The Fifth Floor

The backstory: After devouring Michael Harvey's first mystery featuring ex-cop turned private investigator Michael Kelly in a day, The Chicago Way, I immediately picked up The Fifth Floor, the second in the series.

The basics: The titular fifth floor refers to the location of the Chicago mayor's office, a sure sign Harvey is once again tackling a story of political intrigue. When an old girlfriend asks Michael Kelly to track her husband, who works for the mayor, Kelly doesn't anticipate discovering a dead body while he does so. Soon he finds himself solving multiple mysteries, including this murder, stretching from the Chicago fire of 1871 to the present.

My thoughts: Rarely do I like to read two of an author's books back to back, let show more alone two in a series without a break, but before I had even finished The Chicago Way, I'd requested the other three titles in the series from the library. One of the things I love most about Michael Harvey's writing is the way he makes things that should be preposterous seem normal. He captures the essence of Chicago beautifully, both its treasures and its embarrassments. This novel beautifully explores the history of Chicago's fire, which I thoroughly enjoyed. This review is intentionally short on details because Harvey's books are best enjoyed knowing little when you begin. Know this: if you like mysteries, drop what you're doing and go get your hands on copies of The Chicago Way and The Fifth Floor--you'll want to start this one as soon as you finish the first one too.

The verdict: Harvey seamlessly combines a rich portrait of Chicago's history with contemporary drama. The result is a densely and richly plotted contemporary mystery that is even better than The Chicago Way. show less

I read a lot of mysteries but not a lot of them involve private eyes. I mention this up front because I don't have a lot of basis for comparison but, even so, I absolutely loved Michael Harvey's The Fifth Floor.

It's a tough guy kind of mystery but filled with sights and sounds of Chicago, my home area my entire life, so, not surprisingly, I loved it.

As a history buff and a fan of disaster books, it does not hurt that the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 figures prominently into this storyline, as does what was formerly called the Chicago Historical Society (now the Chicago History Museum), one of my favorite places to visit in the city.

I deduct a half star because things occasionally seemed to fly out of nowhere but, overall, for me, one of show more my favorite books of the year. Michael Harvey, please write many more, and soon. show less

Ah, a modern Chicago mystery with the classics-loving detective (and disgraced former Chicago PD detective) Michael Kelly. All the elements are here, city hall--the 5th floor Mayor's office to be exact--bureaucrats, delicious restaurants that don't necessarily look great, and some classic double crosses and twists from characters that aren't supposed to be jerking you around. Plot revolves around Chicago's great 19th century tragedy, the fire, and a search for a book with an astounding secret. Seems like all books between 2003-2016 involved some secret historical book/mystery plotline. Fortunately, that turns out to be a red herring for something a bit more mundane and ultimately more interesting.

The Fifth Floor is the second novel from Michael Harvey, following The Chicago Way, which I reviewed last week. While his first novel read very much like a first novel, The Fifth Flooris much more expertly crafted. Gone are the awkward phrasings, the writing feels much less forced, and the voice is more authentic. Thankfully, the awkward rape shit is also gone.

The characters pick up where we left them, and Mr. Harvey does an admirable job summarizing the past without boring the reader who's already familiar with it. The pacing of this book is exceptional and there are plenty of twists as turns, as you'd hope to find in the detective/thriller genre.

As you may remember from my previous review, I was a little upset (to put it mildly) about show more some minor and pointless inaccuracies about the city of Chicago. For the most part this problem is absent from his second book, but there's still the problem with acting like the south side is just this forgotten land and a free for all gang central that is nothing but an underbelly of the city. Not cool, or accurate, but it takes up very little of the book.

If you're a fan of detective/suspense/thriller books I would recommend this book. Likewise, if you're interested in a book where Chicago is more than a location and feels like a character, then this would be a good fit. show less

Old-fashioned PI mystery set in modern day Chicago. This is a well-written and ultimately satisfying read with well rounded characters and a plot that, whilst initially inconsequential sucks you into the depths into which it plummets. I couldn't help feeling like this was actually set in the forties or fifties and it was the occasional node to modern society that brought me back to the present. As such it is an affectionate nod to Chandler, MacDonald and probably more closely "Chinatown" - notably with its political subtext and multi-layered plot.

Michael Kelly is an ex-cop, turned private eye. When he is approached by a good friend to look into her abusive husband, this quickly leads to murder and a complex conspiracy, with possible connections to both the Great Chicago Fire and “The Fifth Floor”, the home base of the powerful Chicago mayor.
This is the 2nd book in a solid series and the author captures the tone and rhythms of the city, with a nice flair. Kelly is a tough but likable P.I. and one I will be gladly returning to.

Private investigator Michael Kelly is following an abusive husband of an ex-girlfriend, who works for the mayor, and discovers a dead body. A little humor, some Chicago politics, unexpected behavior from Kelly and a diverse cast of characters combine to make this an entertaining book. The ending was a bit unbelievable but I’d still like to read more by this author.