LITTLE ALTAR BOY

A Chicago nun tells a cop she trusts that she witnessed a priest doing something wrong with an altar boy; when the nun is murdered, the case becomes complicated and political.

Detectives Hank Purcell and Marvin Bondarowicz know that Chicago in the 1960s is a tough town, and although it’s been a decade since they worked the case of dismembered bodies that Guzlowski wrote about in Suitcase Charlie (2018), they still don’t hold out much hope that powerful, guilty parties will ever be held responsible. As they work the case, Hank especially is distracted because his 19-year-old daughter, Margaret, has gone missing after having gotten involved with drug-dealing hippies. The author, who grew up in Chicago, once again gets the period details right, from prejudices to politics. The dialogue, about as politically incorrect to modern ears as possible, is realistic, witty, and often bleak—these are tough guys, survivors of World War II, with little sympathy for anyone.

Readers who want a vivid portrait of an earlier time will find much to appreciate, but don't look for optimism.