Customer Reviews

Fadeout (Brandstetter Mysteries)

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Can you imagine the impact of a gay tough guy detective in 1972, that was thirteen years before Rock Hudson. Indeed, can you imagine a gay tough guy detective even today with all the attacks on Sponge Bob and and other stupidities.

But it's true. In 1972 Joseph Hansen published the first of what would grow to twenty five novels, twelve of which featured Dave Brandstetter the openly, contentedly gay thinking man's tough guy.

Dave is an insurance company investigator in charge of looking into false claims. In Fadeout, pop star Fox Olson's white convertible plunged off a narrow wooden bride and killed him. But where's the body.

That's enough of the story, you can guess what happens from there. It's a good story, well written as any novel that starts a series of twelve mysteries has to be. Highly Recommended.

When Pima, Californias local celebrity/singer/radio show host Fox Olson turns up missing and his T-Bird is found in the arroyo after a fierce storm, his wife, daughter, friends, and fans expect his body to wash up any time. It doesnt happen. Dave Brandstetter, claims investigator for Medallion Life Insurance Company comes to town. As he interviews family and friends, Dave discovers that all was not well in Fox Olsons charmed life after all. Did Fox commit suicide? Or kill himself? And if hes dead, where is the body? Dave thinks Fox disappeared on purpose, but in order to prove it, hell have to find the man.

Detective Dave Brandstetter is not only an appealing, sympathetic character, he is also a rugged, hard-drinking, relentless investigator with his own secrets. Hes just lost his lover of 20+ years to cancer, and he is well aware that he is not in good shape emotionally. Against the backdrop of his loss, Dave talks to the people of Pima, noses into old issues, and gets a possible lead on Foxs whereabouts. But there is more than one person in town with something to hide, and some of them may just be ready to kill to keep things quiet.

Author Joseph Hansen writes clear and delightful prose: the rust from the nailheads had written long, sad farewells down the salt-silver planks. Alternating captivating description with classic hard-boiled narrative, the author brings Brandstetters world alive, both inside and out. No wonder Hansen has been compared to classic mystery writers such as Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald.

Originally published in 1970, FADEOUT is remarkable in at least three ways: 1) the mystery features the first openly gay private detective, Dave Brandstetter, who is unapologetically homosexual and displays a solid strength and confidence that seems ahead of its time; 2) the writing is crisp, exciting, and exudes style beyond the level of the typical mystery; and 3) after over three decades, every aspect of the story and the writing holds up marvelously. Hansens work is destined to be deemed classic. The fact that Alyson has reprinted this debut novel and, so far, two of the eleven subsequent installments of the Brandstetter series bodes well for Joseph Hansens revival.

Lori L. Lake
Midwest Book Review

In 1970 Joseph Hansen single-handedly changed the face (or at least the sexual orientation)of the mystery genre forever with FADEOUT and Dave Brandstetter, Hansen's openly and comfortably homosexual sleuth.

Brandstetter was not the first gay detective, but he was the first healthy, "normal" gay detective. Brandstetter is handsome, urbane yet ruggedly masculine, and straight in all the essential ways. He is as real a person as a character in a novel can ever be. The same is true of all the series regulars. No one ever--with the exception of Cecil Harris' unconvincing marriage to Chrissie Streeter--steps out of character. Right down to the series somewhat melodramatic conclusion.

Besides providing a positive homosexual role model, Hansen's Brandstetter series is remarkable for setting the standard against which 90% of all other gay mystery writers fail to measure up. The writing is superb. Hansen has been compared to Hammett, Ross MacDonald and Chandler. All genre writers following Hansen are compared to Hansen. With good reason.

In the first of the twelve book series insurance investigator Brandstetter, still grieving over the death of his longtime lover, sets out to discover what happened to singer Fox Olson. Olson's wrecked car has been found minus Olson. Where's the body? Is the accident an accident? Did Fox committ suicide? Did someone murder him? Or is Fox alive and faking his death? And how does all this relate to the sudden reappearance of Olson's boyhood lover, a man Brandstetter feels queerly connected to--a man now also missing?

Read this novel and you will have no further need of reader recommendations. You will hunt down each and every book in the entire series--as relentless as Dave Brandstetter himself.

Joseph Hansen was the second author to construct a series around a gay detective--George Baxt preceded him--and the first to make his gay detective absolutely "normal." And by "normal," I mean "average." Dave Brandstetter is a decent, reticent, often rather icy human being. No genius, he solves cases by patient sleuthing rather than Holmesian leaps of logic. And Brandstetter, who eventually ages in "real time," ultimately comes apart at the seams in realistic fashion: in the last novels, when he is close to 70, Brandstetter forgets things, needs reading glasses, and loses the stamina he needs to think straight. In this, the first novel, he is just beginning to emerge from profound, paralyzing mourning for his companion of twenty-two years; as the series progresses, he will acquire two more partners, one a misfire and the other more permanent. Hansen's characterizations are sharp throughout, and his prose style--short, snappy sentences, with the occasional quirky metaphor or simile thrown in--is deceptively simple. Both this novel and the series as a whole are worthwhile reading.

Joseph Hansen manages to fit a remarkable amount of storytelling in this relatively short novel. Fadeout is the story of an intriguing investigation. Yet it is so much more than that. Seemingly without effort, Hansen also succeeds in giving the reader a very revealing look into the inner life of the investigator.

Fox Olson of Pima, California has disappeared and is presumed dead. Mr. Olson is many things. Husband, father, local radio personality, writer, painter and erstwhile politician. He also owns a $150,000 insurance policy from a company known as Medallion Life.

Dave Brandstetter is a claims investigator for Medallion Life and it is his job to find out what really has happened to Fox Olson. As Brandstetter interviews the policyholder's family and acquaintances he learns that things are not as they appear. The ostensibly happy life Fox Olson seemed to be enjoying was anything but that.

All is not well with Dave Brandstetter either. You see, Dave is a homosexual and his life partner of more than 20 years has recently died of cancer. Dave is just now trying to learn how to live again.

In giving us the Dave Brandstetter character, Hansen has done a very remarkable thing, at least as far as detective fiction is concerned. Though proudly gay, there is nothing about Dave that would lead anyone meeting him in a professional setting to suspect he is anything other than heterosexual. His speech, his clothes, his mannerisms, everything about him speaks to a mainstream orientation. But since the reader is aware of Dave's homosexuality, the way in which Hansen has him relate to women, other gays and homophobic individuals he encounters in the course of his work is quite interesting indeed. Moreover, Hansen includes a number of scenes between Dave and the people in his own life which very tellingly expose the pain and anguish he carries within.

One cannot help but notice the similarities of Hansen's writing style in Fadeout to much of the work of Ross Macdonald. Both writers use a highly descriptive type of prose that is very effective. Both delight in exploring the geographic and sociologic diversity California has to offer. Both make use of long held family secrets to provide key plot twists. And both feature toughminded protagonists who steadfastly seek out the truth.

Fadeout is truly an impressive literary effort. Word for word, this book delivers as much value to the reader as any work of fiction out there.

I picked this up on the recommendation of an author I respect, and while I was expecting a good read, I wasn't expecting to be so utterly shattered. On its surface, it's just a straightforward mystery about a guy who may or may not be dead, and the insurance investigator who needs to find out for certain. But just like the brittle prose, there's much, much more to it than that.

While I can appreciate that this is an important hallmark in gay fiction, portraying a gay man as normal as normal can be, the reason this now holds a place on my keeper shelf is the skill with which it hooked me into the wide range of emotions and never let me go. Brandstetter is mourning his 20+ year relationship, and his palpable grief permeates every page, every interaction, every word. The mystery might not necessarily be all that groundbreaking for readers of the genre, but in light of the characters the author creates, and most importantly, the protagonist who guides us through all of it, that doesn't matter. It's just that good.

