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,

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

  1. Motor City Blue (1980) ISBN 9780449211335
  2. Angel Eyes (1981) ISBN 978-0-395-31558-3
  3. The Midnight Man (1982) ISBN 978-0-395-32204-8
  4. The Glass Highway (1983) ISBN 9780395346365
  5. Sugartown (1985) ISBN 978-0-395-36449-9
  6. Every Brilliant Eye (1986) ISBN 978-0-395-39428-1
  7. Lady Yesterday (1987) ISBN 9780395410721
  8. Downriver (1988) ISBN 9780395410738
  9. Silent Thunder (1989) ISBN 978-0-395-41075-2
  10. Sweet Women Lie (1990) ISBN 9780395537671
  11. Never Street (1997) ISBN 9780892966332
  12. The Witchfinder (1998) ISBN 9780892966639
  13. The Hours of the Virgin (1999) ISBN 9780892966837
  14. A Smile on the Face of the Tiger (2000) ISBN 9780892967063
  15. Sinister Heights (2002) ISBN 978-0-89296-738-4
  16. Poison Blonde (2003) ISBN 9780765304476
  17. Retro (2004) ISBN 9780765304483
  18. Nicotine Kiss (2006) ISBN 9780765312235
  19. American Detective (2007) ISBN 9780765312242
  20. The Left-handed Dollar (2010) ISBN 9780765319548
  21. Infernal Angels (2011) ISBN 9780765319555
  22. Burning Midnight (2012) ISBN 9780765331205
  23. Don't Look for Me (2014) ISBN 9780765331212
  24. You Know Who Killed Me (2014) ISBN 9780765337351
  25. The Sundown Speech (2015) ISBN 9780765337368
  26. The Lioness Is the Hunter (2017) ISBN 9780765388452
  27. Black and White Ball (2018) ISBN 9780765388476
  28. When Old Midnight Comes Along (2019) ISBN 9781250197177
  29. Cutthroat Dogs (2021) ISBN 9781250258656
  30. Monkey in the Middle (2022) ISBN 9781250827173
  31. City Walls (2023) ISBN 9781250827333
  32. Smoke on the Water (2025)
  33. Man One (2026)

Amos Walker short-story collections

  • General Murders (1988) ISBN 9780395410714
  • Amos Walker: The Complete Story Collection (2010) ISBN 9781935562245

Other books

Western novels

see also under Contributions to collections, below

  • The Hider (1978) ISBN 978-0-385-13627-3
  • Aces and Eights (1981) ISBN 978-0-385-17469-5
  • The Wolfer (1981) ISBN 9780515127041
  • Mister St. John (1983) ISBN 978-0-385-18713-8
  • This Old Bill (1984) ISBN 978-0-385-19165-4
  • Gun Man (1985) ISBN 978-0-385-23067-4
  • Bloody Season (1987) ISBN 9780553052312
  • The Best Western Stories of Loren D. Estleman (1989; selected by Bill Pronzini and Martin H. Greenberg) ISBN 978-0-8040-0911-9
  • Sudden Country (1991) ISBN 9780385247276
  • Billy Gashade: An American Epic (1997) ISBN 9780312859978
  • Journey of the Dead (1998) ISBN 978-0-312-85999-2
  • Black Powder, White Smoke (2002) ISBN 9780765301895
  • The Undertaker's Wife (2005) ISBN 9780765309136
  • The Adventures of Johnny Vermillion (2006) ISBN 9780765309143
  • Roy & Lillie: A Love Story (2010) ISBN 978-0-7653-2228-9
  • Ragtime Cowboys (2014) ISBN 9780765334541
  • The Long High Noon (2015) ISBN 9780765334558
  • The Ballad of Black Bart (2017) ISBN 9780765383532

Page Murdock

  • The High Rocks (1979)
  • Stamping Ground (1980) ISBN 978-0-385-15563-2
  • Murdock's Law (1982) ISBN 978-0-385-17957-7
  • The Stranglers (1984) ISBN 978-0-385-19326-9
  • "The Angel of Santa Sofia" (1989, in The Best Western Stories of Loren D. Estleman)
  • City of Widows (1995) ISBN 9780312856670
  • White Desert (2000) ISBN 9780312869694
  • Port Hazard (2004) ISBN 9780765301901
  • The Book of Murdock (2010) ISBN 9780765316004
  • Cape Hell (2016) ISBN 9780765383525
  • Wild Justice (2018) ISBN 9781250197092

Sherlock Holmes

see also under Contributions to collections, below

  • Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula; or, The Adventures of the Sanguinary Count (1978) ISBN 978-0-385-14051-5
  • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Holmes (1979) ISBN 978-0-385-15257-0
  • The Perils of Sherlock Holmes (2012) ISBN 9781440544149

Peter Macklin

  • Kill Zone (1984)
  • Roses Are Dead (1985) ISBN 978-0-89296-136-8
  • Any Man's Death (1986) ISBN 978-0-445-40266-9
  • Something Borrowed, Something Black (2002) ISBN 9780312878634
  • Little Black Dress (2005) ISBN 9780765308948

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".

  • Whiskey River (1990) ISBN 978-0-553-07042-2
  • Motown (1991) ISBN 9780553074215
  • King of the Corner (1992) ISBN 9780553089264
  • Edsel (1995) ISBN 9780892965526
  • Stress (1996) ISBN 9780892965533
  • Jitterbug (1998) ISBN 9780312863609
  • Thunder City (1999) ISBN 9780312863692

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)".

  • 1986 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, "Eight Mile and Dequindre"
  • 1987 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, "I'm in the Book"
  • 1991 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, "Cigarette Stop"