Unflinchingly Honest Portrayal of Queer Life

I had not yet gotten the chance to read this author’s first mystery in this series, but I still really appreciated getting to read this installment. It’s not easy to read in the way it resolves things for its characters. There’s a lot of discussion of the ways in which queer characters in this era were fundamentally unsafe, despite being in a place that we would now consider a queer haven in San Francisco. The mystery definitely isn’t always the most important element of the story, and is mostly resolved with about 100 pages left to go in the book. Yet this is where the characters interpersonal relationships are able to begin to develop. I appreciated the things that are clearly being set up for future installments. I was very invested in the characters that are permanent fixtures in Andy’s life. Helen was my favorite and I would love to see more of her in the future.