Customer Reviews

Spider Season: A Benjamin Justice Novel (Benjamin Justice Mysteries)

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Benjamin Justice is back, looking toward his 50th birthday with a mixture of regret - for actions taken in his life, including loss of a Pulitzer Prize for writing (and along with it his credibility and reputation) when it was discovered he made up sources for his work - and a renewed vigor from his HIV meds, exercise and regular testosterone shots, which have helped his health and energy. With the recent release of his memoirs, Justice hopes to finally give closure to the demons of his past, and perhaps become regarded as a serious writer again. But a reviewer with a reputation for "hatchet jobs" threatens him with new revelations, at a time when he is already being distracted by a seemingly deranged individual who claims to have known him from school, and is setting a web of intimidation and danger to make up for Benjamin's alleged slighting of his crush on him back then. Last but far from least, Benjamin scuffles with a mysterious younger man whom he catches sitting in his car, making him realize he may have overreacted with his reaction, but later finding a connection with the former Iraq vet that he never imagined possible. There is the discovery of a longtime cover-up of a murder, concern for the elderly gay couple who have been Benjamin's best friends and landlords, the return of an interesting man from his past and the strongest temptations yet to a reformed alcoholic.

This is the eighth in Wilson's "Benjamin Justice" series, and I have been a diehard fan from the first book thirteen years ago (which, along with the three books after it - long out of print - have been rereleased this year, and are much recommended to mystery fans.) I have been unable to get any feedback on my feelings that this "memoir" device is meant to be a means to tie up loose ends and conclude the series. But I've had that feeling after reading seemingly insurmountable changes in Benjamin's life in two previous installments in the series, only to see him come back just as strong the next time. Hopefully, that is the case here, as I would hate to say goodbye to this great series. A chorus of "itzy bitzy spider," and five bold stars out of five!

Spider Season, John Morgan Wilson's latest Benjamin Justice thriller, proves that you can never fully escape your past. History that you carry in your blood even when it's in danger of reaching into darker recesses of the human heart. In this tense and engaging novel, the broken down and washed-out Benjamin Justice once again finds his past infusing with his presence, and shaping everything he does. As the poisonous spiders weave their delicate tendrils of evil around Benjamin's life, for the first time he finds himself tackling the strange voices that emanate from his past. Amid the stifling August heat of Los Angeles, Benjamin is celebrating the publication of his first book, a memoir that finally lays out in shameful detail his spectacular fall from grace, the murder of his father and the stripping away of his Pulitzer prize all those years ago. Finally Ben has reached a stage in his life where he has a chance to do some public atonement, make a little money and possibly get back into the writing game, and also finally put to rest some of the issues surrounding his beloved Jacques who died of AIDS eighteen years ago.

But then something is amiss outside the West Hollywood home that he shares with his best-friends, the octogenarians Fred and Maurice. Here is a menacing intruder, a young tattooed man who trashes Ben's prized mustang. The end result is fierce fight and a bloodied young boy is laying face down on the pavement, his battered face the results of Benjamin's seething testosterone-fuelled anger. The publication has certainly stirred up a whole pack of snarling dogs. When hate mail suddenly appears, Ben realizes that his past is littered with all kinds of bad choices and trouble and with all of the people he had abandoned and the challenges he had run away from. Benjamin isn't prepared for the fawning attentions of Jason Holt, now propped up with plastic surgery and his fascination with spiders. Jason's evil seems to encapsulate Ben, and like the spiders that he so loves he's capable of building webs, trapping and killing his prey with venom: "You can finally admit Ben that you were enchanted with me." Determined to unpick this knotted network of dark intentions, Ben is somewhat diverted by another investigation, the long term surveillance of Cathryn Conroy - a tough-minded female reporter.

Then there's the machinations of prestigious artist Charles Wu and his strange and troubling portrait of Jason Holt, a painting that he considers undoubtedly inferior. As Ben traverses the suburbs of a smoggy and suffocating Los Angeles, he becomes desperate to tie together these all of these disparate elements in a mystery that involves murder and cover-ups, poisonings, and a surprising betrayal from someone whom Ben had long considered his best friend. Even his new lover Ismael Aragon, a compassionate Catholic priest, can do little emolliate Ben's feeling that he's made such a mess of things, with time blowing through his life "like a storm wind" breaking and scattering nearly everything and everyone he cared about.

