Vermilion

This series of gay-themed mysteries is a hoot firmly anchored in the fun-loving 1980s before Aids. "Straights" may miss some of the "in" jokes but there is enough here to compensate. This is almost a genre unto itself; the soluthion does not arise from clever sleuthing. Rather, it is the bar talk of gossipy gays that lets our hero and heroine put the facts together. "Cobalt" and "Slate" are just as good, but the final volume, "Canary," is a bit forced. You will want to read it anyway if you go that far.

Originally published in 1980 this is a very funny gay mystery set in Boston. Gay bartender Dan Valentine and straight best friend Claisse Lovelace get involved in a mystery. It seems a 19 year old gay male hustler has been murdered and dumped on the front yard of a homophobic state legislator. The gay community is being targeted and Valentine and Lovelace set out to find who the killer is. Boy--this takes me back! The authors (Nathan Aldyne is a pseudonym for Michael McDowell and Dennis Schuetz) were gay men living in Boston and painted a VERY accurate picture of gay Boston in that era. The bars mentioned in the book were actual bars around at the time--Nexus was Lexus and Bonaparte was Napoleons (both long gone unfortunately). The Eagle is still around. Back then Park Square was a hustlers hangout and there was a bus station on that street (that's gone too). They also mention the Art Cinema which did exist and play porn movies (also gone). I didn't come out till 1984 but those places were still open and active. This book was like a trip down memory lane! Nostalgia aside this is well-written with an intriguing mystery, colorful characters and one liners flying left and right. It's quick moving and never dull. It also introduces Lovelace's dog (named Veronica Lake) which mysteriously disappears between books two and three. A fun fast-moving book. This isn't the best book of the series (that's book two--"Cobalt")but it's still great fun. Highly recommended.

Daniel Valentine is a detective of the first water--intelligent, handsome, and gay, he teams up with Clarisse Lovelace in "Vermilion," the first book featuring this fearsome duo in a first-rate comedy suspense series (all with a color in the title, ala John D. MacDonald). Set in Boston (as are the following three), Valentine starts looking into the death of a young hustler, found dead on the lawn of an outspoken homophobic legislator.Perhaps better known for its tea parties and baked beans, nonetheless, the city of Boston is all aghast at this latest turn of events, especially the political factions and the gay community. Of course, the police have set this case on "top priority." Valentine, who works as a bartender by night and a detective by day, involves his best friend, Clarisse (who's a not-so-inspired straight real estate agent). Author Nathan Aldyne balances well the suspense and intrigue of the murder and its implications with some very wry, dry humor that makes fast reading reading this novel. Of course, by book's end, the murder is solved--but not without first involving some very smart sleuthing and calculations on the part of Valentine and Clarisse, a path that leads them into some very seedy, questionable, and dangerous areas.Nathan Aldyne is also the author of "Cobalt," "Canary," and "Slate." ...

When these books first came out (80's) I do not remember there being a lot in this particular genre (except for the Brandstetter mysteries - which were much more serious.) Now these humorous gay detective stories seem to be everywhere, but the ones I've read come nowhere close to these gems.Vermillion is the first of 4. The others are Cobalt, Slate and Canary. (Actually, they could almost be the titles of Pet Shop Boys albums ...) Anyway, the Boston/P-town settings are great, the Daniel & Clarisse team is hysterical, the stories solid, and the 80's period --once current with the first publication -- is sweetly nostalgiac.If you want a good, light, comic romp .. get these books. And hold onto them .. they come and go quickly from print.

Okay, I admit I'm a fanatic when it comes to this author's books. He wrote horror novels under his real name (Michael McDowell) that I could not get enough of as a teen. I still reread them all. Then just as I came out, I discovered he co-wrote these four books, and I devoured them as well. I think they are part of the reason I now live in Massachusetts...kidding, but they are tightly plotted mysteries set in pre-HIV Boston & Provincetown. Buy them lest they go out of print again!