Reviews (11)

Top Noch
This excellent, albeit brief, sleuth involves two murders in the Mother Lode country of Northern California, solved in part by a L.A. bookseller and his on-again, off-again boyfriend, who comes belatedly to his assistance. The novel is taut, dynamic, playful, sarcastic, sardonic, and well-written. The editing is the only thing to mar this otherwise stellar mystery, and an abrupt conclusion to the case could have been slightly prolonged to enhance its overall enjoyment. But don't let these quibbles deny you the pleasure of reading one of the best sleuthing fictions, gay or straight, in print. It's quickly read in an afternoon, and one can relish in the delight that it reads quickly -- almost too quickly, but things and momentum develop concomitantly on every page. A real delight.

A smart page-turner of a murder mystery novel
Writer Adrien English decides to take some time away from Los Angeles to copmlete his novel and to sort out his feelings for the hunky Detevtive Jake Riordan.And what better place to do this than at the Pine Shadow Ranch in the Gold Rush Country, a place left to him by his Granna.His plans start to take an ominous turn as he finds a dead body in the driveway.When the local sheriffs finally turn up, the body's gone and their dislike of Mr. English isn't exactly hidden.Adrien also discovers an archeological dig on his property - something he didn't authorize.Do they have anything to do with the mysterious disappearing body?He sets out to find the answers, with the help of Detective Jake who shows up unannounced, before someone makes him the next victim.
Fun, Fast-Paced Murder Mystery!
Used bookseller Adrien English had had it!He was tired of LAPD Detective Jake Riordan waffling back and forth between wanting to have a relationship with him and being too scared to admit that he could have feelings for another guy that didn't involve S&M and bondage.So Adrien threw some stuff in his car, left his beloved store in the hands of his less-than-able assistant, and headed out to his grandmother's Pine Shadow Ranch, which she left to him when she died.Read more

Subjects:  1. Booksellers and bookselling    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    4. Gay men    5. Mystery & Detective - General    6. Mystery/Suspense    7. Crime & mystery    8. Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General    9. Literature of special Gay interest    10. Modern fiction   

Subjects:  1. American Mystery & Suspense Fiction    2. Brandstetter, Dave (Fictitious    3. Brandstetter, Dave (Fictitious character)    4. Fiction    5. Gay men    6. Mystery & Detective - General    7. Mystery/Suspense    8. Private investigators    9. United States   

Reviews (18)

Entertaining and engaging
I don't read a lot. I'm trying to read more. I'm choosy about what I read because I get bored easily and turned off by characters I don't relate to. This book has good writing, an interesting story, likeable characters, mystery, gay themes, a sense of place, some psychic phenomenon, a satisfying ending. It doesn't have anything very gritty, sexual or offensive.It was entertaining, engaging, and accessible. I liked it a lot and am online looking for other books by the same author.

Dancing for dollars
Dick Dansoir is the "stage name" of Scotty Bradley, a dancer/personal trainer living the good life in New Orleans. The big circuit party is about to come up, and the French Quarter is throbbing with excitement. That's literally true, too, in some of the more sizzling scenes of the book.
Feeble First Effort
This is not a raunchy novel, though it well could have been. And, for being written in the first-person, it is convincingly told. It's about gay life (or a gay person) in the gay mecca of New Orleans. He's a go-go dancer who becomes an unwilling sleuth and catalyst to uncover a plot to destroy Sin City. He has visions through which the Goddess tells him advance events (really!). And so, a story that starts with the dancer and a trick ends up involving the FBI, the Religious Reich, pot head parents, a friend's killing, and a house burning.Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    3. Gay    4. Mystery & Detective - General    5. Mystery & Detective - Hard-Boiled    6. Mystery fiction    7. Mystery/Suspense    8. General & Literary Fiction    9. Literature of special Gay interest   

Reviews (17)

Intricate and enjoyable fast-paced read
"Fountain" starts with an attack on a gay physician and keeps the pace going from there.
No Match for Author's First Novel
Although I found the gay-bashing theme at first compelling and sympathetic, as I got further into the story the plot took off at the expense of further character development. Clare as a priest who is the pastor of a church faded into the background, getting only superficial attention.
A Bit Slow!
After the author's first work, I was really looking forward to this book.I was mildly disappointed at the pacing. In a nutshell the story revolves around apparent hate crimes against gays, culminating in the murder of a gay developer.Claire and Russ try to find out who is behind the crimes.The plot, as well as their relationship, drug throughout the book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adirondack Mountains (N.Y.)    2. Crimes against    3. Episcopalians    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    6. Gay men    7. Mystery & Detective - Police Procedural    8. Mystery & Detective - Women Sleuths    9. Mystery/Suspense    10. New York (State)    11. Police chiefs    12. Crime & mystery    13. Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths   

