The Night G.A.A. Died [Paperback]

Jack Ricardo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1993

Driven off the force after coming out of the closet, former New York City police officer Archie Cain starts his life anew as a private investigator, probing the death of Gay Activists Alliance vice president.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Drawing on fact and fiction, Ricardo details gay society in early 1970s Manhattan in this well-crafted hardcover debut, which introduces fledgling PI Archie Cain, a former NYPD cop. Cain meets Max Harmony, vice-president of the Gay Activists' Alliance and an editor at a social policy magazine, in "the trucks"--18-wheel sex dens on the loading docks west of Greenwich Village. The pair stroll to an abandoned Hudson River pier, where Harmony is stabbed to death while in Cain's arms. Although the police arrest the victim's live-in lover, Cain decides to investigate on his own, tracing one lead to the organization behind a local flea market. After ferreting out CIA and FBI interest in Harmony, Cain is advised by his former NYPD boss to drop the case. While avoiding graphic sex scenes, Ricardo vividly illuminates the culture and mores of the book's milieu. Some elements of the quickly paced plot may be far-fetched, but the era and the issues--early gay-rights activism and the Cold War--are credibly depicted.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

A first mystery that focuses on the way gays were way back- -specifically, in '71--when it wasn't so much a matter of one-night stands as ten-minute quickies in the warehouse district, on the docks, in dim doorways, and so forth. Out cruising one night, Archie Cain, formerly of the NYPD, is on the waterfront with Max- -when someone stabs Max in the back. Was it a member of the Gay Activists Alliance (Max was a vice president), a past lover, or...? There'll be suicide, pill-popping, gay-bashing, and--would you believe?--spying on gays by both the KGB and the US government before Archie finds love and the killer, though not necessarily in that order. A bit too fiercely gay for mainstream readers, though as a moody look back at the beginnings of gay liberation, Ricardo's debut rings true. It's the mystery plot overlaid on the facts that seems false. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: St Martins Pr (June 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312093535
• ISBN-13: 978-0312093532
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,356,518 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in a trunk in the Princess Theater in... Whoops! Nope, that was Esther Blodgett. I was born in Greenwich Village USA in 1940, a year before Japan caught us with our pants down. I was raised in Smalltown, New Jersey during the 1950s and fell head over heels for Judy's Vicky Lester and helped crown Elvis king while bopping to his 45s and styling my hair (badly) into a DA; and I saw the anguish of Jim Stark and Cal Trask in my mirror. In the 1960s, I fell in love, not wisely, and returned to NYC as a foolish young adult, escaping into the tarnished silver screens of 42nd Street. During the 1970s, I fell in love again, and again not wisely, plus I manned the barricades as a gay activist, and dove into the deep end of the dope and disco pools and survived intact (if you don't count the millions of little gray cells that may have been fried). The 1980s drew me to Florida where I wrote and sold mounds and pounds of porno. The 1990s brought me "Death With Dignity" and "The Night G.A.A. Died," two published mystery novels, neither of which sold a sou. The 2000s still sees me in Florida, and my epic saga of "Sam's Hill" and my detective mystery of "Desperate Innocence" are now e-booked and awaiting discovery. I still dream of living happily ever after.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars toujours gai archy, January 12, 1998

By 

Drew Brainiard "watchword" (Buffalo, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Night G.A.A. Died (Paperback)

This is one of my all time favorite "gay mysteries." I'm not even exactly sure why, because by the end, what with the F.B.I. and the C.I.A. and the K.G.B., the plot does seem to have taken a sharp detour and sped right off the edge of the map. Still there is something classic about THE NIGHT G.A.A. DIED.

Ricardo writes clean, effective prose in a wry tone that gives this novel, set in the militant 1970s, a nostalgic, almost poignant feel. It feels real, from the waterfront trucks to the Y.M.C.A., in the way that black and white movies seem more real than color.

Another plus for me: vivid characterizations. I'll follow a plot just about anywhere if I like the characters enough. Smart and sardonic, ex-cop Archie Cain would have made a great series protagonist. And the totally closeted, boyish Johnny is Archie's perfect foil. How disappointing we never get to see their relationship evolve, or follow their further adventures, but seven years later it is probably too much to hope for a sequel.