Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Any Man's Death

Any Man's Death
algernon99 avatar reviewed on + 418 more book reviews


I enjoy most of Loren Estleman's books. I also enjoy most of the popular books about hit men. This is both. It should be good. I've read two previous Macklin (the hit man's name) books and enjoyed them.

This one, not so much. It's OK, but Estleman has a thing about being gritty, dirty, Detroity (if there were such a word, it would describe his books), hard-boiled, and kinda noir. In the Amos Walker series, it works well. This one, not so much.

The book involves two Detroit mob bosses. One getting out of prison is trying to take control back from his lieutenant, who took over in his absence. That's an interesting story. Then there's a flamboyant, unfortunately over-the-top unbelievable black minister who's posturing against an upcoming gambling legalization referendum. The three powers are fighting things out (the mob guys want gambling) through battling hit men, disloyal right-hand men, and other hard cases.

The politics and tactics of the thing didn't make enough sense to my non-political, non-tactical mind. (Estleman loves dirty politics in his Detroit books.) It just didn't hang together for me.

And the ending was not satisfactory for me.

Other than that, it was fine.