Subjects:  1. Escort services    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    4. Gay men    5. Hardesty, Dick (Fictitious cha    6. Hardesty, Dick (Fictitious character)    7. Mystery & Detective - General    8. Private investigators    9. Crime & mystery   

Reviews (11)

Gritty and Sexy
This gay CLASSIC is truly a fascinating and intriguing read.It is a fast paced, gritty mystery that captures the reader's imagination from the very beginning, and will keep the reader in suspense throughout the book.I totally enjoyed reading this book for the first time over 20 years ago, and having re-read it just recently, I can say without hesitation that this book is one of Picano's best.THIS IS REAL GOOD STUFF!

Perspective
I read this book in 1980 when it was featured as the Monthly Selection of the Literary Guild book club. I have since re-read the book 2 times. The setting is definitely dated. However, I believe it is a very important work because of the fact that two different book clubs featured the novel as "Selection of the Month". In 1979-1980 a book that featured the gay community, no matter what point-of-reference was unheard of. For readers that never experienced that era, the subject may seem ridiculous. However, this novel did much for the isolated in rural areas of the country that read a "mainstream" novel on a subject such as The Lure's. This novel's importance goes far beyond the subject, setting and characters included in its pages.

Uh...are you kidding me?
What's with all the high praise?Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. Gay men    5. General    6. Manhattan (New York, N.Y.)    7. Mystery & Detective - General    8. New York    9. New York (State)    10. Police   

Reviews (2)

A Gay Mystery worth reading!
I've often looked for a gay murder mystery who done it.Finally I found something worth reading.It's not a dumbed down novel at all. It's full of plots twists and turns with characters who you really get to know.It'snice to see characters interacting with one another who are gay even ifthey do go for blackmale and the shady side of life sometime...okay most ofthe time.Very few women mentioned in the book, and I give it four starsbecause I was able to figure out who did it close to the end of the bookand because the ending left me a bit speechless and upset.

"OUT, DAMNED SPOT!OUT, I SAY!"
In THIRD MAN OUT, the fourth Donald Strachey caper, Stevenson deals with the touchy issue of the forced 'outing' of gays (and their little dogs too) by other gays.Reluctantly, P.I. Strachey agrees to act as body guard to Queer Nation activist John Rutka, who has inspired mucho death threats following a conscienceless campaign of outings.Strachey gets disgusted, quits, and somebody burns Rutka to a crisp.Read more

Subjects:  1. Albany    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    4. Gay men    5. Mystery & Detective - General    6. New York (State)    7. Popular American Fiction    8. Private investigators    9. Strachey, Donald (Fictitious c    10. Strachey, Donald (Fictitious character)   

Subjects:  1. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    2. Mystery & Detective - General    3. Crime & mystery    4. Literature of special Gay interest   

Reviews (24)

i'm kinda wondering.....
if several of the later kevin kerney series were actually written by mr. mcgarrity. because judging from the very first to the fifth, then gradually the series suffered a slow but steady decline. the writings have also become more and more blanded in the middle and rushed in the end. maybe mcgarrity has been using his son as his ghost writer behind the scene? is there any possibility? like 'big gamble' is almost so obviously proved that some goofy ghost writingreally was going behind. this one also read like porky's pizza that tasted quite blanded. when writers become too old, usually their sons or daughters would become the ghost writers, like clive cussler using his son to co-write by feeding him a storyline but left the most writing part to his son . i've noticed that in mcgarrity's earlier novels still with hand drawn new mexico maps, the map drawer, noel mcgarrity, might be doing the writing for the older mcgarrity now. am i right or wrong?

Formula Writing
After about one fourth of the way into this book I began skimming pages and still easily followed the plot.The author has written some fairly decent books but this is not one of them.This book is evidence of formula writing at its worst.The plot is too ambitious with gratitious carnage - cumbersome transition - characters not well developed.

So-so McGarrity, But Always a Superior Mystery
I've been an avid reader of McGarrity's Kevin Kerney police novels since the first, because he is a highly skilled writer, the plots move quickly and smoothly, the characters are quirky and intuitive, Chief Kerney is very empathetic, and the scenic descriptions take me right back to New Mexico state. Despite the provocations of sociopathic killers, Kerney always remains laconic and cool, in control of his emotions and, seemingly, the events. For good or ill in its attractiveness to the reader, the author never ratchets terror high, even when a killer stewed in revenge, as here, intends it.
Read more

Subjects:  1. American Mystery & Suspense Fiction    2. Crimes against    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    5. Gay men    6. Kerney, Kevin (Fictitious char    7. Mystery & Detective - General    8. New Mexico    9. Police    10. Santa Fe    11. Santa Fe (N.M.)    12. Suspense    13. Fiction / General   

Reviews (4)

A great series
I love Zubro's writing style: fierce, real, absorbing. His books are refreshing and full of life. Does anyone know how to get in conact with him?

