What do you think?
Rate this book
Dan Fortune #7
Blue Death
Dan Fortune, the iconic private detective who operates out of New York’s bohemian Chelsea district, has just taken on a baffling case. It should’ve been an ordinary business transaction, but Leslie Carter – Fortune’s friend and a retired belly dancer – asks for help. It’s time for her new husband to pay the lease on a parking garage they own, but her husband can’t find anyone to take the money. A mammoth corporation owns the property now, and no one there will see him or talk with him about it. It’s 1975, and the country is sliding toward recession. Already on a financial cliff, the Carters will lose everything if they can’t hold onto the lease.
When Fortune goes out to handle the matter, he finds himself the victim of a strange runaround, too. But his ends in murder.
From Manhattan’s executive towers to the raucous saloons and bordellos of Hoboken, Fortune is caught up in the lives of men so powerful they can order murder with a nod, and of twisted criminals who openly attack him to stop his probing. There are women, too, some greedy, some gentle, who conceal private nightmares behind smooth smiles.
Someone is hiding the secret that has driven an unlikely killer to murder, and no matter what, Fortune intends to uncover him – or her.
“A gripping story.” – The Charlotte Observer
“A master of crime fiction.” – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
“He is an admirable stylist, a master of mood and effect.” – New York Times
A “satisfyingly intricate mystery. ... Action and intrigue are nicely mixed.” – Publishers Weekly
When Fortune goes out to handle the matter, he finds himself the victim of a strange runaround, too. But his ends in murder.
From Manhattan’s executive towers to the raucous saloons and bordellos of Hoboken, Fortune is caught up in the lives of men so powerful they can order murder with a nod, and of twisted criminals who openly attack him to stop his probing. There are women, too, some greedy, some gentle, who conceal private nightmares behind smooth smiles.
Someone is hiding the secret that has driven an unlikely killer to murder, and no matter what, Fortune intends to uncover him – or her.
“A gripping story.” – The Charlotte Observer
“A master of crime fiction.” – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
“He is an admirable stylist, a master of mood and effect.” – New York Times
A “satisfyingly intricate mystery. ... Action and intrigue are nicely mixed.” – Publishers Weekly
190 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1975
10 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Michael Collins
35 books6 followersMichael Collins was a Pseudonym of Dennis Lynds (1924–2005), a renowned author of mystery fiction. Raised in New York City, he earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart during World War II, before returning to New York to become a magazine editor. He published his first book, a war novel called Combat Soldier, in 1962, before moving to California to write for television.
Two years later Collins published the Edgar Award–winning Act of Fear (1967), which introduced his best-known character: the one-armed private detective Dan Fortune. The Fortune series would last for more than a dozen novels, spanning three decades, and is credited with marking a more politically aware era in private-eye fiction. Besides the Fortune novels, the incredibly prolific Collins wrote science fiction, literary fiction, and several other mystery series. He died in Santa Barbara in 2005.
Two years later Collins published the Edgar Award–winning Act of Fear (1967), which introduced his best-known character: the one-armed private detective Dan Fortune. The Fortune series would last for more than a dozen novels, spanning three decades, and is credited with marking a more politically aware era in private-eye fiction. Besides the Fortune novels, the incredibly prolific Collins wrote science fiction, literary fiction, and several other mystery series. He died in Santa Barbara in 2005.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 1, 2020
My first finished read of the new decade!
And it was meh. Whole lotta meh.
I do like the Dan Fortune series but this one reads as almost a parody of it. Collins/Lynds recycles the plot from the previous book, complete with side trips to California and New Jersey, only this time, there's less of a focus on gangsters and more on Evil White Guy Execs. Now I don't mind Evil White Guy Execs but it was hard at times to tell one Evil White Guy Exec character from another, though there was a female on too so hurray for equality.
Also, there's a lot of exposition (a lot!) and a lot of musings on women who need men and men who need women but how stupid the two sexes are that they can't figure it out. I hate that.
I think my big issue with the series, which I otherwise enjoy, is there's not much suspense. I'm interested in what happens next but rarely gripped by it. I like Fortune and I like most of how he views the world and I appreciate the Archer influence. I just wish I could find one of these to really sink my teeth into. This wasn't it.
And it was meh. Whole lotta meh.
I do like the Dan Fortune series but this one reads as almost a parody of it. Collins/Lynds recycles the plot from the previous book, complete with side trips to California and New Jersey, only this time, there's less of a focus on gangsters and more on Evil White Guy Execs. Now I don't mind Evil White Guy Execs but it was hard at times to tell one Evil White Guy Exec character from another, though there was a female on too so hurray for equality.
Also, there's a lot of exposition (a lot!) and a lot of musings on women who need men and men who need women but how stupid the two sexes are that they can't figure it out. I hate that.
I think my big issue with the series, which I otherwise enjoy, is there's not much suspense. I'm interested in what happens next but rarely gripped by it. I like Fortune and I like most of how he views the world and I appreciate the Archer influence. I just wish I could find one of these to really sink my teeth into. This wasn't it.
October 30, 2017
Blue Death. Dennis Lynds
Fortune, a private investigator, is hired by an old female acquaintance, to help her husband to renew there lease for there business. He doesn't want Fortunes assistance. Then , he is found dead. Blunt force trauma. But why? The corporation that handles the lease is very evasive. Then people begin to die. Suicide? murder... Dan Fortune is determined to solve the puzzle. Some people live to work, money isn't there primary motivator. For others it is and they will resort to blackmail or murder . This is a very believable scenario, full of twists and turns. An excellent read! My highest recommendation!
Fortune, a private investigator, is hired by an old female acquaintance, to help her husband to renew there lease for there business. He doesn't want Fortunes assistance. Then , he is found dead. Blunt force trauma. But why? The corporation that handles the lease is very evasive. Then people begin to die. Suicide? murder... Dan Fortune is determined to solve the puzzle. Some people live to work, money isn't there primary motivator. For others it is and they will resort to blackmail or murder . This is a very believable scenario, full of twists and turns. An excellent read! My highest recommendation!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews