Mitchell Bartoy, The Devil’s Only Friend

The Devil's Only Friend

Mitchell Bartoy

St. Martin's, Nov 2006, $23.95

ISBN: 0312340893

In 1944 Detroit, racial riots have shaken the Motor City. Thus when "Negro" Jonah Walker visits his friend former police officer cop Pete Caudill in the latter's all white neighborhood he risks his life from the neighbors. Still Jonah needs to know who killed his younger sister Felicia and Pete's the man to learn the truth. Besides being an ex-cop, one-eyed Pete last year proved a Negro had been wrongly accused of a homicide (see The Devil's Own Ragdoll).

Since the corpse was found in the Cleveland based auto manufacturing plant owned by intimidating Jasper Lloyd, Pete starts with the business mogul, whom he knows from shared events. Pete is stunned when he sees how frail Jasper has become and friendly offering his assistance because the elderly man retains the reputation of a barracuda. However, Jasper's secretary wants Pete to leave the man alone while Whitcomb, the heir to the mogul's empire is nasty and threatening towards Pete. The ex cop soon knows his inquiries is disturbing someone when he is beaten badly even as a second female murder occurs.

Though new neighbor family man Ray Federle seems an unlikely investigative partner, fans will fully enjoy Pete's WWII Motown investigation. The storyline is as much a historical, especially the deep look at race relations only sixty years ago and so dysfunctional, as it is a mystery. The cast is solid though Pete is the core of this dark 1940s urban Noir.

Harriet Klausner