Loren D. Estleman (born September 15, 1952, in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is an American writer of detective and Western fiction. He is known for a series of crime novels featuring the investigator Amos Walker.
Life and work Estleman graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 1974 with a BA in English and journalism. In 2002, Eastern Michigan University presented him with an honorary doctorate in humane letters. He married the mystery writer Deborah Morgan in 1993. He writes with a manual typewriter.
Estleman published his first novel, The Oklahoma Punk, in 1976, and published the first of his P.I. Amos Walker series, for which he is best known, in 1980. Other series center on 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), and a more recent series about Valentino, who tracks down lost films, and crimes related to them. 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, as well as contributions to several books on how to write and sell stories and novels. Estleman's literary works have been recognized and highlighted by Michigan State University in their Michigan Writers Series.
Estleman's Amos Walker stories occasionally acknowledge fellow Detroit P.I. Ben Perkins, created by Rob Kantner, and Kantner has done the same.
Bibliography
Amos Walker novels Motor City Blue (1980) Angel Eyes (1981) The Midnight Man (1982) The Glass Highway (1983) Sugartown (1985) Every Brilliant Eye (1986) Lady Yesterday (1987) Downriver (1988) Silent Thunder (1989) Sweet Women Lie (1990) Never Street (1997) The Witchfinder (1998) The Hours of the Virgin (1999) A Smile on the Face of the Tiger (2000) Sinister Heights (2002) Poison Blonde (2003) Retro (2004) Nicotine Kiss (2006) American Detective (2007) The Left-handed Dollar (2010) Infernal Angels (2011) Burning Midnight (2012) Don't Look for Me (2014) You Know Who Killed Me (2014) The Sundown Speech (2015) The Lioness Is the Hunter (2017) Black and White Ball (2018) When Old Midnight Comes Along (2019) Cutthroat Dogs (2021) Monkey in the Middle (2022) City Walls (2023) "Decades after his debut, [Amos] Walker remains as vigorous as ever. Fans of Chandler and Hammett will be thrilled." Smoke on the Water (2025) Man One (2026)
Amos Walker short-story collections
General Murders (1988) Amos Walker: The Complete Story Collection (2010)
Other books
Western novels see also under Contributions to collections, below The Hider (1978) Aces and Eights (1981) The Wolfer (1981) Mister St. John (1983) This Old Bill (1984) Gun Man (1985) Bloody Season (1987) The Best Western Stories of Loren D. Estleman (1989; selected by Bill Pronzini and Martin H. Greenberg) Sudden Country (1991) Billy Gashade: An American Epic (1997) Journey of the Dead (1998) Black Powder, White Smoke (2002) The Undertaker's Wife (2005) The Adventures of Johnny Vermillion (2006) Roy & Lillie: A Love Story (2010) Ragtime Cowboys (2014) The Long High Noon (2015) The Ballad of Black Bart (2017)
Page Murdock The High Rocks (1979) Stamping Ground (1980) Murdock's Law (1982) The Stranglers (1984) "The Angel of Santa Sofia" (1989, in The Best Western Stories of Loren D. Estleman) City of Widows (1995) White Desert (2000) Port Hazard (2004) The Book of Murdock (2010) Cape Hell (2016) Wild Justice (2018)
Sherlock Holmes see also under Contributions to collections, below Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula; or, The Adventures of the Sanguinary Count (1978) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Holmes (1979) The Perils of Sherlock Holmes (2012)
Peter Macklin Kill Zone (1984) Roses Are Dead (1985) Any Man's Death (1986) Something Borrowed, Something Black (2002) Little Black Dress (2005)
The Detroit novels The Detroit series sets out "to tell the story of America in the twentieth century through the microcosm of Detroit, the one city whose history mirrors precisely the history of the United States of America".Afterword by author in Thunder City Whiskey River (1990) Motown (1991) King of the Corner (1992) Edsel (1995) Stress (1996) Jitterbug (1998) Thunder City (1999)
Given its historical fiction nature, the series is often given "in order of chronology rather than date of publication: Thunder City (1900–1910); Whiskey River (1928–1939); Jitterbug (1943); Edsel (1951–1959); Motown (1966); Stress (1973); and King of the Corner (1990)".
