3.5 stars.
This is a noire mystery following gay detective Andy Mills. I really enjoyed the historical context the story provided, but wasn't super drawn in by the mystery. I also didn't know going into the story that this was the second in a series. I had no trouble following the story, but wondered if perhaps I was missing bits of the characterization.
First, the historical context and the overall setting of the story: I loved this! I can tell based on the text and the author acknowledgements that copious amounts of research went into depicting the nuance of what it was like to live as a queer person in the 1950s in San Francisco, as well as during the war in the Navy. There's really a depth and complexity to how queer people were depicted - we got to see some specific queer subcultures, and I was glad there were discussions of how queerness intersected with class and race as well. Almost all the characters in the story were queer, and queerness was central to their lives but not the totality of it, which was refreshing to see.
Second, the story: this worked less well for me personally. I thought the mystery was meandering and not very cohesive, and the pacing was a bit slow. Some of the plot points seemed too convenient, but I liked the realistic depiction of Andy's investigative work as a lot of cable-car-ing around, verifying details, and talking to people. I wasn't super invested in the mystery itself, and after awhile it was a bit repetitive being in Andy's head. I would have enjoyed reading more POVs from some of the other characters, e.g. Lee, Donna, etc.
Overall, this was a pleasant and informative read, and I will be chasing down some of the non-fiction books cited. If you enjoy noire mysteries I do think this is a good choice.
This is a noire mystery following gay detective Andy Mills. I really enjoyed the historical context the story provided, but wasn't super drawn in by the mystery. I also didn't know going into the story that this was the second in a series. I had no trouble following the story, but wondered if perhaps I was missing bits of the characterization.
First, the historical context and the overall setting of the story: I loved this! I can tell based on the text and the author acknowledgements that copious amounts of research went into depicting the nuance of what it was like to live as a queer person in the 1950s in San Francisco, as well as during the war in the Navy. There's really a depth and complexity to how queer people were depicted - we got to see some specific queer subcultures, and I was glad there were discussions of how queerness intersected with class and race as well. Almost all the characters in the story were queer, and queerness was central to their lives but not the totality of it, which was refreshing to see.
Second, the story: this worked less well for me personally. I thought the mystery was meandering and not very cohesive, and the pacing was a bit slow. Some of the plot points seemed too convenient, but I liked the realistic depiction of Andy's investigative work as a lot of cable-car-ing around, verifying details, and talking to people. I wasn't super invested in the mystery itself, and after awhile it was a bit repetitive being in Andy's head. I would have enjoyed reading more POVs from some of the other characters, e.g. Lee, Donna, etc.
Overall, this was a pleasant and informative read, and I will be chasing down some of the non-fiction books cited. If you enjoy noire mysteries I do think this is a good choice.