Black Maps

John March #1

by Peter Spiegelman

The Barnes & Noble Review
Peter Spigelman's first novel shows that white-collar crime definitely isn't a gentleman's game, exploring a net of conspiracy that runs from back streets in half a dozen major cities to the penthouse offices of people for whom $100 million is pocket change.

With a family background tied to finance, ex-sheriff's investigator turned Manhattan P.I. John March is in his element unraveling a strange extortion case tied to the collapse of a giant financial institution, Merchant's Worldwide Bank. The client, Rick Pierro, a wealthy, fast-track banking executive, has been faxed documents tying him to illegal money-laundering -- to the tune of billions a day -- apparently carried out by MWB. Pierro could lose everything if such documents were made public. Claiming that his business dealings with Merchant's were always legitimate, he hires March to locate the anonymous blackmailer and make a preemptive offer to have the whole mess go away. Intrigued as much by Pierro's response as by the situation itself, March starts backtracking and soon finds that the Merchant's scandal was only the tip of an iceberg of greed, coercion, violence, and casual murder that is compounding criminally high interest with each passing day. Black Maps is a compelling combination of financial thriller and hard-boiled noir. Sue Stone

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Suspense, Crime, Thriller, Mystery Thriller

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Peter Spiegelman is a twenty-year veteran of the financial services and software industries. He retired in 2001 to devote himself to writing. He lives in Connecticut.

Reviews

[Sam Reaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Peter Spiegelman's Dr. Knox quite a bit, so I kept my eye out for more of his work. This is his debut novel from 2003, set in New York and starring private eye John March.
March is, as befits a modern PI, a bit of a tormented soul, having lost his wife in a mysterious affair which is alluded to early on and then revealed in bits and pieces as we go along. March is the rebel son of a Manhattan financier clan, who rejected his family's high-class ways and pursuit of filthy lucre to become a sheriff's deputy somewhere upstate, where the aforementioned tragedy took place. Back in the big city, he broods, goes for long runs and makes an occasional buck doing investigative work for a lawyer pal.
Said pal has a client who is being blackmailed by somebody with access to the records of a big federal investigation of a shady bank (think BCCI). The client had some dealings with the bank's star crook, now vanished, years before. The blackmailer claims to have evidence from that association that will put the client in federal prison. March is assigned to put a stop to all this. He will, of course run into trouble with the usual hard cases, flinty-eyed feds, enigmatic females, etc, turning up murders old and new and sustaining non-negligible physical damage along the way.
Nothing all that original here, but the tale is well told, with convincing inside dope on financial shenanigans, big-time lawyering and other arcane matters. The style is sometimes just a bit heavy on description; I don't really care exactly how everyone is dressed. But the story moves along smartly, the New York setting is deftly featured, there are some surprises, and Spiegelman made me care about what happened, which is pretty much what we want from a book like this.

[Chloe]

I am about halfway. The story is fascinating and as I know very little about serious finance, it is an education as well. However...WHY does this good writer find it necessary to include a fashion round-up of everyone's clothing?????? I find it silly and tiresome. ( I also notice that male authors do this far more often than female authors do.) And the food descriptions are extraneous and also a tad uncalled for. Forget the running. It wears me out. BUT... I am enjoying the mystery and the insights into serious finance. (And this is not a new title - 2003 - yet it all seems current despite its age).

[Amorak Huey · Rating 3 out of 5]

You have to like a PI procedural that has as its epigraph a quote from a Mark Strand poem and whose main character reads Raymond Carver.

Despite that, though, BLACK MAPS (the title comes from the Strand poem and has pretty much nothing to do with the plot of the novel) isn't especially literary. Rather, it's a solid, readable, fairly straightforward crime story. The writing is good enough, and the main character -- introduced here in what's clearly a series (this book is 10 years old; there are at least a couple more that follow, which I have not read) -- John March, is compelling enough to hold our attention.

March is one of those guys who has been beaten up by life (and who gets beaten up a surprising number of times in this story; the battered state of his face becomes something of a running joke): black sheep of a banking family, he was a small-town sheriff's deputy until a serial killer killed his wife and he took to the bottle. Eventually he dried out and moved to the big city where he became an investigator for an attorney.

In BLACK MAPS, March is attempting to find out who's blackmailing his client. There's a lot of banking stuff that is a little tedious to slog through; one of those really really really vicious corporate security guys; a cute upstairs neighbor; a career-minded, short-sighted, mean-spirited FBI agent with a grudge against Our Hero: all familiar features from the genre. The pacing is pretty well-handled, and the prose clean enough. It feels in many ways like the pilot episode of a TV series, clearly intended to introduce the protagonist, a handful of supporting characters and the mood and style.

[Susan Beamon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder, blackmail, suicide: just a few of the results of high finance gone wrong. John March is a member of a family who's fortunes are a result of success when high finance is played correctly. John is not as comfortable in that world as his brothers and sisters. He would rather solve human problems, so he works as a detective for a lawyer. One of the lawyer's clients is being blackmailed about deals he made with a shady bank before the bank went all in criminal behavior. John's task is to find the blackmailer before the attempt can derail the client's career. It's a long but fascinating trail, filled with lowlifes, investment bankers, federal prosecutors, predators and people who did questionable things when they were young. John solves more than the attempted extortion, but without proof for many of them, he concentrates on his case.
I like a good mystery bordering on thriller. This is a good example of the genre.

[Susan Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was satisfying enough to go on to the second one but, honestly, not so amazing that I need to read another right away. I kind of got bored in the middle. I read the audible version and generally Scott Brick keeps me engaged as a reader but not this time. I felt like he kind of contributed to the blah. I know he doesn't do all the Spiegelman books so the next one will help me determine the problem.

[Lenay Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welcome to life.

Because Spiegelman's Secret was at the top of S.J. Rozan's list, and because it was excellent, I decided to start from his beginning. Only three in this March series, three in another, three stand alones - eager to see how character and plot progress across. If you appreciate Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder you'll have confidence in John March.

[Hugh Heinsohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling hard boiled mystery. Good plot, characters, and setting. The author could stand learning Elmore Leonard’s rules; he writes too many long physical descriptions of each character as he introduces them into the story.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much clothes and appearance. I liked the story though so I'll try another.

[Joe Shoenfeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this very much.

[Andy Plonka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got a bit bogged down in the financial aspects of the plot because of my total lack of background in this area, but when I got into the mystery part thing picked up quite a bit .

[John Albers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mainly grabbed the book at the library as Scott Brick is the narrator. Was a good listen on drive to and from work. I plan to look for rest in series.

[Tony Rampling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Lee Child recommendation!! How does he find these fine writers (magnets?)
John March is a PI with a financial background, the plots are suspense filled, dark and wonderful!!

[Lynne Block · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good author/o.k. read

[Joaquín Castillo · Rating 2 out of 5]

No he sido capaz de terminarlo, ni tan siquiera he llegado a la mitad, el protagonista no es creíble. No me ha gustado el ambiente que respira esta obra

[Alabama Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

A man from a very wealthy family becomes a deputy and while trying to lock up the bad guys they kill his wife. He then turns to the life of a private investigator, but still has lots of emotional baggage getting in his way.

A case that seems to be a simple blackmail scheme turns into something much darker and sinister and John March has to go the distance to solve this big money fiasco. The real question is, can he function when the case starts hitting too close to home for him.

[Sonya Cabral · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really amazing. It had lots of suspense and left me on the edge of my seat. This book is about a private investigator named John. His wife was killed in an apparent "house robbery". He tried to solve the murder but gave up after a year. A couple years later he became a private investigator for a law firm in New York. He was investigating a man that somehow had connections to his wife's murder. He becomes very involved with this case and almost gets himself killed in the process.
I would recommend this book to people that like mystery, action and drama. I would recommend it for them because this book keeps you interested the entire time you read it.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couln't put this boook down.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book in the John March series. While I can't say I enjoyed it as much as books 2 & 3 ( Death's Little Helpers & Red Cat ), I do have to say it had me interested enough to pick up the others. John March is an ex-cop turned PI. He's investigating a blackmail scheme against his client, Rick Pierro, an investor?? Wall Street guy?? ..I'm not really sure what he did because I can't remember but I know he's uber rich. Anyway.. there's a lot of financial jargon that I could've done without. It reminded me of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo & Mikael's financial journalism bs that took up way to much time in the beginning of the book. I mean, give me the basics & leave it at that. I don't think making my eyes cross is actually necessary. I'm sure it made a lot more sense to someone not quite as obtuse as myself, but what can I say ?? I felt this book was extremely drawn out and had a hard time really getting into it. If it weren't for the fact that I found March so interesting & wanted to learn more about him & the other characters I would have shelved it a long time ago. My recommendation would be to get through this book & pick up the other 2.... it's a very interesting detective/mystery series that left me anxious for the next in line.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#1 of the John March series. I very much enjoyed Spiegelman's depiction of investigator John March's efforts. No computer specialist who can track a phone call in seconds or instaneously match DNA evidence, rather this novel features intelligent following of available clues. This is not to say that March is everyman; he is obviously a superior physical and mental speciman without extending into the range of superhero. A much recommended read.

John March, a sheriff's investigator for seven years in upstate New York, gained fame for solving a serial killer case that had baffled locals and the FBI. He lost his wife to this killer, went into a tailspin of alcohol abuse, then emerged as a private eye in Manhattan. Now working for a lawyer friend, he must find out who is blackmailing a self-made millionaire in danger of losing it all. A mysterious financier, missing for three years, seems to be the key, while both a sociopathic ex-employee of the financier and the FBI threaten March. Recorded.

[LJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

BLACK MAPS (Private Investigator-New York-Cont) – G+
Spiegelman, Peter – 1st in series
Alfred A. Knopf, 2003- Hardcover
Investigator John March agrees to investigate a case of blackmail. The victim's career is being threatened by claiming he was involved in money laundering while at a bank that is now under federal investigation. March finds his client is no the only victim of threat, and not each has survived.
*** Spiegelman clearly knows whereof he speaks and actually makes the world of banking interesting. He has created an interesting protagonist in John March, including a history revealed throughout the story. The story does start out slowly and one has to get through the information about the banking industry, money laundering and data security, which s interesting and relevant but not exciting. After that, the story definitely takes off and suspense builds to an exciting ending. I enjoyed this debut book and would, most likely, read his next.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good standard mystery novel that I polished off in a weekend while recovering from a cold.

It occurred to me while reading this book that women who wish to understand men might profitably read this novel, as the hero is a modern variation on a standard male fantasy figure, the Last Moral Man in a Corrupt World, a familiar figure in mystery novels from Raymond Chandler onwards. This hero is especially beloved by those of us who have failed to cut a very successful figure in life. In this case, the Last Moral Man is born into enviable privilege (a problem that few of us, sadly, have to deal with), rejects it, finds and loses great happiness, shoulders crushing despair, passes through a dark night of the soul, and emerges at the other end physically fit, impossibly disciplined, and with a clearer moral vision. If reading about such a character is your idea of a good time, this is a book for you. If not, not.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

This needs 3 1/2 stars. It was good, kept my interest, had very few annoying cliches, although it did have some, being a mystery with a private eye as the hero. I sometimes felt it could move along just a little faster, but Spiegelman took his time and tied up a lot of loose ends in a way that didn't seem contrived. I figured out something before it was revealed, and I thought I was going to be irritated that I was right, but even that made sense once he delivered some of the secrets.
His language is "gritty," meaning "vulgar" at times, and that is a problem. But there were many opportunities to be offensive with the plot line, and he didn't take them, so I still recommend the book. If he had not waited quite so long to get to the action, I'd have given this 4 stars.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black Maps was a pick for my mystery book club, and I found that I did enjoy reading about John March. Throughout the book, we get hints of what happened to March three years before with the death of his wife. March is still reeling from these events and the reader can see that March’s loved ones are still concerned for him. March takes a case that involves a white-collar crime and blackmail. Despite the lack of information to work with, March finds himself on several people’s hit list and making new enemies in addition to an old one. Spiegelman does a great job at providing the reader with a story full of many twists and turns and has created a likeable character in March. Overall this was a good read.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone drawn to all things geographic will be disappointed to discover that Black Maps has nothing whatsoever to do with maps. It certainly qualifies as noir, though, although at times it brushes against the criminal procedural.

At first I wished I had discovered a thriller that blended action with cartography, but Peter Spiegelman managed to make banking interesting enough. It helps that the egos, not the dollar amounts, are the focus of the novel, and that every character is drawn according to their desired lifestyle. They are only as content as the bargains they have made to keep it.

Watch for the surprise that emerges from the cellar.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

You get what you expect here. Spiegelman prefers the introverted, conflicted anti-hero to the skull crushing bravado of say Spillane's Mike Hammer, but at its heart it's still a gumshoe detective novel. It flowed well and I enjoyed the muted style of the violence and the romance through much of it. It's the second book I've read by Spiegelman and while I'm not in a rush to go out and buy his others, they do make for good travel reading. A solid 3.5 stars that I rounded up out of thankfulness for keeping me going on long car rides this summer.

[Fred Seibert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was short some plane reading when I saw one of the Red Cat cover in a suburban bookstore. Sixty seconds later these were on my Kindle (a post on the destruction of the bookstore business model is brewing in my noggin somewhere) and I dispatched all three of them almost as quickly. He's a good enough writer, and I liked all the characters enough while I was reading them (and I'll probably read any sequels, if there are any), but, I'm having a hard time remembering all that much about them.

[John Sheridan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes a departure to have a PI that comes from a financially secure background. Hints at his backstory are interesting and makes you wish there was a prequel dealing with that aspect of his life. An engaging character and a plot that while interesting is not overly complicated and with not too many convoluted twists and turns just for the sake of it. Will continue with this series as for the first book in the series it promises to get even better.

[Sally Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite his family’s wishes John March became a deputy sheriff for a small town until his wife was killed. Then he became a private investigator. In this book his lawyer asks him to investigate a blackmail case for one of his clients, a high profile banker. In doing so March finds himself in a mess bigger than he bargained for. This book is a great mystery that will keep you guessing to the end. I found it very enjoyable and would recommend it to anyone who likes PI crime books.

[Bill Thibadeau · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read his book Red Cat, I had high hopes that this book would follow as a good read. I was disappointed and cannot recommend this book. I never felt anything for any of the characters. I felt it was confusing and contained every possible adjective and adverb in the English language. It was uninteresting and droll. I thought seriously about giving this book one star but felt that I didn't hate it - just didn't like it.

[Stephen Richter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed Spiegelman's character of John March and the 3 book written (so far) of crime set in the financial world. Spiegelman has created a compelling lead character with a mysterious back story that reveals itself in the 3 books. It is best if you read the series in order of publish date. I recommend the book for fans of Larsson Milliennium Trilogy who appreciated the financial aspect of that series.