Smoke on the Water by Loren D. Estleman

Published by Forge Books on February 11, 2025

“For weeks the air smelled like a wet dog dipped in lip wax.” I love sentences like that one. I love Loren D. Estleman because he produces them so regularly.

Smoke on the Water is the prolific Estleman’s latest Amos Walker mystery. Walker is retained by Hermano Suerte, a lawyer in a hotshot firm, to recover a file. The firm got the bright idea to send files home with its associates while its offices were being scrubbed free of mold. A box of files went missing when Spencer Bennett, the lawyer who had custody of it, was killed by a hit-and-run driver as he was walking to a bus. The story makes little sense to Walker because Bennett lived in Detroit and owned a car. Traveling by bus violates the principles of car owners in Detroit.

One file is more important than the others. A whistleblowing accountant named Francis Birdseye retained the firm after he discovered discrepancies in his employer’s books. Rather than explaining the missing money, his employer fired Birdseye. The employer is a construction company that doesn’t do any construction but appears to be shaking down companies with threats to destroy their property if they don’t pay up.

The police searched Bennett’s home as part of their death investigation but couldn’t find the files. Walker visits Bennett’s live-in partner, an artist named Evan Morse, who denies knowledge of the files. Walker knows he’s lying but doesn’t know why.

Birdseye appears to have been murdered by a car thief who ran him down with his own car. That's another fact that makes no sense to Walker. Nor does the eventual discovery of the car in an airport parking lot, along with a body in the driver's seat that died from two gunshots to the head.

Walker is a traditional gumshoe who makes a nuisance of himself until he pieces together the puzzle. He uncovers an erudite but homeless witness who sets him on the right track, but not in time to prevent more killings. A subplot involves series regular John Alderdyce, a homicide detective who may or may not have tried to commit suicide.

As is customary of Amos Walker novels, the plot is credible and the ending is surprising. Smoke drifting into Detroit from Canadian wildfires contribute to the novel’s atmosphere (and to the novel’s title). Characters are colorful and dialog is snappy. Since Estleman never wastes words, the story moves quickly. The plot has enough action (including a traditional shootout) to qualify as a thriller, but Estleman keeps the story in motion even when Walker isn’t enduring a beating. I’m not sure that Estleman is as popular as some best-selling thriller writers, but he should be. The man just flat out knows how to write.

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