Customer Reviews

The Role Players

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

 

 

Small town P.I. Dick Hardesty is vacationing in the Big Apple with his young lover Jonathan when he's asked by an ex-lover to investigate the murder of the leading actor in the play "Impartial Observer."

There are a number of strengths in this Lambda-nominated series. Grey writes clean, unaffected and very readable prose--and he's set his series in the 1980s, which makes for an interesting perspective (I'm not sure if it should be categorized as "historical" or not).

The best thing about the series, in my opionion, is that Hardesty really does investigate. He behaves like a professional detective. That may sound odd, but too often in mystery series--and worst of all, in P.I. series'--the main character doesn't do any real tracking down and deciphering of leads. There's no professionalism. Not the case here. Hardesty (or Grey, really) proceeds logically step by step to a satisfying conclusion.

I haven't read other books in the series, but I didn't find it at all difficult to pick up with THE ROLE PLAYERS.

Book 8 sees Dick and Jonathan go to New York City to visit Chris and Max. Surprise, surprise, Dick stumbles upon a case. So we have the luxury of a traveller's guide to the Big Apple, as well as more romantic interplay between the totally adorable Jonathan and the dependable and upstanding Dick. Lastly there's the murder to solve, which up until the last seems unsolvable.

Rod, a beautiful, talented actor with the morals of an alley cat is shot dead in the not inappropriate location of an alley. There are any number of people who could have done it. Rod had made plenty of enemies among the cast and stage crew at the theatre where he had been given the leading role in a new play. Lots of suspects and about as many motives.

It was fascinating how Dick dealt with the issue of BDSM, a gay subculture of which he is both unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Dick's views resonated with my own.

Just in the nick of time before their vacation (and the book) ends, someone let's something slip, and a significant piece of the jigsaw falls into place. I was on the edge of my seat as the final scene, where Dick talks with the killer, played out. Though I didn't think the man who'd done it would do it again (to Dick) I couldn't be certain. I'm not giving anything away by saying my fears for his safety were groundless. A good job given there's at least three more books in the series.