Loren D. Estleman


Loren D. Estleman 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 most famous, 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, 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.

Amos Walker books

  1. Motor City Blue
  2. Angel Eyes
  3. The Midnight Man
  4. The Glass Highway
  5. Sugartown
  6. Every Brilliant Eye
  7. Lady Yesterday
  8. Downriver
  9. Silent Thunder
  10. Sweet Women Lie
  11. Never Street
  12. The Witch Finder
  13. The Hours of the Virgin
  14. A Smile on the Face of the Tiger
  15. Sinister Heights
  16. Poison Blonde
  17. Retro
  18. Nicotine Kiss
  19. American Detective
  20. The Left-handed Dollar
  21. Infernal Angels
  22. Burning Midnight
  23. Don't Look for Me
  24. You Know Who Killed Me
  25. The Sundown Speech
  26. The Lioness Is the Hunter
  27. Black and White Ball
  28. When Old Midnight Comes Along

    Amos Walker short stories

Western novels

see also under Contributions to collections, below
see also under Contributions to collections, below
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".
Given its historical fiction nature, the series is often given "in order of chronology rather than date of publication: Thunder City ; Whiskey River ; Jitterbug ; Edsel ; Motown ; Stress ; and King of the Corner ".

Valentino, film detective

Estleman's short stories have additionally been collected in a variety of anthologies, including both western and crime collections:
Estleman has won many awards for his writing including American Mystery Awards, Golden Spurs, and three Western Heritage Awards. He has been honored by the Michigan Foundation of the Arts and the Michigan Library Association.

Wins