Mon 11 May 2020
Archived PI Mystery Review: MICHAEL Z. LEWIN – Missing Woman.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[12] Comments
MICHAEL Z. LEWIN – Missing Woman. Albert Samson #6. Alfed A. Knopf, hardcover, 1981. Berkley, paperback, 1982. Perennial Library, paperback, 984.
There are a number of op-notch candidates for the best private eye series going today. On the top of a good many lists would be Robert B. Parker’s Spenser books, but fans of the more traditional PI yarn would probably go more for the likes of Bill Pronzini’s nameless detective or Arthur Lyons’ Jacob Asch books.
Sometimes lost and passed over in the shouting is Albert Samson, billed at one time as “the cheapest detective in Indianapolis.†He’s undoubtedly still cheap. At the beginning of this book he is definitely broke, and about to be evicted from his office as patr of a big, downtown redevelopment project.
Which is not to say he’s not honest, dependable, and next to impossible to pry loose from a case. Even if he sounds a bit sour on his life (not on life, just his), his sense of humor never leaves him. Mostly it’s of a subtle variety, but not always, especially when he’s irritated. His relationship with Lt. Powder of Missing Persons does seem to be improving, however.
Luckily so, for, as you’ve already gathered from the title, that’s the kind of case that this latest one is. Samson jumps in with no abandon, treating it as the intellectual challenge it is, when suddenly he’s caught up with the abrupt realization that Murder Is Not a Game.
Detective stories do tend to tread a thin line between reality and fantasy. Michael Lewin’s big achievement here may very well be that he manages to give us the best of both.
Rating: A
May 11th, 2020 at 8:53 pm
I read and enjoyed several Sampson entries, but at the time there were so many private eye series, most more colorful than Sampson, that his low key adventures got lost in the shuffle.
If I recall it came down between Sampson and Harry Stoner and Stoner won. Maybe I should correct that now.
May 11th, 2020 at 10:38 pm
I read most of the Samson books when they came out, but bailed out on the ones Lt. Powder was in on his own. There was also one with a female social worker that Samson was involved with. The lives of all three were tangled up together.
May 12th, 2020 at 1:11 am
Used the search bar and found you and Barry Garner had covered many of Lewin’s books. One had Lewin’s answering your questions about the three series characters.
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=474
Lewin is still writing.
May 12th, 2020 at 7:55 am
Ha! I knew I’d done a write-up like this about all of Lewin’s characters, but when I went looking for it, I couldn’t find it. I had no idea that it was here on the blog. Thanks, Michael!
May 12th, 2020 at 5:26 am
Lewin has lived in England for years and writes a series (short stories and novels) about a family of PIs in Bath (I think). I always preferred the Powder books to the Samsons.
May 12th, 2020 at 9:22 am
The family of PIs you’re thinking of are the Lunghi’s. You’re right about their home base. It is indeed Bath:
http://www.michaelzlewin.com/family_business__family_planning__family_way_4655.htm
May 12th, 2020 at 11:13 am
While reading Pronzini, Greenleaf, Valin and others, this author completely escaped me, though I must have seen your review(s). I have none on the shelf. I wonder, given how many unread mysteries I have sitting here, if it’s worth seeking one or some out?
May 12th, 2020 at 11:40 am
Lewin is lighter in tone than any of the three other writers you mention, especially Valin, but his plots still manage to have a lot of twists to them. Since I gave this one an “A,” if you do decide to try one on for size, I’d suggest this one. It’s probably as typical of his work as any.
And here’s another suggestion. What I’ve discovered my Kindle is especially useful for is that if a book is available on the device, you can often download a sample of it, sometimes as much as the first two chapters. It’s free and you can eliminate a lot of books you’re thinking about that way. Or vice versa, of course!
May 12th, 2020 at 6:10 pm
I’ll second that sample feature on Kindle. It sometimes saves you money and other times lets you sample and save something you want to read later. I use it for books I tend to buy hard copies of as a sampler.
May 12th, 2020 at 9:30 pm
Check out Kindle Unlimited – Kindle’s version of a library where you can check out certain books for just the cost of a monthly fee ($9.99). Currently on sale for free for one month or $1.99 for three months. The books are many and a wide variety and including some of Perry Mason, The Saint, Garner Fox erotic series such as Cherry Delight and his fantasy and sword and sorcery titles, etc.
May 12th, 2020 at 9:51 pm
Right. The price is great and the selection is very very good. My problem s that there’s a limit on how many books you can check out for free, maybe ten, and I’m always at the limit. Eyes bigger than stomach syndrome. you might say.
May 13th, 2020 at 1:15 am
Steve, my problem is the Kindle unlimited books interrupt me reading the books I actually paid for.