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A Dick Hardesty Mystery #5
The Good Cop
One of the residual spots of conflicts in gay rights is in the police force, and this work takes that conflict head-on in the murder of a gay policeman and the investigation by the inimitable Dick Hardesty. We meet many of the familiar characters as well as get to know Jonathan, a young hustler who becomes more than a casual acquaintance. The entire police force is suspect in this community mystery of intrigue and murder.
234 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
2 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
Dorien Grey
43 books126 followersIf it is possible to have a split personality without being schizophrenic, Dorien Grey qualifies. When long-time book and magazine editor Roger Margason chose the pseudonym “Dorien Grey” for his first book, it set off a chain of circumstances which has led to the comfortable division of labor and responsibility. Roger has charge of day-to-day existence, freeing Dorien—with the help of Roger’s fingers—to write. It has reached the point where Roger merely sits back and reads the stories Dorien brings forth on the computer screen.
It’s not as though Roger has not had an uninteresting life of his own. Two years into college, he left to join the Naval Aviation Cadet program. Washing out after a year, he spent the rest of his brief military career on an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean at the height of the cold war. The journal he kept of his time in the military, in the form of letters home, honed his writing skills and provided him with a wealth of experiences to draw from in his future writing. These letters will be appearing in book form shortly.
Returning to Northern Illinois University after service, he graduated with a B.A. in English, and embarked on a series of jobs which worked him into the editing field. While working for a Los Angeles publishing house, he was instrumental in establishing a division exclusively for the publication of gay paperbacks and magazines, of which he became editor. He moved on to edit a leading L.A. based international gay men's magazine.
Tiring of earthquakes, brush fires, mud slides, and riots, he returned to the Midwest, where Dorien emerged, full-blown, like Venus from the sea. They’ve been inseparable (and interchangeable) ever since.
He . . . and Dorien of course…moved back to Chicago in 2006, where they now devote full time to writing. After having published fourteen books in the popular Dick Hardesty Mystery series, four books in the Elliott Smith (paranormal) Mystery series, and the stand-alone western/romance/adventure novel, Calico, he is busily at work on yet another Dick Hardesty mystery.
But for a greater insight into the "real person" behind Dorien Grey, the curious are invited to check out his website (http://www.doriengrey.com), where you can read the first chapter of any or all of his books for free, and his various blogs: Dorien Grey and Me (http://www.doriengreyandme.com) and A Life in Photos (http://www.doriengreyphotolife.blogsp...) among them.
Dorien passed away on November 1, 2015.
It’s not as though Roger has not had an uninteresting life of his own. Two years into college, he left to join the Naval Aviation Cadet program. Washing out after a year, he spent the rest of his brief military career on an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean at the height of the cold war. The journal he kept of his time in the military, in the form of letters home, honed his writing skills and provided him with a wealth of experiences to draw from in his future writing. These letters will be appearing in book form shortly.
Returning to Northern Illinois University after service, he graduated with a B.A. in English, and embarked on a series of jobs which worked him into the editing field. While working for a Los Angeles publishing house, he was instrumental in establishing a division exclusively for the publication of gay paperbacks and magazines, of which he became editor. He moved on to edit a leading L.A. based international gay men's magazine.
Tiring of earthquakes, brush fires, mud slides, and riots, he returned to the Midwest, where Dorien emerged, full-blown, like Venus from the sea. They’ve been inseparable (and interchangeable) ever since.
He . . . and Dorien of course…moved back to Chicago in 2006, where they now devote full time to writing. After having published fourteen books in the popular Dick Hardesty Mystery series, four books in the Elliott Smith (paranormal) Mystery series, and the stand-alone western/romance/adventure novel, Calico, he is busily at work on yet another Dick Hardesty mystery.
But for a greater insight into the "real person" behind Dorien Grey, the curious are invited to check out his website (http://www.doriengrey.com), where you can read the first chapter of any or all of his books for free, and his various blogs: Dorien Grey and Me (http://www.doriengreyandme.com) and A Life in Photos (http://www.doriengreyphotolife.blogsp...) among them.
