Fri 6 Feb 2026
PI Stories I’m Reading: LOREN D. ESTLEMAN “State of Grace.”
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Stories I'm Reading[4] Comments
LOREN D. ESTLEMAN “State of Grace.” PI Ralph Poteet #1. . First published in An Eye for Justice: The Third Private Eye Writers of America Anthology, edited by Robert J. Randisi (Mysterious Press, hardcover, 1988). Collected in Match Me Sidney!, (No Exit Press, 1989), and in People Who Kill, (Mystery Scene Press, 1993). Reprinted in Under the Gun, edited by Ed Gorman, Robert J. Randisi & Martin H. Greenberg, (NAL, 1990_ and in Murder Most Divine ed. Ralph McInerny & Martin H. Greenberg (Cumberland House, 2000).
Comical PI’s are not common, fictional or otherwise, but you can add Ralph Poteet to the short list that (someone else) has been busy putting together over the years. You can tell about the funny business in it first of all by the name of the detective. Now I suppose the name Ralph Poteet is common enough is some parts of the country – Detroit, for example? – but in sturdier country, such as New England, for example, just reading the name is bound to give us folk a serious case of the giggles.
Not that the comedy in this tale is likely to do more thay. Mr Estlemna, as its author was wise to make the humor in it quieter and more subtle than that, but I think that he had fun writing it. It begins with the hooker who lives in the apartment above him calling him to tell him that she has a dead priest in her bed. Dead. Heart attack? Maybe. What she wants is for him to get rid of him.
Ralph is the kind of guy who thinks well of himself, but when it comes down to it, he’s a sleazy kind of fellow, and he takes the job. The first person he calls is a bishop named Stoneman, who is ready and willing to help. When he comes back, well I won’t say exactly, but it’s a close call.
The story goes on from there, and if you haven’t been able to tell, I recommend this one to you highly. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find, if I’ve intrigued you enough.
The Ralph Poteet series —
Short stories:
“State of Grace” (1988, An Eye For Justice)
“A Hatful of Ralph” (2003, Flesh and Blood: Guilty as Sin)
Novels:
Peeper. (Bantam, 1989.)
February 8th, 2026 at 2:05 pm
I’ve read dozens of Loren Estleman’s novels and short stories. And, it probably won’t surprise you to learn I own PEEPER and “State of Grace” and “A Hatful of Ralph”. And, it probably won’t surprise you to learn I haven’t read them…yet. I’ve been searching for those books in the RALPH POTEET series and I’ll give you a heads up when my review will be posted to my blog. Thanks for motivating me to read stuff I’ve owned for decades!
February 8th, 2026 at 2:52 pm
Having little to do this afternoon, I was looking at the Amazon ordering page for PEEPER, and I discovered this, the review that the Library Journal did:
“Ralph Poteet belongs to that sub-genre of sleazy, overweight, boozing, and otherwise disgusting private detectives increasingly offered as protagonists working for the “betterment” of humankind. Nonetheless exhibiting a modicum of charm through his heavy-handed humor, Poteet proceeds to wangle his way out of several murder charges after answering a middle-of-the-night call from the hooker upstairs. No sooner has Poteet removed a dead Catholic monsignor from her bed than someone rigs an explosion which sends the hooker to the hospital. Great dialogue, slick prose, and other creaky characters accompany Poteet through an undeniably entertaining plot.”
It sure sounds familiar. I’m looking for my copy now.
March 13th, 2026 at 9:06 am
Your fine review of PEEPER finally motivated me to read that book that’s been on my shelves for decades–plus the short stories. If you want to read the result, check out: http://georgekelley.org/fridays-forgotten-books-898-peeper-a-hat-full-of-ralph-and-state-of-grace-by-loren-d-estleman/
March 13th, 2026 at 12:25 pm
Thanks for the link, George. Now I guess I’d better read PEEPER myself, which I haven’t, not yet that is. I have found my copy. That’s step number one!