MDBlurbs

"As compelling as the best mystery fiction, as absorbing as the finest historical writing, The Master Detective, is a pure delight. Packed with fascinating period detail, the book offers all the elements of a classic crime tale, with a touch of Greek tragedy thrown in."

Jeffery Deaver , author of The Bone Collector and The Cold Moon

"If Ellis Parker had been the creation of Dashiell Hammett or Rex Stout, he would be one of our most famous fictional detectives; but Parker was nobody's creation but his own, a backwoods Holmes with homespun triumphs leading to the humiliating national defeat of the Lindbergh kidnapping. Master Detective tells the master detective's whole story, and it's one even Agatha Christie couldn't have dreamed up -- fascinating reading for true-crime buffs and mystery fans alike." –

Max Allan Collins, author of The Road to Perdition

"History meets mystery meets Reisinger to create the perfect storm between book covers. Lindbergh continues after his death to surprise and mystify us. Ellis Parker, the master detective, is no less an interesting and tragic figure. Master Detective is a riveting read about one of America’s most fascinating crimes. In Reisinger, America’s real-life Sherlock Holmes has found his Watson." –

John Lutz , author of Fear The Night

"Master Detective is a masterpiece. Ellis Parker, a real-life contemporary of

Sherlock Holmes, rises from an itinerant fiddler at barn dances to

investigating--and, perhaps, solving--the Lindbergh baby's kidnapping.

An extraordinary story grippingly told." --

Jeremiah Healy, author of Turnabout and The Only Good Lawyer

"John Reisinger has written a masterpiece of a biography, a story told as deftly as the finest fiction with the rich details of vivid history.Master Detective is essential reading for anyone interested in the Lindbergh case or New Jersey history. But what makes this book truly compelling is its subject: Detective Ellis Parker, one of the most fascinating characters in the annals of American crime-solving." --

                                                             Troy Soos , author of Burning Bridges and The Gilded Cage

"The panic and chaos surrounding the Lindbergh kidnapping case, as well as tactics of crime fighting from the early twentieth century through the Depression, come wonderfully alive in this thoroughly researched, well-crafted biography. Ellis Parker, the first chief detective of Burlington County, New Jersey, was dubbed "the American Sherlock -Holmes" by newspapers for his uncanny ability to reconstruct crimes through psychology and deduction. Reisinger follows Parker's career, from solving horse thefts, barn fires, and murders, through catching bootleggers and bank robbers, on to the detective's professional Waterloo, the Lindbergh case. This is as much a study of criminology as it is a biography, with Reisinger detailing the old-time police work that relied heavily on informants and intimidation and how criminals adapted to changing times, especially during the Depression. The core of the book is the Lindbergh case, Parker's theories on the real suspect, and his tragic overreaching to prove his point. Gripping."

                                                             Connie Fletcher, Booklist
                                                             Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

"….. The Lindbergh kidnapping and murder continues to resonate, with its many unanswered questions, and now a major part of that famous episode has been resurrected with Master Detective, the Life and Crimes of Ellis Parker, by John Reisinger.

The tangled story of Parker, his origins, and his rise and fall, has never been adequately sorted out before now. But John Reisinger, in a worthy detective hunt of his own, has located many long-lost documents, and engaging reminiscences of family members, and woven it all together in a well-written book, enlivened by his dry wit and appreciation for the vagaries of human nature.

Reisinger has spent a long time sorting out the many strands of this bizarre episode, so much a part of the 1920s-30s, and one gets the full flavor of Parker's background, and his rise in law enforcement. ……The author has done a lot of his own spadework (from primary sources), and navigated the many personalities and complex historical record well. ……The reader is in Mr Reisinger's debt (over 300 pages and excellent photos) for bringing more light to such a convoluted chapter in American history. It is a worthy addition to anyone's library, anyone who has a taste for real-life mysteries and the hard work that was (and is) required to solve them. In a world of revisionism and innuendo, such books are rare and to be treasured. "

Allen Koenigsberg, Classics Department of Brooklyn College, Lindbergh case expert, moderator of LindyKidnap discussion group, and webmaster of LindyTruth website.

"...I think you did a fantastic job of describing my Grandfather. I think your book pays him honor and yet it describes his shortcomings in a gentle way. I am sure that if he were here to read it he would be pleased. Your research has shown me things I never knew before about him. Thank you for keeping Grandpop's legacy alive...."

Bill Fullerton, Grandson of Ellis Parker, webmaster of Ellis Parker tribute website.

"..very well done....an important and entertaining book about a fascinating character in the history of crime....great accomplishment."

Jim Fisher , author of The Lindbergh Case and The Ghosts of Hopewell

MASTER DETECTIVE:

The Life and Crimes of Ellis Parker, America's Real-Life Sherlock Holmes

By John Reisinger

Citadel Press
ISBN 0-8065-2750-1

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