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The Black Moon
very good story
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1989
About the author
Loren D. Estleman
309 books286 followersLoren D. Estleman is an American writer of detective and Western fiction. He writes with a manual typewriter.
Estleman is most famous for his novels about P.I. Amos Walker. Other series characters include Old West marshal Page Murdock and hitman Peter Macklin. He has also written a series of novels about the history of crime in Detroit (also the setting of his Walker books.) 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.
Series:
* Amos Walker Mystery
* Valentino Mystery
* Detroit Crime Mystery
* Peter Macklin Mystery
* Page Murdock Mystery
Estleman is most famous for his novels about P.I. Amos Walker. Other series characters include Old West marshal Page Murdock and hitman Peter Macklin. He has also written a series of novels about the history of crime in Detroit (also the setting of his Walker books.) 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.
Series:
* Amos Walker Mystery
* Valentino Mystery
* Detroit Crime Mystery
* Peter Macklin Mystery
* Page Murdock Mystery
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 30, 2019
This is an unusual mystery, written by five people about a single larger story arc. Each short story deals with the recovery of a set of paintings by an Italian artists which were stolen in WW2 and now are coming to light again.
Five authors (Loren D. Estleman, W. R. Philbrick, L. J. Washburn, Ed Gorman, and Robert J Randisi) each write a short story about one of the paintings with their own detective created just for this book. The main storyline stars and concludes the book and is written by Randisi, and he probably should have gotten top billing, but Estleman was the bigger name among them.
Each story is related, they're all private investigators in various parts of the United States, all but one works alone, although one is part of a larger agency her father created but she's working solo on the job in question.
The stories were pretty solid, some of them slightly better than others, but overall a decent set of tales. For some reason this is listed in the supernatural or paranormal section in some stores but the tales are all mundane and down to earth, even if the paintings are somewhat spooky.
It was a nice introduction to a few authors, and I'd like to read more from Randisi and Gorman as a result. Unfortunately, the copy I got had a jumbled printing of the last 30 page or so, and it made the conclusion somewhat challenging to read and figure out. I would like to hope that not ALL the printings went out like this because it definitely damages the reading experience and probably cost the book a star.
Five authors (Loren D. Estleman, W. R. Philbrick, L. J. Washburn, Ed Gorman, and Robert J Randisi) each write a short story about one of the paintings with their own detective created just for this book. The main storyline stars and concludes the book and is written by Randisi, and he probably should have gotten top billing, but Estleman was the bigger name among them.
Each story is related, they're all private investigators in various parts of the United States, all but one works alone, although one is part of a larger agency her father created but she's working solo on the job in question.
The stories were pretty solid, some of them slightly better than others, but overall a decent set of tales. For some reason this is listed in the supernatural or paranormal section in some stores but the tales are all mundane and down to earth, even if the paintings are somewhat spooky.
It was a nice introduction to a few authors, and I'd like to read more from Randisi and Gorman as a result. Unfortunately, the copy I got had a jumbled printing of the last 30 page or so, and it made the conclusion somewhat challenging to read and figure out. I would like to hope that not ALL the printings went out like this because it definitely damages the reading experience and probably cost the book a star.
November 7, 2021
From my uncle, with a price tag showing that he bought it in Vero Beach, where my grandparents used to spend the winters. Detective mystery that was a compilation of short stories by five accomplished mystery writers. A clever idea but an unremarkable mystery. Not bad but not great.
April 29, 2021
Round robin novel with several prominent PI authors given room to breathe.
Black Moon by Robert J Randisi: Effectively sets up the plot and mood.
Hungry Person by WR Philbrick [Tony Mack, insurance photographer]: The real deal starts the investigation. Impressivr resolution.
Dark Flight by Ed Gorman: Well-written, but basically talking heads with a more gripping conclusion.
Ancient and Deadly by LJ Washburn [Laura Bailey]: Case opens with a curious barely threatening situation, progresses quickly into dangerous action. Nicely concluded.
Superior's Dead by Loren D Estleman [Riley Cooper]: Location establishment segues to a violent crime tying it to the other cases here.
Carlucci's Way by Robert J Randisi: Better than the expected gather-everybody-together wrap-up.
Maybe round-robin is the wrong term, as there ws no typical handoff-in-a-cliffhanger aspect. More like a disciplined collaborative novel. The independent plots and characters made for a better variety of subplot resolutions.
Black Moon by Robert J Randisi: Effectively sets up the plot and mood.
Hungry Person by WR Philbrick [Tony Mack, insurance photographer]: The real deal starts the investigation. Impressivr resolution.
Dark Flight by Ed Gorman: Well-written, but basically talking heads with a more gripping conclusion.
Ancient and Deadly by LJ Washburn [Laura Bailey]: Case opens with a curious barely threatening situation, progresses quickly into dangerous action. Nicely concluded.
Superior's Dead by Loren D Estleman [Riley Cooper]: Location establishment segues to a violent crime tying it to the other cases here.
Carlucci's Way by Robert J Randisi: Better than the expected gather-everybody-together wrap-up.
Maybe round-robin is the wrong term, as there ws no typical handoff-in-a-cliffhanger aspect. More like a disciplined collaborative novel. The independent plots and characters made for a better variety of subplot resolutions.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews