Whiskey River

Loren Estleman

See the full ranking

"Whiskey River" was an Edgar Award Finalist. In the throes of Prohibition-era Detroit, one reporter follows the gripping and violent life of a man who helped keep the booze flowing. Like nowhere else in America, Detroit flourished during Prohibition. The constant flow of liquor from across the Canadian border made Lake Erie a war zone, and lined the pockets of the men who ran the Purple Gang, the Unione Siciliana, and the Little Jewish Navy. As the mob bosses got rich, they mingled with the upper crust like never before. But Prohibition was more than just a boon for gangsters. For newspapermen, it was a dream come true. It's 1928, and the Detroit Times' Connie Minor knows every thug, moll, and triggerman south of Eight Mile. He's drinking rotgut whiskey in a speakeasy on Vernor when he meets Jack Dance for the first time, and watches as the preening young hothead joins Joey Machine's mob. Over the next few years, the two mobsters will fight a battle for the soul of Detroit's underground, and Connie Minor will be there to cover every shot.