Doing Business

This quirky, charming little thriller features as its protagonist a most unlikely sleuth for a pop novel - Gordon McKenzie, mathematical genius, diminutive and unattractive, with a especial penchant for London "rent boys" (i.e., male prostitutes). During one of his frequent forays into a sleazy SoHo gay bar, Gordon accidentally stumbles upon the murder of a brewery inspector in progress. He recognizes one of the assailants as a "rent boy" who often hits him up for cash. And the rent boy knows Gordon knows and proceeds to attempt to silence him for good. Gordon is on the run, aided by a handsome male prostitute with whom he has fallen in love. In the meantime Gordon is convinced the murder is part of a conspiracy involving drugs and that one of his social-climbing friends is the mastermind behind it. But just which one? And will Gordon live to find out?Well, of course he will, since he narrates the thing. And it is his narrative voice which makes DOING BUSINESS a delight to read. Gordon is an erudite but witty and self-deprecating bloke who is also very funny and endearing. (I love his many well-placed allusions both to pop and high culture.) You hope he will win his Aidan in the end (although the odds are against it) and have the happy ending he deserves. (He does, but you must read to find out how.)The novel's two drawbacks are its chattiness and comparatively large cast of characters. After a while one loses track of which "rent boy" is which (except the terrifying Gray, who is indelible). Still the varying British accents are cleverly rendered and often very funny.What I also like about the novel is the way Beadle is able to take several well-aimed barbs at the Decade of Greed, the 1980's, and chronicle how disastrous it was on the morale of both the United Kingdom and the United States. In this time everyone has a price, and everything, even love and sex, is a commodity. Everybody's "doing business", except Gordon, of course, who just wants the attention of a handsome young man. Beadle neatly works in his message in the context of the mystery - not an easy feat and one that could easily have failed.Apparently Beadle wrote a preceding mystery, DEATH SCENE, which I look forward to finding and reading. Unfortunately there will be no more Jeremy Beadle mysteries. The author was claimed by the AIDS plague in 1992 at the very young age of 36. Yet another talented victim of that insidious scourge.