Customer Reviews

The Death of Friends

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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.

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.

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.

Not only is this an excellent mystery, but it is written by someone who obviously loves the English language. The protagonist is both literate and philosophical. The book also provides a non-gay reader with some insight into contemporary and important questions facing our society.

Los Angeles lawyer Henry Rios's next case literally arrives on his doorstep one night and he can't refuse.
That's because the case involves his old law school friend, Chris Chandler, who later married and became a local judge.
Chandler is found murdered in his judge's chambers. Telling Rios the story is Chandler's boyfriend, a young handsome waiter named Zach who shows up on Rio's doorstep. But wait, Chris is gay but still married to his college sweetheart?
And so what begins as an engaging who-dun-it in the aftermath of another California earthquake unravels into a layered story of two law school friends and the disparate paths their lives take - one as an out attorney, the other as a closeted judge married with a son.
That's the guiding plot in Michael Nava's "The Death of Friends,'' a story that is both a mystery and a complicated love story.
The novel follows Henry Rios, a Chicano gay attorney who sometimes comes off as a social worker, caring for his clients as well as his ex-lover, Josh, who is wrestling with AIDS.
Nava delicately balances the two stories - the murder of his college chum and the weakening health of his ex-partner, who shuffles in and out of the hospital as his symptoms from HIV worsen.
The reader is hooked from beginning to end. The mystery of Chris's death pulls you along as Nava layers the narrative with the back story of Chris and Henry's friendship. The flashbacks were a treat to read. They leaven the story with the innocence of college sexual trysts and coming of age in San Francisco.
Here, one sees the contrasts between the characters, how one chooses to live openly while the other decides to hide his true nature for a suburban heterosexual life and all its trappings.
Nava knows how to craft his dialogue in such a way that you feel like you're eavesdropping on a conversation in another room.
The author also knows how to pace the story. He grabs the reader and takes him inside the courtroom, scene of the crime, an LA apartment complex and a remote cabins. Reading the book felt like a paperback version of a gay Law and Order: Los Angeles.
The substory with Josh was sweet and yet sad. It's endearing to see how Henry is still there for Josh, despite their complicated history. The fact that Henry takes back Josh (and takes him in) shows what a big heart Henry has. This substory cushions the murder plot.
And as he delves deeper in the murder, the book twists and turns, culminating with a big secret at the end that will make you read the last few pages twice. A literary double whammy the reader won't see coming.
Nava, an attorney, knows how to make the legalese and courtroom procedures digestable and realistic for the reader. The legalities were easy to follow along. Despite the book being set in the 90s, it felt contemporary even in 2009.
This was my first Henry Rios mystery and I look forward to reading about his other legal adventures in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

murder case in l.a.'s gay community.author shows the tragedy of a.i.d.s without being morbid. smooth style,sensitive tone and steady pacing.

I had put off reading this novel for a long time because I'd heard how heartbreaking it was. I just didn't want to deal with reading about Josh's death. Now that I've read it--well, I was right that it is heart breaking, but I should have read it sooner.

The plot has been pretty well described in other reviews. After an earthquake and the murder of an old friend and deeply-closeted former lover, gay Chicano lawyer Henry Rios finds himself defending Zack Bowen, the accused killer. But Rios is convinced that Bowen is not a killer. He sets out to prove it even though it means uncovering some dirty secrets about his former lover.

At the same time Rios has to deal with the rapidly failing health of his lover, Josh. This novel deals in a very sensitive way with the agony of a caretaker watching a loved one suffer and die. It also is a gut-wrenching look at the suffering people went through during the AIDS years. At the same time, there is so much love in the look at these things that you have to read it. (In spite of the fact that it makes you cry)

The mystery is very well crafted and keeps you guessing until the very end. That side is not neglected, believe me. There are plenty of clues as to the real murdered, but Nava manages to keep us guessing. Coupled with the tender and moving account of Josh's decline and deaht and Rios's efforts to care for him, this is an unmatched read. I can't recommend it highly enough.

In The Death of Friends, gay Chicano lawyer Henry Rios finds himself defending Zack Bowen, seemingly the most likely suspect in the murder of his old college friend and one time lover but subsequently family man Chris Chandler, recently voted Judge of the Year. But first Henry must Find Zack who it seems as gone into hiding. Despite his disappearance Henry believes Zack, who claims to have been Chris's lover, is innocent, and sets out to prove it even if it means upsetting the a number of people on the way and uncovering a few less palatable facts about his old friend Chris.

At the same time Henry has to come to terms with the failing health of his lover Josh now that the AIDS virus is ravaging his body, realising he must prepare himself for the inevitable.

This is a finely crafted mystery with plenty of clues as to identity the real murdered, although we are kept guessing 'til the very end. Coupled with the tender and moving account of Josh's decline and Henry's efforts to care for him, this makes for another excellent read from Michael Nava.

Too bad Michael Nava was never really appreciated. I won't assume why he remained in the shadows of mystery writers. All I can say is that when I read "all" his books, each was a "can't put down" one. I recommend you read them in the order of their original publications. You should follow the main character from start to finish. I hope Mr. Nava returns to writing soon.

Michael Nava seems to get better and better with each new book. The Death of Friends begins with an earthquake, a very LA way to start, and the novel is as much about the tremors running through Henry's life as it is about the mystery of who killed his law school friend, Judge Chris Chandler. Chandler, about to come out of the closet, leaves behind a grieving widow, an angry son and a scared lover. Henry pursues the truth while taking care of Josh, his former lover, now dying of AIDS. A strong, moving book, with an interesting mystery and a caring heart.

Neil Plakcy, author of Mahu Surfer: A Hawaiian Mystery (An Alyson Mystery)