Westerfield's Chain

by Jack Clark

Overview

Westerfield's Chain was a finalist for the Shamus Award for Best First Private Eye Novel."A pure delight for many reasons, not the least of which is the way Jack Clark celebrates and rings a few changes on the familiar private-eye script. There's a memorable moment [on] virtually every page."-Chicago Tribune"Clark knows his city: the geography and flavor of the neighborhoods are vividly presented, and interesting, often quirky characters are introduced along this fascinating ride."-Chicago Reader"Jack Clark's descriptions are beautifully haunting and his plotting is exceptional."-Romantic Times"A likeable protagonist and spirited, uncluttered prose."-Kirkus Review"It's a great read."-Publishers Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798223336679
Publisher:	Jack Clark Ink
Publication date:	10/01/2002
Series:	The Nick Acropolis Novels , #1
Pages:	298
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

Jack Clark was the winner of the Page One Award from the Chicago Newspaper Guild for feature writing. His novel "Westerfield's Chain," was a finalist for the Shamus Award. The Chicago Tribune called that book “The best mystery of the month,” and said there was a memorable moment “on virtually every page.” His novel “Nobody’s Angel,” earned him an appearance on NPR’s Fresh Air. The book was called “A gem,” by the Washington Post and “Just about perfect.” He is also the co-author of “On the Home Front,” a collection of his mother’s stories about her younger days in Chicago. Besides writing, Jack has also worked as a long haul furniture mover/truck driver for Allied Van Lines and as a Chicago cabdriver.

Editorial Reviews

A brisk style and fine descriptions help offset a less-than-scintillating plot in Clark's debut mystery. While investigating a traffic altercation involving an off-duty police officer, Nick Acropolis, a former homicide cop now working as a low-level PI in Chicago, learns about first one missing person, then another. Eugene Westerfield is "on vacation" indefinitely, and Jimmy Madison, a student who works in one of Westerfield's drugstores, disappears just after Nick gets his statement about the traffic case. Nick follows a suspicious car with out-of-town plates and meets Becky Westerfield, daughter of Eugene, who's come home to hunt for her dad. Although Becky is convinced her father is a saint, Nick gathers more and more evidence that Eugene has been committing an impressive amount of welfare fraud. As the off-the-books owner of a medical center, Eugene has been hiring doctors who are no longer employable in the reputable world. These doctors prescribe hundreds of unnecessary medications, and the patients are sent to Westerfield's drugstores to get the prescriptions filled. Nick's backstory could have provided more nuances if it had been revealed sooner. A few minor characters come through strongly-such as a bike repair guy named Purcell and a fascinating mute homeless man-but there are so many others that it's hard to keep them straight, let alone appreciate them. Still, whatever the book's flaws, it's a great read, one that ought to appeal in particular to Robert B. Parker fans. (Nov. 11) FYI: The author, a cab driver, also writes a column for the Chicago Reader. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

P.I. Nick Acropolis inadvertently picks up clues to a tangled missing-persons case while investigating an automobile accident involving a cop in a desolate area of Chicago. There, a drugstore (scene of a recent murder) and a nearby clinic, both owned by a prominent but missing man, apparently serve as centers for welfare fraud. An ex-cop himself, Nick knows how to manipulate the investigatory ropes, save his clients, and trip up the bad guys. Extensive background detailing (e.g., driving around Chicago), personal observation, and an understated tone lend credence to this steadily engaging first mystery. Readers who like Chicago-based series such as Sara Paretsky's might want to check this out. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

When someone asks ex–homicide cop Nick Acropolis if he misses being on the job, he replies, "Every fucking day," acknowledging a painful truth. He misses the work, the camaraderie, but most of all the self-respect, that sense of himself as someone who matters, acquired over the 15 years he served as a high-profile Chicago police detective--and snatched from him wrongfully, he insists, by men who knew better. Now Nick’s a small-timer, a hand-to-mouth p.i. investigating the peccadilloes of other small-timers and hating every minute of it--as he’s hating the minute he serendipitously bumps into spunky young Rebecca Westerfield, who’s searching for her missing father while Nick’s tracking down the missing witness to a minor auto accident. On the surface, there’s not much to connect the two cases, but Nick ever regards a surface as the thin veneer of a secret--in this case, a lot of secrets, most of them nasty, fraudulent, or positively lethal. Before he’s through sleuthing, Nick uncovers a multimillion-dollar welfare scam, solves a brutal murder or two, locates Becky’s worthless dad, and lightens the lives of a couple of eminently worthwhile ladies. In addition, he gets to experience the heady pleasures of a higher profile once more as he thumbs his nose at the corps of bilious blue-clad bureaucrats who summarily sacked him. A likable protagonist and spirited, uncluttered prose: a promising debut by a Chicago cabbie who may drive a hack but doesn’t write like one.

Kirkus Reviews