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Loren D. Estleman (born September 15, 1952, in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is an American writer of detective and Western fiction. He is known for a series of crime novels featuring the investigator Amos Walker.[
Loren D Estleman, Amos Walker and Me!
I first met Amos Walker in Motor City Blue . It is the first series book mentioned in my first Book Lover’s Journal in 1987, I faithfully read eight of the next ten books. Then I lost track of the series, I thouht he stopped writing the books. Then in 2012 I discovered The Left-Handed Dollar. It had been piblished in 2010 but was now book #20! What had I missed between 1998 and 2010. Obviously a lot!
I hae since returned to the series and read The Witchfinder Amos Walker # 12 and Black and White Ball (Amos Walker #27)! I plan to go back and read many more! And you should, too!
Oh, and I also finished Little Black Dress (Peter Macklin #5) this year!
Awards and Recognitions
Wins
- 985 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Novel, Sugartown[
- 1986 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, “Eight Mile and Dequindre”[
- 1989 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, “The Crooked Way”[
- 2004 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, “Lady on Ice”
Nominations
- 1983 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, “Dead Soldier”
- 1984 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Novel, The Glass Highway
- 1984 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, “Greektown”
- 1986 Anthony award, Best Short Story, “Eight Mile and Dequindre”
- 1987 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, “I’m in the Book”
- 1988 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Novel, Lady Yesterday
- 1988 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, “Bodyguards Shoot Second”
- 1991 Edgar Award, Best Mystery Novel, Whiskey River
- 1991 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, “Cigarette Stop”
- 1992 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, “The Man Who Loved Noir”
- 1993 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, “Safe House”
- 1995 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, “Slipstream”
- 2001 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Novel, A Smile on the Face of the Tiger
- 2007 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, “Square One”
- 2008 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, “Kill the Cat”
- 2008 Shamus Award, Best Private Eye Short Story, “Trust Me”
Note: Since Loren D Estleman’s Bibliography is so massive I have only included the series Iand the standalones I have read. A complete bibliography can be found here
Amos Walker
Novels
| Title | Series/No. | Original Pub Year | Date Read |
| Vamp | (Amos Walker #31) | 2024 | |
| Monkey in the Middle | (Amos Walker #30) | 2022 | |
| The Eagle and the Viper | (Amos Walker #29) | 2021 | |
| When Old Midnight Comes Along | (Amos Walker #28) | 2019 | |
| Black and White Ball | (Amos Walker #27) | 2018 | 2026/04 |
| The Lioness is the Hunter | (Amos Walker #26) | 2017 | |
| Brazen | (Amos Walker #25) | 2016 | |
| Don’t Look for Me | (Amos Walker #24) | 2014 | |
| You Know Who I Am | (Amos Walker #23) | 2013 | |
| Burning Midnight | (Amos Walker #22) | 2012 | |
| Inferno | (Amos Walker #21) | 2011 | |
| The Left-Handed Dollar | (Amos Walker #20) | 2010 | 2012/04/01 |
| American Detective | Amos Walker #19) | 2007 | |
| Nicotine Kiss | Amos Walker #18) | 2006 | |
| Retro | Amos Walker #17) | 2005 | |
| Poison Blonde | Amos Walker #16) | 2003 | |
| Sinister Heights | Amos Walker #15) | 2002 | |
| A Smile on the Face of the Tiger | (Amos Walker #14) | 2000 | |
| The Hours of the Virgin | (Amos Walker #13) | 1999 | |
| The Witchfinder | (Amos Walker, #12) | 1998 | 2022/01/23 |
| Never Street | (Amos Walker #11) | 1997 | |
| Sweet Women Lie | Amos Walker, #10) | 1990 | 1990/12/06 |
| Silent Thunder | (Amos Walker, #9) | 1989 | 1998/05/16 |
| Downriver | (Amos Walker #8) | 1988 | |
| Lady Yesterday | (Amos Walker, #7) | 1987 | 1988/07/05 |
| Every Brilliant Eye | (Amos Walker, #6) | 1986 | 1989/03/08 |
| Sugartown | (Amos Walker, #5) | 1984 | 1987/06/01 |
| The Glass Highway | Amos Walker #4) | 1983 | |
| The Midnight Man | (Amos Walker, #3) | 1981 | 1988/06/04 |
| Angel Eyes | (Amos Walker, #2) | 1981 | 1988/06/04 |
| Motor City Blue | (Amos Walker, #1) | 1980 | 1987/05/01 |
While I may not have read all of Loren Estleman but I’ve never forgotten Amos Walker. And returning to the books 40 yers after I started reading them has been a treat. Looking back here is the roots of my reading trees. This is the first page of my first journal.
The First Page of My Reading Journals
Peter Macklin Novels
| Title | Series /No. | Year Published | Date Read |
| The Kill Zone | (Peter Macklin #1) | 1984 | |
| Roses Are Dead | (Peter Macklin, #2) | 1985 | 1989/07/17 |
| Any Man’s Death | (Peter Macklin #3) | 1986 | |
| Something Borrowed Something Black | (Peter Macklin #4) | 2002 | |
| Little Black Dress | (Peter Macklin, #5) | 2004 | 2026/01/03 |
Standalone Novels
| Title | Year Published | Date Read |
| Peeper | 1989 | 1990/04/15 |
| Billy Gashade: An American Epic | 1997 | 1999/05/10 |
