Nicotine Kiss by Loren D. Estleman
Review by Vicky (VickyJo) 
For the past 25 years or so, Loren Estleman has been entertaining readers with his Shamus-award-winning series of mysteries starring Amos Walker, a private investigator based in Detroit, Michigan. The 21st Walker mystery is due to come out in early July, but in the meantime, let me tell you about an earlier novel in the series, Nicotine Kiss.
Amos is on the trail of a dead-beat dad in Grayling, Michigan, on the opening day of deer season. He’s hanging out in a bar called Spike’s Keg o’ Nails, because sooner or later, all deer hunters end up here. This particular dead beat dad may not pay his child support, but he’s never missed opening day.
While hanging out, he runs into an old acquaintance named Jeff Starzek, an active cigarette smuggler who mysteriously mentions that he has “diversified” his smuggling activities. Before Amos can get any details, his dead beat dad arrives, but seems to sense that Amos is on his tail, and leaves immediately.
He follows him to the parking lot, where Amos is unexpectedly shot. By the time he’s aware of anything else, Amos is told that his assailant committed suicide after shooting him, and that a mysterious man drove him to the ER…a man who fits Jeff Starzek’s description.
Amos, now with a limp and a cane, finally makes it back to work after the New Year. His first walk-in client hands him a business card…Amos’s own business card. He says his wife Rose has a brother named Jeff Starzek who smuggles cigarettes. Jeff told Rose that if she didn’t hear from him by the first of the year, to hire Amos to find him. Amos agrees to look for Jeff.
A few minutes later, a local police officer arrives, with a Homeland Security Fed in tow. They’re looking for Jeff too…a coincidence? Amos doesn’t think so. They know Amos and Jeff go way back, and wonder if he’s been in touch. But then they drop an interesting bit of information… according to the Feds, Jeff has an older brother, but no sister. So who was the man in Amos’s office, claiming to be Jeff’s brother-in-law? What has Jeff gotten into? It’s not just cigarette smuggling; what has Jeff diversified into? And how can Amos help? He owes Jeff for saving his life back in Grayling.
His search takes him to the frigid shores of Lake Huron and a strange little church called the Church of the Freshwater Sea. Amos begins finding clues that perhaps his old friend Jeff has left cigarettes behind and is now involved with a terrorist counterfeit ring. Post 9/11, this isn’t good. Not good at all.
No one today writes noir fiction, or the hard-boiled detective character better than Estleman. His writing is witty, sharp, smart…and the action is steady. From his first Amos Walker novel, Motor City Blues in 1981, Estleman has given us consistent, high-quality noir mysteries. Nicotine Kiss is the 18th book in the series, but I really feel his books can be read as stand-alones. If vintage Raymond Chandler is your cup of tea, and you’ve never picked up a Loren Estleman novel, you’re in for a real treat.
I agree that it’s difficult to find a good old-fashioned gumshoe tale these days. It seems to be a victim of trending, where a detective story depends on some fantastical element like supernatural beings or secret societies. Sometimes, you just want your basic sleuth to get to the bottom of the sort of complex issues that don’t require suspension of so much disbelief. Thanks for highlighting this author and series, I have a feeling it’ll come in handy sometime soon 🙂
Jimi, you nailed it! Estleman writes old school noir, and it’s so much fun. (Especially for me, since I grew up in Michigan.)
Vicky — you are just mean — writing such an excellent review and making this book and this series sound so appealing. I do NOT need another series to read, especially one with 18 books already written!! Yeah, yeah, I know you say they can be read as stand-alones, but you know that some of us are absolutely incapable of not reading a series in order from the beginning. So thanks, thanks a lot!
Deb — lucky for you I provided the title of the first book in the series… ;D