Customer Reviews

The Good Cop: A Dick Hardesty Mystery (Dick Hardesty Mystery S.)

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

 

 

Not really a mystery, just a great story with wonderful characters and real life drama. I read it straight through after setting aside the vast and soporific Cinatis by Donaghe. The quality of the writing and story reminds me of the early Patrica Nell Warren and Ronald Donaghe novels.

When I read the first Dick Hardesty I complained that "unfortunately" this series was long into more than 10 books already and I didn't want to go back reading all the books for the saucy part; Dorien Grey was kindly enough to list me the books that, according to my love of romance, would be better suit my taste.

Since I indead read book n° 12 and in doing so I spoiled a bit this one, I would not say the name of the who I was searching, and you will not go and read the previous review ;-), but I fell in love for Dick Hardesty and his house-husband. They were such a cute couple, and it was the main reason why I liked so much that book: Dick was not only a good private investigator, he was also a man in love and if I remember well he was not selfish in proving it to his man. Now don't get me wrong, this series is mainly a mystery, there is only "talk" of sex, but nothing graphic: in a way it's more important the romance than the "dirty" doing (and you know that I'm joking here, don't you?).

So basically I asked to Dorien to tell me where and when Dick met his man and Dorien Grey told me that the first time he introduced the man was in The Good Cop. This is book n° 5 and so you well understand that, not only it has an happy ending, but it's also very much and happily forever ending, since in book 12 they are still together.

So who are the candidate? I don't remember if Dorien Grey told us exactly how old is Dick, but I imagined him middle thirty or around. He is not yet so old to be considered out of game, but he is still experience enough to have that lived aurea in him. At the beginning of the book Dick meets again with Tom, a former lover from college. Tom is a very handsome man, he was Dick's steady lover in college, but he is also in the closet. In college Tom had a beard, Lisa, and with Lisa's girlfriend, Carol, Tom and Dick spent most of their time, of course when they were not spending it alone in Tom's apartment. When Dick meets again Tom, he is married to Lisa, but his agreement with Lisa and Carol is not changed, and so Dick doesn't see any reason to not being again "friend" with them. This is what I probably like most about Dick, he is true to himself, he has his own moral, but he is also open enough to admit that he loves sex, and he seems to be very friendly with all his past lovers, some of them are even now a couple with each other, but Dick continues to go out with them like nothing changed, aside from the sex: Dick apparently doesn't pouch in someone else territory.

The second candidate is Jonathan, a 19 years old wanna-be hustler who, I would say luckily, got scared after his first bad experience with an abusive john: now Dick is trying to help him build a new life, a life where Jonathan can have sex with me since he wants it not for money, a life where Dick is a friend and not an older lover Jonathan has to thank with sex in exchange of help. Dick thinks he is too old for Jonathan, and he doesn't want to listen to all his friends, that are helping him with Jonathan, that the boy would be a perfect partner for him. First of all, he is too young, and second Dick has now Tom again in his life, and Tom was his biggest crush in college, and you will never forget your first love...

I'm not able to say if I prefer Tom over Jonathan; for sure I find Jonathan very sweet, but this is probably the reason why Dick is weary to love him, Jonathan seems to be fragile and naïve, something that is not exactly in the cons list for the right partner of a P.I. On the other hand Tom is the perfect partner, he is even a cop, but I really don't like his living in the closet; true, he is not cheating on his wife, and his wife would be probably happy for him if he was to found a lover like her has; and Tom is really a nice man, he is not that he is scared away in the closet, or that he is treating Dick like a dirty little secret. So in the end, for a reason or the other, both Tom than Jonathan are good candidate.

Number five in the series sees Tom, an old friend from Dick's past, move to the city. Tom has got married to a lesbian friend of his. Grey's treatment of gays marrying to stay beneath the radar was excellently handled. We saw how Dick struggled to understand his friend's actions, knowing he'd not be able to do something similar.

As always Grey weaves a most interesting tale, dropping clues along the way. Small incidents casually related become important factors later on.

Many old favourites from earlier stories reappear. I was most gratified to see that Phil and Tim decided to settle down together and raise tropical fish.

This is the best book of the series so far. The writing is smoother and tighter. The power struggle in the police department and Dick's attempt to keep the peace were excellently described. However, the most beguiling aspect of the novel was Hardesty's growing attraction to an innocent and totally sweet nineteen-year-old he meets in a hustler bar. Dick tries to tell himself that Jonathan is too young, but the man's genuineness and obvious goodness eat at his in-built need to protect and nurture. However, when Jonathan agrees to put his life on the line in order to help catch a killer, Dick is forced to raise the white flag in defeat. I can't wait to read the next story which will hopefully show the start of Dick and Jonathan's togetherness.