Facebook Fan Page Follow us on Twitter @clevelandbooks
Daily Trivia: Cleveland Trivia Quiz
Check out today's question and enter to win a free book.
See today's question
Cleveland Connection
#4 in the Milan Jacovich series leads Milan to investigate the disappearance of an old Serbian immigrant.
Click Here
Cleveland Ethnic Eats
The Guide to Authentic Ethnic Restaurants and Markets in Northeast Ohio
Click Here
Corpse in the Cellar
#3 in a series of incredible but true stores of Cleveland crime and disaster.
Click Here
Cleveland Cops
Hilarious and heartbreaking true stories told by Cleveland police officers.
Click Here
Cleveland Amusement Park Memories
A nostalgic look back at Northeast Ohio's amusement parks.
Click Here

The Cleveland Connection

A Milan Jacovich Mystery

by Les Roberts

  • Format: Softcover, 296 pages, 5.1 x 8 inches
  • ISBN: 978-1-59851-004-1
  • Price: $13.95

Where to Buy

Description

#4 in the Milan Jacovich mystery series . . .

Private investigator Milan Jacovich (it's pronounced MY-lan YOCK-ovich) is Slovenian-American, but he's familiar with the varied ethnic groups that make up the city of Cleveland. An elderly Serbian man has gone missing, and when his granddaughter suspects foul play, Milan agrees to take up the search.

In the meantime, Milan's good friend, Plain Dealer reporter Ed Stahl, has written a column critical of the gangster element on Cleveland's Murray Hill, and is now being threatened and harassed, which brings Milan into direct conflict with a millionaire garbage hauler and an out-of-town muscle punk named Nello Trinetti.

The Serbs and the Slovenians traditionally don't get along too well, but Milan makes inroads into Cleveland's Serbian community after a shocking murder, eventually coming face-to-face with its unofficial mayor, Lazo Samarzic, an angry and militant man who runs a produce stand in the historic old West Side Market.

Hatreds that have simmered for fifty years eventually explode as Milan Jacovich takes on one of his most challenging cases.

Reviews
  • “Roberts is one of the best crime writers around, and The Cleveland Connection is his best effort yet. The plot has all the right ingredients-danger, suspense, intrigue, action-in all the right amounts; Milan Jacovich is the kind of guy we want on our side when the chips are down; and Roberts even makes Cleveland sound like a swell place to live. Don't miss this one. (Starred review)” — Booklist
  • “Roberts' most ambitious work thus far . . . A potent plot . . . a brave, satisfying story.” — Publisher's Weekly
  • “[Roberts] tells his tale in spare and potent prose. His Cleveland stories get better and better, offering far more than regional insights and pleasures.” — Publisher's Weekly
  • “There's an affection for Cleveland and an insistence on its ethnic, working-class life that gives vividness to the detection. Roberts writes with sharp wit, creates action scenes that are drawn with flair, and puts emotional life into a range of people.” — The Washington Post
  • “Very good and very tough . . . Les Roberts has written an extremely good novel that is well worth reading by all, not just mystery lovers.” — Armchair Detective
  • “In Milan Jacovich, Les Roberts has created an ingratiating hero and furnished him with an intriguing case to solve, together with a timely take on what has, for centuries, made the Balkans such a dark and bloody ground.” — San Diego Union Tribune
About Les Roberts

Les Roberts is the author of 14 mystery novels featuring Cleveland detective Milan Jacovich, as well as 9 other books of fiction. The past president of both the Private Eye Writers of America and the American Crime Writer's League, he came to mystery writing after a 24-year career in Hollywood. He was the first producer and head writer of the Hollywood Squares and wrote for the Andy Griffith Show, the Jackie Gleason Show, and the Man from U.N.C.L.E., among others. He has been a professional actor, a singer, a jazz musician, and a teacher. In 2003 he received the Sherwood Anderson Literary Award. A native of Chicago, he now lives in Northeast Ohio. More About Les Roberts

Contains References to:

Chagrin Falls, Cleveland Fiction, Cleveland Flats, Cleveland Mysteries, Cuyahoga County, Lake County, Little Italy, Mayfield Road, Milan Jacovich, Severance Hall, Strohs, University Circle,

Other books by Les Roberts:
If you like The Cleveland Connection, then you should try: