and his adopted son safe from the local gang, the Machine, and the Feds who want to know why Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton came to see him.
Levity is provided by Smokey and his son Jimmy eating pizza and watching the improbable run of the Mets in the World Series, and historical interest by what Smokey finds out about pre-Prohibition Chicago crime.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
During the "Days of Rage" (a Weathermen protest) that took place during the trial of the Chicago 7 (originally 8), private eye Smokey discovers what he fears is the work of what we now call a serial killer in the basement of a decrepit house owned by a friend. He wants to at least identify the bodies and make sure his friend's late criminal father wasn't involved.
Smokey has to figure out what happened, plus keep himself and his adopted son safe from the local gang, the Machine, and the Feds who want to know why Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton came to see him.
Levity is provided by Smokey and his son Jimmy eating pizza and watching the improbable run of the Mets in the World Series, and historical interest by what Smokey finds out about pre-Prohibition Chicago crime.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
July 29, 2020
4.5 Stars
Smokey, our hero, is hired to inspect a decrepit building to determine its soundness. When he enters the basement, he finds much more than he bargained for. Complicating things are the turbulent times with riots and racism abound as he tries to pilot his adopted son through the unsettled times they live in.
It is scary how history repeats itself time and time again.
I love when I get so involved with a book that the words become a time machine and transport me to another era. Days of Rage was that vehicle for me. Chicago at the end of the 60s sounds as daunting as the present and while I didn't particularly want to be there, it felt as though I needed to be there.
Smokey, our hero, is hired to inspect a decrepit building to determine its soundness. When he enters the basement, he finds much more than he bargained for. Complicating things are the turbulent times with riots and racism abound as he tries to pilot his adopted son through the unsettled times they live in.
It is scary how history repeats itself time and time again.
I love when I get so involved with a book that the words become a time machine and transport me to another era. Days of Rage was that vehicle for me. Chicago at the end of the 60s sounds as daunting as the present and while I didn't particularly want to be there, it felt as though I needed to be there.
August 24, 2020
Excellent read! If you like Walter Mosley, you will like this.
Grabbed me from the first page. Smokey, a man in hiding, with a child, he took in, gets involved in a strange case. He, found some bones, in a house. This is after a man died in there. Turns out, there is a lot more of the story.
Grabbed me from the first page. Smokey, a man in hiding, with a child, he took in, gets involved in a strange case. He, found some bones, in a house. This is after a man died in there. Turns out, there is a lot more of the story.
July 18, 2021
This is an old fashioned private investigation, 5th or 6th book in a series, but it stands alone well. Pertinent to current events, the story takes place in Chicago 1968, during the trial of the Chicago Eight, with race riots, Black Panthers, and turmoil to spare. I would have rated it higher, but there were so many typos throughout the book that it was painful to read. If you can get past that, it is worth the read, although, having seen the poor quality editing, I am unlikely to read any of the rest of this series.
July 31, 2020
I loved this mystery. I wish I had read earlier books because there was a lot of background I was missing to the point it took me a while to realize that Smokey was black. But the story is full of history that I found very interesting, and lots I didn't even know that had happened. Part of this would be growing up in Canada, even though I was aware of events in 1960's United States. I was young, but I still remember sitting in a field watching the smoke over the Detroit skyline as the people rioted. This story so interested me that I found myself looking up events and people mentioned in the story. Lots of research obviously went into this book. There were only a few sticking points...there were a LOT of characters and I had trouble remembering them all. I totally forgot who Gavin was, and having an ebook, it's a pain trying to go back and find reference. Luckily at some point, it was mentioned again how he was connected to the story. I also don't like the beginning of the book starting with the ending of the story...but that's just one of my pet peeves. Just start the story! This is well worth spending some time with, and I am sure to be looking for more Smokey Dalton stories.
February 11, 2023
This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. I so related to the story. I was headed to Europe in September of 1969. I was in New York the weekend the Mets won, and saw the Moratorium March through Times Square and the ticker tape parade for the Mets. When Thanksgiving was mentioned I was on Barcelona celebrating my 21st birthday. However, there was still segregation in Portland. Two drinking fountains. Still a strong KKK. Understanding the separation of cultures wasn’t far from my experience.
Not only was this well written but it lead me to check out the early nineteen hundreds in Chicago and corruption.
Loved it, loved it, loved it.
Not only was this well written but it lead me to check out the early nineteen hundreds in Chicago and corruption.