Valentino, film detective Frames: A Valentino Mystery (2008) Alone: A Valentino Mystery (2009) Valentino: Film Detective (Crippen & Landru, 2011; short stories) Alive! A Valentino Mystery (2013) Shoot: A Valentino Mystery (2016) Brazen: A Valentino Mystery (2016) Indigo: A Valentino Mystery (2020) Vamp: A Valentino Mystery (2023)
Other The Oklahoma Punk (1976; AKA Red Highway) Peeper (1989; Ralph Poteet) People Who Kill (1993; short story) The Rocky Mountain Moving Picture Association (1999; historical) The Master Executioner (2001) Gas City (2008) The Branch and the Scaffold: A Novel of Judge Parker (2009) The Confessions of Al Capone (2013) The Eagle and the Viper (2021) Paperback Jack (2022)
Story collections
Detroit Is Our Beat: Tales of the Four Horsemen (2015; short story collection) Nearly Nero (2017; short story collection) Desperate Detroit: And Stories of Other Dire Places (2016)
Contributions to collections Estleman's short stories have been collected in a variety of anthologies, including both western and crime collections:
"Bloody July" in The New Black Mask Quarterly, number 1 (1985, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli & Richard Layman) "I'm in the Book" in Mean Streets: Volume 2: The Second Private Eye Writers of America Anthology (1986, edited by Robert J. Randisi) "The Used" in The Black Lizard Anthology of Crime Fiction (1987, edited by Edward Gorman) "The Tree on Execution Hill" in Uncollected Crimes (1987, edited by Bill Pronzini and Martin H. Greenberg) "The Tree on Execution Hill" also appeared in Opening Shots: Great Mystery and Crime Writers Share Their First Published Stories (2000, edited by Lawrence Block) "Blond and Blue" in Homicidal Acts #4 (1988, edited by Bill Pronzini and Martin H. Greenberg) "Gun Music" in Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe: A Centennial Celebration (1988, edited by Byron Preiss) "Mago's Bride" in Westeryear: Stories About the West, Past and Present (1988, edited by Edward Gorman) "Dead Soldier" in City Sleuths and Tough Guys (1989, edited by David Willis McCullough) "Hell on the Draw" in The New Frontier: The Best of Today's Western Fiction (1989, edited by Joe R. Lansdale) "Hell on the Draw" also appeared in The Western Hall of Fame Anthology (1997, edited by Dale L. Walker, ) and A Century of Great Western Stories (2000, edited by John Jakes, ) "The Death of Dutch Creel" in Christmas out West (1990, edited by Bill Pronzini and Martin H. Greenberg) "The Crooked Way" in P.I. Files (1990, edited by Estleman and Martin H. Greenberg) "I, Monster" in The Ultimate Frankenstein (1991, edited by Byron Preiss) "Slipstream" in Deadly Allies II: Private Eye Writers of America and Sisters in Crime Collaborative Anthology (1994, edited by Robert J. Randisi and Susan Dunlap) "The Hack" in Deals with the Devil (1994, edited by Mike Resnick, Martin H. Greenberg, and Estleman) "The Bandit" in Great Stories of the American West (1994, edited by Martin H. Greenberg) "Iron Heart's Story" in New Trails: Twenty-Three Original Stories of the West from Western Writers of America (1994, edited by John Jakes and Martin H. Greenberg) "Gun Man" in Frontier Legends (1995) "Greektown" in A Century of Mystery, 1980-1989: The Greatest Stories of the Decade (1996, edited by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini) "Robbers' roost" in First Cases: First Appearances of Classic Private Eyes (1996, edited by Robert J. Randisi) "The Adventure of the Three Ghosts" in Holmes for the Holidays (1996, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Jon L. Lellenberg, and Carol-Lynn Waugh) "Web of Books" in Senior Sleuths (1996, edited by Cynthia Manson and Constance Scarborough) "The Alchemist" in The Best of the American West: Outstanding Frontier Fiction (1998, edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg) "Redneck" in The Best American Mystery Stories, 1999 (1999, edited by Ed McBain) "The Pilgrim" in The Best of the American West II: Frontier Adventure (1999, edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg) "Dr. and Mrs. Watson at Home" in The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Original Stories (1999, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Jon L. Lellenberg, and Carol-Lynn Rössel Waugh) "The Adventure of the Greatest Gift" in More Holmes for the Holidays (1999, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Jon L. Lellenberg, and Carol-Lynn Waugh) "Cat King of Cochise County" in Tales of the American West: The Best of Spur Award-Winning Authors (2000, edited by Richard S. Wheeler) "The Man in the White Hat" in The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories: First Annual Collection (2000, edited by Ed Gorman) "Thirteen Coils" in American West: Twenty New Stories from the Western Writers of America (2001, edited by Estleman) "South Georgia Crossing" in The Blue and the Gray Undercover: All New Civil War Spy Adventures (2001, edited by Ed Gorman) "The Adventure of the Arabian Knight" in Murder in Baker Street: New Tales of Sherlock Holmes (2001, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Jon L. Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower) "Used" in A Century of Noir: Thirty-Two Classic Crime Stories (2002, edited by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins) "Evil Grows" in Mystery: The Best of 2001 (2002, edited by Jon L. Breen) "Lady on Ice" in A Hot and Sultry Night for Crime (2003, edited by Jeffery Deaver) "Lady on Ice" also appears in The Shamus Winners: America's Best Private Eye Stories. Volume II, 1996-2009 (2010, collected and introduced by Robert J. Randisi) "Riddle of the Golden Monkeys" in Murder, My Dear Watson: New Tales of Sherlock Holmes (2003, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower) "Hangman's Choice" in Stagecoach (2003, edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg) "Bog" in Wild Crimes: Stories of Mystery in the Wild (2004, edited by Dana Stabenow) "The Devil and Sherlock Holmes" in Ghosts in Baker Street (2006, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Jon Lellenberg and Daniel Stashower) "Kill the Cat" in Detroit Noir (2007, edited by E.J. Olsen & John C. Hocking) "Mark and Bill" in Lost Trails (2007, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Russell Davis) "Smart Aleck" in At the Scene of the Crime: Forensic Mysteries from Today's Best Writers (2008, edited by Dana Stabenow) "The Profane Angel" in A Prisoner of Memory: And 24 of the Year's Finest Crime and Mystery Stories (2008, edited by Ed Gorman & Martin H. Greenberg) "Adventure of the Coughing Dentist" in Sherlock Holmes in America (2009, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Jon L. Lellenberg, and Daniel Stashower) "Long High Noon" in Law of the Gun (2010, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Russell Davis) "Curve" in More Stories from the Twilight Zone (2010, edited by Carol Serling) "Sometimes a Hyena" in The Best American Mystery Stories: 2011 (2011, edited by Harlan Coben) "The List" in The Interrogator: And Other Criminally Good Fiction (2012, edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg)
Non-fiction "Method for Murder" in Writing Mystery and Crime Fiction (1985, edited by Sylvia K. Burack) Introduction to Bantam's two-volume Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories (1986) Introduction to Bantam Crimeline's reprint of Rex Stout's Fer-de-Lance, (1992) "Owen Wister" in Nineteenth-century American Western Writers (1997, Dictionary of Literary Biography v. 186, edited by Robert L. Gale)