Snap Malek Mysteries

In this depression-era noir series debut, a politician's murder leads a Chicago crime reporter to a conspiracy involving the Cubs' race for the pennant. Chicago, 1938. A new mayoral candidate runs on a promise to stomp out organized crime. When he's gunned down, it seems clear that the mob cast their ballot with bullets. But Chicago Tribune reporter Steve "Snap" Malek senses more to the story. And his hunch is confirmed by none other than former syndicate kingpin Al Capone. Incurring his editors' anger, Malek ranges far beyond his beat, plunging headlong into a maverick investigation that soon spins beyond his control. In the process, he crosses paths with actress Helen Hayes, future Mayor Richard J. Daley, and pitching great Dizzy Dean, who was recently traded to the Cubs. And while Dizzy may be essential to a Cubs pennant win, he may also be the key to Malek's very survival.

In post–WWII Chicago, a crime reporter sets out to prove his cousin innocent of murder in this historical noir by the author of the Nero Wolfe mysteries. Chicago, 1946. World War II may be over, but murder continues apace in the Windy City. This time, it hits close to home for Chicago Tribune police reporter Snap Malek. Someone has killed his cousin's British war bride in the Bohemian neighborhood of Pilsen. As the prime suspect, the meek young man is jailed. And Malek, convinced of his innocence, begins a dogged hunt for the murderer. Entering the shadowy world of Pilsen's blue-collar saloons, Snap encounters hard-bitten factory workers, a tragic war widow, and a former professional prizefighter-all "bar friends" of the murdered woman. The twisting case leads him to the city's best defense attorney, legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and a bare-knuckle slugfest. And while a horrifying train wreck in Naperville draws his attention, Snap is determined to pursue his cousin's case no matter where it takes him.

As the US enters WWII, a series of murders at the University of Chicago threatens a top-secret military research project in this historical noir. Against the ominous backdrop of America's entry into World War II, the navy still reels from the devastation wreaked at Pearl Harbor and the crushing defeat of US ground troops in the Philippines. On the home front, scientists working for Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago labor feverishly on a secret weapon that promises to reverse the fortunes of battle. However, sinister forces are at work on the outwardly serene Gothic campus, resulting in violent deaths. While work grinds on in the shadowy catacombs beneath an abandoned football stadium-work that will forever alter our world-Chicago Tribune police reporter Steve "Snap" Malek delves into the intrigue. Battling for an exclusive story and, ultimately, for his very life, Malek finds himself in the midst of history-in-the-making.

A Chicago crime reporter is out to stop a local hate group from assassinating President Truman in this historical crime thriller. Chicago, 1948. As President Harry Truman prepares to visit Chicago in the final tense days of his reelection campaign, police reporter Steve "Snap" Malek receives an ominous threat. An anti-Semitic group plans to assassinate the president for officially recognizing the new state of Israel. When Malek refuses the hate group's demands for newspaper publicity, they begin killing Chicagoans-one a day, including a policeman and a fireman. As the so-called New Reich promises more of the same, Malek begins his dogged hunt to uncover their true identities. Along the way, he meets maverick automaker Preston Tucker, and even gets the chance to drive the revolutionary Tucker Torpedo. But when Truman arrives in Chicago for a parade, time is running out for Malek to stifle the deadly plot.

A reporter's routine assignment turns deadly when a serial killer stalks the Chicago Railroad Fair in this historical noir thriller. It's the summer of 1949, and Chicago Tribune reporter Steve "Snap" Malek has been assigned to cover the Chicago Railroad Fair. For three months this sprawling and lavish event will draw visitors to the showcase on the city's beautiful lakefront. Malek, used to covering the gritty police headquarters, sees this assignment as the first step in being put out to pasture. But violence has a way of finding the intrepid Snap Malek, even in this least likely of locales. A killer with a grudge against the railroad industry is striking at random, threatening to shut down the national expo with a series of bizarre murders. Before this reign of terror ends, famed filmmaker Walt Disney enters the scene with a theory about the killer, and Malek himself, bloodied and wounded, becomes a target of the madman's wrath.