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The Fifth Floor (Michael Kelly #2)
by
Michael Harvey (Goodreads Author)
Michael Harvey’s sizzling follow-up to The Chicago Way (“A wonderful first novel . . . Harvey has studied the masters and put his own unique touch on the crime novel . . . Heralds the arrival of a major new voice” —Michael Connelly) opens with a murder in contemporary Chicago and winds its way back to Mrs. O’Leary’s cow and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
Private investigat...more
Private investigat...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
August 26th 2008
by Knopf
(first published 2008)
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Michael Kelly, the private eye returns in this light breezy mystery set in Chicago. Kelly is approached by an old flame who is taking a regular beating from her husband. She doesnt want Kelly involved but Kelly follows her husband around and stumbles upon a mureder at a historic house. The only item missing is a copy of a rare book about the history of the Chicago Fire. It seems that two groups are after a copy of the book which supposedly has a secret letter that shows how the current Mayor...more
Okay, so let me start by saying I love a good noir mystery in the vein of Hammett and Chandler. These kinds of novels are my drug of choice. So, with that in mind, you should not be surprised to hear that I consumed this book within two and a half days. I was almost physically unable to put them down.
That being said, this novel felt to me like a pale imitation of those earlier masters. Yes, I liked seeing the Chicago locales and its history used to good effect here. Yes, the narrator was s...more
That being said, this novel felt to me like a pale imitation of those earlier masters. Yes, I liked seeing the Chicago locales and its history used to good effect here. Yes, the narrator was s...more
A political thriller which is a 'cut above', and a special treat if you are at all familiar with the city of Chicago because the book is chock full of local color and historical detail.
Michael Kelly is a private investigator who lost his job as a city detective, and is involved in two cases. First, a friend of his is a victim of domestic violence and her husband is beating her, and she suspects that he will soon begin to prey on their teenage daughter. And, his other case involves a...more
Michael Kelly is a private investigator who lost his job as a city detective, and is involved in two cases. First, a friend of his is a victim of domestic violence and her husband is beating her, and she suspects that he will soon begin to prey on their teenage daughter. And, his other case involves a...more
The Fifth Floor is the second of Michael Harvey’s novels to feature private investigator Michael Kelly. After enjoying The Chicago Way, the first Michael Kelly novel, so much, I was in a hurry to pick up The Fifth Floor. I was highly disappointed.
This story is nowhere near as gritty as its predecessor. Not even close. Instead, Harvey tried to do something different this time around. In my opinion, he tried to do too much. Whereas the grittiness and rawness of The Chicago Way crea...more
This story is nowhere near as gritty as its predecessor. Not even close. Instead, Harvey tried to do something different this time around. In my opinion, he tried to do too much. Whereas the grittiness and rawness of The Chicago Way crea...more
No question about it Michael Harvey writes with edgy, wry style. THE FIFTH FLOOR is a well-paced story, delivered in clipped, yet highly evocative, prose. And the protagonist, private eye Michael Kelly, has a troubled past (something about a dead woman and getting kicked off the Chicago police force that Harvey may have covered in his first book, THE CHICAGO WAY) and makes all the pithy wisecracks we've come to expect from a guy of his ilk--coming on all tough on the outside, while retaining his...more
This is the second novel featuring the wise-cracking Private Investigator Michael Kelly who returns in full force. The heart of the story is based around the mayor's office on the fifth floor of Chicago City Hall.
It starts when Michael is contacted by Janet, an ex-girlfriend and is asked to use his P.I. expertise to protect her from her abusive husband, Johnny Woods who happens to be one of the mayor's fixers. While on his trail he discovers a link to a recent murder. During his rese...more
It starts when Michael is contacted by Janet, an ex-girlfriend and is asked to use his P.I. expertise to protect her from her abusive husband, Johnny Woods who happens to be one of the mayor's fixers. While on his trail he discovers a link to a recent murder. During his rese...more
The Fifth Floor, by Michael Harvey, B-plus. Narrated by Stephen Hoye, produced by Blackstone Audio, downloaded from audible.com.
This was an interesting book but not quite as good, in my opinion, as his debut novel, The Chicago Way. In this book, PI Michael Kelly is hired by an old girl friend to tail her husband, he thought, for being so abusive to her, so that she could divorce him. But the trail leads to a body, and then to the Chicago Museum of History where he finds himself in...more
This was an interesting book but not quite as good, in my opinion, as his debut novel, The Chicago Way. In this book, PI Michael Kelly is hired by an old girl friend to tail her husband, he thought, for being so abusive to her, so that she could divorce him. But the trail leads to a body, and then to the Chicago Museum of History where he finds himself in...more
Larry Hoffer
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This was a good, quick read. Michael Harvey's second mystery-ish novel featuring PI Michael Kelly wasn't quite as good as the first, "The Chicago Way," but it definitely kept me guessing. I really do enjoy Kelly's character. As someone told him in this book, "you don't give a s--t who you piss off," and that's a trait I try to live by myself, so I like it in my protagonists as well!
Kelly's former girlfriend asks him for help with her abusive husband, who happens to be one ...more
Kelly's former girlfriend asks him for help with her abusive husband, who happens to be one ...more
Well, I don't know, I'm tempted to give this book 5 stars, possibly because I've never read any noir before! All at once, it's a great experience. Surely this book rides on the back of generations of tradition in hard-boiled morality, and my appetite has been whetted by some of the old movies, and reading Sherlock Holmes long ago. Anyway, this was pure fun, and I recommend it to all other neophyte souls who'd like to spend engrossing chapters in The Windy City trawling through the semi-fictition...more
I do like Mr. Harvey's stories. This is the second installment but really, you could read this without reading the first one if you wanted. The main character, Michael Kelly, works as a PI after losing his job as a Chicago PD officer/detective. While Kelly really isn't too flawed despite having good reasons to hold grudges and the like, it's nice how he handles his cases and this one is interesting as it brings in a historical angle regarding the Chicago Fire and alternative theories on why/h...more
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An OK murder/political mystery set in modern Chicago with ties to the 1871 Chicago fire. Bogs down in the middle, but picks up speed toward the end. A pleasant three day read.
There is an old saying that you can’t fight city hall but Michael Kelly ignores the saying and takes his investigation right to the fifth floor where the Mayor’s office is located. Michael Kelly is an ex-police officer now working as a private investigator.
Janet Woods is an old friend and when she comes to Michael for help for herself and her daughter, Taylor, Michael doesn’t hesitate. Her husband is abusive and she fears for her safety and the safety of her daughter. Janet is...more
Janet Woods is an old friend and when she comes to Michael for help for herself and her daughter, Taylor, Michael doesn’t hesitate. Her husband is abusive and she fears for her safety and the safety of her daughter. Janet is...more
What would happen if the Chicago Fire wasn't started by Mrs. O'Leary's Cow but the cities founding fathers? Who would benefit, who did it and what lengths would they go to cover it up. Michael Harvey's second Chicago-based pulp crime novel uses his central character from his first novel, Michael Kelly and takes the reader on a similar ride to his first effort.
Part of the fun of Michael Harvey's novels are their references to actual locations in Chicago such as the Billy Goat and ...more
Part of the fun of Michael Harvey's novels are their references to actual locations in Chicago such as the Billy Goat and ...more
This is a tightly-written, well-paced hardboiled mystery set in Chicago. Michael Harvey's protagonist Michael Kelly, tough guy and private eye, deals with a wife-beater, confronts a powerful mayor and his ruthless fixers, and investigates why the mayor might be concerned about his ancestor's role in the Chicago Fire of 1871.
As in a lot of good mysteries, the setting is intrinsic to the tone of the story, just as Edinburgh infuses Ian Rankin's Rebus mysteries or Los Angeles shapes the...more
As in a lot of good mysteries, the setting is intrinsic to the tone of the story, just as Edinburgh infuses Ian Rankin's Rebus mysteries or Los Angeles shapes the...more
I read a review of this author's newest book "The Third Rail" but because of the waiting list went to this second book (the first was "The Chicago Way") The Fifth Floor is the for the mayor of the city of Chicago and the story concerns the politics--dirty and otherwise of this city. Main characater is an ex-cop who was ousted due to the dirty part and a crime involving the history and lost records thereof about the great Chicago Fire.
Interesting insights. Familiar ...more
Interesting insights. Familiar ...more
Kelly recommended this book when I saw him in LV last week. I loved it. The story follows a Chicago PI, and as far as I'm concerned, the author does it all well. Besides a sympathetic hero, a well-crafted plot, and a strong supporting cast the story is set in Chicago, and the nod to local institutions adds to the fun.
This is the second book by Michael Harvey. I'm a little sorry I read them out of order, so if any of you want to check out this author, start with The Chicago Way.
This is the second book by Michael Harvey. I'm a little sorry I read them out of order, so if any of you want to check out this author, start with The Chicago Way.
It was a real treat to read a new author (this is his second book and I will read the first one) who can create noir as well as Harvey. His Chicagoland descriptions are fantastic and bring you to the corners he is talking about. His detail about the County Building/City Hall is better than good. The reader actually gets the feeling of being there. His narrative is terse and to the point. His characters are worth spending time with. His protagonist is someone you want to meet again.
The second of a crime fiction series, "The Fifth Floor" lives up the expectations I had upon finishing its predecessor, "The Chicago Way." It's another fine page-turner, and my only disappointment was in discovering that, so far, there's only one more book to go in the series, not to mention my failure to order "The Third Rail" in time for when I finished this book. (However, luckily, tomorrow's payday--a great time to order books!)
Michael Kelly is an ex-cop, turned private eye. When he is approached by a good friend to look into her abusive husband, this quickly leads to murder and a complex conspiracy, with possible connections to both the Great Chicago Fire and “The Fifth Floor”, the home base of the powerful Chicago mayor.
This is the 2nd book in a solid series and the author captures the tone and rhythms of the city, with a nice flair. Kelly is a tough but likable P.I. and one I will be gladly returning to.
This is the 2nd book in a solid series and the author captures the tone and rhythms of the city, with a nice flair. Kelly is a tough but likable P.I. and one I will be gladly returning to.
I got this as an audiobook from the library, to listen to in the car with my mom on the way home at Christmas. It was a run-of-the-mill detective novel, but I enjoyed the bits of history about the Chicago Fire (even if a lot of it was fictionalized to service the plot). But I gotta like a book where an assistant county historian and county archives lackey are integral in solving the mystery.
This book has everything I want in a noir detective novel: a hard-boiled, disgraced-cop detective who can handle himself in a fight; lots of beer and cigarette smoke; a femme fatale or two; and a lot of morally grey backroom politics. Oh, and a murder or two.
Harvey gets a little carried away sometimes with his detective-fiction narrative, with characters doing a lot of "slanting" their faces in one direction or another, or "walking his/her eyes". It happens often ...more
Harvey gets a little carried away sometimes with his detective-fiction narrative, with characters doing a lot of "slanting" their faces in one direction or another, or "walking his/her eyes". It happens often ...more
I really like Michael Harvey's style: noirish and old-fashioned and set in Chicago. Nothing too gruesome, and certainly no detailed forensic discussions--just trench-coated, slouch-hatted, cigar-wielding (one imagines) shoe-leather mysteries. The only possible criticism I can conceive may just be it's best side as well. It doesn't feel exactly urgent.
The plot was more of a stretch than I usually like but it was letter perfect Chicago. I can't remember what Harvey named the second-generation mayor because I automatically substituted Daly. The 3 stars are a recognition that readers who have little acquaintance with Chicago might not find the book as delightful as I did.
I LOVED this book, and I fell in love with this author's writing while reading it. He is witty. His writing is intriguing and it begs you to keep turning the pages...which I did.
The story was great, the details were great, and the way it all tied in at the end was just marvelous. You won't be disappointed.
The story was great, the details were great, and the way it all tied in at the end was just marvelous. You won't be disappointed.
Better than his last book, though still not great. He does use Chicago better--it feels more like a location, and less like a collection of names he's throwing out to try and show off his knowledge of the city. The story does have one nice twist towards the end and one unnecessary one at the very end.
The protagonist is a Chandler/Spencer combination based in Chicago--sort of a Chicago noir political mystery. Despite the author's disclaimer, I would love to know how accurate the descriptions of the "fictional" mayor and his administration are. Just wish the ending were a little stronger.
This author evidently lives in my neighborhood in Chicago, and eats and drinks in familiar joints, which makes the shenanigans of his detective only that much more enjoyable. I especially liked this one because the villain turned out to be a curator at the Chicago History Museum!
Another quick and exciting read from Michael Harvey! Thoroughly enjoyed reading this one better than The Chicago Way. The pace escalates with each chapter, and I appreciate how the characters never seem to be boring, but are always making you think about what is coming next. Looking forward to the next book!
Very Good; Continuing character: Michael Kelly; while assisting an old friend because her husband is beating her, Harvey comes across political intrigue in the mayor's office, going all the way back to the famous Chicago fire
Opens with a murder in contemporary Chicago and winds it way back to Mrs. O'Leary's cow and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. This is a fast paced, intricately woven suspense which takes place in the windy city.
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Michael Harvey is author of The Chicago Way, The Fifth Floor and The Third Rail (to be published by Knopf in April, 2010).
In addition to writing crime novels, Michael is a journalist and documentary producer. He is co-creator of Cold Case Files, hosted by Bill Kurtis on the A&E television network, and has written and produced scores of other documentary projects all over the wor...more
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