Chapter 7: Trial Run
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.
Get behind the mystery with Max Collins …
In episode seven of our “History Behind The Mystery” series, Creator/Producer Max Allan Collins takes aim at the trials of Cermak’s killer, Giuseppe Zangara, and noted Chicago mobster Frank Nitti. He also provides insights into some of the ways this chapter of Nathan Heller’s first mystery defines the heroic detective in the future.
And finally, Max explains the “mystery” behind the sequel to his first Nathan Heller novel: TRUE CRIME.
It’s all part of the historical details and editorial choices that make the episode “Trial Run” such a standout episode.
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 10: The Happy Ending
Heller survives being pushed off the Sky Ride at the Chicago World’s Fair, triumphs in a brutal battle of blows and bullets, and even invades the domain of a Chicago mob boss without getting killed. But will he make it through breaking the bad news to Mary Anne about her missing brother?
Chapter 9: The Guilty Party
Heller takes an unexpected thrill ride at the World’s Fair, ending on a metal strut hundreds of feet off the ground. It’s just the first of a series of events that night that could spell the end of his fledgling detective agency – and him.
Chapter 8: Too Long At The Fair
Heller watches a capacity crowd celebrate the opening of the Chicago World’s Fair. Little does he know he’s standing at the crossroads of his two biggest cases – and things are about to take an unexpected turn.
Chapter 6: Welcome to Miami, Mr. President
Chicago Mayor Cermak hopes to curry favor with President-Elect Franklin Roosevelt at a political rally in Miami’s Bayfront Park. But among the spectators is a hitman sent by a Chicago mob boss – and only Heller can stop him.