Chicago Lightning

The Collected Nathan Heller Short Stories

By: Max Allan Collins

Narrated by: Dan John Miller

Tough, cynical, and clever, Nathan Heller has been called "the perfect private eye", the best investigator that Chicago (where "lightning" means gunfire) has to offer. Created by New York Times best-selling novelist and Road to Perdition creator Max Allan Collins, the classic PI comes vibrantly to life in this collection of 13 stories, all based on real cases of the 1930s and '40s.

In “The Blonde Tigress”, Heller encounters a vicious hold-up crew with a brutal female leader, while in “Scrap” he investigates a union shooting that has national implications. In “The Perfect Crime” he goes Hollywood to protect the lovely Thelma Todd, with tragic results. The private eye finds himself tangling with notorious mobster Mickey Cohen in a “Shoot-out On Sunset” and with Al Capone’s successor, Frank Nitti, in “Screwball". Heller’s friendship with Eliot Ness finds the two men working together in both “The Strawberry Teardrop", in which Heller encounters America’s first serial killer, and “Natural Death, Inc."

Heller tackles each case with his trademark cynicism and humor, digging into the grimy underbelly of 20th-century America to uncover the truth at any cost.

Listen to another title in the Nathan Heller series.©2011 Max Allan Collins (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Nice collection of short stories

I hadn't heard of the Nate Heller series before listening to this collection of short stories. All of the stories were fact based with the fictional character Nate Heller inserted to solve them. After each story the author gave a little synopsis of his references and a little about the crime and what liberties he had taken. Most of the stories were interesting and I enjoyed the little synopsis after each one.

Husband and I LOVE listening together!

What made the experience of listening to Chicago Lightning the most enjoyable?

The stories are realistic without being gratuitiously violent. The history is there, and the characters bring it to life.

What did you like best about this story?

The fact that the P.I. is the narrator. 1st person really works here.

Which scene was your favorite?

When they are sitting outside the dept. store to see if vandals come by, and they are shot at and the person riding along is shot.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

NOt an extreme reaction, but I liked it. I could easily visualize what was being described.

Any additional comments?

More of these, please. Very interesting!