Dorien passed away on November 1, 2015.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 16, 2019
4.5 stars
What an improvement over the last book! Hopefully, The Hired Man was a mere fluke for this series, but even if there may be other duds lurking ahead, this book reassured me there will be more great reads too.
This is quite a different story for this series, or really any other mystery I've read. The mystery here is not front and center, and in fact the murder that Dick spoils for us in the very first paragraph (a sort of literary version of en medias res) doesn't occur until much later. But it's always hanging there, reminding the reader that things are not going to end well. Some readers might find that annoying, but it worked for me.
No, this book isn't about a single murder. It's about the conflicts between the gay community and the police departments post-Stonewall; about the internal strife within the old school coppers and those trying to turn the department into a more compassionate and tolerant force; about the undercurrents of a community desperately seeking a hero to stand behind and how nebulous a thing hope can be.
This is shorter than the previous book, and I think that helped to keep this tightened up, and certainly helped with the increasing tensions as the various storylines started to merge. I could see the boiling point and hoping we'd never reach it.
We get a new character here, Jonathan, who I'm hoping sticks around. He's not only an interesting character in his own right, and a breath of fresh air, but he's good for Dick's mental health. The kid has a good influence on him and getting him out of his head. I was also surprised at how much Dick seems to have matured between books and how his concern for Jonathan's safety was always forefront in his mind when he was around him. Hopefully, Dick won't backslide, because while the characters seem to have forgotten about those earlier warnings, I still remember what time period these stories are taking place in and what's still coming for these characters and this community.
What an improvement over the last book! Hopefully, The Hired Man was a mere fluke for this series, but even if there may be other duds lurking ahead, this book reassured me there will be more great reads too.
This is quite a different story for this series, or really any other mystery I've read. The mystery here is not front and center, and in fact the murder that Dick spoils for us in the very first paragraph (a sort of literary version of en medias res) doesn't occur until much later. But it's always hanging there, reminding the reader that things are not going to end well. Some readers might find that annoying, but it worked for me.
No, this book isn't about a single murder. It's about the conflicts between the gay community and the police departments post-Stonewall; about the internal strife within the old school coppers and those trying to turn the department into a more compassionate and tolerant force; about the undercurrents of a community desperately seeking a hero to stand behind and how nebulous a thing hope can be.
This is shorter than the previous book, and I think that helped to keep this tightened up, and certainly helped with the increasing tensions as the various storylines started to merge. I could see the boiling point and hoping we'd never reach it.
We get a new character here, Jonathan, who I'm hoping sticks around. He's not only an interesting character in his own right, and a breath of fresh air, but he's good for Dick's mental health. The kid has a good influence on him and getting him out of his head. I was also surprised at how much Dick seems to have matured between books and how his concern for Jonathan's safety was always forefront in his mind when he was around him. Hopefully, Dick won't backslide, because while the characters seem to have forgotten about those earlier warnings, I still remember what time period these stories are taking place in and what's still coming for these characters and this community.
February 7, 2015
4.5 stars.
This was my very first Dick Hardesty Mystery. I have a cold right now and can't concentrate on reading, so when I got this audio review copy for an honest review, I was very happy to just listen to it and concentrate on the story.
This is book 5 of a series where not all books are available to buy right now as I understand. I usually only read series in chronological order, but I felt like it didn't take away much of my enjoyment of the book. It seems almost like this book opens a new romantic arc, a new way Dick can relate to the police and a good place to start this series for me.
First, I'm not a huge fan of the cover. A grainy policeman and a rainbow crossing the cover. It seems very simple and didn't really attract my attention. The blurb, however, really drew me in. I'm a sucker for political tension and thought this would be a very interesting read.
The narration was well done. It seemed to be in the background - I forgot I was listening to an audiobook after a while. I was able to just concentrate on the story and I loved that.
