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Albert Samson #1
Ask the Right Question
Vintage paperback reprint. Mystery fiction. Series character: Indianapolis private eye Albert Samson.
- GenresMystery
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
7 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
About the author
Michael Z. Lewin
71Ìýbooks10ÌýfollowersMichael Zinn Lewin is an American writer of mystery fiction perhaps best known for his series about Albert Samson, a distinctly low-keyed, non-hardboiled private detective who plies his trade in Indianapolis, Indiana. Lewin himself grew up in Indianapolis, but after graduating from Harvard and living for a few years in New York City, has lived in England for the last 40 years. Much of his fiction continues to be set in Indianapolis, including a secondary series about Leroy Powder, a policeman who frequently appears in the Samson novels, generally in a semi-confrontational manner.
Another series, however, is set in Bath, England, where Lewin now lives. This features the Lunghis who run their detective agency as a family business. So far there are three novels and nine short stories about them.
Lewin has also written a number of stand-alone novels. Some have been set in Indianapolis and others elsewhere. His latest novel, Confessions of a Discontented Deity, is even set partly in Heaven. A satire, it breaks from Lewin's history of genre fiction.
Lewin is the son of Leonard C. Lewin, author of the 1967 bestselling satire The Report from Iron Mountain: On the Possibility and Desirability of Peace.
Another series, however, is set in Bath, England, where Lewin now lives. This features the Lunghis who run their detective agency as a family business. So far there are three novels and nine short stories about them.
Lewin has also written a number of stand-alone novels. Some have been set in Indianapolis and others elsewhere. His latest novel, Confessions of a Discontented Deity, is even set partly in Heaven. A satire, it breaks from Lewin's history of genre fiction.
Lewin is the son of Leonard C. Lewin, author of the 1967 bestselling satire The Report from Iron Mountain: On the Possibility and Desirability of Peace.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 18, 2015
An oldie-but-goodie! This is the first in the series featuring Albert Samson, a middle-aged, low-key private investigator, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Business is slow that September when a 15-year-old girl enters his office and asks him to find her biological father. So slow that Samson decides he isn't doing anything anyway, why not take a little time and see what he can find out? That decision nearly gets him killed.
I enjoy these older stories where things aren't always so instantaneous--no cell phones, no internet searches or computer wizards, just good old nosy footwork. I know I've read a couple of these stories, but it was a long while back, and it's good to get re-acquainted. I'd like to read (or re-read) the series, and Lewin has two other series as well, which I've never tried. I don't understand why he wasn't better known, his writing is excellent. His detective, Albert Samson, reminds me quite a bit of L.L. Thrasher's Zachariah Smith (another excellent series if you haven't read them, although there are only two). A highly recommended trip down memory lane.
I enjoy these older stories where things aren't always so instantaneous--no cell phones, no internet searches or computer wizards, just good old nosy footwork. I know I've read a couple of these stories, but it was a long while back, and it's good to get re-acquainted. I'd like to read (or re-read) the series, and Lewin has two other series as well, which I've never tried. I don't understand why he wasn't better known, his writing is excellent. His detective, Albert Samson, reminds me quite a bit of L.L. Thrasher's Zachariah Smith (another excellent series if you haven't read them, although there are only two). A highly recommended trip down memory lane.
January 21, 2016
Indianapolis investigator, Albert Samson doesn’t realize it, but his life’s about to get incredibly complicated.
After days of no clients, someone finally appears…but she’s 16. At least she says she is…she’s only 15. And she wants the impossible.
“I want you to find my biological father.�
Find her ‘real� father? When she is 15�.that means…she was conceived about � how many years ago?
But Samson takes the case � for a few days, to check what he can for her; she is, after all, a minor, and so wouldn’t be responsible for any bills he racked up.
Yet Samson also has integrity, and once he gets his teeth into the problem, there’s no stopping him from uncovering an unforgettable conspiracy that might have begun during the Second World War and persisted through these years � it’s a conspiracy of greed and deception, and its true victim may be Samson’s own client.
Looking for one terrific offbeat mystery that will have you reading till the cows come home? Look no further! Jump on this, grab your snacks and drinks, hide your phone, and settle in for one GREAT read!
After days of no clients, someone finally appears…but she’s 16. At least she says she is…she’s only 15. And she wants the impossible.
“I want you to find my biological father.�
Find her ‘real� father? When she is 15�.that means…she was conceived about � how many years ago?
But Samson takes the case � for a few days, to check what he can for her; she is, after all, a minor, and so wouldn’t be responsible for any bills he racked up.
Yet Samson also has integrity, and once he gets his teeth into the problem, there’s no stopping him from uncovering an unforgettable conspiracy that might have begun during the Second World War and persisted through these years � it’s a conspiracy of greed and deception, and its true victim may be Samson’s own client.
Looking for one terrific offbeat mystery that will have you reading till the cows come home? Look no further! Jump on this, grab your snacks and drinks, hide your phone, and settle in for one GREAT read!
January 9, 2015
PROTAGONIST: PI Albert Sansom
SETTING: Indianapolis, IN
SERIES: #1 of 9
RATING: 3.5
WHY: PI Albert Sansom has an unusual client, a 16-year old girl named Eloise Crystal who wants him to find her biological father. She did some DNA testing at school and found that her supposed parents could not have produced her. Family skeletons abound. This is a very promising debut book. I would never have guessed that this was a first book as Lewin's writing is so assured.
SETTING: Indianapolis, IN
SERIES: #1 of 9
RATING: 3.5
WHY: PI Albert Sansom has an unusual client, a 16-year old girl named Eloise Crystal who wants him to find her biological father. She did some DNA testing at school and found that her supposed parents could not have produced her. Family skeletons abound. This is a very promising debut book. I would never have guessed that this was a first book as Lewin's writing is so assured.
October 20, 2018
Entre las numerosas novelas que nos propone la colección El Séptimo CÃrculo, encontré ésta, de Michael Z. Lewin.
Narrada en primera persona, la historia comienza cuando una adinerada adolescente acude a Albert Samson, - un detective privado - para averiguar quién es su verdadero padre.
Con más dudas que certezas, el detective, - y protagonista - , comienza asà una investigación que lo remonta 16 años atrás. Un testamento, una herencia, un posible caso de adulterio, unas supuestas series de estafas, una posible sustitución de identidad, son las variables que maneja, hasta que, tal como dice el tÃtulo, formulando la pregunta correcta, - y descubrimiento de un crimen mediante - , encuentra las respuestas que lo llevan a resolver el caso.
Si bien se deja leer, nos encontramos con una obra que por momentos se nos vuelve lenta y sin emoción casi hasta el final.
Otro aspecto que podemos criticar es el abuso de un lenguaje cÃnico y con abundantes respuestas sarcásticas por parte del narrador, al mejor estilo chandleriano, pero, lo que en Phillip Marlowe era genialidad, aquà nos resulta, ya, tedioso.
Narrada en primera persona, la historia comienza cuando una adinerada adolescente acude a Albert Samson, - un detective privado - para averiguar quién es su verdadero padre.
Con más dudas que certezas, el detective, - y protagonista - , comienza asà una investigación que lo remonta 16 años atrás. Un testamento, una herencia, un posible caso de adulterio, unas supuestas series de estafas, una posible sustitución de identidad, son las variables que maneja, hasta que, tal como dice el tÃtulo, formulando la pregunta correcta, - y descubrimiento de un crimen mediante - , encuentra las respuestas que lo llevan a resolver el caso.
Si bien se deja leer, nos encontramos con una obra que por momentos se nos vuelve lenta y sin emoción casi hasta el final.
Otro aspecto que podemos criticar es el abuso de un lenguaje cÃnico y con abundantes respuestas sarcásticas por parte del narrador, al mejor estilo chandleriano, pero, lo que en Phillip Marlowe era genialidad, aquà nos resulta, ya, tedioso.
June 27, 2022
Overall a solid effort with much for some Hoosiers to connect. However, I had a tough time with the naivety of our gumshoe. Perhaps, the time of the story it was more open, but if your job is the to spy, sneak around and lie to get information; why would you have an unlocked office and clients' files open and easily accessible. I know he is "not hardboiled", but really his obvious, transparent parts were too transparent. It does not totally diminish the story, but I had to go WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? more times than I thought I should have. With that said, I did enjoy enough of the book to read it all the way through.
June 9, 2017
I read this book as a proofreader for the Indiana Talking Book and Braille Library. The story is set in Indianapolis. The locations/streets/etc referenced were accurate to Indianapolis, which was kind of cool. This book was released in 1971, so you have to take that into account. It isn't my favorite book, but alright. Some of the mystery was not such a mystery, but the ending was not what I expected. I didn't think the author always made clear connections to how the main character, a detective, knew what he ended up knowing.
June 1, 2023
This was the first of three in a trilogy I purchased for my Kindle app. It reminded me of Raymond Chandler and the other classic authors who wrote about "hard-boiled" detectives. In fact, the story begins with a beautiful young woman entering the office of the private eye and needing his help--typical of others of that era. Eloise has plenty of money and the story gets more and more complicated. I will probably read the others that are already on my phone but not immediately.
July 19, 2018
Too British
The writing had a definite British slant. It read more British than Hoosier. Interesting story line, but could use more character development.
The writing had a definite British slant. It read more British than Hoosier. Interesting story line, but could use more character development.
August 15, 2022
Hmmm. Not so much to do in Indiana... I think not for me
August 9, 2012
I first found Lewin through a series of short stories, most of which involved a family detective agency in Bath England. Shortly thereafter two books were released in that series. Both of which I rated quite highly, one 4.60, the other 5 whole stars out of 5. I was somewhat reluctant to slide into other books written by him. I didn’t want be disappointed. I would have leapt on and devoured another Lunghi Family book, but no third book appeared. Maybe if Lewin had other books set in England I might have reluctantly tested the water, but the Indianapolis author’s other two series were set in Indianapolis, and both had first books that were published in the 1970s. Twenty years before the Lunghi Family series.
