Desperate Detroit and Stories of Other Dire Places - Hardcover

An authority on both criminal history and the American West, Loren D. Estleman has been called the most critically acclaimed author of his generation. He has been nominated for the National Book Award and the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Allan Poe Award.

"An entertaining miscellany of short stories from the past 40 years." --The Wall Street Journal

"Estleman has always favored a vintage style of hard-boiled noir ... from westerns to a vampire tale ... featur[ing] his trademark Detroit setting and tough-guy humor, as well as his durable antihero, the professional hit man Peter Macklin, whose assignment is to take out six targets in 10 days. This being Detroit, automotive references abound, most inventively in the image of a mobster's hair swept back on both sides 'like the fenders of a 1949 Mercury.'" --The New York Times

"Virtually all of the stories have a neat, unforeseen twist; Estleman is a master craftsman of the genre and is a creative, compelling writer." --Lansing State Journal

"All that delicious prose, boiled down to bite-sized pieces. And it's just the collection of confections I expected: an imagined soliloquoy from John Dillinger, tales of a small-town bookshop owner/sleuth, a blood feud, a witness who isn't protected after all, and much more." --News Observer

"Estleman...is a master of short fiction. This collection [is] immensely enjoyable.... Estleman's long-form fiction is very popular...those fans will get a serious kick out of this collection." --Booklist

"Loren D. Estleman is...in league with Anthony Trollope and Joyce Carol Oates.... The words don't just pour out of Estleman's typewriters...no, they roar...remarkable for their consistently high quality. Desperate Detroit...will solidify Estleman's stature with his hardcore fans, while serving as an ideal introduction for uninitiated readers. The book is a sumptuous smorgasbord." --The Millions

"While the stories vary in subject matter and setting, the one common thread running through most all of them is the ironic twist ending. Like the best suspense writers, Estleman knows how to lead the reader down the garden path. Like a con man running a three card monte scam, he makes sure that the ace is never where you think it's going to be. Indeed the one thing certain: it will never be where you think it is." --Blog Critics