A fun and engrossing read that blends some of the noir of Chandler (think The Big Sleep) and the hard-nosed, streetwise, rough and tumble, blood-soaked sleuthing of Spillane's Mike Hammer. Michael Kelly is an ex-Chicago Homicide Detective railroaded off the force by a crooked Cook County DA and now working as a private investigator. The mystery here is solvable in some respects--and I was happy to be both correct in my major deduction while also having plenty of other twists thrown into the mix as the case wound to its inevitable conclusion. If you like the vintage detective novel, the city of Chicago, and the humor that accompanies a lifetime of Cubs fandom, you will enjoy this book! ( )

At first I thought this book was just an average hard-boiled detective novel. My favorite part was when one of my favorite true crime shows (Cold Case Files) was mentioned since the author was a co-creator of the series. I thought I had easily figured out who was behind the mystery. Then I looked down at my audiobook and realized I still had an hour of listening left. Harvey had a few twists and turns to throw my way. I enjoyed the story, and will definitely read more in the series. ( )

The Chicago Way is the first in what I assume will be a series. If so, Harvey should do pretty well. The first book usually sets the scene for the series and introduces the character, without developing him too much. That happens over the course of the series. Such was the case for this book, which introduced P.I. Michael Kelly but didn’t manage to flesh him out beyond the surface layer. Although the story is well told and the ending held more than one surprise for me, it didn’t break any new ground for the genre. And I think Harvey made a mistake in killing off one particular character too soon. This was just a good story, well told. ( )

This was not my typical mystery read (being in the noir style), and I loved it anyway. It's always fun to find a book outside my "comfort zone" that I really enjoy. This one was a recommendation from my dad.

Michael Kelly is a former cop turned private detective who is hired to solve a cold case. But this is a much more complicated case than first appears, with repercussions stretching all the way to the present.

Harvey knows how to write about a cold case. He was the executive producer of a great true crime show, Cold Case Files. This is a book full of twists and turns, especially a huge twist at the end that I did not see coming. ( )

had the pleasure of meeting this author several years ago at a “meet and greet” at my library. He was delightful. I like his breezy writing style. Initially it seemed like he was trying too hard to be Raymond Chandler, but after the first few chapters he relaxed into the story. The plot may have been a bit predictable, but the local color is excellent. I actually liked the characters and did not find that the plot strained the limits of credibility. I look forward to the next one. ( )