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Amos Walker #16
Poison Blonde
The New York Times calls Amos Walker a "streetwise indestructible tiger with an ethical code that keeps him with the good guys." In a sharp new thriller, Detroit's most savvy private eye is up to his neck in international drug-smuggling, hit squads, double-identities, music-industry gangsters, and a client who's nothing but trouble.
Gilia Cristobal is a flashy Latina singer with a complicated past. Her name isn't really Gilia. In her home country she's wanted for a murder she didn't commit, and she needs Walker to find a missing woman--the woman whose name she's using, whom she's been paying monthly so she can stay in the U.S.
But when the real Gilia Cristobal turns up dead, what was merely an odd case becomes downright nasty. His pretty young client is involved in a lot more than just music, and all of it's deadly.
Poison Blonde is an enormously entertaining, fast-paced novel that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Loren D. Estleman's never been better!
Gilia Cristobal is a flashy Latina singer with a complicated past. Her name isn't really Gilia. In her home country she's wanted for a murder she didn't commit, and she needs Walker to find a missing woman--the woman whose name she's using, whom she's been paying monthly so she can stay in the U.S.
But when the real Gilia Cristobal turns up dead, what was merely an odd case becomes downright nasty. His pretty young client is involved in a lot more than just music, and all of it's deadly.
Poison Blonde is an enormously entertaining, fast-paced novel that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Loren D. Estleman's never been better!
272 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
About the author
Loren D. Estleman
309 books286 followersLoren 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 28, 2023
The 16th book in the Amos Walker series plonks the gritty PI into the Latin music biz when he’s hired by the hot as hell superstar Gilia Christobal to track down a blackmailer. But it’s not so much the blackmailer’s existence that has caused the popstar to hire a detective, it’s the fact that the blackmailer appears to have suddenly disappeared, failing to show up for the last 3 money drops.
So Walker gets down to business, dropping all kinds of tongue in cheek comments about the Detroit winter, the Latin influences in and around the entertainment scene and the state of crime and criminals in the city. Situation pretty well normal.
The investigation itself tends to meander and only manages occasional moments of anything approaching high points. The crux of the case revolves around the real Gilia Christobal, the one whose name the popstar is using. She is most definitely missing but the question remains as to how she went missing and whether it’s possible to find her again.
Along the way, Walker runs into an old adversary, a man known as the Matador. This is a guy who’s deep in the criminal underworld with plenty of thuggish resources at his disposal. Up against him, Walker relies on his wits, sharp tongue and the occasional dirty tactic.
I’m a fan of Amos Walker and his acerbic tongue and derring-do attitude. He’s no wimp even when faced with oversized mastiffs or guys carrying guns and always manages to keep things light. Even when faced with the most dangerous situations he’s able to come out with one liners that had me chuckling softly to myself.
The Poison Blonde features an unusual kicking off point but settles down into very much more of the expected same scenarios that has made the Amos Walker series so readable. It’s certainly not, by any means, one of the stronger books in the series but it continues to showcase the easy going toughness of the private eye genre.
So Walker gets down to business, dropping all kinds of tongue in cheek comments about the Detroit winter, the Latin influences in and around the entertainment scene and the state of crime and criminals in the city. Situation pretty well normal.
The investigation itself tends to meander and only manages occasional moments of anything approaching high points. The crux of the case revolves around the real Gilia Christobal, the one whose name the popstar is using. She is most definitely missing but the question remains as to how she went missing and whether it’s possible to find her again.
Along the way, Walker runs into an old adversary, a man known as the Matador. This is a guy who’s deep in the criminal underworld with plenty of thuggish resources at his disposal. Up against him, Walker relies on his wits, sharp tongue and the occasional dirty tactic.
I’m a fan of Amos Walker and his acerbic tongue and derring-do attitude. He’s no wimp even when faced with oversized mastiffs or guys carrying guns and always manages to keep things light. Even when faced with the most dangerous situations he’s able to come out with one liners that had me chuckling softly to myself.
The Poison Blonde features an unusual kicking off point but settles down into very much more of the expected same scenarios that has made the Amos Walker series so readable. It’s certainly not, by any means, one of the stronger books in the series but it continues to showcase the easy going toughness of the private eye genre.
May 24, 2011
Amos Walker is an entertaining character. His dialogue, as a private detective, makes me want to place him somewhere between Mike Hammer and Groucho Marx. He’s a tough guy whose asides are made to entertain himself as well as his audience. In this case he finds that he has been hired by a famous Latina pop star, Gilia Christobal, to find a black-mailer who has stopped black-mailing her; an odd request but one that is explained as the story goes on. I found it to be an entertaining detective/mystery and one well worth reading. I wish I had. I have a difficult time getting into audio novels. The voices I hear in my head while reading novels are much richer that those coming from the mouths of actors reading them to me. This novel is set in Detroit and the observations and commentary is quite believable and realistic until the narrator begins to mispronounce place names. Amos lives in Hamtramck but he refers to it as “Hamtrack”? This is only one example but there are several others. Where was author Estleman when this recording was made?
January 6, 2026
The Poison Blonde in this story is a beautiful pop music star plagued by a blackmailer and a past that includes an accusation of murder in her former homeland. The hero, Amos Walker, is your usual wise-cracking private eye with a touch of white knight within his soul. The villains are not who you expect them to be, but the star of the show is really the setting, a crumbling Detroit in the dead of winter, described in such grand detail as to give the reader a distinct and consistent visual image. The author uses imaginative similes and metaphors to describe the city, the people, the traffic, and everything else in between.
The author also introduces many readers to a rather imaginative torture-- which he characterizes as "The Lincoln Question." Whether or not this is a torture actually used somewhere in Central America is beyond me, but it certainly created a modest amount of terror in my heart reading about it.
The plot is, as usual within the genre, full of bad guys, threats, evading police questions while seeking information from them, and a lot of wise crack remarks.
The only reason I didn't go for a 5 star rating is the cynicism with which the author places in what seemed to me to be every character. Nobody is happy (and the bleak setting adds to that) and nobody thinks what they are doing really amounts to a hill of beans. Nobody is finding fulfillment in their job, their life, their relationships... and nobody seems to be looking for it. This gave this one a depressing tone that just made me glad I was finished with it and moving on to something a bit lighter.
Walker is the embodiment of just about every private eye novel I've ever read. Like most fictional private eyes he is barely making ends meet while going beyond the purpose for which he was hired. He wise cracks to everyone around him, though his comments are often dry and humorless. He's not as hard-as-nails as some (Mike Hammer, Elvis Cole, etc. ) but he is tough enough.
If not for the depressing tone, I might even call this a joy to read. It was good and well-worth my time and effort, but a bit of a chore to complete.
The author also introduces many readers to a rather imaginative torture-- which he characterizes as "The Lincoln Question." Whether or not this is a torture actually used somewhere in Central America is beyond me, but it certainly created a modest amount of terror in my heart reading about it.
The plot is, as usual within the genre, full of bad guys, threats, evading police questions while seeking information from them, and a lot of wise crack remarks.
The only reason I didn't go for a 5 star rating is the cynicism with which the author places in what seemed to me to be every character. Nobody is happy (and the bleak setting adds to that) and nobody thinks what they are doing really amounts to a hill of beans. Nobody is finding fulfillment in their job, their life, their relationships... and nobody seems to be looking for it. This gave this one a depressing tone that just made me glad I was finished with it and moving on to something a bit lighter.
Walker is the embodiment of just about every private eye novel I've ever read. Like most fictional private eyes he is barely making ends meet while going beyond the purpose for which he was hired. He wise cracks to everyone around him, though his comments are often dry and humorless. He's not as hard-as-nails as some (Mike Hammer, Elvis Cole, etc. ) but he is tough enough.
If not for the depressing tone, I might even call this a joy to read. It was good and well-worth my time and effort, but a bit of a chore to complete.
July 21, 2026
Can you believe that whenever I saw the author’s name, Loren D. Estleman, I kept thinking of the naturalist, Loren Eisley? I had read Eisley in the early ‘70s and wasn’t impressed, so I didn’t bother with Estleman because of my mistake. It is a mistake I intend to recover from. Poison Blonde was my first Amos Walker novel. The protagonist is one of those “too good to be true” ethical private investigators. Well, he’s “ethical” regarding money, definitely not above picking a lock to find key evidence in a house. So, there is ethical tension in the story.
Poison Blonde starts with what appears to be a bodyguard job for a major celebrity. Then, it evolves into an “identity” question. Then, it involves finding a blackmailer before the blackmailer’s back-up plan goes into effect. On either end, like bookends surrounding these aspects of the case, is a murder. One homicide occurred in the past and in a different country. Another takes place in Amos Walker’s chosen town, Detroit, MI.
Unlike many wise-cracking private investigators, Walker’s Detroit is modern, post-automobile industry boom—a largely impoverished downtown area. This is certainly more interesting than the venue always being set in Chicago, New York City, or Los Angeles. It seems strangely appropriate to Amos Walker’s style of detecting—no frills, stick to the main thread. It is also refreshing that he has a law enforcement friend with which he swaps insults rather than the trope of the police investigator out to get him.
Stirring the plot is a revolutionary scenario set in another country. Though this is all taking place off-stage, the results definitely loom over the spotlighted investigation. I really liked this ramping up of the stakes as it added depth and uncertainty without interfering with the main plot. The poison in the title relates to something that happened in this far away country, but it plays a critical role in the story. This will not be the last Amos Walker book I will read.
Poison Blonde starts with what appears to be a bodyguard job for a major celebrity. Then, it evolves into an “identity” question. Then, it involves finding a blackmailer before the blackmailer’s back-up plan goes into effect. On either end, like bookends surrounding these aspects of the case, is a murder. One homicide occurred in the past and in a different country. Another takes place in Amos Walker’s chosen town, Detroit, MI.
Unlike many wise-cracking private investigators, Walker’s Detroit is modern, post-automobile industry boom—a largely impoverished downtown area. This is certainly more interesting than the venue always being set in Chicago, New York City, or Los Angeles. It seems strangely appropriate to Amos Walker’s style of detecting—no frills, stick to the main thread. It is also refreshing that he has a law enforcement friend with which he swaps insults rather than the trope of the police investigator out to get him.
Stirring the plot is a revolutionary scenario set in another country. Though this is all taking place off-stage, the results definitely loom over the spotlighted investigation. I really liked this ramping up of the stakes as it added depth and uncertainty without interfering with the main plot. The poison in the title relates to something that happened in this far away country, but it plays a critical role in the story. This will not be the last Amos Walker book I will read.
July 1, 2023
Another Yucky Winter In Detroit - With A Latin Tinge
The hottest Latino superstar in the country has chosen Detroit to stage her next music video. PI Amos Walker gets a gig on security for her arena show to keep the lights on at his office. Soon Amos is summoned to a private meeting with the blonde bombshell in her hotel room. She is bothered by a blackmailer not because of their demands - she pays their monthly demands gladly until suddenly they stop. Who is the blackmailer and why have they stopped. Walker takes the job to find out! As he works his way thru a tangle of Latin revolutionaries, local thugs and police deceit Walker paints a gritty realistic picture of life in the motor city. The mystery is engaging but the graphic images of a struggling city are outstanding. Highly recommended…I can smell the city from every page,
The hottest Latino superstar in the country has chosen Detroit to stage her next music video. PI Amos Walker gets a gig on security for her arena show to keep the lights on at his office. Soon Amos is summoned to a private meeting with the blonde bombshell in her hotel room. She is bothered by a blackmailer not because of their demands - she pays their monthly demands gladly until suddenly they stop. Who is the blackmailer and why have they stopped. Walker takes the job to find out! As he works his way thru a tangle of Latin revolutionaries, local thugs and police deceit Walker paints a gritty realistic picture of life in the motor city. The mystery is engaging but the graphic images of a struggling city are outstanding. Highly recommended…I can smell the city from every page,
July 11, 2024
This is the sixteenth book (first published in 2003) in a long running series (31 books so far) featuring a Private Investigator in Detroit. I first came across this series in the early 1980s and have read 13 of the books but this is the first one I've read in the last twenty years. I enjoyed this and I am not sure why I stopped reading this series back then but it may be simply that they were not available in my local library.
Amos Walker follows in the tradition of Chandler's Marlowe and Macdonald's Archer. In this story he is hired by a popular singer to find out why she is no longer having to pay a blackmailer as she is worried that her secret may be made public. Naturally things get much more complicated. I read this in one sitting and now hope to get hold of the later books.
Amos Walker follows in the tradition of Chandler's Marlowe and Macdonald's Archer. In this story he is hired by a popular singer to find out why she is no longer having to pay a blackmailer as she is worried that her secret may be made public. Naturally things get much more complicated. I read this in one sitting and now hope to get hold of the later books.
July 11, 2020
Ok, ok. At #16, Estleman's Amos Walker is growing on me. I loved the gritty Detroit setting and the cold cold of winter. Estleman does a wonderful job of giving the reader a feel for the season and the city, covered with gray slush only briefly graced with a white feathering. The plot is a bit wacky but ok, heroics elsewhere, but love and betrayal at home. Meanwhile, Amos can really take a punch and keep on going.
May 26, 2020
One of Estleman's weaker Amos Walker's entries, but even mediocre Estleman is a solid 3.
September 25, 2021
The storyline ran out of umph before the last page turned I am afraid, not really worth the time to read it I am feeling right now
June 30, 2014
#16 in the Amos Walker. Estleman's hard-boiled detective stalks the mean streets of Detroit in this typically complex mystery.
Amos Walker makes a foray into the Latin music scene. When Gilia Cristobal summons him to find the woman blackmailing her, Amos delves into her past and discovers a Central American freedom fighter who fled north and assumed another identity. The decayed body of a woman with the same name turns up next door to a Mexicantown woman who breeds vicious dogs.
Amos Walker makes a foray into the Latin music scene. When Gilia Cristobal summons him to find the woman blackmailing her, Amos delves into her past and discovers a Central American freedom fighter who fled north and assumed another identity. The decayed body of a woman with the same name turns up next door to a Mexicantown woman who breeds vicious dogs.
January 18, 2015
I found that there was too much "tongue in cheek" which slowed down the story considerably because the author seemed to be trying hard to make these punch lines. It was amusing at the beginning of the book but got hard to take as the story went on. I mainly wanted to read this series because it takes place in Detroit, where I was born and still have family. I also tried to read another Amos Walker detective novel "Burning Midnight" but it started in the same way.
May 12, 2012
A hot Latina star is in town shooting a music video and hires Amos to find her blackmailer. Not to stop her -- to make sure she is okay. Why Loren Estleman isn't a household name is beyond me. This man can write.
June 25, 2013
Amos Walker's turns of phrase would leave Spencer gasping with admiration.
In the early 2000s, I invited Loren Estleman to speak at the William Saroyan writer's conference because I admired his Amos Walker series. If you are a Robert B. Parker fan, you'll eat Estleman up.
In the early 2000s, I invited Loren Estleman to speak at the William Saroyan writer's conference because I admired his Amos Walker series. If you are a Robert B. Parker fan, you'll eat Estleman up.
July 24, 2016
Not my favorite Amos Walker plot but who cares. Estleman is still a hard-boiled joy to read with great phrases popping up everywhere. It even gets better if you know Detroit--but it's plenty good if you don't. Things move too fast for you to ever get bored.
Read
December 28, 2007An Amos Walker Novel
Read
February 9, 2009his style is not my preference.
Oh well.
Oh well.
July 8, 2012
Not a bad read once I got used to the author's writing style. I'm not sure I'll seek out any other Amos Walker stories, but it's a fun light read.
Read
December 5, 2012didn't bother to read
June 9, 2015
Not a classic, just a rippin' good time reading a hamstring-taut Amos Walker mystery. Not one wasted word to spoil the bunch!
June 15, 2015
good mystery with a who done it ending
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews