The Chicago Way

by Michael Harvey

Series: Michael Kelly (1)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
576	27	44,317	(3.45)	55
Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:From the co-creator and executive producer of the television show Cold Case Files, a fast-paced, stylish murder mystery featuring a tough-talking Irish cop turned private investigator who does for the city of Chicago what Elmore Leonard did for Detroit and Raymond Chandler did for Los Angeles. Chicago private investigator Michael Kelly is hired by his former partner, John Gibbons, to help solve an eight-year-old rape and battery case. When Gibbons turns up dead, Kelly enlists a team of his savviest colleagues to connect the dots between the recent murder and the cold case it revived: a television reporter whose relationship with Kelly is not strictly professional; his best friend from childhood, now a forensic DNA expert; a detective with a special interest in rape cases; and a friend from the DA�s office. To close the case, Kelly will have to face the mob, a serial killer, his own double-crossing friends, and the mean streets of the city he loves. Ferociously plotted and crackling with wit, THE CHICAGO WAY is first-rate suspense and a marvelous debut.… (more)

all members

▾Members

Recently added by

JanHeemskerk, LoriMcKiernan, zoo55, lbh24, Storykeepers, erinbrigati, JanicsEblen, KevinWylie

▾Tags

▾LibraryThing Recommendations

▾Lists

Chicago Books (46)

▾Will you like it?

▾Conversations (About links)

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 55 mentions

▾Member reviews

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 27 (next | show all)

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! (

)

JohnLocke84 | Apr 10, 2024 |

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. (

)

jguidry | Mar 2, 2021 |

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. (

)

dorie.craig | Jun 22, 2017 |

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. (

)

seasonsoflove | Sep 22, 2016 |

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. (

)

Carol420 | May 31, 2016 |

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 27 (next | show all)

▾Published reviews

no reviews | add a review

▾Other authors

» Add other authors (1 possible)

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

Michael Kelly (1)

Is contained in

The Chicago Way / The Fifth Floor by Michael Harvey

▾Awards and Honors

Distinctions

Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (Fiction – 2007)

Notable Lists

Illinois Reads (Adult – 2018)

view history

▾Common Knowledge

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.

For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.

Canonical title

The Chicago Way

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

People/Characters

Important places

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

You wanna get Capone? Here's how you get him. He pulls a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the Chicago way...
- Sean Connery as Officer Jim Malone, The Untouchables

Dedication

First words

Quotations

Last words

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Grisham, John

Connelly, Michael

Reichs, Kathy

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

Michael Harvey (author)

▾Book descriptions

Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:From the co-creator and executive producer of the television show Cold Case Files, a fast-paced, stylish murder mystery featuring a tough-talking Irish cop turned private investigator who does for the city of Chicago what Elmore Leonard did for Detroit and Raymond Chandler did for Los Angeles.

Chicago private investigator Michael Kelly is hired by his former partner, John Gibbons, to help solve an eight-year-old rape and battery case. When Gibbons turns up dead, Kelly enlists a team of his savviest colleagues to connect the dots between the recent murder and the cold case it revived: a television reporter whose relationship with Kelly is not strictly professional; his best friend from childhood, now a forensic DNA expert; a detective with a special interest in rape cases; and a friend from the DA�s office. To close the case, Kelly will have to face the mob, a serial killer, his own double-crossing friends, and the mean streets of the city he loves.

Ferociously plotted and crackling with wit, THE CHICAGO WAY is first-rate suspense and a marvelous debut.

▾Library descriptions

No library descriptions found.

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Haiku summary