Westerfield's Chain

by Jack Clark

Book Overview

Westerfield's Chain was a finalist for the Shamus Award for Best First Private Eye Novel."A pure delight for many reasons, not the least of which is the way Jack Clark celebrates and rings a few... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 031228960X
• Release Date: November 2002
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.13 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.8" x 1.1" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

A Chicago mystery from someone who knows Chicago

My friends and I piled into the back of the Chicago cab, and it didn't take long to notice that the name on the cabbie's license and the name on an adjacent book review were identical. Jack Clark has learned the streets and neighborhoods of Chicago from one of the best teachers: experience. This gritty novel is a classic private investigator story, set in Chicago, with just the right amount of iniquity...nothing gratuitous. Follow PI Nick Acropolis around the Chicagoland area as he undoes the knot surrounding missing persons and welfare (...).

Dark and disturbing tale of Chicago

Private detective Nick Acropolis specializes in clearing cops under investigation. As an ex-cop who fell foul of the investigating board himself, Nick doesn't have much love for the process--but he isn't blind enough to believe his clients aren't mostly guilty. As he investigates a strange story of a traffic accident and shooting involving a cop, Nick stumbles onto something larger. A drug store in the middle of a burned out neighborhood seems mostly deserted, but the records show that it does millions in business--supported by the government. Its owner has suddenly vanished, one of the workers is a murder victim, and the other employee is strangely willing to clear Nick's client's name. Almost against his will, Nick begins to investigate. The more he looks, the more he finds about the corruption of Chicago and Illinois state governments, welfare rackets, and bad police. Still, he can't seem to put the story into context. Something just isn't adding up and it might be him being set up to be the fall guy. Author Jack Clark writes with a clear and straightforward style and a well balanced mix of character development and plot to compell the reader forward. With the damage his background has done to him, Nick is compelling and sympathetic, even when he compromises on his own ethics. Clark's view of Chicago, still suffering from the damage done by the race riots of the 1960s and 1970s, rings true. The city becomes something of a character in the story--one with plenty of flaws and with its redeaming charm.

A Must

This is a good mystery, very readable, and it flows along very nicely; difficult to put down.The story is about a disenchaned former cop, now getting by doingP.I. work for law firms, who stumbles into a much bigger, morecomplex case than he has encountered in a long time. Althoughhe has no business looking into the mysterious workings of the"Westerfield Chain" of drugstores, he can't keep away from thefascinating people and odd questions that keep popping up. Hisreal employers keep asking him what in the world he is doing,and they continually urge him to stick with their business.But he runs into the daughter of the business owner that hasoddly disappeared, and he is equally fascinating by her and byher connections with the legal questions involved, so he has, atleast in his mind, a genuine reason for continuing with his inquiries.However much danger is involved, even when the danger levelkeeps increasing.A nice mystery with a lot of interesting questions.But the best reason for reading this fascinating book is theauthor's skill at describing, all with words, the gritty and bleaklandscape of part of Chicago and the odd mix of people who live in, and police, some of the worst urban areas in the country.An involved reader will feel the dirt in the streets and see the sootyabandoned, burned-out buildings, as well as hear the cries andwails of the gang-bangers and the desperate people trying tolive amid lawlessness and poverty. The author really has theability to involve the reader in the landscape of his writing, andthere will be times when the reader will feel the need to do anextra-good job of washing up after reading some passages. Theuse of language is strong and skillful, and this writer will involvethe reader in ways that bring back memories of Chandler and hisdetailed portraits of people and place.This is a fine example of very nice, complex, involved writing,and any reader of mysteries will find it difficult to put down.Highly recommended.

fascinating urban noir thriller

Forty-five year old private sleuth Nick Acropolis used to be a homicide detective until he was kicked off the force. His partner robbed a bank while Nick was waiting on line as the crime was taking place. His partner spoke to him before leaving but when questioned, Nick didn't reveal the name of the robber or what was said to him. Now Nick is working as an investigator for law firms like Siegal and McGovern and hating every minute of it.He's currently working on a case where an off duty police officer was involved in road rage and the Review Board wants to terminate his employment. While trying to build a case for the lawyer's client, he meets Becky Westerfield who wants to hire him to find her missing father. The missing person's case turns into something much bigger when he learns that Becky's father is into massive public aid fraud and the people he works with at the pharmacy are dead or have disappeared. Nick is determined to get some answers no matter what the cost.This is Jack Clark's debut novel and it is a fascinating urban noir thriller. The protagonist is a likable character who, though he feels sorry for himself, is an intelligent investigator who is determined to figure out how a series of crimes are connected. Readers will appreciate his tenacity and ability to follow a lead, no matter how minor it is. WESTERFIELD'S CHAIN is a mystery that keeps readers interested and turning the pages.Harriet Klausner