Edsel

For Edsel: a Novel of Detroit, we jump back to the 1950s. Former reporter Constance "Connie" Minor has been hired to come up with an advertising pitch to sell the Ford "e-car" Edsel. At the same time, he is hired to be a spy for the United Auto Workers labor union. As he bounces between loyalties and the law, Connie also juggles dating two women. Per the usual Estlemen plot, Connie burrows underground into the world of mobsters, corrupt politicians, and ex-cops with hidden agendas. Once again, it is the dialogue that keeps Edsel hopping.
Like the other Estleman novels, Edsel is a parade of cars: Skyliner, Studebaker (my dad had one of those), Lincoln Capri, Ford Fairlane, Hudson Hornet, Bel-Air, Mercury Montclair, deVille, corsair, show more Citation, and Roadmaster.
This is going to sound strange, but I loved the last few pages of Edsel. If this had been a movie, the end roll of credits would have been a political and economic snapshot of how 1950s fared. Like the voiceover of the crime noir detective wrapping up the solving of a crime. show less

Snappy dialogue and lively prose bring every page to life. This work is especially impressive because Estelman has a deep knowledge of the city's culture during this era and uses it to fashion an authentic backdrop for the story. Readers who are from the Detroit area will admire his research, but non-Detroiters will enjoy the work too. My only wish is that the protagonist had solved Walter Reuther's actual murder in the late 1960's, not just the attempt on his life in 1948. Reuther remains as a beacon of social justice and labor rights who was able to challenge corporate hegemony and make prosperity something that was shared.