What do you think?
Rate this book
A Crang Mystery #4
Blood Count
At a time when gay communities were hidden worlds, Crang needs to root out a killer and do his best to right a grave wrong.
At the height of the AIDS crisis in the early nineties, Crang is enlisted by Alex Corcoran, a close friend who has just lost his lover to the disease, to find the man who infected him. Crang, concerned Corcoran might follow up on his threat to murder the man, tries to find the man to prevent Corcoran from getting himself in trouble. However, when Corcoran himself is killed, Crang owes it to his friends to find their killers.
The case, which explores the gay scene in the city at a time when LGBT culture was still very much a hidden world and open persecution was commonplace, ends up involving a cabinet minister afraid of being exposed.
A clever political mystery, Blood Count is also an emotional and moving story of a couple whose lives are devastated by AIDS and a community damaged by the prejudices of the world around them.
At the height of the AIDS crisis in the early nineties, Crang is enlisted by Alex Corcoran, a close friend who has just lost his lover to the disease, to find the man who infected him. Crang, concerned Corcoran might follow up on his threat to murder the man, tries to find the man to prevent Corcoran from getting himself in trouble. However, when Corcoran himself is killed, Crang owes it to his friends to find their killers.
The case, which explores the gay scene in the city at a time when LGBT culture was still very much a hidden world and open persecution was commonplace, ends up involving a cabinet minister afraid of being exposed.
A clever political mystery, Blood Count is also an emotional and moving story of a couple whose lives are devastated by AIDS and a community damaged by the prejudices of the world around them.
245 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1991
3 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Jack Batten
53 books25 followersJack Batten, after a brief and unhappy career as a lawyer, has been a very happy freelance writer for many years. The author of thirty-five books, Batten writes the weekly Whodunnit column in the Toronto Star, has reviewed jazz for the Globe and Mail, and has reviewed movies on CBC Radio for twenty-five years. He has written over thirty books on subjects that include biography, crime fiction, law and court cases, and sports. Not surprisingly, jazz, movies, and crime turn up frequently in Crang’s life. He lives in Toronto.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 28, 2017
I am not sure what to think about this book. On the one side, I DID want to know how it would end, I WANTED to finish it, even if I wasn't THAT hooked on the story to forget my sleeping time.
(It is already a little achievement, considering my lack of patience at a lack of interest).
On the other side, this book irritated me: the way the author presented the early nineties, at the height of the AIDS crisis, was strange, because his view on the events was...rather adventurous than realistic. And I, while reading, couldn't get rid of the feeling that the author didn't do a proper research in this field, that his approach to the AIDS topic was rather perfunctory.
But then I saw that this novel was first published in 1991 and it changed my viewpoint on it completely.
Jack Batten has an entertaining writing style, and I would have probably enjoyed Blood Count more if I had found the main character more appealing. Maybe I lack a background information about Crang, to be more invented in his figure, after all, it is the forth installment in A Crang Mystery, though I doubt it.
Crang, a criminal lawyer by profession, does nothing as a criminal lawyer normally does. There is a lot of wandering around, drinking, talking with suspects, his girl friend, eyewitnesses and so on.. and the easiness he obtains access to all kind of information is record-breaking.
It took me a whole week to finish it, but I still haven't toyed with the idea to DNF it. So...I assume, it was OK, right?
***Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***
(It is already a little achievement, considering my lack of patience at a lack of interest).
On the other side, this book irritated me: the way the author presented the early nineties, at the height of the AIDS crisis, was strange, because his view on the events was...rather adventurous than realistic. And I, while reading, couldn't get rid of the feeling that the author didn't do a proper research in this field, that his approach to the AIDS topic was rather perfunctory.
But then I saw that this novel was first published in 1991 and it changed my viewpoint on it completely.
Jack Batten has an entertaining writing style, and I would have probably enjoyed Blood Count more if I had found the main character more appealing. Maybe I lack a background information about Crang, to be more invented in his figure, after all, it is the forth installment in A Crang Mystery, though I doubt it.
Crang, a criminal lawyer by profession, does nothing as a criminal lawyer normally does. There is a lot of wandering around, drinking, talking with suspects, his girl friend, eyewitnesses and so on.. and the easiness he obtains access to all kind of information is record-breaking.
It took me a whole week to finish it, but I still haven't toyed with the idea to DNF it. So...I assume, it was OK, right?
***Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***
April 19, 2017
At the height of the AIDS crisis in the early 1990s, Toronto lawyer Crang helps friend Alex Corcoran. Corcoran has just lost his lover to AIDS and is determined to find the man who infected him. Crang does his own sleuthing to try and find the man to prevent Corcoran from getting himself in trouble. But the gay community is still largely hidden and open persecution was commonplace so several prominent men including a provincial cabinet minister are afraid of being exposed. However, when Corcoran himself is killed, Crang owes both of them to find their killers.
I received an eARC via Netgalley and Dundurn Press.
I received an eARC via Netgalley and Dundurn Press.
January 12, 2022
I enjoyed this book. I appreciated that the plot had twists and turns without becoming overly convoluted. I also appreciated that Batten took on the often difficult and controversial topic of the AIDS epidemic at the time when it was still the height of the epidemic, and the controversies and difficulties around it. I appreciated that he handled this topic well and with compassion.
