Although I read many more serious books, I am also a fan of detective fiction. It’s a very crowded genre, with best-selling authors such as Ian Rankin, Peter Robinson, Peter James etc., in addition to hundreds of more mundane writers of police procedurals.
I’m always on the lookout for different detective fiction and was lucky to come across the books of Max Allan Collins. Collins’ writing is more historical, and his anti-hero Nathan Heller is a cynical private detective living in the 1930s and 40s.
Nathan Heller’s world: from crooked cops to private eye
When you see the term ‘private detective’ it’s easy to assume that these books are a rehash of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe character, the archetypal wisecracking cynical private dick. To be fair there are similarities.
A factor which distinguishes the Heller novels though, is that the author creates plots where his fictional character meets and interacts with genuine historical figures and actual events. The novels are well researched and blend a fictional story with largely factual occurrences (allowing for a little artistic licence).
The plot of True Detective centres around Chicago in 1933, around the time that prohibition is coming to an end, and when a World’s Fair Exhibition is planned to boost the city in Depression times.
Heller is a detective in the Chicago police. Early in the book he is roped in to a raid on Frank Nitti, a mobster running Al Capone’s empire after Capone has been jailed for tax evasion. The two cops who enlist Heller are crooked, the raid goes awry and Heller ends up shooting a young hood in a gun battle. Feeling betrayed, Heller quits the force, becoming a private detective, as detection is the only craft he knows. Suddenly everyone wants to talk to him.
Mayor Anton Cermak: his shady offer and legacy
Cermak is mayor of Chicago and portrayed as a dubious character nicknamed “Ten percent Tony“. He summons Heller and tries to persuade him to revoke his resignation, offering promotion and a higher salary, but Heller is adamant.
Heller’s dalliance with the real and famous continues. In a speakeasy run by the prize fighter Barney Ross, Heller is introduced to the actor George Raft, acting as a go-between for Al Capone’s lawyer. On payment of a fat retainer, Heller visits Capone in his Atlanta prison for a protection and security role, his first lucrative assignment.
Heller goes to Florida where Cermak is scheduled to be on a platform at a rally for President Roosevelt. The plot here playfully challenges the accepted version of history that Cermak was hit by a shot intended for the President. Cermak soon dies from his wounds, though Collins points out in the story that the shooting was not in fact the cause of Cermak’s death.
Heller’s hunt for missing man ends at Chicago fair
Heller takes on a new client, Mary Ann Beame. Mary Ann is from Iowa and has become a moderately successful voice actress in radio soaps. She hires Heller to search for her brother, who left his home town to also make it in Chicago but has disappeared. Heller spends time searching for her brother Jimmy without success, although he is successful in sleeping with his client.
Heller also travels with Mary Ann back to her home town in Iowa to look for leads. A cameo role here involves a tour of the local speakeasies accompanied by a local radio baseball presenter called “Dutch“ Reagan, who has ambitions to go to Hollywood and become an actor.
The action returns to the World’s Fair Exposition in Chicago, where the story reaches its climax. I won’t provide a spoiler, but the mystery of what happened to missing Jimmy is resolved in a very neat plot twist.
Factual detective fiction: the rise of a new genre
The author does an excellent job of blending the fictional elements of his story in True Detective, with factually accurate information about the historical people and events his characters interact with. The plot is very well-researched and includes black and white photos of the real-life historical figures who appear in the book.
I particularly like too the author’s evocation of the US as prohibition is close to repeal, and of the murky relationships between gangsters and politicians in those turbulent times. This ability to evoke the spirit of an era is a trademark of Collins’ writing and elevates his books beyond being run-of-the-mill detective fiction.
The other books in the Nathan Heller series are similar to True Detective, combining a fictional story interwoven with genuine factual events and people, employing the same cynical wisecracking dialogue that one would expect from a Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hamnett novel.
A different place and timeframe, but another good author who also blends fact and fiction is Philip Kerr and his German anti-hero Bernie Gunther. That however is (as they say) another story.
