What do you think?
Rate this book
Peter Macklin #1
Kill Zone
Peter Macklin, a consummate hit-man working for the Boniface crime family of Detroit, finds himself working for the FBI and the Secret Service to secure the release of several hundred hostages aboard a tour boat on Lake Erie.
344 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1984
237 people are currently reading
126 people want to read
About the author
Loren D. Estleman
314 books279 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
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
June 4, 2018
Kill Zone by American author Loren D. Estleman is his first book in his Peter Macklin mystery / thriller series. Macklin is a hit-man for the Michigan mob. In this first book a tour boat on Lake Erie is hijacked by a group called the Ziegfrieds. The FBI is struggling to find a way to save the people on the ship when they are approached by the lawyer for a mob boss currently residing in prison. His offer; he'll send his hit-man Peter Macklin to the ship to deal with the hijackers if his sentence is commuted.
An interesting plot line. There are some other twists in this story of course. The current mob boss (or the guy filling for the main guy) sends his own hit-man after Macklin as he is enjoying filling in and wants to stay in charge. As well, Macklin has family difficulties. And the FBI is trying to keep tabs on Macklin.
The story is nicely paced. Macklin works to find out more about the 8 people who make up Ziegfried. The story moves between Macklin, his opponent, the ship, the FBI and keeps you very interested in the goings on. Macklin is an interesting character, smart, capable and efficient. The story is tense and has plenty of action.
I enjoyed it very much, found it to be a comfortable, exciting read and it held my interest throughout. It'll be interesting to see how Macklin's life evolves after this first story (4 stars)
An interesting plot line. There are some other twists in this story of course. The current mob boss (or the guy filling for the main guy) sends his own hit-man after Macklin as he is enjoying filling in and wants to stay in charge. As well, Macklin has family difficulties. And the FBI is trying to keep tabs on Macklin.
The story is nicely paced. Macklin works to find out more about the 8 people who make up Ziegfried. The story moves between Macklin, his opponent, the ship, the FBI and keeps you very interested in the goings on. Macklin is an interesting character, smart, capable and efficient. The story is tense and has plenty of action.
I enjoyed it very much, found it to be a comfortable, exciting read and it held my interest throughout. It'll be interesting to see how Macklin's life evolves after this first story (4 stars)
August 9, 2024
Not a bad mystery, but certainly not my favorite detective. This one was a bit of an antihero, and utterly predictable (at least for me and that's because I read a LOT of mysteries). The writing was good, although I wasn't particularly interested in any of the characters. The plot was interesting, however it's been done several times and this wasn't anything original. I just didn't really connect with any of it. 3.5 ⭐.
July 31, 2023
I wanted to read something local and saw that Kill Zone was on Libby and is a hostage situation on a Boblo boat. I've read Estleman before and Kill Zone in tone does not differ much from his other novels. What is different is the "hero" of the novel, Peter Macklin, a hit man that is given his next hit that involves rescuing hostages on the boat. A "terrorist" group is holding the 800 passengers on the boat hostage. Most of the book is spent with Peter Macklin being hunted and making plans to board the boat. I was wondering if he ever was going to get on the boat which doesn't happen until page 200. My two disappointments with Kill Zone was not enough time on the boat and a lack of personality with any of the characters, especially, Peter Macklin. There's plenty of action and I enjoyed many of the scenes but the characters are all cardboard constructs. I'll read more Estleman for his Detroit coverage but I don't know that I'll read another Macklin book.
July 2, 2010
I ran across this series starring Peter Macklin while looking at an Estleman bibliography. Such a multi-faceted/talented author who manages to write excellent, well-written stories in multiple genres: detective, western, and thriller.
Apparently this was the first in a series of Macklin novels. While the plot is beyond fantasy (the idea of the FBI making a deal with an incarcerate mobster to get one of his "enforcers" (Macklin) to rescue 800 hostages on a Great Lakes steamboat being held captive by some homegrown terrorists totally strained my credulity. Not to mention that multiple injuries are cured virtually instantaneously by a hot shower...
Nevertheless, you can see strong hints of Estleman's talent that was revealed more completely in later works. Block does it much better with his Keller series.