The thing that surprised me most about the mystery was how long it took for the murder to happen. I thought the plot would start with the murder, but we really get to know the victim a lot. Respect him, love him. And it makes what he has to endure and what happens to him in the end so much more impactful.
It's good that he's not another victim for the reader, because Dick is very connected to him and this is not just another case. In fact, the story was very different from the typical PI murder mystery, there was almost no sleuthing, Dick's involvement in the investigation is very limited.
The suspense of this story comes from Dick being caught in the middle of a volatile gay community that has been strongly suppressed and lost its hero and an 'old guard' police force with historic intolerance that seems ready for anything keep to its old ways.
Everything that happens could light a fuse very easily and escalate a terrible situation. Add in Union strikes, a mob gangster and a cute hustler and the death of one of his best friends and bedmates and Dick Hardesty is having a terrible few weeks.
With all sides full of anger and prejudices, a lot of pointing fingers and misinformation r speculation, the political minefield that opened up before Dick was really scary and kept me at the edges of the seat.
A lot of problems are confronted here in a realistic way that I never even thought about and I really appreciate this eye-opener. As much as I don't like to say it, a lot of the issues dealt with in this book are still very current.
Through it all, Dick is a very sympathetic character and there is a romantic subplot that starts in this book and brings some hope into the story line as well as some really interesting 'good' heterosexual characters in the force that ensure that not all cops are just labeled as homophobic pricks.
This story really resonated with me and I connected with the characters on an emotional level, even as the plot had me at the edge of my seat.
Strongly recommended for people who don't need a strong romance aspect in their books. It's a great gay mystery and a wonderful audiobook.
This was my very first Dick Hardesty Mystery. I have a cold right now and can't concentrate on reading, so when I got this audio review copy for an honest review, I was very happy to just listen to it and concentrate on the story.
This is book 5 of a series where not all books are available to buy right now as I understand. I usually only read series in chronological order, but I felt like it didn't take away much of my enjoyment of the book. It seems almost like this book opens a new romantic arc, a new way Dick can relate to the police and a good place to start this series for me.
First, I'm not a huge fan of the cover. A grainy policeman and a rainbow crossing the cover. It seems very simple and didn't really attract my attention. The blurb, however, really drew me in. I'm a sucker for political tension and thought this would be a very interesting read.
The narration was well done. It seemed to be in the background - I forgot I was listening to an audiobook after a while. I was able to just concentrate on the story and I loved that.
The thing that surprised me most about the mystery was how long it took for the murder to happen. I thought the plot would start with the murder, but we really get to know the victim a lot. Respect him, love him. And it makes what he has to endure and what happens to him in the end so much more impactful.
It's good that he's not another victim for the reader, because Dick is very connected to him and this is not just another case. In fact, the story was very different from the typical PI murder mystery, there was almost no sleuthing, Dick's involvement in the investigation is very limited.
The suspense of this story comes from Dick being caught in the middle of a volatile gay community that has been strongly suppressed and lost its hero and an 'old guard' police force with historic intolerance that seems ready for anything keep to its old ways.
Everything that happens could light a fuse very easily and escalate a terrible situation. Add in Union strikes, a mob gangster and a cute hustler and the death of one of his best friends and bedmates and Dick Hardesty is having a terrible few weeks.
With all sides full of anger and prejudices, a lot of pointing fingers and misinformation r speculation, the political minefield that opened up before Dick was really scary and kept me at the edges of the seat.
A lot of problems are confronted here in a realistic way that I never even thought about and I really appreciate this eye-opener. As much as I don't like to say it, a lot of the issues dealt with in this book are still very current.
Through it all, Dick is a very sympathetic character and there is a romantic subplot that starts in this book and brings some hope into the story line as well as some really interesting 'good' heterosexual characters in the force that ensure that not all cops are just labeled as homophobic pricks.
This story really resonated with me and I connected with the characters on an emotional level, even as the plot had me at the edge of my seat.
Strongly recommended for people who don't need a strong romance aspect in their books. It's a great gay mystery and a wonderful audiobook.
dnf
January 26, 2015DNF
AUDIOBOOK: The narrator's voice had such promise...rich and deep. But OMG he was so monotone he could not keep my attention. Absotutely nothing was happening and I felt completely bored out of my mind. I love Dorien Grey's writing, so this was an awful disappointment. I may still pick up the book as I really, really like this series.
AUDIOBOOK: The narrator's voice had such promise...rich and deep. But OMG he was so monotone he could not keep my attention. Absotutely nothing was happening and I felt completely bored out of my mind. I love Dorien Grey's writing, so this was an awful disappointment. I may still pick up the book as I really, really like this series.
Read
October 25, 2010When 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.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1879194759/?...
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.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1879194759/?...
September 25, 2016
Shallow.
IMHO this is the perfect way to define this book.
The characters? Shallow. The plot? Shallow. The writing? Shallow.
Who is Dick Hardesty? He has the depth of a puddle.
An entire book inside the head of Dick (well, that sounds strange LOL), and the only thing about him we have is that annoying kind of inner dialogue that seems written by a fifteen years old:
- He's hot
- OMG! What's happening to me?
-Hardeeestyyy
- I know, I know
Please, spare me. I didn't read books intended for teens when i was a teen myself, and I'll not start now.
Dick's intimate reactions about the death of his longtime friend and fuck buddy Tom? None.
No, the only thing in Dick's mind is to lust after a young boy. Whatever.
Moreover, there was a thing that made me jump on my seat. I reread it three times, because I wasn't sure I understood it right. I hoped not to have got it right.
The thing is
July 3, 2016
Great book - however far the gay cause has come there is still hostility towards the gay community from several groups within the general population. Here we have a police force trying to move forward into a more tolerant time with a new police chief but has a strong homophobic factrion within the force digging their heels in to try and maintain their strong anti-gay agenda. The book is set post Stonewall as it is referred once or twice in the narrative as not something that they (the police) want a rerun of. Dark times indeed and although this was written at the beginning of 2002, it is certainly a novel for these times (2016) - with the rise of the far right and their poisonous propaganda, does the general population want to go back to a time like this filled with hate for other groups who do not fit in with their perception of what is normal?
Good writing again from Dorien Grey with plenty of angst and a shock or two along the bumpy way through this book.
5 Stars
Good writing again from Dorien Grey with plenty of angst and a shock or two along the bumpy way through this book.
5 Stars
July 20, 2008
An above average murder mystery set in LA. Gay cops don't really last in the LA Police. Dick Hardesty's college friend learns it the hard way. Grey tells a good story where friendship,love, tolerance and ultimately vengeance all play their parts. It's well written and the story takes you along and you want to know what will happen and how all involve are going to get out of it.
July 15, 2012
This is not what you would expect from Dick Hardesty series. Thank God. The series was becoming a bit repetitive with Dick bedding every male character and then finding out one of them was the killer. Forget that formula. This is very fresh, intriguing and emotional book.
November 10, 2015
A little better than the last one, a more involved plot, still no real likable characters though and the one trick pony of this series is wearing thin. If Dick talks to his crotch again and it answers back one more time I think I will scream.
September 19, 2016
Very good
The series keeps getting better. The complexity of the plot is great and the fact that being gay is just a part of the background. No making religion as some with no redeeming quality. Bad guys can have good qualities and even the best person can make a bad dicission.
The series keeps getting better. The complexity of the plot is great and the fact that being gay is just a part of the background. No making religion as some with no redeeming quality. Bad guys can have good qualities and even the best person can make a bad dicission.
June 9, 2015
I completely enjoyed this police murder mystery.
July 21, 2015
So far this one is my favorite of the series, really sad.
October 24, 2015
What a great series. Mystery with probable gay history.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews