Eliot Ness - Max Allan Collins

Max Allan Collins is one of my favourite classic crime writers, his hard-edged Quarry and Nolan novels are up there  with the best. He's also an unimaginably prolific writer, so while I was interested in seeing what he would make of Eliot Ness - a series of books based on the famed real-life Prohibition agent that would certainly not be lacking in opportunities to write about crime and corruption - there was a little concern that Ness might lack the morally ambiguous character that makes the Nolan and Quarry books so daring. Ness's "cops and robbers" background and his clean-cut anti-corruption image might not make him as adventurous a figure as Collins's deadly killers, but he is certainly as driven, perhaps even more so.

You might think that working with a real-life figure and keeping close to actual historical might constrain Collins, and there is an aspect of formality to how events play out, there is no shortage of challenges and thrilling action in the first Eliot Ness book. Interestingly, Collins doesn't go for the expected and well-documented past of Eliot Ness's Capone chasing, Prohibition era bootlegger-busting days in Chicago, but takes up the story just as Ness has busted his last illegal distillery and come up empty. Those days are over, Prohibition has been repealed, but in 1937 Ness still longs for the challenge and the headlines that made him and his 'Untouchables' famous. An offer from the mayor of Cleveland to take up the desk job post of Director of Public Safety doesn't seem to be what Ness is looking for but the mayor has an interesting propositions for him.

The real reason Ness has been hired is to clean up what is widely known to be the most corrupt police force in the USA. That idea appeals to Ness, but it is a major job to root out what is practically a corrupt department within the police department, unable to know who is 'on the take' and who can be trusted to carry out raids without the gambling dens being tipped off. There are also a lot of political appointments in high office, so he has to be wary of stepping on toes and making enemies of important and influential people. Moreover, he only has a few months to show he can make an impact so that a sufficient budget can be allocated to carry out the necessary reforms. Ness has to make headlines again, shake up the system and root out the widespread corruption, with few resources he can rely on. It seems almost impossible, but, well, isn't that where Max Allan Collins is going to make this fantastically entertaining.

Eliot Ness is just a little 'by the numbers', entering into the spirit of the classic crime films of the thirties, with a lot of familiar types  of characters. This includes a hard bitten journalist, Sam Wild, who is able to supply him with leads and insider advice in exchange for being tipped off on raids that will sell papers, and attractive women throwing themselves at him. This might be stereotypical other for the fact that they are based on real people of composites of them, and Collins takes the time to show a human side to them, including how Ness's personal and family life suffers because of his dedication to his job. However with other side plots and a sense of underlying conspiracy and the historical background to give this a sense of reality, Collins has all the elements in place and the ability to blend this into a compelling thriller.

Reading notes: Eliot Ness by Max Allan Collins is published in a series of eBook/Kindle collections of his novels by Wolfpack Publishing. This one is included in Max Allan Collins Collection Volume One: Eliot Ness: A Political Mystery Collection, which also includes Butcher's Dozen, Bullet Proof and Murder by The Numbers. These collections each cost around £3.99 or less, so a bargain for some classic crime fiction by one of its best writers.