The Last Striptease

First of the three excellent Joe Kozmarski mysteries written by Michael Wiley. Without intending to do so, I found myself reading into the wee hours of the morning, so intriguing was the plot. Read this and the other two novels in the series, The Bad Kitty Lounge and A Bad Nights Sleep.

Decent book, a lot of characters and i kind of felt like it was left unfinished. About a ex-cop turned private investigator who tries to clear his friends name

If Phillip Marlow was investigating murders in the 21st century, hed be a lot like Joe Kozmarski. The Last Striptease is great page turner.

A friend told me about Wiley and had to order his books, cant wait for the next!

I have the misfortune to wear out the flight pattern between Chicago and Dallas. Accordingly, I spend a great deal of time waiting out the inevitable delays at the DFW Chilis over a margarita big enough to drown a small puppy. This book was my first step toward sobriety. I had difficulty putting it down, let alone draining my drink, so I didnt (do either). With short breaks for boarding, deplaning and hailing a cab in Chicago, I read it straight through, finishing at 4AM. The authors use of language had me coveting the highlighter belonging to the traveler in seat 23B so as to commit to memory phrasing I could use at social events. The chrome window faced like a stone drunk who wouldnt tell you what was inside his head no matter how many times you slapped him I could almost smell the car chase around the Belmont El. It was gritty and funny and absorbing. Bravo! I cant wait for the next one....

During a surveillance project, Chicago private investigator Joe Kozmarski sees a murder that he calls in over 911. His former police crony, Bill Gubman follows up on Joes call, but is shot by the killer who escapes. When his employee Bob Piedras is suspected of killing his girlfriend, Le Thi Hanh, former judge Peter Rifkin asks family friend Joe to investigate; the judge assumes Piedras is innocent although he and Le had a public argument. Joe does not like these types of cases in which a friend with a presumption hires him because the truth may not be what the person wants, but a$15K retainer supersedes any doubt. Besides Joe has a grudge with the Judge, who was forced to retire for behavior unbecoming a court official. As Joe makes inquiries, Les angry violent brothers follow his every move because they plan their own form of justice including keeping a PI straight anyway necessary. However, the toughest project is his eleven year old nephew who has been dumped on him to straighten him out, but the lad insists on doing field work instead of schoolwork. Joe is terrific in this bruising (to the characters that is) action-packed urban noir. The story line is fast-paced as it seems everywhere that Joe goes; a corpse either greets him or follows after him. Readers will appreciate his joy ride of Chicago even as his wise guy not precocious nephew insists on leading the investigation. Harriet Klausner

I also read this book through in a single sitting. I dont do that. Its that good. I actually noted the exact moment--page 88--at which I decided that this was the best mystery Ive read since I dont know when. The lead characters witty descriptions of the world around him are absolutely brilliant. The dialogue, even under the most stressful moments of the story, is genius in both humor and plot progression; after nearly every spoken line, I demanded to know why the world didnt let me be Joe Kozmarski. There isnt a flat moment in the whole story. Im guessing the only folks who read this novel with disappointment are the other authors who were up for that PWA award. Amazon could use more stars for special circumstances. VERY happy with this book. I turned the last page, put the book down, and immediately bought the next two in the series on my Kindle.

terrific! havent had this much fun since tough guys dont dance. heres a cool hero outwitting his way through plenty of bad guys. whodunit? who cares! the fun here is the dialogue, the characters, the setting. quick read with lots of action. cant wait for the next one.

Terrific first book by Mr. Wiley. Im already a fan of Joe Kozmarski, and thats not said lightly -- I consider Jack Reacher and Joe Pike good friends :) I am truly anticipating the release of his second book.

Twenty-something pages into Mike Wileys first Joe Kozmarski caper, Im already liking the guy. Joe has just witnessed the first of three murders in the story...a man who ran a store selling hookahs and porn videos. Hey, it was just a favor for a lawyer friend... dunning the shop owner for back child support payments. The private eye business is slow. The next morning, Joe awakes from sleeping on the sagging couch in his office on South Wabash Street. He glimpses a bit of Lake Michigan out his window, runs around Grant Park without a shirt, and has breakfast at a joint down the block owned by three Greek brothers. A telephone call and business picks up. A judge kicked off the bench wants a $15K favor. A young Vietnamese gal named Hanh has been found at the OHare Hilton with her throat cut. The judges business partner is a suspect. And so we follow Joe into the mean streets of the Windy City followed by Hanhs revenge-seeking brothers, Chinh and Lanh. To the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where Hanh studied art. To Club 9 where Hanh partied too hard. To a cinder-block $30 a night motel where Hanh modeled a $8,000 blue Chinese ceremonial robe. To her swank apartment with a doorman and purple and chrome furniture. Wiley has written a soft hard-boiled story that was hard enough to be honored with a PWA award in a contest for best first private-eye novel. Soft? I forgot to tell you about Joes mother who leaves bigos in the frig of his fixer-upper house, the friendly ex-wife Corinne and a Chicago cop named Lucinda who keeps putting her hand on his thigh. So come join me after this read at the The Bad Kitty Lounge, the next book in the series. Im pretty sure the women in Joes life will all be there, too.