Customer Reviews

Cobalt

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

 

 

There's nothing like finishing a great book and knowing there's a sequel, so you can dive back in for another adventure. There's E. F. Benson's "Mapp and Lucia," Wodehouse's Jeeves series, and "Nathan Aldyne"'s Blues ("Cobalt," "Slate," "Vermillion").

Unfortunately the series has come to an end, as "Nathan Aldyne" was two people, and one has died. But if you haven't read these books, you're in for some great fun. These are, I believe, the best gay detective novels ever written. They are wonderful, exciting, witty books to be put on your "Classic Gay Literature" shelf next to David Sedaris and Joe Keenan.

A scintilating story of the commings and goings on of P-Town in the heat of summer. Daniel Valentine and his ever indulgent side kick Clarisse Lovelace spy up and down Commercial street looking for bits of evidence to pull together the mysterious deaths of some summer visitors. Delve into the dark smokey bars along the waterfront and ride the coaster to the end, when you'll need to pick up the rest of the series..Check out the Grant Michaels (author) Stan Kraychik mysteries if you like this one.

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.

Cobalt is the second of 4. The others are Vermillion, 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.

Excellent second book of the Dan Valentine/Clarisse Lovelace series. Valentine is a gay bartender in Provincetown for the summer. (PTown is a VERY gay town in the summer) His best friend Lovelace joins him there. However people start to get murdered and Valentine and Lovelace try to find out who the killer is. Just hysterical. The book reads very quickly and is full of one-liners and characters that had me laughing out loud. The mystery is also very well-done with clues and corpses piling up. Aldyne perfectly captures the feeling of PTown in the summer. This was written in 1982 before we knew about AIDS so the gay men here are very sexually active (but the book isn't explicit). I've read this book at least 5 or 6 times over the years and laugh out loud at it every time. Author Nathan Aldyne is actually two gay men--Michael McDowell and Dennis Schuetz. Sadly Schuetz died of AIDS in 1989 and I believe McDowell passed away just a few years ago. They only wrote for books for this series. All of them are fun but this is easily the best. Perfect beach reading! Highly recommended.

Daniel Valentine, gay bartender and his glamorous friend Clarisse Lovelace, the pair we first encountered in Nathan Aldyne's Vermillion, move from Boston to Provincetown for the summer season. It's not long before Clarisse stumbles across a dead body on the beach. While the police are content the death was an accident, and Val is inclined to agree, Clarisse suspects foul play. The discovery of further bodies however raises suspicion, and the intrepid pair are soon playing amateur sleuths again.

Very much in the same vein as Vermillion, with plenty of humour and perhaps a little more plot this time, Cobalt makes for an entertaining and amusing read. A wide range of characters from handsome hunks to raging queens, jealous lovers and dubious suitors, populate the proceedings. Plus there is plenty of additional action for Val and Clarisse as they each find someone good enough to make the other envious.