Does a severed head get filed under S or H?
In this landmark 10TH mystery in the "Tom & Scott Mystery" series, we join high school teacher Tom Mason, as he arrives early one Saturday morning to do some volunteer work at the local gay/lesbian teen counseling center.He decides to catch up on some filing in the office he shares, and opens a file cabinet drawer, finding a severed head.Being no stranger to having the misfortune to stumble upon a murder, Tom tries to work with the police to find the killer.The problem is that the victim was the unusually unpleasant and nasty manager of the center, and there is no shortage of people who were glad to see the end of the man referred to - by employees and volunteers alike - as "Snarly Bitch".Various pieces of circumstantial evidence seem to point to just about everyone, including Tom himself.
File Under---Disappointed
One of the best things about summer is the anticipation of another of Mark Richard Zubro's fine novels of realistic gay living in Chicago, my favorite city on the planet---for bunches of reasons. In fact, I'm proud to have collected first editions of all of his works.
Read more

Subjects:  1. American Mystery & Suspense Fiction    2. Carpenter, Scott (Fictitious c    3. Carpenter, Scott (Fictitious character)    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    6. Gay youth    7. Mason, Tom (Fictitious charact    8. Mason, Tom (Fictitious character)    9. Mystery & Detective - General    10. Mystery/Suspense    11. Services for    12. Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General   

Editorial Review

Read more

Reviews (86)

Unparallelled subtlety of observation
Hollinghurst's unparallelled subtlety of observation was almost physically hurting me as I was reading this great novel and that is something I have never experienced before. Apparently, this is literature that reaches places other literature does not reach. I am very much in awe of Mr Hollinghurst's uncanny art and the negative reviews I found here on Amazon prompted me to write this review. Highly recommended for the maybe more experienced reader.

Well....
The writing is very good, but the true and simple test of a novel is to ask oneself these questions:Do I care about the characters?Can I stop reading this book right now and never wonder about how it ends?If you answer no to the first question and yes to the second, it is not a good work of literature.The Line of Beauty is, unfortunately, one of these novels.Tedious, overly mannered and stifling.

????????
i liken this book to fitzgerald's "tender is the night." and that is not a good thing. people of no substance plod through hundreds of dull dull pages. are people really this shallow? this empty? probably. but, my god, do i have to read about them? no. i do not. i simply could not finish this book (and that is rare). i wasted valuble reading time for about 300 pages, then had to admit it just wasn't working. because of all the critical acclaim this book recieved, i was very much looking forward to reading it. what a major disappointment! i am truly puzzled by the positive response this thing gets from so many people. great writing? really? i just did not see much of that here. shouldn't a book have at least one interesting character in it? it seems that dullness is making a comback in critical circles these days. too bad. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio - Fiction - General    2. Gay    3. Literary    4. Mystery & Detective - General    5. Unabridged Audio - Fiction/General   

Reviews (14)

All American Boy, an all-American family
Wally Day was the All American Boy in Brown's Mill.
A dark and tragic departure for Mann
What a change of pace this novel is from his circuit part boys shennanigans.This is a much more complex, dark and heartbreaking tale of a family - mostly mother and son - coming to terms with their demons and their mistakes in life.The mother's story and background unfolds as the main character moves the the present trying to figure out what he wants and why he's returned home after a call from his mother.Mom's background unfolds as an aching and epically tragic life.The son - really, has not fallen far from that tree.Not a happy, carefree story, but a haunting and moving one.Actually, a welcome change from his last novel.

Depressing Yet Insightful
Mr. Mann has written a novel that speaks of some of the very sad aspects of many gay lives. The main character, Wally, endures some dreadful encounters with his homophobic father, while his mother who is sickly has probably murdered his cousin. In addition, Wally returns home to visit the man who molested him when he was a child (with Wallys consent). Wally's dad has the guy locked-up. Turns out Wally loves the guy. While home he meets Dee, a younger guy with whom Wally becomes involved. Dee was a well-developed and interesting character and I would love to see him return in a future Mann novel. The book was an OK read, but a far cry from the author's previous works, "Men From the Boys" and "Where the Boys Are." These were outstanding in comparison to this new piece. This book was somewhat disappointing to me as Mr. Mann's earlier work was so, so good. Hence my rating of three stars. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay    4. Gay actors    5. Literary    6. Mothers and sons    7. Mystery/Suspense    8. Popular American Fiction    9. Suspense    10. Literature of special Gay interest    11. Modern fiction   

Reviews (4)

great characters
This is a new and exciting book with colorful characters!I hope this is the beginning of an adventure with Adam.Randy Haynes has the ability to bring the characters to life.This reader wants to have more!

Intriguing, Involved Fast Paced Murder Mystery
Having been raised on a bayou in Louisiana, gone to school in Lafayette and lived in New Orleans for 22 years I found Mr. Haynes book fascinating, imaginative and insightful of the darker side of Louisiana Politics, criminal aspects plus the goodness of Southern hospitality.The characters are from every aspect of life in Louisiana, from down home country people through the flamboyant Gallery owner to the bigots, criminals and every other group that populates the landscape.
Good Murder Mystery
I can only hope that this is the first of many mysteries to be produced by Mr. Haynes.The lead character Adam Tyler Stephen is a fascinating blend of sleuth, hard-nose FBI agent, and a sexy single gay guy.He solves the mystery of the murder of a Congressman, and in the process upsets most of officialdom in Washington, at FBI headquarters, New Orleans, and the Louisana bayous.In the process, he befriends the doyen of New Orlean's Garden District, a sassy FBI secretary, an aged butler, and a college age gay kid who is allegedly a Neo-Nazi.Needless to say, the convoluted plot keeps the reader guessing until the very last few pages.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    3. Mystery & Detective - General    4. Mystery/Suspense    5. Crime & mystery    6. Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General    7. New Orleans (La.)    8. Louisiana    9. Bayous    10. Gay   

Reviews (1)

Who Done It
"Who killed gay bar owner and all-around nice guy Rick Wendell? Was it Larry Johns, the attractive young man found wiping his prints off the still smoking gun mere moments after the murder? If so, why was Johns naked? And what happened to the large sum of money Wendell had just withdrawn from the bar's bank account? Hard-boiled, openly gay insurance claims investigator Dave Brandstetter aims to find out in Troublemaker, the third volume in Joseph Hansen's legendary and critically acclaimed Brandstetter mystery series(...) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Brandstetter, Dave (Fictitious    2. Brandstetter, Dave (Fictitious character)    3. California    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    6. Gay    7. Gay men    8. Insurance investigators    9. Mystery & Detective - General    10. Mystery/Suspense    11. Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General   

Editorial Review

A killing outside a West Hollywood gay bar called The Out Crowd is what brings reporter Benjamin Justice out of a long, boozy funk in what looks to be the start of a lively, literate new series. Justice blew a Pulitzer when an article about two AIDS victims turned out to be fiction.Now, carrying that and other wounds, he gets the chance to pull himself together by helping another reporter look into the political and social implications of the murder. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

great protagonist, enlightening plot
I bought this book at a used book store, so I guess I didn't put any money in Mr. Wilson's coffers at that point, but now he's got me hooked and buying the rest of the series at regular prices, so I don't think he's going to be too miffed about the used bookstore thingie.
What a start for a series, and what a novel ending
I first read JM Wilson's fourth novel and found it well worth going back to the start and getting this first novel.I was very, very impressed with the writing.Read a chapter of "Simple Justice" and then one of Grafton's "S is for Silence" and you'll get a clear picture of good fiction and interesting sentence structure versus the mundane, dumbed down language increasingly common in American mystery novels. Wilson's writing and characters are just far, far more complicated and interesting than Grafton's.
Troubled sleuth
Mr.Wilson's debut novel is set in a very specific environment. Gay and lesbian world of LA. Benjamin Justice, his sleuth, is a man on a brink of destruction. Overwhelmed with grief and regrets he spends his days drinking cheap wine. The writer is blunt and to the point, and he doesn't care(and he shouldn't)who gets offended. There is no law that forces anybody to read or finish the book they started.Everybody is intitled to his own opinion or bigotry butwhat always amazes me is the inability to understand those different that we are.That simple thing is the key of coexistence in this world. This is a good book and I am happy I found it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    3. Gay    4. Mystery & Detective - General    5. Mystery & Detective - Series    6. Mystery fiction    7. Mystery/Suspense    8. Suspense    9. Crime & mystery    10. Fiction / Suspense   

Reviews (5)

Solution Obvious to All But the Dumb Detective
Having thoroughly enjoyed Greg Herren's BOURBON STREET BLUES and JACKSON SQUARE JAZZ I was really looking forward to this one. It was a colossal disappointment to say the least. Whereas the other two were light and witty and the hero was charming, this book was dark and depressing and the hero was an egoistic, jealous, and above all--STUPID bore. It was obvious from the word go who had abducted his boyfriend. So for nine tenths of the book, in spite of the school of red herrings that were constantly thrown at us, we were left to agonize at his ineptitude. And then there's the ending! Believe me it was all for nothing. Stick with the two books I've mentioned. Forget this irritating trip to nowhere.

