The Glass Highway

Amos Walker #4

by Loren D. Estleman

Amos Walker (dauntless, incorruptible and underpaid) is hired to find a reputable newsreader's son who, more often than not, is involved in drugs and women. What Walker finds is far more than he bargained for and, in the end, it's Walker's reputation that is at stake.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Thriller, Detective

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Loren 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

Reviews

[Skip · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ambitious, divorced Detroit newscaster hires Amos Walker to locate his missing, estranged son. Through his ex-wife and step-sister, Amos gets connected to the affluent Grosse Pointe drug scene, their dealer, and the son’s mysterious girlfriend. Then, she shows up at Walker’s office because she found the missing son murdered in their kitchen, and wants his help to escape across the border (to Windsor, Ontario), clearly running from something. Along the way, Walker duels with good cops, bad cops, crooked DAs, clueless Feds, and a scary, accomplished hitman, who ties into the story in an interesting and unexpected way. Walker is a gritty, but witty P.I.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

My fourth encounter with Amos Walker just happened to be the fourth in this very enjoyable PI series by Loren Estleman. Walker is a stand-up type of private investigator, one who has a moral compass which he follows regardless of the costs. In The Glass Highway Walker's character is put to the test when his conscience lands him in jail for a couple of days after refusing to compromise a young woman whom he believes is innocent.

Estleman has a clear fix on who Walker is and, more importantly, isn't. For example, when he encounters a professional hit-man, Walker is genuinely frightened. The aforementioned killer, a man called Horn, is described in such a way that shifts the emphasis from his size and physique, to a certain dead-eyed calm and a surprising swiftness of movement when it suits him. In many a PI novel, the author would have his or her protagonist somehow be tougher, better with their fists, etc. and would turn the tables on Horn. Not here, where Estleman somehow intensifies the sense of danger presented by Horn through Walker's genuine fear. Brilliant bit of literary skill.

The plot is good enough, involving a woman who we discover was in a witness protection program but is somehow discovered and in danger from said hit-man. Along the way, Walker will encounter several drug addicts, including a seductive redhead with whom he spends Christmas eve (what good PI story doesn't have a seductive "dame" to tempt the hero PI?). The reader must keep in mind the decade (the '80's) in which this was written and staged, as several passages would now be wince-worthy in terms of social and political norms. But some things never become stale, regardless of the setting, such as a hard boiled PI, cops who don't like or appreciate said investigator and go out of their way to hassle him, but to whom will begrudgingly offer some fleeting signs of respect once he solves the case.

I've enjoyed getting to know Amos Walker and plan to continue the acquaintance. Happy reading.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my 3rd Famous Amos novel I've read. I continue to read them because private detective Amos Walker is an enjoyable character. A newscaster pays Amos to locate his missing son. This was easy enough as Amos follows the pill junkies the boy has gotten mixed up with and locates him in just a matter of a few days. It gets really interesting for Walker when the woman that was with the missing son shows up at Walkers place terrified because she found the missing son murdered in their kitchen. Amos once again gets the answers he needs. Good read

[M. Sprouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

It was a Loren Estleman book, like any other Loren Estleman book, very good. But this one you can put a saddle on and ride it in the parade. Estleman has done it again baby, a hardboiled PI novel for the hardboiled. Tell Archer, Spade and Marlow, they've got company. Amos Walker is a tough cookie, smart, but stubborn sort of like my dog who dropped out of obedience school. Walker also has a heart he'd like some dame, the right dame, to steal.

As I read them in order I find "The Glass Highway" is top shelf, but not as top shelf as "Motor City Blue". The plot sings and is almost believable, but it's Walker, that'll keep you off the glass highway. And he almost doesn't seem to care.

[Dave Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estleman is the touchstone of hard boiled, wisecracking, loner PI novels which pretty much covers it. Christmas to New Years in decaying early 80's Detroit with Amos Walker. Murder (of course), a dame, a lousy office in a lousy building, lots of drinks, rain and threatening weather, dark old bars, wisecracking cops for foils and allies, a newspaper man, a bit of jazz, a showdown with a frightening hit-man far better at killing than our hero (you can see coming miles off) all before the Michigan snows set in for the winter, what else is needed. should be 4+ stars.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love mystery novels. I've read so many I lost count decades ago, but I've read Dashiell Hammett, P.D. James, Robert B. Parker, Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, Carlos Ruiz Zafón (if you haven't read him, do), Erle Stanley Gardner, John le Carre, John D. MacDonald, and many more. I'm particularly fond of Raymond Chandler, his style, and his private sleuth, Phillip Marlowe.

Loren D. Estleman and his central character, Amos Walker, remind me of Phillip Marlowe in the Chandler mysteries. While Marlowe is pure L.A., Walker is pure Detroit. Rather than being set in the '40s, Walker chases mysteries and bad guys, and a few dames, a few decades later. That's what is different.

What is the same is the style and imagination of an excellent storyteller. Estleman's Walker is a real person with foibles and flaws, rather than Superman. Sometimes he gets beaten up, his car breaks down, or he gets thrown in jail. Sometimes he does the wrong things, but usually for the right reasons. The storytelling and the dialog, and the characterizations could be inserted into any Raymond Chandler/Phillip Marlowe story, and you wouldn't notice.

In "The Glass Highway," Walker is hired by a local TV news reporter to find his missing, wayward, young-adult son. The Client has only recently returned to Detroit, where his son has been raised by and living with his ex-wife, now remarried. It seems the son has skipped, and it's Walker's job to find him. Walker quickly finds the missing miscreant, but a much bigger, deeper story begins to unfold. Just as it did to Phillip Marlowe before him, Walker can't seem to help himself from stepping off the curb into the mud. Just as with Marlowe, some of the stuff just sort of happens and pulls Walker deeper into the quagmire.

I won't tell you the plot, as that'd spoil your fun. I will tell you that Estleman is a skillful writer who mixes elements of his stories with background, motivation, and plot movement. He uses dialogue extremely well to define his characters as well as move the plot forward. Estleman never leaves his readers hanging with loose ends wanting to be tied.

If you love mystery stories as much as I do, you're going to love Amos Walker and Loren D. Estleman. There are over thirty Walker novels, and it doesn't matter where you start, as they don't have to be read in sequence. Eastleman has written other novels about other characters, but Amos Walker stands out, just as Phillip Marlowe does for Raymond Chandler.

Enjoy.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 4 of the Amos Walker series taking place in Detroit, Michigan.
This time he has been hired to find the son of newscaster whose platform is against drugs. The problem is that his son is hanging out with known drug users. He also has the support of his ex-wife who is married to a very rich man who is important in the town.
Poor Amos cannot keep himself from getting beat up and also thrown in jail for protecting his source of information.
Love the descriptions like: "how is it that someone who pumps as much smoke and anesthetic into his system as you feels like mighty Thor? His response: "I get out and throw the hammer around every Ragnook". He is also described as moving like a puma. Another fun one: his whiskers were like snow, nice to look at, but not to feel after getting out of jail.
His description of the jail mattress that it was as thick as a deck of card.
Always a Goodread for old fashioned detective work. Solid 4.5

[Susan Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book with many interesting characters. If you have read any of these mysteries, you will know that many of the characters are based in part on real people and real situations. This book deals with drugs, a fugitive within the justice system, decent law enforcement and some not so much and Christmas eve spent with an "elegant" woman from Grosse Pointe. I enjoy all the local color and locals mentioned in the book. This book also has an Amos Walker short story - Cigarette Stop - as a bonus at the very end of the book. If you read these books, do not skip the "A Word After" at the conclusion of the story. The authors comments are quite insightful.

Borrowed from the Berkley Michigan Library System.

[AJ McGuire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one reads like a self consciously updated Chandler. A hardboiled detective working out of a dirty office with a bottle of scotch in his drawer and snappy comebacks. It seems less realistic to me in 1980s setting but I'm not sure it was ever that realistic, I can't say for sure. A little too much focus on who did what and why and not enough focus on the city and the characters moving around it for my taste.

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

I continue to have trouble with the level of violence and the racism & sexism of some of the characters in this series. I know the latter two issues reflect the times represented in the books, but it still is disturbing and dilutes my enthusiasm. And yet. Walker is an interesting character & the mysteries themselves are solid.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book, my first reading of a Loren Estleman book, but definitely not the last. Amos Walker, P I living and working in Detroit. Interesting case, complicated enough to be interesting, gritty. Reminded me of Elmore Leonard a bit and Raymond Chandler. More, please.

[Gary S · Rating 4 out of 5]

#4 in the Amos Walker series. I’m oddly attracted to this series even tho the hard-boiled-detective with a heart of gold and more physical damage than humanly possible to survive stretches credulity.

[Elizabeth Quan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy Loren D. Estleman's writing, and have been working my way through the Amos Walker series.

[Harry Addington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gritty private eye story in Detroit in the 80’s. Witty chivalrous detective. Will read series.

[Kurt Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read

[Robert James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great entry in this series. Walker is an old school detective and Estleman keeps the dialogue percolating at all times. Tremendous supporting cast and a very good mystery as well.

[Po · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loren Estleman can write! Walker's a little behind Scudder but not by that much. Guy is under-recognized.

[RetroHound · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it, it was a good story, but sometimes Estleman's attempts to write like Chandler were just too convoluted and I couldn't figure out what he was trying to say.

[Robert Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

+++Walker is hired to find the son of Sandy Broderick a Detroit newscaster. The boy's mother Sharon has married again to a man named Charles Esterhazy who has a grown daughter named Fern who has introduced Bud to various friends including Paula Royce who is believed to be on drugs. Threats, murder and chasing info follow.+++

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

#4 in the Amos Walker, hard boiled, hard drinking, wisecracking Detroit private investigator mystery series. This mystery has a little bit of everything in as Walker starts with a missing persons case and ends of dealing with questionable police etc, murder, drugs,etc. Plot line is a good mystery with some twists and turns, humor and good characters.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5-the author provides reliably entertaining tales so far in this series with his wise-guy private eye Amos Walker. This is book #4 of 20 something in the series, I imagine I'll work my way through all of them, eventually.

[Jack Laschenski · Rating 4 out of 5]

PI Amos Walker fights the police, the crooks and the Columbian drug lords in the Detroit suburbs.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Walker is hired to find a reputable newsreader's son who, more often than not, is involved in drugs and women.