Fadeout is the first of Joseph Hansen's twelve classic mysteries featuring rugged Dave Brandstetter, an insurance investigator who is contentedly gay. When entertainer Fox Olson's car plunges off a bridge in a storm, a death claim is filed, but where is Olson's body? As Brandstetter questions family, fans, and detractors, he grows certain Olson is still alive and that Dave must find him before the would-be killer does. Suspenseful and wry, shrewd and deeply felt, Fadeout remains as fresh today as when it startled readers more than thirty years ago.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More than just a Gay Detective Novel, A Good Novel,
By
This review is from: Fadeout: A Dave Brandstetter Mystery (Paperback)
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.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic Characterized by its Clear & Delightful Prose,
By Lori L. Lake "Author of Like Lovers Do, Buyer... (Portland, Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fadeout (A Dave Brandstetter Mystery) (Paperback)
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
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"It will do for a start.",
By A Customer
This review is from: Fadeout (Paperback)
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.
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