What do you think?
Rate this book
Nick Acropolis #1
Westerfield's Chain
It was another nothing case. That's the only kind private eye Nick Acropolis seemed to get lately. But this one leads to Westerfield's Pharmacy, which sits in the heart of Chicago's West Side ghetto, surrounded by ruins.
Nick was a real cop years ago, a homicide detective, and there's something about the drugstore that gets the old juices flowing. There's no customers for one thing. No pharmacist either, and nobody seems to know where the boss, Eugene Westerfield, has gone.
And then Becky Westerfield shows up. She's taken a sudden leave from medical school to look for her father, who didn't call on her 25th birthday. Becky knows something must be wrong. Eugene Westerfield would never forget.
Becky and Nick join forces, going from one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country to one of its wealthiest suburbs. They visit housing projects, the morgue, and a decrepit nursing home, hidden away between railroad lines.
Becky discovers a city she never knew existed, and Nick surveys some depressing old haunts. Together, they eventually find Eugene Westerfield. But along the way they stumble into an intricate scheme of fraud and murder. Becky discovers that her father isn't the man she'd thought he was.
With a plot reminiscent of Graham Greene's The Third Man and inspired by real events, Chicago native Jack Clark has crafted a winning first mystery.
Nick was a real cop years ago, a homicide detective, and there's something about the drugstore that gets the old juices flowing. There's no customers for one thing. No pharmacist either, and nobody seems to know where the boss, Eugene Westerfield, has gone.
And then Becky Westerfield shows up. She's taken a sudden leave from medical school to look for her father, who didn't call on her 25th birthday. Becky knows something must be wrong. Eugene Westerfield would never forget.
Becky and Nick join forces, going from one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country to one of its wealthiest suburbs. They visit housing projects, the morgue, and a decrepit nursing home, hidden away between railroad lines.
Becky discovers a city she never knew existed, and Nick surveys some depressing old haunts. Together, they eventually find Eugene Westerfield. But along the way they stumble into an intricate scheme of fraud and murder. Becky discovers that her father isn't the man she'd thought he was.
With a plot reminiscent of Graham Greene's The Third Man and inspired by real events, Chicago native Jack Clark has crafted a winning first mystery.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2002
26 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 10, 2007
I'm a Chicago native and the cool thing about this book is that it actually talks about old Chicago, I'm going back the mid 60's probably. But all in all it's neat to know things about your town or places that don't exsist (sp.) anymore.
June 14, 2017
Nicely written. Touched critically on a major problem of our society. Not really violence focused, but exciting and nicely placed.
Interesting character development. These are folks that you can imagine seeing in a big city. I would really like to see more of Nick Acropolis.
Interesting character development. These are folks that you can imagine seeing in a big city. I would really like to see more of Nick Acropolis.
August 29, 2024
Another great ride around Chicago, he could at times get lost but he got us there.
Want to read
June 22, 20101st edition, signed by author; author is Chicago taxi driver - purchased this in his cab
May 5, 2013
4.5 stars for me.
June 13, 2013
a good read
October 3, 2015
It started out slowly but picked up as it went along. I could not get excited about it..
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews