Max Allan Collins

Max Allan Collins (born 1948, Muscatine, Iowa) – prolific American mystery author of, among other others, the long-running (19 volumes) Nate Heller series. Heller is a private investigator born in 1905 to a German Jewish immigrant father, Mahlon Heller, and an Irish mother. His father was a labor organizer, whose socialist beliefs and experiences with strike-related violence significantly influenced Nate’s character. His upbringing in Chicago’s Maxwell Street neighborhood—a historically Jewish enclave—deeply informs his character.

True Detective (1983) is the first novel in the Nathan Heller series which establishes his heritage, detailing his father’s life as a labor organizer and book seller.

Historical Figures: Heller frequently interacts with real-life Jewish figures, such as world-class boxer Barney Ross, who grew up with him on Maxwell Street, the classic Jewish immigrant neighbourhood in Chicago.. Other books in the series mention interactions with Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, Julius Rosenberg, and other Jewish characters.

Nate Heller is not “very Jewish” in a religious sense, though not completely oblivious. For instance, the short story ”Kaddish for the Kid” (1998) references the traditional Jewish mourning prayer. Nonetheless, his Jewish-Irish heritage is a core part of his identity and world outlook.

Heller is a “soiled” hero rather than a traditional “knight” of noir; his mixed heritage places him as an outsider who can “draw lines” in a corrupt world while remaining deeply connected to his family history.  [Google/AI]

Collins, Max Allan, (True Detective [hc, St. Martin’s Press, 1983]) 978-0312820510 [pb, Thomas & Mercer, 2011] 978-1612180885

Collins, Max Allan, (True Crime [hc, St. Martin’s Press, 1984]) 978-0312820459 [pb, AmazonEncore, 2011] 978-1612180939

Collins, Max Allan, (The Million-Dollar Wound [hc, St. Martin’s Press, 1986]) 978-0312532529 [pb, AmazonEncore, 2011] 978-1612180953

Collins, Max Allan, (Neon Mirage [hc, St. Martin’s Press, 1988]) 978-0312014841 [pb, Gollancz Crime – London, 1990] 978-0575048386 [Heavily involves Bugsy Siegel  and the Jewish mob’s role in the development of Las Vegas. – Google/AI]