Apparently this was the first in a series of Macklin novels. While the plot is beyond fantasy (the idea of the FBI making a deal with an incarcerate mobster to get one of his "enforcers" (Macklin) to rescue 800 hostages on a Great Lakes steamboat being held captive by some homegrown terrorists totally strained my credulity. Not to mention that multiple injuries are cured virtually instantaneously by a hot shower...
Nevertheless, you can see strong hints of Estleman's talent that was revealed more completely in later works. Block does it much better with his Keller series.
June 10, 2018
Interesting
Being familiar with Detroit and the Boblo boat peaked my interest. Discovering the author was in the same age bracket as I was, gave me perspective. This would make a great made fr TV movie.
Being familiar with Detroit and the Boblo boat peaked my interest. Discovering the author was in the same age bracket as I was, gave me perspective. This would make a great made fr TV movie.
June 21, 2024
Published in 1984 this one was a major trip down Nostalgia Lane. Half-baked terrorists hijack a Boblo Island boat (!) in Detroit and just so happens a government bureaucrat's daughter is on board - so the FBI calls a locked-up mobster for help and said mobster (looking to get his in the end because hello) calls in his top enforcer / hired gun Peter Macklin.
There's double-crossing, racial stereotyping and some slurs (hello, 1984) and, no joke, eleventy billion characters. It's nearly impossible to keep track of them all, so the best way to think of this book is through a cinematic lens. Charles Bronson would have starred in this back in the day had the film rights panned out.
It's not going to replace the soft spot I have for Estleman's Amos Walker series, but this Midwesterner just loved the nostalgia of it all.
There's double-crossing, racial stereotyping and some slurs (hello, 1984) and, no joke, eleventy billion characters. It's nearly impossible to keep track of them all, so the best way to think of this book is through a cinematic lens. Charles Bronson would have starred in this back in the day had the film rights panned out.
It's not going to replace the soft spot I have for Estleman's Amos Walker series, but this Midwesterner just loved the nostalgia of it all.
March 3, 2010
I didn't like it at all. I was practically falling asleep whenever I was reading it. Everyone just does drugs and kills people.
March 19, 2025
I finished this book for one reason and one reason only. To make sure my terrible review would hold and that there wasn't some plot twist that made the book some how enjoyable.
This was by far one of the worst books I have ever read. This author has no respect for women, the way he talks about them in his book is disgusting. His main character is insufferable, he treats his wife terribly and his son even worse. He is racist, thinks he is better than every one, and hates fat people. I still cannot get over him talking on the phone and hearing "A fat man's voice." Um what?
He is a horrible person all around.
And then there is issues with the plot itself. 7 people holding 800 people hostage? I mean in reality it was 4 people holding 800 people hostage since the other 3 were in the cabin with the captain. One at the front and one at the back of the boat on each level is enough to keep people from rising up? I do not buy that for a second.
And then we get to Macklin a for hire killer suddenly asked to become a detective and figure out who these people are? Sure that makes sense. He asked for $100,000 to do the job which is around a million today but he only gets half up front, spends most of it and makes no mention of getting the other half.
He is TERRIBLE to his wife and son, as well as all other women he encounters. He only talks about the bad about his wife. And then when she accuses him of killing he gets mad at her, but when his son does it he tells him what he does? Why? Because he excepts his son to get high and forget it. He tries to fight his son right before saying it to.
And then his side piece, he literally pays for his lunch with sex. And anytime he is with her the author has to make mention how Peter "grabbed her breast." His entire descriptive vocabulary for the scenes with her is utterly disgusting. It's clear that women to this author are simply a toy. I say this as a conservative woman who has never considered herself a feminist.
I don't know what is worse, knowing that there is more books to this awful series or the fact that when I returned the audiobook on libby there was some one waiting for it! I wish desperately I could save that poor sole from spending 8 hours thinking "It would be less painful if Macklin killed me, than if I kept reading this book."
This was by far one of the worst books I have ever read. This author has no respect for women, the way he talks about them in his book is disgusting. His main character is insufferable, he treats his wife terribly and his son even worse. He is racist, thinks he is better than every one, and hates fat people. I still cannot get over him talking on the phone and hearing "A fat man's voice." Um what?
He is a horrible person all around.
And then there is issues with the plot itself. 7 people holding 800 people hostage? I mean in reality it was 4 people holding 800 people hostage since the other 3 were in the cabin with the captain. One at the front and one at the back of the boat on each level is enough to keep people from rising up? I do not buy that for a second.
