Chapter 1: The Nitti Raid

About the series ...

TRUE NOIR: The Assassination of Anton Cermak is a fully-immersive audio series adapted from the mystery novel TRUE DETECTIVE by Max Allan Collins.

The drama is set in Chicago at the end of the Prohibition Era (in the early 1930s) and tells the story of private eye Nathan Heller as he tracks down a political assassin. Mayor Anton Cermak was in a nearly constant power struggle with organized crime, business tycoons, and corrupt politicians … leaving plenty of suspects.

New episodes appear every Friday through February 28, 2025.

Newly-minted private detective, Nathan Heller, runs three minutes late for his lunch with his uncle Louis and a distinguished guest, only to find out it’s just the first in a series of events with razor-thin margins of error.  Is Heller up to the challenge?

A little more about this episode …

Award-winning author, Max Allan Collins, shares some insights into his research process and why not every character he researches is a “household name” nearly a century later. That’s just one of several topics Max covers as he discusses historical events and characters found in the episode “Merry Christmas, Mr. Heller.”

Take a closer look at this chapter with Max’s exclusive History Behind The Mystery series of videos.

Check out more episodes of this series ...

Chapter 5: Tower Town and Magic City
Chapter 5: Tower Town and Magic City

Heller waits in the Dill Pickle Club to meet his new client, Mary Ann Beame – she’s a girl with a fist full of cash, a mysterious past, and plenty of dark secrets to share with the right guy.

Chapter 4: Two New Clients
Chapter 4: Two New Clients

The day after Christmas, Heller takes a sleeper car to Atlanta on the Dixie Flyer, riding into a job that will put him at odds with the most powerful men in Chicago.

Chapter 2: Visiting Hours
Chapter 2: Visiting Hours

Heller, asleep in his one-room apartment at the Hotel Adams in Chicago, is rousted awake by an uninvited – and unwelcome – visitor. Who knew this would be the first in a series of unplanned meetings?

Chapter 1: The Nitti Raid
Chapter 1: The Nitti Raid

On a cold December day in 1932, and Chicago Police Detective Nathan Heller takes a ride that will change his career path, and his life, forever.