I'm back in the land of mash-up stories. This is a mystery, a private eye thriller and a historical novel. The mystery is a blackmail crime, the PI is Andy Mills and the historical is the early 1950's. I was more taken by the historical elements of the book.
I vaguely remember the 1950s. I was very young then. Things that I learned from those a few years older than me made me think that decade was one where people were very repressed. Everyone had a place and was required to stay in that place. Women were supposed to keep home and make babies. White men had upwardly mobile careers unless their fathers were blue collar workers. Black men worked dangerous, non-glamorous jobs. There was no place for anyone to be different or LGBTQ+, under pain of prison or death. Andy is gay.
Andy is gay. He served in the Navy during the war and as a policeman afterward. He left the police after being outed during a raid at one of the clubs he went to. He became a private eye because detecting and helping people was what he did best. This was all explained in the Lavender House, a book you should read first. Andy isn't getting many clients because of his police career. Too many of the other gays in his surrounds think he's a spy for the police, out to find gays so the police can beat them up and put their livelihoods at risk.
Then, into Andy's office comes his great love during his Navy years, James. James stayed in the Navy and is now on the verge of being promoted to admiral. James is being blackmailed and he needs Andy to get the pictures back. This is where we enter into thriller territory.
This is an ongoing series, so we know Andy gets the photos back. How that happens and how it improves Andy's reputation are the meat of the rest of the book. I won't spoil the rest of the story for you by telling you what happens. You must read for yourself. While you're doing that, pay attention to the background. It will show you why the LGBTQ+ community is so tense right now.
I thank the publisher for giving me a copy of this book through a website contest. I review all the books I read.
I vaguely remember the 1950s. I was very young then. Things that I learned from those a few years older than me made me think that decade was one where people were very repressed. Everyone had a place and was required to stay in that place. Women were supposed to keep home and make babies. White men had upwardly mobile careers unless their fathers were blue collar workers. Black men worked dangerous, non-glamorous jobs. There was no place for anyone to be different or LGBTQ+, under pain of prison or death. Andy is gay.
Andy is gay. He served in the Navy during the war and as a policeman afterward. He left the police after being outed during a raid at one of the clubs he went to. He became a private eye because detecting and helping people was what he did best. This was all explained in the Lavender House, a book you should read first. Andy isn't getting many clients because of his police career. Too many of the other gays in his surrounds think he's a spy for the police, out to find gays so the police can beat them up and put their livelihoods at risk.
Then, into Andy's office comes his great love during his Navy years, James. James stayed in the Navy and is now on the verge of being promoted to admiral. James is being blackmailed and he needs Andy to get the pictures back. This is where we enter into thriller territory.
This is an ongoing series, so we know Andy gets the photos back. How that happens and how it improves Andy's reputation are the meat of the rest of the book. I won't spoil the rest of the story for you by telling you what happens. You must read for yourself. While you're doing that, pay attention to the background. It will show you why the LGBTQ+ community is so tense right now.
I thank the publisher for giving me a copy of this book through a website contest. I review all the books I read.