Customer Reviews

Goldenboy: A Henry Rios Mystery

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

 

 

A well paced mystery. From a different viewpoint, I think this is the first time the main charactor has been gay, Catholic and Hispanic, in any book that I have read. Henry Rios does guilt very well. A great combination of logic and emotion. He makes for a great champion of the little guy. And that includes himself.

"Goldenboy' is a great story, keeping your interest until the last word. Writer Michael Nava knows the LA scene very well, and uses the descriptions to full effect. the sublplots, twists, and turns of the various characters area always good surprises. My favorite in this series is "The Burning Plain." I think that Nava's writing is at its best in a longer book, like "Burning ". However," Goldenboy" is perfect for getting you thoroughly into a story, and allowing you to totally clear your mind of anything else.

Teenage Jim Pears is accused of murdering a fellow busboy at the restaurant where they both worked, the evidence seems pretty conclusive. But when openly gay lawyer Henry Rios is called in to defend Jim he discovers a complex web of clues, and too many people who seem happy for Jim to take the wrap regardless.

Away from his home patch and mixing with the Hollywood set who are financing Jim's defence Henry finds himself propositioned by handsome actors, agents and others; and from amongst those he meets in his investigations he does find a young man who steals his heart, but perhaps not the most obvious contender.

Goldenboy is the second in the of Michael Nava's Henry Rios mysteries, and it lives up to the promise of the first, The Little Death. It is a gripping and well constructed story that keeps one guessing to the end, but it has the added interest of Henry Rios and his hope of finding someone to love, making this a very appealing read.

I was given this book as a gift and was apprehensive for two reasons: 1) I'm not a fan of mystery novels and 2) I worry that I won't be able to connect with older gay fiction books (this was originally published in 1988) since so much has changed in the last few decades. Thankfully, both of those fears were put to rest.

Nava's storytelling ability is great - he doesn't abuse metaphors or go on and on with meaningless details. (As I assume is typical in the mystery genre) most everything that is mentioned has some sort of tie-in with the story. The dialogue was realistic and while the story wouldn't be considered 'ground-breaking', it did keep my interest and I felt had enough plot-twists that I didn't see coming.

I would easily recommend this book to anyone looking for a light/quick read. I'll definitely be picking up the next in the series.

Michael Nava has written some good mystery novels. Unfortunately 'Golden Boy' is not one of them. 'Golden Boy' is the story of the murder of a young gay man in Hollywood in the mid-1980s. Cue in subplots on AIDS, homophobia, Hollywood agents and actors. It's all rather predictable. Even the murder mystery itself is rather ho-hum, albeit the ending is pretty decent. But I suppose I am most unimpressed with the love story between the primary character, Henry Rios, and a much younger man. Totally contrived and without conviction, ... to the point of being laughable.

Bottom line: a disappointment. Not recommended.