Customer Reviews

The 9th Man, 2nd Edition (Dick Hardesty Mysteries)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

A friend gave me a book she had just finished: "The Ninth Man" by a Dorien Grey. "It has a gay detective" she said, but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. I'm glad I did. This guy has a great sense of humor and writes a good story that kept me guessing until the very end. I recommend it to anybody, straight or gay, who likes a good, fun mystery yarn.

Dave K.

The 9th Man is a compelling mystery novel of the Dick Hardesty series. Hardesty is a homosexual private investigator trying to earn a living in a trade that's rough on all genders and all sexual orientations. Hardesty is hired to find a murderer; as the body count rises, he realizes he's on the trail of a serial killer who is apparently being ignored by the police because all of the victims are gay. Enthusiastically recommended for all mystery fans, The 9th Man is a tense, contemplative, superbly crafted reading.

This is a solid and well-crafted read. It follows the rules for any good murder mystery. All the clues are present, the author doesn't cheat by having his detective come to conclusions based on facts that he can't realistically be in possession of.

The characters are exquisitely well-drawn, from Rholfing the queenly guy who hires Dick, to Tim, the morgue worker (and Dick's informant) who I just wanted to take home and protect.

Hardesty, the narrator, is particularly appealing when he provides the reader with occasionally unkind ~ but always astute ~ word portraits of those he encounters.

After his last relationship crumbles, Dick is leery of falling in love again. However, it's precisely in the scenes where he gives into temptation that some of the most enjoyable aspects of the story take place.