But, throughout the book I also felt an underlying niggling that I could not figure out. Finally, I realized that it was because Crang made one dimwitted, jump-in-without-looking decision after another. I sheepishly had to admit to myself that if this had been a female protagonist rushing headlong into dangerous situations with no back-up and no thought I would hate this protagonist. Instead Batten presents the rash behaviours as Crang being Crang. But, ultimately Crang is not as smart as he thinks he is because he didn't just make bone-headed decisions, he did so knowing that most were boneheaded. So, I didn't end up hating the protagonist, largely because I grew to like him in the previous three book, but I also started liking him less than I had before.
Overall, a solid read but not one of the better ones in the series so far. I will read the next one to see where it goes and because I do enjoy reading about Crang and Annie and their adventures.
But, throughout the book I also felt an underlying niggling that I could not figure out. Finally, I realized that it was because Crang made one dimwitted, jump-in-without-looking decision after another. I sheepishly had to admit to myself that if this had been a female protagonist rushing headlong into dangerous situations with no back-up and no thought I would hate this protagonist. Instead Batten presents the rash behaviours as Crang being Crang. But, ultimately Crang is not as smart as he thinks he is because he didn't just make bone-headed decisions, he did so knowing that most were boneheaded. So, I didn't end up hating the protagonist, largely because I grew to like him in the previous three book, but I also started liking him less than I had before.
Overall, a solid read but not one of the better ones in the series so far. I will read the next one to see where it goes and because I do enjoy reading about Crang and Annie and their adventures.
July 25, 2017
*** Possible Spoilers ***
This falls under the detective or mystery genre but, although it seems like a whodunit, it isn't. It is, however, an interesting story that keeps the reader engaged from the beginning to the end.
The protagonist is Crang and if his last name was mentioned I missed it. He's portrayed as what you might get if you cross bred Mickey Spillane and a latte liberal - hard nosed but cultured. He's also a criminal lawyer so in order to be portrayed as a detective, the author needs to find a means of getting the police to back off. In this case the means is cultural stereotyping. It works.
The author alludes to, but omits the normally obligatory sex scene for which I was truly grateful. When authors attempt to create eroticism they generally either just create humorous or boring prose. In the equally obligatory fight scene, the protagonist escapes mostly by luck and is laid up for the next couple of days which I thought added a touch of realism to the story.
Overall I can recommend this book to those who like detective novels with plenty of twists and turns in them.
This falls under the detective or mystery genre but, although it seems like a whodunit, it isn't. It is, however, an interesting story that keeps the reader engaged from the beginning to the end.
The protagonist is Crang and if his last name was mentioned I missed it. He's portrayed as what you might get if you cross bred Mickey Spillane and a latte liberal - hard nosed but cultured. He's also a criminal lawyer so in order to be portrayed as a detective, the author needs to find a means of getting the police to back off. In this case the means is cultural stereotyping. It works.
The author alludes to, but omits the normally obligatory sex scene for which I was truly grateful. When authors attempt to create eroticism they generally either just create humorous or boring prose. In the equally obligatory fight scene, the protagonist escapes mostly by luck and is laid up for the next couple of days which I thought added a touch of realism to the story.
Overall I can recommend this book to those who like detective novels with plenty of twists and turns in them.
February 27, 2018
A re-release, and it was interesting to get a glimpse back in Crang's (and Toronto's) story/stories. Not Batten's best, but still worthwhile.
April 4, 2017
4 and 1 / 2 stars
Alex’s partner, Ian has died of AIDS. He tells his good friends and neighbors Crang and Annie that he is going to find the man who gave Ian AIDS and kill him. The problem is he doesn’t know who he is, just where Ian met him. Crang sets out to find the man and warn him before Alex can find him.
Crang visits gay bars in an effort to find the man, but then Alex is killed. Crang redoubles his efforts to find the man and seek retribution for his two dead friends.
This novel explores the gay scene in Toronto at a time when it wasn’t as accepted as it is today. Gay men and women were still persecuted in a big way and there were many who (like today to some lesser degree), were terrified of coming out to the world. Jack Batten writes about the gay scene and the trials the people underwent in a sensitive and kind way.
The book is both well plotted and written. It is suspenseful and moves along nicely. This is my first Jack Batten novel but it won’t be my last. I truly enjoyed it.
I want to thank Netgalley and Dundurn for forwarding to me a copy of this remarkable book to read.
Alex’s partner, Ian has died of AIDS. He tells his good friends and neighbors Crang and Annie that he is going to find the man who gave Ian AIDS and kill him. The problem is he doesn’t know who he is, just where Ian met him. Crang sets out to find the man and warn him before Alex can find him.
Crang visits gay bars in an effort to find the man, but then Alex is killed. Crang redoubles his efforts to find the man and seek retribution for his two dead friends.
This novel explores the gay scene in Toronto at a time when it wasn’t as accepted as it is today. Gay men and women were still persecuted in a big way and there were many who (like today to some lesser degree), were terrified of coming out to the world. Jack Batten writes about the gay scene and the trials the people underwent in a sensitive and kind way.
The book is both well plotted and written. It is suspenseful and moves along nicely. This is my first Jack Batten novel but it won’t be my last. I truly enjoyed it.
I want to thank Netgalley and Dundurn for forwarding to me a copy of this remarkable book to read.
Did Not Finish
May 15, 2017dnf at 8%
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews