The Boy Who Was Buried This Morning

The eleventh and penultimate Brandstetter mystery has our heroic death claims investigator finally in retirement, but not for long. He does not find retirement easy, especially as it coincides with another blow. So his handsome young black lover, TV news reporter Cecil, encourages Dave to investigate a suspicious death of a young man while playing paintball at the Combat Zone. The police believe the dead man, Vaughn Thomas is the victim of accidental shooting by hunters, but Cecil thinks otherwise. Dave soon discovers that Thomas, the son of a wealthy family, maybe not such a nice young man, but has connections with an unpleasant extreme right-wing paramilitary organisation intent on making America "safe" for white people. Following his typical relentless lines of inquiry Dave soon has a number of likely suspects, and as often happens upsets some of them enough to put his own life, and Cecil's in danger. The Boy Who Died This Morning is yet another enthralling Brandstetter mystery; and to add to its appeal there is just enough of Dave's private life (and Cecil) to provide relief from the tension.