Detective Chase
I didn't like it very much because the book makes seem New Orleans as a place only with Gay Bars (I don't mean this disrespectfully). Anyway, the plot is actually good, suspense and everything that you expect to find in this kind of detective-mistery novels. One thing I can say is that I anjoyed very much the descriptions of the city and the ending is interesting. I on't regret buying the book but I have better books that take place in New Orleans and-or deal with the novel's topic.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
MURDER IN THE RUE ST. ANN is a truly fascinating book.Chanse MacLeod is once again confronted with a totally baffling series of situations that spell intrigue, jealousy, obsession, duplicity, and duality.As the story develops, Chanse is asked to solve, what initially appears to be a simple case of economic harassment.This however, soon morphs into a domestic confrontation for him and his lover Paul.Untold personal histories add to the drama and tension, and once murder becomes part of the picture, all bets are off.Self-doubt, recriminations, harsh words and judgments, combine to keep the reader trying to piece together the clues to a dual mystery.Suffice it to say, the reader will more than shocked by the resolution of both mysteries in the novel.I'm not sure where Chanse MacLeod will go from here, but I genuinely like the character, and I sincerely hope we will be treated to more of his adventures. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    3. Gay    4. Gay men    5. Louisiana    6. Mystery & Detective - General    7. Mystery/Suspense    8. New Orleans    9. New Orleans (La.)    10. Private investigators    11. Crime & mystery    12. Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General   

Editorial Review

Christopher Bram is one of the most praised writers of gay fiction, and Read more

Subjects:  1. American Mystery & Suspense Fiction    2. Detective and mystery stories    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. Gay men    6. General    7. Political fiction   

Subjects:  1. American Mystery & Suspense Fiction    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    4. Gay    5. Mystery & Detective - General    6. Mystery/Suspense   

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    3. Gay    4. Gay men    5. Mystery & Detective - General    6. Non-Classifiable    7. Nonfiction - General    8. Private investigators    9. Saskatchewan    10. Saskatoon    11. Saskatoon (Sask.)    12. Crime & mystery    13. Fiction / Gay    14. Fiction / General   

Reviews (4)

I read it in one sitting!
This is the first book like this I've read. The first gay mystery, the first by Zubro. I read it the same day I got it and can't wait to read more. Disappointment
I did not relish in Zubro's gay mystery, nor did I of any of his novels. I wanted to share this novel with my eldest son who is gay; I thought it would be helpful and comforting for him to see that gays or any groups in which society deems and stereotypes "different". He was quite upset with the entire book, claiming "Gays don't act like that!" I had no idea how affended he was until he burned the book in the fireplace. I, myself, felt that the book was quite choppy too often. I can comprehend the extra information was pertinent to the story at times, but he completely "over did it" with the whole "gay plot". I am also offended by the book and I'm not gay! I am sorry for wasting my money on buying that senseless book.

I'm going to read all of Zubro's
This was the first "gay" mystery I've read, and I now want to eventually obtain and read all of Zubro's mysteries. The pace is fast and smooth for the most part in this book, but at times becomes choppy.Nonetheless, Zubro's intimate knowledge of police procedure and activity isplain, as well as his knowledge of the streets of Chicago. Zubro alsoweaves well into the story Paul Turner's (he's the protagonist) personallife in a meaningful way that in this book is actually part of the mainplot. The characters become three dimentional, taking on lives of theirown. The only criticism I have for Zubro is he spends too much time tellingthings to the reader, rather than letting the plot reveal what is going on.Such as little asides to explain why a character did something. Theseasides slow down the pace and can be condescending to readers alreadyfamiliar with how police work. The best aspect of this book is how Zubroportray's a gay character as a human being rather than an icon. It is myhope that Mr. Zubro will provide us with many such mysteries in the future,and I look forward to reading those he has already published. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Chicago    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - Mystery/ Detective    4. Gay    5. Gay police officers    6. Illinois    7. Mystery & Detective - General    8. Mystery & Detective - Police Procedural    9. Mystery & Detective - Series    10. Mystery/Suspense    11. Police    12. Turner, Paul (Fictitious chara    13. Turner, Paul (Fictitious character)    14. Crime & mystery    15. Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Police Procedural    16. Fiction-Gay    17. Fiction-Mystery & Detective - Series