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Amos Walker #3
The Midnight Man
"Look for us when the moon is new. Look for us, but keep your distance. We're the Midnight Men, and the prey we're stalking could be you." In the private eye business, mistakes can be fatal. Just ask Amos Walker. First, he pulls his gun on a man he thought was a member of a group of potential truck hijackers. Even goes so far as to fire a round at the suspicious driver to make him step from his car. Only trouble is, the guy -- Van Sturtevant -- is a cop. Then, after Sturtevant is crippled in a shootout with a gang of black militants, Walker -- figuring he owes the cop for letting him off the hook -- offers his investigatory services to the officer's pretty, blond wife, Karen. At no charge. If Walker had been paying attention, he would have seen the warning signs. But now bodies are going to start piling up, with politicians, private eyes, and members of Detroit's Finest on the giving and receiving ends. Yes, mistakes can be fatal. And if Walker doesn't watch his back, the next one will definitely be his last....
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1982
61 people are currently reading
158 people want to read
About the author
Loren D. Estleman
315 books280 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 - 27 of 27 reviews
October 27, 2019
A cop named Van Sturtevant saves PI Amos Walker's life. When he is crippled in a shootout with a group of crooks where two other cops are killed, Van's wife Karen asks Amos to bring him to justice, rather than seem as his accomplices are being killed by the Detroit PD. Amos is almost beaten to death during this investigation, but is saved by a publicity-seeking bounty hunter. These two keep crossing paths as Amos tries valiantly to bring the guilty party in alive. Lots of treachery.
September 6, 2016
I'm really enjoying this Amos Walker detective series. This is the 3rd in a long running series and the second I've read. Amos seems to have a knack for getting roughed up on a regular basis. This was published in the early '80's based out of Detroit and it eerily could read for something happening as recent as this summer, almost 35 years later. Just goes to show how much has really changed in that time span. This book involved a lot of racial unrest, murders and those seeking vengence for the actions of others. I would recommend this series for those that like fiction tough detective novels that were maybe loosly based off of actual events.
December 12, 2018
Another book by author was our December book club read. I missed meeting anyway and could not find it used so I picked up this instead to read while on vacation. Not usually into mysteries but it was diverting. Like Amos Walker’s character
March 9, 2020
Another fun romp through noir Detroit
December 29, 2021
The Midnight Man is yet another very entertaining entry in this series. I've come to enjoy Amos and his mannerisms despite them being of a bygone time. This guy smokes like a chimney and might want to check out a few AA meetings based on his alcohol intake.
Nevertheless, this hard boiled PI gets the job done, and manages to survive countless beatings along the way. In this episode, Amos encounters a detective named Van Sturtevant in an awkward roadside incident. The two seem destined to become intertwined before the story closes, and indeed, the cop's wife ends up hiring Walker after her husband is paralyzed from a bullet during a battle with a gang of black militants. She wants Amos to find and bring in the guilty man before the cops can get to him (figuring after shooting a fellow cop, the man's well-being might just be in jeopardy).
What seems like a straightforward plot turns out to be anything but, which is a common theme in these books. The author does a fine job of creating interesting characters and although the dialogue is mired in the era in which the book was penned, it propels the scenes nicely. There turns out to be numerous moving parts and Estleman has a good grasp on his detective's character.
Fans will want to find and read this one if they've not yet, and for those like me, who were new to the series, it's a solid entry that could be read as a stand alone. But I'd encourage you to start at the beginning of the series. It's worth doing.
Nevertheless, this hard boiled PI gets the job done, and manages to survive countless beatings along the way. In this episode, Amos encounters a detective named Van Sturtevant in an awkward roadside incident. The two seem destined to become intertwined before the story closes, and indeed, the cop's wife ends up hiring Walker after her husband is paralyzed from a bullet during a battle with a gang of black militants. She wants Amos to find and bring in the guilty man before the cops can get to him (figuring after shooting a fellow cop, the man's well-being might just be in jeopardy).
What seems like a straightforward plot turns out to be anything but, which is a common theme in these books. The author does a fine job of creating interesting characters and although the dialogue is mired in the era in which the book was penned, it propels the scenes nicely. There turns out to be numerous moving parts and Estleman has a good grasp on his detective's character.
Fans will want to find and read this one if they've not yet, and for those like me, who were new to the series, it's a solid entry that could be read as a stand alone. But I'd encourage you to start at the beginning of the series. It's worth doing.
March 11, 2013
3.5/5-Another solid addition to this series, I will read them all eventually. Old school crime noir with a hard boiled wise cracking PI, better than average for the genre.
August 22, 2016
Typical, violent Amos Walker novel.
Noir Detroit. Race and racism squared.
Twisted plot.
Walker gets beat up again and again - why is he still walking?
Totally immesive!
Noir Detroit. Race and racism squared.
Twisted plot.
Walker gets beat up again and again - why is he still walking?
Totally immesive!
November 30, 2022
I received this book as a gift, and so I realize I am jumping into a series already under way, but I had no desire to buy and then read the two previous novels in the series just to be fully in the swim of things for this one. Judging from the style, I haven't missed much. While the novel seems to be situated in the late 70s or early 80s Detroit (about a decade before I moved here), I just find it hard to believe that the main character Amos really would speak in the kind of hackney private-eye speak that he constantly uses. There's lots of local color, so to speak, in terms of race relations as well as different real life locales (the Rouge River Ford Plant, downtown buildings, Hart Plaza for the grand finale), and lots of out of the way slummy locations as well. But for all that, I just felt like I was biding my time until not much happened ultimately, more bodies pile up, and then it would be over. And I was right!
By the way, I have a problem with the way the title is used: the opening paragraph is a short statement that ends with: "We're the Midnight Men, and the prey we're stalking could be you." Call me picky, but this seems to suggest a group ("men" is plural as far as I can tell) that stalk prey, a deep analysis, I realize. However, once you get into the novel, you realize that this is not the case, i.e. our hero does not suddenly find himself faced with a secret nighttime squad of stalkers, and that the reality returns to the title, in the singular "man", guess who, and much less interesting.
By the way, I have a problem with the way the title is used: the opening paragraph is a short statement that ends with: "We're the Midnight Men, and the prey we're stalking could be you." Call me picky, but this seems to suggest a group ("men" is plural as far as I can tell) that stalk prey, a deep analysis, I realize. However, once you get into the novel, you realize that this is not the case, i.e. our hero does not suddenly find himself faced with a secret nighttime squad of stalkers, and that the reality returns to the title, in the singular "man", guess who, and much less interesting.
July 21, 2025
Book 3 in the Amos Walker series taking place in Detroit, Michigan. He has been hired to watch for trucks that are smuggling goods.
Three policeman are gunned down and he is also helping the wife of another policeman to find the killers.
He ends up beaten up after speaking to a doped up very young black girl, and found in the alley.
A huge man 6’5 with a red beard called Bum Bassett is like a rescue St Bernard and helps him out. He is a bail bondsman from the west and acts like a cowboy. Amos says he “feels like something that was forgotten in a fridge.”after his beating.
The two men work together after the young girl is found dead in Amos’ trunk.
Things aren’t always as they seem and no one is who they pretend to be. Twist at the end makes for enjoyable reading up until the last page, and leaves you hungry for more.
Three policeman are gunned down and he is also helping the wife of another policeman to find the killers.
He ends up beaten up after speaking to a doped up very young black girl, and found in the alley.
A huge man 6’5 with a red beard called Bum Bassett is like a rescue St Bernard and helps him out. He is a bail bondsman from the west and acts like a cowboy. Amos says he “feels like something that was forgotten in a fridge.”after his beating.
The two men work together after the young girl is found dead in Amos’ trunk.
Things aren’t always as they seem and no one is who they pretend to be. Twist at the end makes for enjoyable reading up until the last page, and leaves you hungry for more.
July 21, 2025
A great story much of which is based on actual events in the city of Detroit. However, this is not history, but a fictionalized account with actual events being the inspiration for the storyline. Amos Walker is a PI. He has a good connection with the police and also rapport with locals in the Detroit neighborhoods. I enjoy the many Detroit locals described in this book, as I am familiar with them from my many years of working in the city of Detroit. The story does have its twists and turns, but a careful reader can detect when characters don't seem quite the way they appear. I will continue to read this series.
Borrowed from the Berkley Michigan Library System.
Borrowed from the Berkley Michigan Library System.
February 3, 2020
The Midnight Men say, "Look for us when the moon is new but keep you distance...the prey we're stalking is you. As always Walker finds himself in the middle of crime in Detroit. Bodies start piling up and Walker must watch his back.
November 2, 2018
Gritty PI story in 1982 Detroit. Violent but well told and a surprise ending. First one in this series for me but I will try more.
November 5, 2018
Didn't know Ford was using robots in manufacturing cars as early as the 80's.
May 30, 2019
A pretty good twist
August 22, 2019
Just can't really get into this series. Think I'll drop it for now.
February 28, 2020
Quite a decent and funny mystery. For some reason, I didn't see the ending coming.
August 17, 2021
Another Amos Walker, Detroit PI story. Good and gritty !
March 26, 2024
# 3 of 3. Enjoyed it almost as much as the first two.
November 17, 2024
The story as good as he does but he just had to squeeze the babes…gag me…still the wit & chase was worth it.
May 26, 2025
Old one, enjoyed the 70's Detroit backdrop.
January 14, 2016
THE MIDNIGHT MAN by Loren D. Estleman…..Loren Estleman writes classic hard-boiled PI fiction slicker than black ice on the Long Island Expressway.
This 3rd book of the Amos Walker series begins with the murder of two Detroit cops and the crippling of another by a hold-over black militant group. The crippled sergeant once did Walker a favor, so he agrees to do a little pro bono work and find the last remaining fugitive from the group who carried out the attack. They want Walker to bring him back alive to face a life sentence just as the sergeant and his wife feel they are facing with his permanent disability. The magnitude of the favor Sgt. Van Sturtevant did for Walker is a little sketchy and I wasn’t sure why it deserved such a big return, but that’s why they invented suspension of disbelief.
Walker undergoes the obligatory beating or two every lone wolf PI must suffer and meets an out-of-town, theatrical bounty hunter who claims he’s the one who’ll find the fugitive when the police and Walker can’t. “Bum” Basset and Amos form a shaky friendship and bump heads a few times before the resolution of the case.
This is more of a PI procedural than a whodunit, and it wouldn’t take Sherlock Holmes to see the basic outcome early on, but Estleman adds a couple of nice twists to make you enjoy the ending and his talent as a writer of old-fashioned PI noir.
If you’re offended by politically incorrect language, don’t even start this book. You might think you were reading something from 1968 rather than 1982 when this was published. But that’s Amos Walker, an archaic personality living in and acting out his own past and that of the seamier sides of Detroit. But if you like these dark back-alley gumshoe novels, Walker is right up there with Philip Marlowe and more prolific. 4.5 stars.
This 3rd book of the Amos Walker series begins with the murder of two Detroit cops and the crippling of another by a hold-over black militant group. The crippled sergeant once did Walker a favor, so he agrees to do a little pro bono work and find the last remaining fugitive from the group who carried out the attack. They want Walker to bring him back alive to face a life sentence just as the sergeant and his wife feel they are facing with his permanent disability. The magnitude of the favor Sgt. Van Sturtevant did for Walker is a little sketchy and I wasn’t sure why it deserved such a big return, but that’s why they invented suspension of disbelief.
Walker undergoes the obligatory beating or two every lone wolf PI must suffer and meets an out-of-town, theatrical bounty hunter who claims he’s the one who’ll find the fugitive when the police and Walker can’t. “Bum” Basset and Amos form a shaky friendship and bump heads a few times before the resolution of the case.
This is more of a PI procedural than a whodunit, and it wouldn’t take Sherlock Holmes to see the basic outcome early on, but Estleman adds a couple of nice twists to make you enjoy the ending and his talent as a writer of old-fashioned PI noir.
If you’re offended by politically incorrect language, don’t even start this book. You might think you were reading something from 1968 rather than 1982 when this was published. But that’s Amos Walker, an archaic personality living in and acting out his own past and that of the seamier sides of Detroit. But if you like these dark back-alley gumshoe novels, Walker is right up there with Philip Marlowe and more prolific. 4.5 stars.
January 7, 2024
"The Midnight Man" is a virtual explosion of hard-boiled detective noir. Loren D. Estleman's third book of the series is engaging, but perhaps not as much as the iconic first book in the series, "Motor City Blue". Amos Walker is wisecracking and the cast of supporting characters are interesting and fairly well developed. A book that reminds us that once upon a time, you had to find a pay phone if you wanted to make a call when you were out and about in the city. The most interesting character besides Amos is probably the injured cops wife. She should have had more page time, especially toward the end of the novel. There's a nice twist at the conclusion of the book that you can't see coming, but just seems like it fits the mood and the story like a glove.
February 18, 2014
This was the first of the gumshoe Amos Walker books I've read. Been a fan ever since. Way back in 1987 there was this place called "The Worlds Biggest Bookstore" in Toronto. That's where I first encountered this character. People where out and about more in literary haunts in those pre-internet days.
July 22, 2012
More Detroit noir, very Chandleresque. I found myself wondering, though, if this novel was a snapshot of the era and place (1980s Detroit) or racist. I'm going to give the next book in the series a try before I make a judgment.
July 29, 2012
pretty decent mystery/thriller novel. hard-boiled dialogue.
I hadn't heard of the author before and I may wind up checking out some more of his work.
I hadn't heard of the author before and I may wind up checking out some more of his work.
August 8, 2008
Great, great hard-boiled detective novel so far.
September 1, 2012
Not bad, but I did skim through a lot.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews