With this book, Detective Sergeant "Fang" Mulheisen returns from his adventures in Montana involving his old adversary, Joe Service, to his hometown of Detroit. The book begins when a young couple pulls into the parking lot of the Red Fox restaurant in suburban Detroit at about 2:30 on the afternoon of July 30, 1975.

Those familiar with the history of the Motor City will recall that on the afternoon of July 30, 1975, famed Teamsters' Union leader, Jimmy Hoffa, disappeared from that very parking lot. Imagine the reader's surprise then, not to mention that of the young couple, when Hoffa jumps into the back of their VW van and demands that they drive off, preferably faster than the two hoods who are chasing him.

With that the book is off and running--literally. Our intrepid hero, Mulheisen, is too young to be on the police force yet, but his mentor, the infamous Grookta, is on the force and becomes entangled in a series of events that follow Hoffa's disappearance. But Grookta's actions remain a secret and over twenty years later, Hoffa is still missing and no one knows how he disappeared or where he went.

Enter Mulheisen, who's minding his own business in the late 1990s, when a sexy young female historian approaches him. She's got a grant to do some research into the history of the Detroit PD, and she wants to interview Mul about Grookta, who's been dead for a number of years by this time.

One thing leads to another, and Mulheisen discovers a set of journals left for him by Grookta, detailing the developments of that long-ago summer in 1975. Mulheisen has to go on a scavenger hunt of sorts to find the journals one at a time, and the mystery unfolds along the lines of an onion gradually being peeled back.

It's a very intriguing story involving a number of jazz musicians, both real and fictional. The author, Jackson, is a jazz aficionado, and the book reveals his depth of knowledge about the jazz scene, particularly in Detroit. It also differs from the earlier books in the series in that this one is told from Mulheisen's first-person POV, rather than from the third-person POV of several characters as was the case earlier.

The L. A. Times dubbed this a "Best Book of the Year," and it's easy to see why. It's a captivating story populated with a great cast of characters, and a thoroughly enjoyable read.
crime-fiction fang-mulheisen jon-a-jackson13 s Tom429 6

another solid entry in the Mulheisen series - jazzers, gangsters, rough cops, and pleasantly convoluted plot2 s Fred Wickham13

3.5 Carl BrookinsAuthor 26 books76


Sometimes, when you’re a good writer, and you’ve demonstrated mastery of your craft, you can break the rules and get away with it. Here’s a hard-boiled police-procedural that is very different. Even so, the details are right, the writing is of a high order and every footfall is correct.

Detroit homicide detective Fang Mulheisen is between cases. He’s just working in the department, cleaning up things, doing the tedious, routine day to day stuff that is the bulk of most detectives’ daily order. Then he gets some weird e-mail cartoons. Then he gets some tenuous links to a case his mentor, detective Grootka, long since deceased, apparently handled off the record.

Next thing you know, an attractive young historian turns up in Mulheisen’s office asking for help with a project she’s doing. Subject of her project? Grootka. Mulheisen never believed in coincidence. There are some other characters in this novel as well, characters that are long dead. Jimmy Hoffa, for example; also some formidable musicians from Detroit’s heyday of blues and jazz music.

The structure of this novel is unusual for a hard-boiled police story. It bounces back and forth in time and Mulheisen, who is trying to reconstruct some complex events related by a man not very literate and, since he’s dead he can’t be asked for explanations (Grootka). So all in all, readers will have to pay close attention to keep track of what’s going on. If you do, the experience will be very satisfying, and you’ll get as good an explanation of what happened to Jimmy Hoffa as one could ask for.

Melissa4 5

I d this book because it takes place in Detroit, so I could picture all the settings in my head. I already had a mental map in which to place the story. The book was a little dry and slow moving, so it took me a while to finish. I was confused by the end of the book and still don't quite understand the entire mystery. John Treanor217 4

Disappointing. I d the previous Mulheisen (Dead Folks) so much that I dove right into this one. Hard to follow story that I found myself not interested in and debated not finishing. Finished anyway and will still read the next Mulheisen at some point. Ed5,305 56

#7 in the "Fang" Mulheisen series.

Detective Sergeant Mulheisen, Detroit PD mystery - "Fang" Mulheisen uncovers the story behind the disappearance of labor leader Jimmy Hoffa with the help of deceased police officer Grootka's notebooks.
action law-enforcement thriller Peter Hunter112

Great funcrime mulheisen murder ...more Jim Crocker211 26

Fantastic book. All of Jon's books are winner. And a Great Missoula, Montana, Author - for a Detroit guy. Carolyn RoseAuthor 40 books201

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