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zeus_strider's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
joannneuroth's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Dave Brandstetter is a terrific protagonist -- he's smart, tough, clever, compassionate, dogged. He's working through deep grief at losing his partner Rod, and going back to work keeps him focused and moving. He listens to people well, thinks tangentially as a detective should, and gets inside the head of the person whose death he's investigating for his insurance company. The whole series is worth working to find -- it's old and mostly out of print.
rosemina2016's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Suicide
hat02's review against another edition
4.0
It was very interesting and clever. There wasn't as much action as one would normally expect from mystery, but given that the summary states that the narrator is an insurance investigator, I anticipated that. The one slightly disturbing part was that the narrator, who is 45, sleeps with an 18 year old.
nimuetheseawitch's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
arf88's review
5.0
I'm currently 6 books into this series, and as a whole I would say the series is a 5 stars for me, although each individual book is probably only 4 stars.
An enjoyable noir series set in the late 60's int0 70's. It's a little bit silly to think a an insurance claims investor would go to all that effort, but who cares about believability when you have such compelling stories and characters?
An enjoyable noir series set in the late 60's int0 70's. It's a little bit silly to think a an insurance claims investor would go to all that effort, but who cares about believability when you have such compelling stories and characters?
cjsimpson234's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Rape
gabe_escobedo's review against another edition
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Outing
dunnadam's review against another edition
2.0
Meh.
I picked up this book along with [b:The Little Death|17347222|The Little Death|Michael Nava|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361314033s/17347222.jpg|1071848], the first in the Henry Rios series and read both books to decide which series to continue. Rios won hands down.
I really wanted to like this book, I had heard lots of good things about the author's first book, Lost on Twilight Road, and had paid about $100 for a paperback copy of that. I read it and didn't really see the big deal. It was noted as being a standout among the gay pulp fiction era but I didn't really get it. It wasn't campy, it wasn't dated, it was just a straight-forward story, which I guess was rare for the time, but it wasn't like the plot had all that much going for it.
I have similar complaints with this book. The murder is revealed and the first half of the book is a series of interviews with the suspects, almost one after the other, with little narration. The second half varies the scenes a little and a new mystery is introduced but I finished the book yesterday and I still don't know who did it. I suppose I didn't really care and with little characterization I wasn't able to keep all the minor people separate.
Maybe the series gets better as it goes along? It just seems to be to be too hard-boiled as another reviewer said. Straight-forward noir. Indifference.
I picked up this book along with [b:The Little Death|17347222|The Little Death|Michael Nava|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361314033s/17347222.jpg|1071848], the first in the Henry Rios series and read both books to decide which series to continue. Rios won hands down.
I really wanted to like this book, I had heard lots of good things about the author's first book, Lost on Twilight Road, and had paid about $100 for a paperback copy of that. I read it and didn't really see the big deal. It was noted as being a standout among the gay pulp fiction era but I didn't really get it. It wasn't campy, it wasn't dated, it was just a straight-forward story, which I guess was rare for the time, but it wasn't like the plot had all that much going for it.
I have similar complaints with this book. The murder is revealed and the first half of the book is a series of interviews with the suspects, almost one after the other, with little narration. The second half varies the scenes a little and a new mystery is introduced but I finished the book yesterday and I still don't know who did it. I suppose I didn't really care and with little characterization I wasn't able to keep all the minor people separate.
Maybe the series gets better as it goes along? It just seems to be to be too hard-boiled as another reviewer said. Straight-forward noir. Indifference.