Essentially about Ben's "old debts finally coming due," this installment is also about how Ben must put many of his past mistakes to rest. In a dark and crazy way, Ben's lust and his anger has mixed in with his confusion about who he really is and what his real intentions are. Time and guilt have a way of warping Ben's memory and of blurring his reality. Now nearing fifty, Ben may have lived a troubled life, but he's lost none of his irascibility and remarkable capacities for tenderness. A unique, compelling, and beautifully plotted mystery that is full of noir elements, John Morgan Wilson once again proves that he is on top of his game here, with his beloved protagonist as gutsy and as desire-driven as in any of his previous adventures, yet also riddled with a type of melancholy mixed in with doses of heartache and sorrow. Ironically, it is left up to the kindly Maurice, who in the midst of heartbreak, finally tells Ben what he's always wanted to hear, that he's always looked for the dark side in life even as he tries emotionally to blunt the pain of his failed relationships. Mike Leonard December 08.

It's great to have another Benjamin Justice book on our shelves. This much anticipated eighth outing of disgraced reporter, Benjamin Justice, does not fail to satisfy those of us who are fans.
This has been a strong story from the first book and I'm sure we all hope the somewhat ambiguous ending will lead to another Justice story.
Some have criticised this latest book for being slow or predictable but come on, what do you want? There's nothing I enjoy more than reading a story that takes its time to develop. Spider Season is a very exciting book at times and I, for one, appreciated the occassional slowing down to get my pulse rate down! And reminding us of what went before is always welcome.
John Morgan Wilson has, over eight books, developed an engaging and real character who's a bit sexy too. I thank him for many hours of enjoyable reading and can't wait for the next one.

Excellent novel by a gifted writer. "Spider Season" continues the Benjamin Justice series whose flawed and conflicted protagonist (of the title name) has just published an account of his turbulent--and sometimes violent--life. The book seems to stir up a veritable spider's nest of reactions which have Justice under attack from several quarters at once. Benjamin Justice's own responses to these attacks are often irrational and self-defeating, making him an increasingly tragic figure through most of the book and making the story's eventual ending murky, at best.

While author John Morgan Wilson takes the novel's scenario pretty close to over-the-top, with extreme characters and hard to believe coincidences and plot zig-zags, the very fine writing (narrative and dialogue) and the well-sketched Southern California setting, ultimately make the story line digestible and enjoyable.

Of particular interest to this reader, there are redemption and personal connections that bring some peace to the very long-suffering protagonist in the end. The Benjamin Justice series is a very fine one indeed, reminiscent of the classic gay detective stories by Joe Hansen, with Dave Brandstetter as protagonist in the same Southern California setting.

If you love the Benjamin Justice series, you'll love this book. I've been a fan for years and dread finishing the new novel as I have to wait for the next one to be published. Mystery, intrigue and returning characters make this latest addition to the repertoire a must read.

John Morgan Wilson writes again of Benjamin Justice in the eighth novel in the series. SPIDER SEASON is so much better than the seventh, RHAPSODY IN BLOOD. I was afraid, when I read that one, that Mr. Wilson was losing his touch. He is not. With the exception of Mr. Wilson's usual tribute to another great mystery writer Walter Mosley--I kept looking for that nice touch to no avail--the other earmarks we have come to expect in these mysteries are here. First many of my favorite characters are back: Maurice and Fred, Justice's landlords and now in their 80's and of course Templeton, the journalist that Justice took under his week many novels ago. The novels are always set in the middle of current events: in this instance Proposition 8--Maurice is working against it-- terrorism--Templeton has just written a book on the subject--and the immigration issue--Benjamin's new romantic interest Ismael Aragon is a social worker trying to reunite immigrant families "torn apart by deportation." And this novel, as the previous one, provides a geographic and historical map of West Hollywood-- Griffith Park, Foursquare Gospel Church, A Different Light Bookstore, Santa Monica Boulevard--where the action takes place.

Of course what makes this novel shine is Wilson's portrayal of Benjamin Justice who has just had published a memoir DEEP BACKGROUND about his having been found out for writing a fictional piece and passing it off as a factual narrative some 18 years ago. He is about to turn 50 and has wasting and lipodypstrophy because of the medical cocktail he is taking for HIV. Not unlike many of my friends and me, Justice spends much of his time fighting off the urge to have a drink--he has been sober for several years--and mulling over the mistakes of his past. In short, he is a really compelling fleshed-out character whom we cheer for.

The plot is gnarly, the suspense palpable, and Wilson from time to time makes statements worth remembering about things in general. He is spot on about the demise of gay bookstores: "A Different Light still sold books, but more and more of its display space seemed devoted to CDs, sexy magazines, and rainbow tchotchkes and less and less to gay literature, as the store struggled to survive the onslaught of the discount chains and online booksellers." And he pays tribute--an unselfish touch--to other writers that A Different Light, where Justice has a reading and signing--showcases: Edmund White, Michael Cunningham, Alison Bechdel, Armistead Maupin, Michelle Tea, Eloise Klein Healy, Bernard Cooper, Manuel Munoz, Katherine V. Forrest, Mark Doty, Radclyffe, Adrienne Rich, Clive Barker and Christopher Bram. "It pleased me to see my book among those of such luminaries, although I felt a bit like a beggar who'd sneaked into a fancy dinner party."