For years I had read about Joseph Hansen's "Fadeout", the first in a series to feature gay insurance investigator Dave Brandstetter. I finally read it and was surprised to find that the book, first published in 1970, not only holds up well but it is an excellent mystery. Hansen's writing style is stylish and unique with vivid descriptions of California. His characters are fully developed and the character of Dave Brandstetter is one that readers can identify with and care for. Although often billed as a "gay mystery" it is really just a regular mystery story that happens to have a gay character. I can't wait to read the rest of the series and highly recommend this one.

Hansen's first Dave Brandstetter mystery is a marvelous read. Fox Olson's car is found, but he isn't. Is he dead or just missing? With a healthy cast of suspects, Brandstetter has his work cut out for him in solving this case. It's almost timeless in its quality of writing and pacing. I only wish it wasn't so short, but there are more books in the series, so it does balance out some. Fans of gay men's mysteries will certainly love this classic tale!

Dave Brandstetter is an insurance claims investigator and we first meet him as he is investigating the supposed death of Fox Olson. Olson is a local celebrity who it appears meet is death as his car plunged into a swollen arroyo; but the body has not been found.

Convinced that the man did not die in the accident, Dave uncovers a lot more besides Olson's disappearance as he relentlessly pursues his investigation, including a suspicious relationship between Olson's wife and his manager, a jealous opponent in the running for local mayor, and the sudden re-appearance of a long lost boyhood friend.

What make this different from the normal run of detective thrillers is that Dave is openly gay and thoroughly masculine, and interspersed with the ongoing investigation we enjoy glimpses of his private life and relationships. One of the first things we learn is that is recovering from the death of his partner of over twenty years, leaving him perhaps open for new personal discoveries. Dave, now in his forties, comes over as a caring, patient and likeable man; as Fadeout is the first of the Dave Brandsetter mysteries it will be interesting to see how Joseph Hansen develops the character.

Putting aside all other considerations, Fadeout is a well written and carefully constructed mystery with good characterisation. Having read this I was pleased to discover that all the Brandstetter mysteries are now available in one volume: The Complete Brandstetter , ISBN 1842431684 ~ I immediately pace an order!

Originally published in 1970, this first of twelve books to feature insurance investigator Dave Brandstetter takes place in the late '60s California. Popular small-town radio personality Fox Olson appears to have crashed his car into a storm-swollen arroyo -- however his body hasn't been found, and Medallion Life Insurance doesn't pay up without a body. So Brandstetter drives from L.A. out to Pima to take a look at the accident scene and talk to Olson's friends and family. Of course, all is not what it seems, and beneath Olson's seemingly happy life (pretty wife, plenty of money, dream house) lie a less happy past and a secret or two. One of the bigger secrets is telegraphed pretty early on with some pretty obvious clues, but Brandstetter has to figure what it means.

Much of the book is taken up with the mystery of whether or not Olson is alive or dead, and if dead, whether by his own hand or that of an enemy. The threads of this mystery get awfully tangled, and by the end the real culprit's identity comes as a bit of a surprise. Meanwhile, a running subplot is Brandstetter's grief over the recent death of his longtime lover and his attempt to grapple with moving on. (Part of this includes a romantic interlude involving a Hispanic teenager that adds absolutely nothing to the story or to Brandstetter's character development and feels quite totally superfluous.) Brandstetter is gay, an anomaly for crime fiction of the time, but this never feels false or gimmicky. Hansen makes him a completely normal guy, a classic rugged, tough, cynic with a heart of gold genre detective who gets the job done by patience and persistence, rather than genius.

The story is pretty solid and fits well into the tradition of California noir (Chandler, Hammett, MacDonald). What makes it stand out is the writing -- most of the time it's clipped and straightforward, and then every now and then it diverges into a more lyrical moment, such as this: "Windows were broken. Where not broken they were boarded up, had been for years: the rust from nailheads had written long, sad farewells down the salt-slivered planks." On the whole, a solid series debut that whets the appetite for more of Brandstetter.