Finally I acquired the first book in the Albert Samson series and gave it a chance. If the Edgar Award nomination for first novel is correct I would be jumping from his last adult series to his very first book (he had one or more young adult books appear after the second Lunghi family book).
The book started off interesting enough. Albert Samson puttering around his office/home, lazily going through his day. He hadn’t had a client in a while and didn’t really expect one that day. Close to closing time a young woman, Eloise Crystal, enters and finds him resting on a pillow at his desk. They have a little humorous exchange, and it eventually boils down to the client desiring Samson to find her biological father (to which Samson replied something along the lines of “shouldn’t you find him at home in bed with your mother?). Eloise believes that the man who claims to be her father, who was married to her mother prior to Eloise’s birth, and has raised her since that birth is not in fact her biological father.
Samson is quite reluctant to take the case, and the $100 retainer but he accepts it for one day. For his young female client needs to get back home before it is noticed she skipped school. The young woman is actually only 15.
With nothing else really to do, Samson lazily wanders around trying to figure out how to find a man who might have been with Eloise’s mother 15 to 17 years ago (Eloise originally said she was 17). He digs through back issues of the newspaper and eventually gets a taste for the case.
The book is slow paced. The main character is slightly less than fully formed, though more well rounded than might be expected for a first novel. Somewhere around the half way point I thought the book was bound to end up being what I had feared. Something of a disappointment, something of a letdown. Likely to be rated no higher than, oh, 3.8 or so. Oddly enough, though, I got pulled into the story and while the middle was somewhat less solid, the beginning and end were quite strong. Quite an interesting little book, recommendable. Racking my brains thinking about it, I would put it down as a 4.40 star book.
Finally I acquired the first book in the Albert Samson series and gave it a chance. If the Edgar Award nomination for first novel is correct I would be jumping from his last adult series to his very first book (he had one or more young adult books appear after the second Lunghi family book).
The book started off interesting enough. Albert Samson puttering around his office/home, lazily going through his day. He hadn’t had a client in a while and didn’t really expect one that day. Close to closing time a young woman, Eloise Crystal, enters and finds him resting on a pillow at his desk. They have a little humorous exchange, and it eventually boils down to the client desiring Samson to find her biological father (to which Samson replied something along the lines of “shouldn’t you find him at home in bed with your mother?). Eloise believes that the man who claims to be her father, who was married to her mother prior to Eloise’s birth, and has raised her since that birth is not in fact her biological father.
Samson is quite reluctant to take the case, and the $100 retainer but he accepts it for one day. For his young female client needs to get back home before it is noticed she skipped school. The young woman is actually only 15.
With nothing else really to do, Samson lazily wanders around trying to figure out how to find a man who might have been with Eloise’s mother 15 to 17 years ago (Eloise originally said she was 17). He digs through back issues of the newspaper and eventually gets a taste for the case.
The book is slow paced. The main character is slightly less than fully formed, though more well rounded than might be expected for a first novel. Somewhere around the half way point I thought the book was bound to end up being what I had feared. Something of a disappointment, something of a letdown. Likely to be rated no higher than, oh, 3.8 or so. Oddly enough, though, I got pulled into the story and while the middle was somewhat less solid, the beginning and end were quite strong. Quite an interesting little book, recommendable. Racking my brains thinking about it, I would put it down as a 4.40 star book.
August 2, 2007
This is the first in the series of Albert Samson books and I was very impressed by it. I loved the character and how he manages to get himself into such hot water so fast. The writing is crisp and easy and it makes for a very enjoyable time. I recommend the entire series starting with this one. Unfortunately, I think you'll probably only be able to find it in libraries and used book sources, because all the titles might be out of print, which is a real shame.
May 21, 2015
The fifth Albert Samson book I read and the start of a 4-book rush of Michael Z. Lewin reading during a short period.
Lewin's witty style is something like Chandler's without being an imitation. In this one, a 16-year-old girl hires Samson to find her biological father. Well, that sounds lke a Ross Macdonald plot, doesn't it? Good!
Lewin's witty style is something like Chandler's without being an imitation. In this one, a 16-year-old girl hires Samson to find her biological father. Well, that sounds lke a Ross Macdonald plot, doesn't it? Good!
March 9, 2009
A well done PI debut set in Indianapolis.Ìý This was nominated for an Edgar best first mystery back in 1972 (others nominated that year included Bill Pronzini and Martin Cruz Smith) and it was fun trying to compare the Indy in the book to the present day.
June 22, 2018
Enjoyed the beginning a lot. Quirky sense of humor. Started getting slow after a while, but picked up again and interesting ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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