Jitterbug

Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: During World War II, Detroit becomes a Mecca for manufacturing weapons and aircraft for the war. Many southern blacks flock to the city as employment is readily available. However, the number of inductees for the war leaves the city's police force in jeopardy. Experience is lacking and the number of cops are at a critical low. Lieutenant Maximillian "Zag" Zagreb and his three experienced detectives lead a law enforcement team made up of 4-F rejects sprinkled with reemployed annuitant officers, who had previously retired.

The cops are already overworked when a patriotic serial killer emerges. The "Kilroy Killer" is slaying anyone who allegedly is hoarding ration stamps. As the police struggle to retain order and uncover the identity of a dangerous mass murderer, race riots rock the city in the summer of 43. Even as the police cope with the rioting, they continue to seek out the identity of a demented patriot before more lives are lost.

JITTERBUG is one of the best historical police procedurals this reviewer has ever read. The story line is gritty as it combines fact with fiction to paint a rarely seen picture of the home front during the big war. The characters are all brilliantly developed and their motives, even that of the deranged killer, is understandable. Loren D. Estleman demonstrates why he is an award winning author, who deserves new accolades for a fantastic novel that will leave readers dancing in the streets.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Vivid descriptions, fun story
Review: i liked this book a lot for the atmosphere and the serial killer, but unfortunately his capture is sewed up too soon and simply for me. Contrary to what one reviewer has said, I think the cops were portrayed rather well. I was pleased to discover yet another very competent and creative detective novelist.

Rating:
Summary: Worth a Read
Review: I only gave this book three stars because it is not really the type of story that turns me on, but I do recommend it for fans of historically accurate, gritty police and action novels. Estleman really knows how to capture the mood and feeling of a time period. His war-time Detroit seems dead-on, and as a resident I enjoyed the references to streets and places in the city. The novel was also informative - I hadn't known that there was a race riot during the war years, and the information about the war effort at the auto plants was fascinating.

My main criticism would be the characters of the cops. They didn't stand out as individual personalities, and I didn't get involved with them as I do with Elmore Leonard's novels. However, fans of Leonard could do worse than reading "Jitterbug" and other Estleman novels.

Rating:
Summary: Cynicism and cynical characters abound.
Review: It's the 1940's, the country's at war, most of the young healthy men of Detroit have left to fight, and there is a serial killer loose in the city. Enter four jaw busting, foul mouthed middle aged cops, teamed to find the killer. (These guys are definitely not the Untouchables)

The serial killer is not the main character and the reader knows who he is from the beginning so there is little mystery. The investigation is a vehicle for meeting the characters and presenting 1940's Detroit, a city of corruption and bigotry. The book is populated with sarcastic and cynical characters and description is usually sarcastic and cynical. Historical characters, such as Henry Ford and FDR, are portrayed unsympathetically. In contrast to the rough characterizations, though, are the compassionate portrayal of the two young black men, Dwight and Earl.

I found this a book that held my attention all the way through. The characters seemed real, although, for the most part, unlikable and the story successfully casts a rather somber mood.

Rating:
Summary: Estleman's my tour guide/historian
Review: My mother was in high school just outside of Detroit during the war years and I've heard her stories often. I enjoyed Estleman telling me more about what was going on there when she was young.