Steve Ulfelder

From the get-go, Wolverine Bros. Freight & Storage had me hooked. Conway Sax, mechanic, alcoholic and firm believer in vigilante justice is tasked to bring Hollywood has-been Kenny Spoon home to his dying mother, Barnburner Eudora Spoon. Sax's personal code of honor requires him to aid a fellow Barnburner in need, and in this case, Eudora is far more than just a fellow Barnburner - she's his AA mentor as well. Rescuing Kenny from an LA gang Los Bajamaros and returning him to Massachusetts show more sets a chain of events in motion, including a murder and Sax's version of consequences where "everyone pays".

An incredibly fast and satisfying read. I've read Sax from the beginning and author Steve Ulfelder continues to develop this hard, yet interesting and engaging character who tends to make more wrong personal decisions than right ones in the overall scheme of things.
After 4 books, the minor characters, Sax's friends, are interesting and give depth to the character. show less

I love a good mystery/detective novel. Usually I devour them, racing from cover to cover. But, after reading Shotgun Lullaby I have to reevaluate what makes a truly good detective novel. This book made my previous detective reads comparable to prime time episodes of some tv network show and Ulfelder's work overshadowed them greatly. His characters were each immediately solid in voice, personality, and believability. The main character was like a rich blend of a classic film noir male and a show more modern multifaceted struggling male, as though the ideals of himself and the reality of himself were mashed together. The story unfolded more slowly than I am accustomed to but it did so more richly for that. I found the book difficult to pick up as often, but only because it required more than quick stolen reads. I found the ending quite satisfying in that it resembled a realistic outcome and didn't tie up too many loose ends with pretty bows, instead allowing the natural grit of the characters to linger. show less

Conway Sax, a recovered alcoholic with a checkered past, is a man who pays for his sins one favor at a time. In Shotgun Lullaby, the third book in the series, the initial favor is squaring a small car loan debt for one Gus Biletnikov, a wiseass college boy who recently joined the Barnburners (think: Alcoholics Anonymous, but even more intense). After Sax erases the debt with his fists, he takes a keen interest in helping Gus stay sober and get back on his feet, for the young Biletnikov show more reminds Sax of his own estranged son. But the real problems start when Biletnikov falls off the wagon. First, someone guns down a kid staying in Biletnikov’s room at Almost Home, a halfway house for people fresh out of a rehab or jail. Figuring (correctly) that Biletnikov was the actual target, Sax vows to find out who is after Gus Biletnikov…and why. This leads to problems with the sordid cast of characters in Biletnikov’s orbit, which includes a gorgeous, but hatable step mother, a smooth-talking con man, a burnt-out drug dealer whose in love with Gus, and a father-son duo of gangsters. The plot in this one keeps you guessing until the very end.

But what makes this installment of the series stand out is the depths to which Sax is willing to go to redeem himself and, at least in part, to do penance for his past transgressions. Loyalty is not just a word with Conway Sax; it is a lifestyle. True, Sax has a black and white view of the world and is intensely loyal. He is also prone to fits of rage and violence, but he is not a violent or immoral man. Similar to the violence depicted in Breaking Bad, the violence in this novel is not gratuitous; every punch thrown, every gunshot fired, every life taken costs Sax something, and, by extension, costs the reader something. This, in a way, elevates this book (and the series) beyond the typical PI/mystery book genre, makes it social commentary…highly readable, extremely enjoyable commentary.

Bottom line, Conway Sax is a good man, and in today’s world where people’s loyalties and moral compasses change depending on self-interest and survival, there is something incredibly admirable about this character’s dedication to family and friends. Put another way, I not enjoy reading these books, I actually relate to Conway Sax. Perhaps it is my INTJ personality, but like Sax, I take my commitments seriously and never give myself a break. Neither does Sax. This makes him the most realistic fictional PI out there right now. This series is, in a word, revelatory. I hope to one day write something this good…and this relevant. show less

I was fascinated to learn that Purgatory Chasm is a real place in Massachusetts. Purgatory Chasm the book is a fast-paced mystery novel whose main character, Conway Sax, is a sometime auto mechanic with a past involving alcohol and time in prison. And Conway Sax is a Barnburner, a member of a select group of AA members who will do anything for each other.

Author Steve Ulfelder tells the story in first person, giving us the sense of speed and obsession that pervade the whole novel. We know show more from the first paragraph that Sax does not like fellow Barnburner Tander Phigg. But when Sax finds Phigg’s strangled body, he is determined to carry out his promise of loyalty, and puts his own life in danger as he searches for Phigg’s killer. Conway Sax has given up drinking, and he possesses the single-mindedness recovering alcoholics often possess. He uses this focus to deal with his relationships as well as the shady characters who intrude in his life as he searches for the murderer.

The book is populated by complex characters who struggle with their troubled pasts and whose lives intersect in often cataclysmic way. Conway Sax’s own father turns up sober for once in his life, a fact which should have made Sax suspicious, about the same time as Phigg’s estranged son and his Vietnamese wife and child, whom Sax takes under his wing. And the reporter seen with Phigg just days before his death – who is she really?

Purgatory Chasm is Ulfelder’s first novel, but he clearly has the ability to get inside the minds of his multi-faceted characters and bring out their best and worst. His casual style moves the reader along at a rapid pace that fits perfectly with the theme of automobiles and racing. Even though I am not an auto racing enthusiastic and can’t even change a tire, I found myself caught up in the story. Ulfelder has created Conway Sax as a flawed human being with a sense of integrity and honor. I look forward to more of his novels.
(As published in Suspense Magazine) show less