Title: Chicago Confidential
Release: June 2002
ISBN: 0-451-20650-9 (2002 Hardcover), 0-451-20856-0 (2003 Paperback)
Publisher: NAL (Hardcover), Signet (Paperback)
Purchase: Kindle | Paperback | MP3 Audio CD | Audio CDs

New York Times bestselling author Max Allan Collins seamlessly blends fact and fiction to recreate the twentieth century's most notorious crimes.  Now, in this spellbinding tale of suspense, detective Nathan Heller leaves behind the glamour of Hollywood for a wild ride in the Windy City . . . .

Chicago, 1950--the target of America's first-ever congressional inquiry into organized crime.  Big trouble for anyone who knows where the bodies are buried, and Nate Heller has buried more than a few of them himself.  He has no illusions about his civic duty--he prefers to stay alive and in business, mixing with the likes of starlet Jayne Mansfield and singer Frank Sinatra.  But certain high-level gangsters, including Sam Giancana and the Fischetti brothers, aren't so sure Heller will stay discreet.

After all, the private eye's partner, ex-cop Bill Drury, is cooperating with the feds in a big way.  And soon Heller finds himself at the center of a federal squeeze play as Red-baiting senator Joe McCarthy weighs in with his own threats. . . and a strange hidden agenda.   When Drury becomes the target of Syndicate assassins, and a troubled showgirl is sadistically victimized, Heller stands up against the mod--not in court, but with his own brand of rough justice.

From the Ferris wheels and roller coasters of Riverview Park to the dark alleys and sleazy strip bars of the Near Northside, Chicago Confidential showcases Max Allan Collins, the "master of true-crime fiction" (Publishers Weekly), at his innovative best.

January Magazine: (Spoilers at link) "With its quicksilver dialogue, truly menacing action sequences, political undercurrents and unexpected solution, [Chicago Confidential] is one gangbuster of a book."

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