SPIDER SEASON is a refreshing welcome-back for those of us who are Mr. Wilson's fans. Also newcomers to his fiction will not be disappointed. I understand that all his previous Justice novels have been recently reprinted so all his gems are now available for those who haven't read them yet.

Benjamin Justice is back. After a somewhat disappointing Rhapsody in Blood, Spider Season returns to the Benjamin Justice that we "Love to hate." Benjamin has just had his autobiography published and much of the guilt that he has tried to forget about his past returns in new disguises. This is the first Justice novel that I have read where I was both laughing and crying. Wilson really knows how to pull your emotional strings. Some violence occurs, but that is part of what makes Justice who he is. Justice falls in love and tragedy lurks throughout the novel. This is one of Wilson's best.

Spider Season will not disappoint fans of the Benjamin Justice series. This book, like all by this author, offers the reader suspense, humor, and great character development. I look forward to the next in this series.

Spider Season finds Justice on the verge of turning 50. He's still on the wagon, takes his HIV meds faithfully. He's also off the Prozac and injecting therapeutic testosterone to combat HIV wasting. Given Justice's history, the aggressive side-effects this type of drug can have on his naturally pugnacious disposition is like carrying coals to Newcastle.

Ekeing out a living turning his still considerable talents to odds bits of writing, Justice has penned his memoir. Herein lies my chief objection to Spider Season. Despite their versimilitude,Justice's public readings and book signings slow the narrative of Spider Season to a crawl (no pun intended)as he rehashes bits of his backstory with which readers are already familiar. The memoir's publication dredges up two men from Justice's colorful past. The mystery of one of these men's connection to Justice was so painfully transparent that by the time it was revealed some 250 pages into the narrative,it was anticlimactic.

Author John Morgan Wilson continues to pepper the narrative with topical themes: the great suspicion of veracity the memoir genre has undergone in recent years; Jayson Blair, whose journalistic transgressions may have been partly inspiration for Justice, was invoked once more; the speed and pervasiveness of the Internet; the gay rights struggle to have same-sex marriage remain lawful in California. Alas, Morgan Wilson also touches upon the natural gulf that can develop when straight women have gay men as friends. Templeton makes only cameo appearances in Spider Season, forfeiting her former role as Justice's investigative sidekick.

The tale goes far left of center when Justice attempts a particular form of violence. Given Justice's history, the implications of this act are all the more jarring and distasteful. The outrage is compounded as Justice seems almost rewarded for it.

Another reviewer raised the question as to further installments in the Justice series. I, too, found some words author Morgan Wilson had Justice say ".. going on vacation and has no idea when he will be back..." possibly to be prophetic. Given Spider Season's feeble plot, I wouldn't mind not seeing another Justice novel until the author has developed a more compelling and original plot worthy of this fine series.

Benjamin Justice was revered as a fine journalist who deservedly won a Pulitzer for his articles on nursing his lover who was dying from AIDS. When it was substantiated that Ben fabricated his story, he became despised, black balled and the only person forced to return a Pulitzer. He changed careers solving mysteries instead of writing articles, but the disgraced former West Hollywood reporter publishes a memoir.

Ben is shocked that two people, former marine Lance and middle age arachnid aficionado Jason, neither whom he knows, seem to want to beat the crap out of him since his memoir went public. Not one to sit idly by, Ben decides to make inquiries into the two radically different males who want a piece of him so that he can find what in his book stirred their testosterone. However, they are not his biggest problem; unprincipled reporter Cathryn knows Ben did not uncover all his scandalous muck; she investigates him so she can pile more dirt on him and more fame on her.

The latest Benjamin Justice thriller (see RHAPSODY IN BLOOD and THE LIMITS OF JUSTICE) is a solid entry as the hero continues his self flogging behavior that only leads to more trouble. He still has not been able to move on beyond his fifteen minutes of shame as if he wears the Scarlet Letter L on his face though almost two decades have past. His inquiries into Lance and Jason is fascinating and well done, but also somewhat slow paced especially while rotating between investigating his two antagonists and his real enemy Cathryn. Still this is a fine tale as the disgraced lead character struggles with learning why the two men are after him and keeping further dirt interred.

Harriet Klausner