NEW hardcover

Angel in Black Nathan Heller Novels Collins, Max Allan

From Publishers WeeklyThe 1947 Black Dahlia case provides the basis for Shamus Award winner Collinss latest intriguing blend of fiction and reallife mystery featuring his wellconnected Chicago PI, Nathan Heller Majic Man; Flying Blind Newly married and in LA to publicize his partnership with a Californiabased PI, Heller and a reporter are the first to discover the severed, mutilated body of Elizabeth Short It just so happens Heller knew her theyd dated briefly in Chicago and shed called just the night before, claiming she was pregnant If made public, this connection would not only threaten Hellers marriage and business but make him a suspect The authorities are treating this as a sex crime, but Heller thinks the mob is sending a message to informers The case also recalls the grisly Kingsbury Run murders which Collins explored in his 1988 Eliot Ness novel, Butchers Dozen In his quest to catch the killer, Heller brings in Ness and hobnobs with gangsters and movie stars, including Orson Welles, who hints at his own possible involvement The characters, historical and fictional, come delightfully to life; the victim, too, turns out to be tragically complex, at once deceitful, nave and endearing Collins paints a web of interconnections in a tightly woven plot and posits a radical solution to a crime that still resonates in literature and moviesCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, IncProduct DescriptionIn Los Angeles to help launch a West Coast branch of his detective agency, Chicago private detective Nathan Heller becomes caught up in the notorious Black Dahlia homicide when he discovers that the victim, Elizabeth Short, is a young woman whom he had known in Chicago and who had contacted him shortly before her deathFrom BooklistNathan Heller, founder and president of Chicagos A1 Detective Agency, is in Los Angeles in 1947 to forge a partnership with Fred Bradbury, an exChicago cop running a small detective business Nate is also on a honeymoon with his new bride, Peggy, who has visions of Hollywood stardom Heller is schmoozing with a HeraldExaminer reporter when the scribe picks up a possible homicide alert on his policeband radio Thats how Heller finds himself on the scene of what will become LAs most famous officially unsolved murder: the Black Dahlia case The victim is a beautiful young women who was tortured, raped, drained of fluids, cut in two, and dumped in a vacant lot The victim is initially unknown to the cops, but not to Heller Shes Elizabeth Short, with whom Heller had a recent affair before marrying Peggy A couple days earlier Short contacted Heller with news of her pregnancyby him If the cops knew, Heller would be their top suspect, so while he assists in the investigation, he also covers up his relationship with the victim But Heller also has a theory about the crime: that it was not strictly a sex crime but a Moborchestrated execution staged to send a message The Nate Heller historical crime novels consistently mesmerize with their carefully researched period detailnoir meets the History Channeland their unique, alternative solutions to famous crimes Collins take on the Black Dahlia may be less brooding and less experimental than James Ellroys version The Blue Dahlia, 1987, but its also more entertaining and will appeal to a wider audience of mainstream historical mystery fans Wes LukowskyCopyright American Library Association All rights reservedReviewa harrowing, harddriving and wellresearched tale that ranks among the best work hes ever done January MagazineA remarkable series Ellery Queens Mystery MagazineCollins take on the Black Dahlia may be less broodingthan James Ellroys version but its also more entertaining Booklist, March 1, 2001Highly entertaining Los Angeles TimesNo one can twist you through a maze with as much intensity and suspense as Collins Clive CusslerRefreshingly