A Death In Pilsen
By Robert Goldsborough
Echelon Press, $12.99
ISBN: 978-1-59080-531-2
Click here for an interview with the author.

After working as a foreign correspondent in London, Tribune reporter Snap Malek is back in 1946 Chicago investigating the murder of a war bride who just happened to have been married to his cousin. Since Snap grew up with and cared for the introverted young man who had been virtually abandoned by his mother, Snap believes that Charlie Malek is incapable of committing murder. To prove his cousin's innocence, Snap begins visiting a local tavern where the London bride earned a reputation for attracting suitors with shady reputations. Aided by an attractive war widow, Snap tracks down four men who were lured into the web of Edwina Malek, a beautiful woman who was one of the many who married in order to gain entry to the States.

A veteran Chicago Tribune reporter and editor as well as the author of seven Nero Wolfe novels, Goldsborough successfully recreates the post-war era in the third entry of this series featuring Snap Malek. In contrast to the grittier noir novels of this era, Snap is happily married to his second wife, has a loving relationship with his grown son who hopes to work with Frank Lloyd Wright and maintains a cordial working arrangement with the police. Never fear, though, Snap still manages to get into his share of bar fights and disagreements with the cops heading the investigation. Still, Snap is a pleasant contrast to the emotionally and often physically tortured detectives of the forties and fifties and A Death in Pilsen is an enjoyable, witty read. My only complaint is that the resolution comes a little too abruptly, although this is remedied by a surprising last-minute twist. This is a fun, fast read that vividly recreates the atmosphere of a bygone era.

Review by CINDY CHOW

©2008 Lorie Ham. All rights reserved.