And then we get to Macklin a for hire killer suddenly asked to become a detective and figure out who these people are? Sure that makes sense. He asked for $100,000 to do the job which is around a million today but he only gets half up front, spends most of it and makes no mention of getting the other half.
He is TERRIBLE to his wife and son, as well as all other women he encounters. He only talks about the bad about his wife. And then when she accuses him of killing he gets mad at her, but when his son does it he tells him what he does? Why? Because he excepts his son to get high and forget it. He tries to fight his son right before saying it to.
And then his side piece, he literally pays for his lunch with sex. And anytime he is with her the author has to make mention how Peter "grabbed her breast." His entire descriptive vocabulary for the scenes with her is utterly disgusting. It's clear that women to this author are simply a toy. I say this as a conservative woman who has never considered herself a feminist.
I don't know what is worse, knowing that there is more books to this awful series or the fact that when I returned the audiobook on libby there was some one waiting for it! I wish desperately I could save that poor sole from spending 8 hours thinking "It would be less painful if Macklin killed me, than if I kept reading this book."
December 31, 2020
Thisa very interesting book.The thesis is different, and so theresfore interesting. Highly recommendA remarkable new antihero, mob hit man Peter Macklin must end a hostage crisis on a tour boat in Lake Erie
Siegfried, a terrorist group made up of a killer, a bassist, an ex-marine, a demolitions expert, a Black Panther, a national guardsman, and a couple of spoiled teenagers, is about to become Detroit’s worst nightmare. The motley gang boards a river cruise boat armed with M16s and enough explosives to burn the city down. They have eight hundred hostages, and if they don’t get what they want, Siegfried will kill every soul aboard.
Rescue is impossible. No cop could get on the boat. The only man with the skills for the job is Peter Macklin, a professional killer with ties to the local mob. Hired by the FBI bureau chief to sneak aboard the ship and destroy Siegfried from the inside out, Macklin will find killers in front of him—and another on his tail.
Set in Detroit, this fast-paced thriller introduces another great series from the three-time Shamus Award–winning author of the Amos Walker Mysteries.
Kill Zone is the 1st book in the Peter Macklin Thrillers, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Siegfried, a terrorist group made up of a killer, a bassist, an ex-marine, a demolitions expert, a Black Panther, a national guardsman, and a couple of spoiled teenagers, is about to become Detroit’s worst nightmare. The motley gang boards a river cruise boat armed with M16s and enough explosives to burn the city down. They have eight hundred hostages, and if they don’t get what they want, Siegfried will kill every soul aboard.
Rescue is impossible. No cop could get on the boat. The only man with the skills for the job is Peter Macklin, a professional killer with ties to the local mob. Hired by the FBI bureau chief to sneak aboard the ship and destroy Siegfried from the inside out, Macklin will find killers in front of him—and another on his tail.
Set in Detroit, this fast-paced thriller introduces another great series from the three-time Shamus Award–winning author of the Amos Walker Mysteries.
Kill Zone is the 1st book in the Peter Macklin Thrillers, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
July 11, 2024
finished 11th jul 2024 good read three stars i liked it kindle library loaner first from estleman and entertaining story about a group that takes a tour boat hostage with idea of demanding release of ten in prison or they blow the boat, and the telling suggests they'll blow the boat anyway. glanced at pae one reviews prior to setting out, this after determining i'd hadn't read it yet, saw one who complained it took a while to get to the boat. probably colored my read. story published in 1984...before the fabled day and all that has come after and some that came before...so we're all familiar with the action heroes. so that influenced thoughts as i plugged along...wondering what the action heroes would be plotting. i think this is "pater macklin #1" and it is up to macklin to dare the rescue, an idea from a mob boss in prison looking or an early release. has all the right size nuts and bolts, everything seems fairly well fitted and the story plugs along. entertaining read as i said. i'll read more rom estleman provided i come across stories available at the digital library.
May 26, 2024
This may sound weird, but the lack of commas made a number of sentences hard to understand. Did an editor / proofreader not go through this book before it was published?
The next issue was that it really took a LONG time to get to the boat with the 800 hostages! I was confused. Is this a book about Peter Macklin or about the rescue of 800 hostages on a boat on Lake Erie?
On the positive side, the book was a quick read; the plot moved along quickly too.
Lastly, I’m not sure a story about a killer is something I want to explore in depth. Translation: I don’t think I’m going to read any more books about Peter Macklin.
The next issue was that it really took a LONG time to get to the boat with the 800 hostages! I was confused. Is this a book about Peter Macklin or about the rescue of 800 hostages on a boat on Lake Erie?
On the positive side, the book was a quick read; the plot moved along quickly too.
Lastly, I’m not sure a story about a killer is something I want to explore in depth. Translation: I don’t think I’m going to read any more books about Peter Macklin.
September 20, 2024
Very solid crime thriller, the first in a five book series. Peter Macklin is a hit man for the mob, but he somehow gets the job of taking on a group of terrorists who have taken an entire tour boat hostage on Lake Erie. But before he takes that job on he’s got business to sort out on land first, and plenty of blood is spilled because, he is a hit man, after all. Entertaining and fast moving, I enjoyed this enough that I will seek out the four other books. Recommended.
May 28, 2021
PROTAGONIST: Peter Macklin, hit man
SERIES: #1
RATING: 2.75
WHY: A tour boat is hijacked by a group who want several prisoners released to give it up. Hit man Peter Macklin is asked by the FBI to take care of the situation. Took me forever to read this; it just never clicked although I finished it. Nothing really about hit man life; at end he goes into assassination mode on the boat.
SERIES: #1
RATING: 2.75
WHY: A tour boat is hijacked by a group who want several prisoners released to give it up. Hit man Peter Macklin is asked by the FBI to take care of the situation. Took me forever to read this; it just never clicked although I finished it. Nothing really about hit man life; at end he goes into assassination mode on the boat.
May 24, 2020
Too ridiculous to be enjoyable as a suspense novel, too serious to be enjoyable as camp. A mob hit-man, worshipped by the ladies, is hired by the FBI to take out a group of terrorists...it's every bit as silly as it sounds.
November 17, 2021
From my uncle. Dark and violent with occasional poetic writing. My favorite part is cruising around Detroit with the hero - he lives in Southfield, drives up and down Lahser and Evergreen and so on. Fun for me to remember and revisit those places.
April 4, 2024
DNF. I really tried to stick with this book and I got almost half way through and just couldn't read anymore of it. There are TONS of characters and you can tell it is written by an older male. I didn't realize the book was published so long ago.
August 27, 2018
Macklin is a different kind of 'hero' than Loren Estleman has previously introduced. I find myself rooting for him even as I don't like all of his methods or decisions.
December 18, 2019
Actually, I’d give it 3.5 stars. But I was kind and rounded up. It had its moments. Just not a lot at any one time.
June 14, 2021
Assassin hero
Interesting concept - a mob hit man gets a job to be the "hero" in a hostage situation. Entertaining read, even with a couple of plot holes.
Interesting concept - a mob hit man gets a job to be the "hero" in a hostage situation. Entertaining read, even with a couple of plot holes.
Read
April 14, 2023Can't rate - in a rut - couldn't concentrate - auto returned to library - no fault of the book but a did not finish option on here might be good...
May 5, 2023
OK but not interested in more from this author.
May 17, 2023
Predictable.
July 28, 2023
Interesting. Do not normally read books about murder for hire. Not sure I will continue this series, but it was interesting and well written.
August 30, 2023
In parts, I struggled to get through this - Peter Macklin is a mob hit man, hired to take out some non-mob bad guys. But, the ending was good and the series shows promise.
October 12, 2023
Not bad.
December 22, 2023
Good fun read!
May 25, 2024
I came to this thru narrator Justin Price, and looking for something like Westlake or Leonard. This one tried but didn't quite get there. I will try one if it is audio by Price or better.
December 29, 2024
Just can’t embrace a murderer as a hero
January 6, 2025
Estleman Easels #1
Peter Macklin #1
Veery ordinary tale here, I just found it unsatisfying and quite dull actually, not a fan I am afraid, but others may find enjoyment.
Peter Macklin #1
Veery ordinary tale here, I just found it unsatisfying and quite dull actually, not a fan I am afraid, but others may find enjoyment.
August 11, 2024
Interesting mystery and characters.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews