The Death of Friends [Mass Market Paperback]

Michael Nava (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1998

L.A. criminal defense lawyer Henry Rios has become a champion of outcasts in a city offering them little justice and less compassion. But Zack Bowen is more than just a client. Claiming to be the lover of Rios's longtime friend Chris Chandler, Zack has found Chandler brutally murdered. And now Zack needs a lawyer.

Rios's instinct is to believe his protestations of innocence, even though Zack quickly disappears. Now Rios must track him down through the earthquake-torn Valley, traversing the sleazy landscapes of Zack's past. He must discover why Chris--a staunch family man, resolutely in the closet--abandoned his wife and son and risked his career for an affair. What other secrets was he hiding? As Rios uses every legal twist to unravel the mystery of his friend's life and the riddle of his death, he glimpses the answer in the dark mirror of his own soul....

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The latest Henry Rios mystery finds Michael Nava's gay Mexican-American lawyer under severe stress as he defends an L.A. street hustler. One of Rios's former lovers has been murdered; another is nearing death from AIDS. Nava strives for emotional depth and social relevance in his tough tales, told with Chandler-esque language. Rios describes himself best: "I was a magnet for the desperate, frightened and reviled, who somehow or other had heard about the fag lawyer who was a sap for a sad story." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

As the reality of AIDS permeates gay life, it also works its way into gay/lesbian crime fiction, including that of Lambda Award-winning Nava (The Hidden Law), who creates some of the best work in this genre. The L.A. life and times of gay, Latino, formerly alcoholic criminal defense lawyer Henry Rios make for somber reading principally because of AIDS. His lover, Joss, left him for another, who died. Now Joss is dying, and faithful Henry is his last salvation. Chris Chandler, Henry's college friend who hid his homosexuality for years behind a family and a law career, has been murdered by a series of sharp blows to the head. Zack, his secret young lover, a former street hustler and gay-porn star, is accused of the crime. Nava plots like a master, giving up a secret on each page, continually slipping into flashbacks and detailing police corruption as a matter of course. Behind the genre elements, the death of Chris Chandler stands as a metaphor for the lies many gay men live with; the picture formed of the dead man is awash in ambiguity. Meanwhile an earthquake strikes, and Henry must get through Joss's last days, staring down the relentless brutality of a horrible disease. This is a brave, ambitious and highly impressive work. Author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (June 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553577638
• ISBN-13: 978-0553577631
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,834,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Nava is a lawyer and novelist. His Henry Rios novels, published between 1988 and 2000, followed the life and cases of a gay criminal defense lawyer in Los Angeles during the tumultous period of the AIDS epidemic and the movement for gay rights. In 2000, he was awarded the Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement in LGBT literature. Previously he was awarded six Lambda literary prizes. He is at work on an historical novel set before and during the Mexican Revolution.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartrending, insightful, excellent mystery, September 21, 1999

By 

J. Kirk "joekirk" (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Death of Friends (Mass Market Paperback)

Wow! I became Henry Rios as I read this story and was touched by his humanity and sensibility. Michael Nava just gets better with each of his books. This one shines a light on what it means to live your entire life in the closet and the impact on yourself, your family, your friends when you decide to step into the light. Yet it is done in the context of a compelling mystery peopled by real characters with real emotions. Nava manages to make nothing look contrived. At the end of his story you know these people and what makes them tick. And most importantly you want to know more about the fine human being that Henry Rios is.

This novel also rips your heart out whether or not you have known anyone who has died of AIDS. The caregiver's travail is not minimized but not exaggerated either. Through Nava's skillful storytelling you know just what it is like to stand by helplessly and watch someone you love fade out of your life. You know what it is like to get up the next days and weeks and go on with your own life.

This novel is much more than a simple mystery, although it is an excellent mystery novel. It is an insightful look at what it means to be gay in today's world, both upbeat and downbeat. This is a book to give to friends and to reread.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Super, February 8, 2000

By 

Roger Paulding (Stafford, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Death of Friends (Mass Market Paperback)

Michael Nava is a super writer. This is the second one of his series I have read, and it is a great mystery as well as filled with real life emotion. A can't put it down kind of story. Plus some really great courtroom scenes. John Grisham, eat your heart out. This guy can write better than you.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A murder mystery that made me cry., June 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Death of Friends (Hardcover)

This was a wonderful book, I could not put it down. Michael Nava is my new favorite author, I must have all of his novels. The flashback scenes where he relived his friendship with his murdered friend were especially touching.