Loved it, loved it, loved it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 1, 2022
This is an amazing series of books and this sixth book in the series raises the bar even more. Excellent characters, unique historical settings and a fast paced plot kept me reading late into the night. Set in Chicago in the late sixties during the Chicago 8 trials, this book feathers Black Panthers and The Weathermen as a backdrop for a well plotted murder mystery. Although this book can be enjoyed by itself I strongly recommend starting with the first book, A Dangerous Road, and read them in order. Highly Recommended
January 14, 2023
I've enjoyed the entire Smokey Dalton series and this may have been one of my favorites. I found the case to be interesting and Nelscott did a good job of allowing readers to experience the smells and atmosphere of the Victorian house involved.
This series brings back memories of the late 19602 (good and bad) that I remember, but this volume in the series also takes us back to earlier days in Chicago, from around 1919 especially, and describes race relations and the often hidden, less legal sides the city during the first half of the 20th century.
This series brings back memories of the late 19602 (good and bad) that I remember, but this volume in the series also takes us back to earlier days in Chicago, from around 1919 especially, and describes race relations and the often hidden, less legal sides the city during the first half of the 20th century.
September 7, 2020
This was the first book I've read by this author and it was quite good. I only gave 3 stars as it wasn't quite the type of book I usually read. The main character is a black man dealing with Chicago and racisim in the 5o's and 60's. He was hired to help clean up an old building and found skeletons, some he found were recently placed there. Some police were "on the take" and knew of people being dumped there and were involved in murder possibly. Intriguing story.
April 19, 2021
An interesting book that takes place in Chicago during the trial of the Chicago 8. A black investigator is hired to look over a property that a white woman had inherited. What he finds is beyond disturbing. How he manages to do his job; while raising a boy that he rescued from Memphis as his son keeps the story thrilling.
May 5, 2019
This Smokey Dalton was a bit gorey. Inspecting a house for Laura, Smokey finds skeletons in the basement behind a brick wall. As he looks further, he finds more dead bodies. Intense storyline, excellent characters and she is just the best writer!
I highly recommend these books.
I highly recommend these books.
August 2, 2020
Excellent page turner!!
I was with Smokey every page that i turned. I was in the basement, I smelled the stench of the dead. I thoroughly enjoyed the tale the author has spun whether real,inspired or imagined. Just a great story about that time in the 60's. We have evolved!!!
I was with Smokey every page that i turned. I was in the basement, I smelled the stench of the dead. I thoroughly enjoyed the tale the author has spun whether real,inspired or imagined. Just a great story about that time in the 60's. We have evolved!!!
November 12, 2020
Good tale told against backdrop of Chicago 7
Smokey Dalton is a great character. The author has a knack at placing him in historic times and places. Put me in the mood to watch current Chicago 7 movie.
Smokey Dalton is a great character. The author has a knack at placing him in historic times and places. Put me in the mood to watch current Chicago 7 movie.
November 22, 2020
An entertaining read
An entertaining story with interesting characters and plot. It reads well as a standalone book, but I found myself wanting a little more backstory. I look forward to reading the rest of the series and I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good story.
An entertaining story with interesting characters and plot. It reads well as a standalone book, but I found myself wanting a little more backstory. I look forward to reading the rest of the series and I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good story.
October 21, 2022
A very good story
Well written book about a.black time in American history. It may not be 100% accurate, but it gives a sense of the times. I will definitely read more from this author.
Well written book about a.black time in American history. It may not be 100% accurate, but it gives a sense of the times. I will definitely read more from this author.
October 14, 2019
One of the 13 best mysteries I read in 2006.
July 18, 2020
Rage
Not for me. Another author with a fetish for the “f” word. There is better literature than this to read.
Not for me. Another author with a fetish for the “f” word. There is better literature than this to read.
July 19, 2020
Timely tale
Investigative mystery unfolds in the windy city in the past. With parallel plot revealing the racial tensions during Vietnam era
Investigative mystery unfolds in the windy city in the past. With parallel plot revealing the racial tensions during Vietnam era
July 21, 2020
Great page turner. Loved the historical information on Chicago. Smokey is a great leading character. Very relevant to our troubled times right now.
July 24, 2020
Smokey is Smokin!!!
A page turner in a book that you can’t put down. A combination of fantasy and a bit of history.
A page turner in a book that you can’t put down. A combination of fantasy and a bit of history.
July 30, 2020
This book was different for me, once I started reading, I wanted to slow down and not read it too fast. I wanted to make it last. I will be purchasing the other books in this series.
August 5, 2020
Days of Rage
I did enjoy reading this book. It was fast and easy to read.
A bit repetitive but a interesting truthful story.
I would recommend this read.
I did enjoy reading this book. It was fast and easy to read.
A bit repetitive but a interesting truthful story.
I would recommend this read.
August 22, 2020
Good story. Had me guessing all through the book. Really liked the H Dalton. Would like to read more by this author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 3, 2026
Smokey Dalton toujours excellent
August 9, 2026
I was intrigued by the findings but the very long chapters, a lot of babbling, I couldn't finish it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews