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The Henry Rios Mysteries #4
The Hidden Law
The fourth novel in Michael Nava’s award-winning series takes Henry Rios back to his roots when he defends a Latino teenager accused of murder
State senator and mayoral hopeful Gus Peña has been gunned down in the parking lot of a restaurant in East Los Angeles. When Chicano teen and ex–gang member Michael Ruiz is arrested for the murder, Henry Rios takes the case. It’s a tough As Rios endures a painful break-up with his HIV-positive partner, Josh, Ruiz refuses to help Rios in his defense. But Rios finds inconsistencies in the kid’s story, and is sure Ruiz is covering for the real killer.
Peña had a lot of enemies. As Rios tries to build the case for a different killer, he descends into the dark underbelly of Los Angeles—a hotbed of vice and corruption. Caught between his powerful connection to both suspect and victim, Rios races to prevent a terrible failure of justice.
The Hidden Law is the fourth book in the Henry Rios mystery series, which begins with The Little Death and Goldenboy .
State senator and mayoral hopeful Gus Peña has been gunned down in the parking lot of a restaurant in East Los Angeles. When Chicano teen and ex–gang member Michael Ruiz is arrested for the murder, Henry Rios takes the case. It’s a tough As Rios endures a painful break-up with his HIV-positive partner, Josh, Ruiz refuses to help Rios in his defense. But Rios finds inconsistencies in the kid’s story, and is sure Ruiz is covering for the real killer.
Peña had a lot of enemies. As Rios tries to build the case for a different killer, he descends into the dark underbelly of Los Angeles—a hotbed of vice and corruption. Caught between his powerful connection to both suspect and victim, Rios races to prevent a terrible failure of justice.
The Hidden Law is the fourth book in the Henry Rios mystery series, which begins with The Little Death and Goldenboy .
232 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 19, 2013
48 people are currently reading
273 people want to read
About the author
Michael Nava
33 books339 followersMichael Nava is the author of a groundbreaking series of crime novels featuring a gay, Latino criminal defense lawyer Henry Rios. Nava is a six-time recipient of the Lambda Literary Award in the mystery category, as well as the Bill Whitehead Lifetime Achievement Award for gay and lesbian literature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
July 8, 2023
Buddy Reread the revised version July 7th 2023
Still just as good as it was before.
********************************
The best one in this series. GAAAAAH!!!
As I started up the steps to City Hall I wondered whether my father would have hated me more because I was homosexual or a lawyer. Then I reminded myself that he had never needed a reason to hate me. It was enough that I was not him.
This one hit all my buttons. I don't even know how to do it justice.
In this one we get to know Henry more. His character has grown so much and it is so refreshing. The series continues to improve. Henry's mind is the best place to set up shop. He is raw, honest, in your face, funny and everything in between.
It was the mystery of my sexual nature that a body which was the mirror image of mine could be so compelling and feel so unfamiliar, as if it belonged to a separate gender. When I was younger, it had seemed urgent to unravel this mystery because I believed that if it could be explained, the haters would stop hating us.
The case as usual, was interesting. The courtroom drama is so much entertaining and real. I believe it is because Michael Nava is a lawyer, so writing about court proceedings comes naturally to him.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic is so well documented, It is heartbreaking, the activism on the other hand is just GAAAAH! The stigma is still there, but we have come a long way.
Josh! Josh! Josh.....I still don't know how to feel about him.
Everything in this series is just so real and brilliant.
Still just as good as it was before.
********************************
The best one in this series. GAAAAAH!!!
As I started up the steps to City Hall I wondered whether my father would have hated me more because I was homosexual or a lawyer. Then I reminded myself that he had never needed a reason to hate me. It was enough that I was not him.
This one hit all my buttons. I don't even know how to do it justice.
In this one we get to know Henry more. His character has grown so much and it is so refreshing. The series continues to improve. Henry's mind is the best place to set up shop. He is raw, honest, in your face, funny and everything in between.
It was the mystery of my sexual nature that a body which was the mirror image of mine could be so compelling and feel so unfamiliar, as if it belonged to a separate gender. When I was younger, it had seemed urgent to unravel this mystery because I believed that if it could be explained, the haters would stop hating us.
The case as usual, was interesting. The courtroom drama is so much entertaining and real. I believe it is because Michael Nava is a lawyer, so writing about court proceedings comes naturally to him.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic is so well documented, It is heartbreaking, the activism on the other hand is just GAAAAH! The stigma is still there, but we have come a long way.
Josh! Josh! Josh.....I still don't know how to feel about him.
Everything in this series is just so real and brilliant.
July 4, 2017
Michael Nava in GAY MYSTERY genre is like a car MADE in GERMANY.
YES. You can argue about an interior design, but don't dare to question a quality! (I'm a patriot)
What I especially LOVED in this instalment - I got an insight into Henry Rios private life. I would say, this instalment is less about the mystery itself but in the first place about Henry, as a private person.
He is not just a perfectly working mechanism, Henry is a human and a very vulnerable one.
LOVE IT.
July 7, 2023
Finally, a book in the series that doesn’t make me want to take a month or two of break before reading the next one! Not that it was all smooth sailing, it’s still Henry Rios, after all, and Michael Nava clearly doesn’t believe in coddling his characters.
I liked this installment in the series a lot, the mystery wasn’t particularly complex, but it worked well as a background for Henry’s personal life. Speaking of which, this book shall be known as The Book in Which .
FINALLY.
I’m glad it happened like it happened and not like I expected, this way was better for everyone involved and it was more satisfying to see
Also on Henry’s personal life, I’m glad he decided to
Only 3 books until the end of the series, not much time for the author to finally deliver something good and lasting in Henry’s life, but I’m still expecting him to do so. Is that clear? 🤨
As usual, thanks for the company to my BR friends, I don’t know if I would’ve gone so far in the series without them.
I liked this installment in the series a lot, the mystery wasn’t particularly complex, but it worked well as a background for Henry’s personal life. Speaking of which, this book shall be known as The Book in Which .
FINALLY.
I’m glad it happened like it happened and not like I expected, this way was better for everyone involved and it was more satisfying to see
Also on Henry’s personal life, I’m glad he decided to
Only 3 books until the end of the series, not much time for the author to finally deliver something good and lasting in Henry’s life, but I’m still expecting him to do so. Is that clear? 🤨
As usual, thanks for the company to my BR friends, I don’t know if I would’ve gone so far in the series without them.
June 5, 2020
Phenomenal!
Is there a bad Michael Nava Book? I think not.
Like other books in the series, this was exceptionally well written, enthralling, and made me reflect on how I came to be who I am, much like Henry Rios does in the book.
Amidst the machismo prevalent in the Latino culture, Rios becomes embroiled in the murder of a prominent Latino politician in Los Angeles. Who did it? Why?
Read and find out! Or listen...these $2.99 whispersynch deals are too good to pass up—what phenomenal narration!
My rec? There is no reason you shouldn’t be reading this series!
Is there a bad Michael Nava Book? I think not.
Like other books in the series, this was exceptionally well written, enthralling, and made me reflect on how I came to be who I am, much like Henry Rios does in the book.
Amidst the machismo prevalent in the Latino culture, Rios becomes embroiled in the murder of a prominent Latino politician in Los Angeles. Who did it? Why?
Read and find out! Or listen...these $2.99 whispersynch deals are too good to pass up—what phenomenal narration!
My rec? There is no reason you shouldn’t be reading this series!
August 5, 2024
Excellent story telling, as I've come to expect from Nava's books.
In this book we learn a lot about how Henry became who he is. I enjoyed these parts of the book the most.
“Did you find your answers?”
I nodded. “Yes. I decided the world was wrong about me. I wasn’t crazy or a criminal or a sinner. I was an ordinary, decent person who was different in this one way from most other people. I accepted it in myself. I wasn’t going to lie or try to change because the world had another opinion.”
Two memorable quotes from the author's note:
The tragedy of being male is that our insecurities about our masculinity can so often subvert our basic humanity. The irony is that masculinity is a cultural fabrication, amorphous and moveable, so that, in a very real sense, no man can ever be “man” enough.
**********
As Herman Hesse wrote, “If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us.”
In this book we learn a lot about how Henry became who he is. I enjoyed these parts of the book the most.
“Did you find your answers?”
I nodded. “Yes. I decided the world was wrong about me. I wasn’t crazy or a criminal or a sinner. I was an ordinary, decent person who was different in this one way from most other people. I accepted it in myself. I wasn’t going to lie or try to change because the world had another opinion.”
Two memorable quotes from the author's note:
The tragedy of being male is that our insecurities about our masculinity can so often subvert our basic humanity. The irony is that masculinity is a cultural fabrication, amorphous and moveable, so that, in a very real sense, no man can ever be “man” enough.
**********
As Herman Hesse wrote, “If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us.”
August 15, 2023
This one, like the other books in this series broke my little heart a bit. Mr. Nava has broke my little heart many times through this series but it's worth it. These stories have to be read, especially now when it looks like we're going backwards instead of forward.
About the case, it was really interesting and I liked how it explored sides of Henry personality and what we're discovering through his experiences. I suspected early on who was behind but I thought it was due to even more sinister hidden truth. Not that the truth wasn't hard enough, but I thought it was worse and I was really happy to be proved wrong.
I'm looking forward to the last three books in the series, I hope the author gives Henry a break, though I'm afraid the next one is going to be truly hard.
And, as always, the BR makes this book even better. Thanks everyone!
About the case, it was really interesting and I liked how it explored sides of Henry personality and what we're discovering through his experiences. I suspected early on who was behind but I thought it was due to even more sinister hidden truth. Not that the truth wasn't hard enough, but I thought it was worse and I was really happy to be proved wrong.
I'm looking forward to the last three books in the series, I hope the author gives Henry a break, though I'm afraid the next one is going to be truly hard.
And, as always, the BR makes this book even better. Thanks everyone!
January 26, 2018
The Hidden Law (Henry Rios #4)
By Michael Nava
Open Road Integrated Media, 2013 (first published 1992)
Five stars
“I’d had to learn a level of self-acceptance that mitigated my anger. Having had to overcome my own self-hatred, I couldn’t sustain hatred toward other people very long.”
This was the first of Michael Nava’s Henry Rios series that brought me to tears. (On the subway, in Manhattan.) It is also the first of these novels in which Henry himself cries.
This was not an accident, I suspect.
Oh, I was so ready to drop a star off this one as I read it. There is a progression into darkness in these books that was freaking me out. I swore I would knock it down to four stars if I was unhappy when the book ended. Well, I was in tears, but I wasn’t really unhappy. Sad, yes. There is a lot of sadness in this story, sadness triggered by death: the death of the murder victim, the death of a family; the death of Henry’s relationship with Josh Mandel, the looming death of Josh himself from AIDS. Despite this, Nava manages to lift this story out of bleakness. That’s what saved his fifth star.
Henry steps in to save the life of an angry young Chicano man who is determined to destroy himself. He’s homophobic and a drug addict, and yet Henry sees himself in this young man, and can’t help but try to rescue him from his own well of loneliness.
And this is why I love Henry Rios so much. This is the great gift that Michael Nava has given us in these books. The good man who has emerged in the earlier three books in the series breaks out of his cocoon here—or begins to. For all the tumult and hypocrisy and ugly politics, there is hope in this book. Maybe just a glimmer, but something that keeps both Henry and the reader from despair.
The core motif of “The Hidden Law” is Chicano anger. As a privileged white man I was almost sucker-punched by this crucial part of the narrative. Henry Rios articulates what he sees around him and in his own life and lays it all out for us in a way that is inescapable. Even if we think we are innocent of prejudice, we share in this shame, because Henry is unflinching, and we see everything through his eyes.
I said “almost” because I have a personal glimmer of understanding of all the Chicano anger in this book. My son is Guatemalan—Mayan—and is close enough ethnically to Mexican to be seen that way by the world outside our home. Raised by two Ivy-League white men, our son steps into the world and is suddenly a short brown man who is not treated the way his fathers are. He is full of anger and fear, and it’s something we are helpless to change except by expressing our unconditional love for him every day.
And that unconditional love is something nobody in this book seems to have ever experienced. Henry Rios knows that anger and that loss and that loneliness. That is his super power. Sometimes, it’s futile, but it is never worthless.
I’m going to keep reading this series until the end. I’ve discovered I need the salvation as much as Henry does.
By Michael Nava
Open Road Integrated Media, 2013 (first published 1992)
Five stars
“I’d had to learn a level of self-acceptance that mitigated my anger. Having had to overcome my own self-hatred, I couldn’t sustain hatred toward other people very long.”
This was the first of Michael Nava’s Henry Rios series that brought me to tears. (On the subway, in Manhattan.) It is also the first of these novels in which Henry himself cries.
This was not an accident, I suspect.
Oh, I was so ready to drop a star off this one as I read it. There is a progression into darkness in these books that was freaking me out. I swore I would knock it down to four stars if I was unhappy when the book ended. Well, I was in tears, but I wasn’t really unhappy. Sad, yes. There is a lot of sadness in this story, sadness triggered by death: the death of the murder victim, the death of a family; the death of Henry’s relationship with Josh Mandel, the looming death of Josh himself from AIDS. Despite this, Nava manages to lift this story out of bleakness. That’s what saved his fifth star.
Henry steps in to save the life of an angry young Chicano man who is determined to destroy himself. He’s homophobic and a drug addict, and yet Henry sees himself in this young man, and can’t help but try to rescue him from his own well of loneliness.
And this is why I love Henry Rios so much. This is the great gift that Michael Nava has given us in these books. The good man who has emerged in the earlier three books in the series breaks out of his cocoon here—or begins to. For all the tumult and hypocrisy and ugly politics, there is hope in this book. Maybe just a glimmer, but something that keeps both Henry and the reader from despair.
The core motif of “The Hidden Law” is Chicano anger. As a privileged white man I was almost sucker-punched by this crucial part of the narrative. Henry Rios articulates what he sees around him and in his own life and lays it all out for us in a way that is inescapable. Even if we think we are innocent of prejudice, we share in this shame, because Henry is unflinching, and we see everything through his eyes.
I said “almost” because I have a personal glimmer of understanding of all the Chicano anger in this book. My son is Guatemalan—Mayan—and is close enough ethnically to Mexican to be seen that way by the world outside our home. Raised by two Ivy-League white men, our son steps into the world and is suddenly a short brown man who is not treated the way his fathers are. He is full of anger and fear, and it’s something we are helpless to change except by expressing our unconditional love for him every day.
And that unconditional love is something nobody in this book seems to have ever experienced. Henry Rios knows that anger and that loss and that loneliness. That is his super power. Sometimes, it’s futile, but it is never worthless.
I’m going to keep reading this series until the end. I’ve discovered I need the salvation as much as Henry does.
June 5, 2015
Another great hit in Henry Rios' series. More focused on Henry's personal life and childhood background.
I hated Henry's boyfriend for almost 99% of the book and then I ended up sobbing and feeling guilty for my dislike of him. Good writers can be very mean to their readers!
"It was a mystery of my sexual nature that a body which was the mirror image of mine could be so compelling and feel so unfamiliar, as if it belonged to a separate gender. When I was younger, it had seemed urgent to unravel this mystery because I believed that if it could be explained, the haters would stop hating us. Now I believed they had no more right to an explanation about me then I did about them and, in any case, they would find other reasons to hate. Now I was simply grateful for his body beside me, known and unknown."
"His blue eyes had the same stillness as the water outside, the same sexual depth. He looked at me as I had not been looked at in a long time."
“I guess we were both kind of living in a fantasy. You thought if you didn’t let me grow up, I wouldn’t ever die. I thought you were strong enough to do it.” “I never meant to keep you from growing up.”
I hated Henry's boyfriend for almost 99% of the book and then I ended up sobbing and feeling guilty for my dislike of him. Good writers can be very mean to their readers!
"It was a mystery of my sexual nature that a body which was the mirror image of mine could be so compelling and feel so unfamiliar, as if it belonged to a separate gender. When I was younger, it had seemed urgent to unravel this mystery because I believed that if it could be explained, the haters would stop hating us. Now I believed they had no more right to an explanation about me then I did about them and, in any case, they would find other reasons to hate. Now I was simply grateful for his body beside me, known and unknown."
"His blue eyes had the same stillness as the water outside, the same sexual depth. He looked at me as I had not been looked at in a long time."
“I guess we were both kind of living in a fantasy. You thought if you didn’t let me grow up, I wouldn’t ever die. I thought you were strong enough to do it.” “I never meant to keep you from growing up.”
July 6, 2023
Review for first edition here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In the revised lineup, this book is #5 chronologically, after Howtown and before The Death of Friends.
Oh, Henry just keep breaking my heart. He makes things so hard on himself, but I was happy to see him seeking therapy here and finally starting to work on himself and put himself first a little. His therapist was very astute, and his friend Timothy made some good and necessary observations too. I also liked how the case tied into what he was going through personally.
I didn't follow along with the first edition of this book while I was listening to audiobook like I did with the previous book. The little bit I did compare, Josh was actually written here to be a little less obnoxious and a little more mature. Very little, but there was an improvement, lol. I had forgotten how much he got on my nerves, and I was glad to see both him and Henry realize why they were so bad for each other by the end. Henry's headed in the right direction and I hope he doesn't backslide. 🤞🏼
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In the revised lineup, this book is #5 chronologically, after Howtown and before The Death of Friends.
Oh, Henry just keep breaking my heart. He makes things so hard on himself, but I was happy to see him seeking therapy here and finally starting to work on himself and put himself first a little. His therapist was very astute, and his friend Timothy made some good and necessary observations too. I also liked how the case tied into what he was going through personally.
I didn't follow along with the first edition of this book while I was listening to audiobook like I did with the previous book. The little bit I did compare, Josh was actually written here to be a little less obnoxious and a little more mature. Very little, but there was an improvement, lol. I had forgotten how much he got on my nerves, and I was glad to see both him and Henry realize why they were so bad for each other by the end. Henry's headed in the right direction and I hope he doesn't backslide. 🤞🏼
April 30, 2024
4,5 stars
June 18, 2020
Audiobook reviewHenry Rios once again finds himself in the middle of trouble, defending a latino teenager accused of murdering a state senator. It’s a case with many layers, players and agendas, big and small. So we follow Henry trying to untangle the web of lies and deceptions and how he tries to defend his client to the best of his abilities. At the same time he and Josh are having a rough go of it and trying to navigate it all is getting the best of him.
The Hidden Law is the best book in the series to date. For the most part these books are mainly procedurals trying cases and solving mysteries. I feel that this book really let us get close to Henry. We saw so many sides to him and not only the fierce defense attorney. We saw the man behind the fighter. We saw his hopes and fears, his struggles, he became more human. Not that we hadn’t seen some of that before, but this book really hit it home.
I think that one of the reasons why I love these books is because they are messy. Not in terms of the writing or a poorly crafted story, just the opposite. Michael Nava is a wonderful writer and each book in this series has been amazing. Nava doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff, but shows you the harsh truths. Life isn’t predictable or constant, plans and wishes are just that and reality will pull the rug out from under you when you least expect it. And life has really played with Henry in a big way and I can’t be the only one thinking that he needs some lasting happiness after all he’s been through. But alas fate is a fickle creature… And I can’t help but feel that this might only be the beginning.
Thom Rivera, voice actor extraordinaire. He has such a great voice that I could listen to him narrate pretty much anything and love it, so bring on the proverbial grocery list and I’ll still be an avid listener. That being said, he has a true talent for narrating books, and this series in particular. He takes you back in time and makes you believe you live some thirty years ago. He makes you feel every emotion Henry goes through, good and bad. He makes you care for the people and what’s going on in their lives. He makes you wish you could change the world
A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
August 28, 2018
This was a lot easier to get through than the previous book. The subject matter is nowhere near as depressing or uncomfortable, at least for me. I suppose those have trouble with subjects like drug and alcohol abuse and physical abuse might need to precede with caution. As Henry works this latest case, all these things come to the fore, not just in his case but as he looks back at his upbringing by an abusive, alcoholic father.
I thought the case was balanced well with the things going on in Henry's personal life. Things are not going so well with his lover Josh, who is growing bitter about his shortened life as his AIDS advances. Henry seeks therapy, hoping it will help him understand Josh better, and while he does come to new understandings, they're not the ones he expected.
I also like the way the law is handled in these books. It's generalized enough not to hit you over the head with legalese. You understand what's at stake and how the system works without getting bogged down by endless pages of textbook explanations. I don't like law shows except for one or two exceptions or even books about the law, fictional or non-fictional, so this is a huge plus for me. They're extremely readable.
I thought the case was balanced well with the things going on in Henry's personal life. Things are not going so well with his lover Josh, who is growing bitter about his shortened life as his AIDS advances. Henry seeks therapy, hoping it will help him understand Josh better, and while he does come to new understandings, they're not the ones he expected.
I also like the way the law is handled in these books. It's generalized enough not to hit you over the head with legalese. You understand what's at stake and how the system works without getting bogged down by endless pages of textbook explanations. I don't like law shows except for one or two exceptions or even books about the law, fictional or non-fictional, so this is a huge plus for me. They're extremely readable.
April 27, 2020
Normally I don't like to start reading a series in the middle but I needed a book written in the '90s for one of my challenges and that's why I gave this book a chance.....
And I'm so glad that I did! :) I immensely enjoyed this story, the author's amazing writing!
As soon as I have enough time I'll definitely get back to this series and start at the beginning.
4.5 stars
And I'm so glad that I did! :) I immensely enjoyed this story, the author's amazing writing!
As soon as I have enough time I'll definitely get back to this series and start at the beginning.
4.5 stars
June 8, 2020
I thought this one lacked some of the focus of the earlier books. In the beginning I wasn’t entirely sure what was going on (I went in without reading the blurb). But the various threads came together. Henry made some intense personal progress. And the Murder was...meaningful to Henry.
November 1, 2020
This is a review for one of my rare rereads. I'm focusing on the 2019 published novel (though I did read the original version back in 2006.)
This is, like all of the books in the series, a novel with a deceptively easy premise that turns out to have a lot of meat, i.e. plot. Once again, the author offers a fascinating mystery that he then combines with themes of moving on from one's past after some deep introspection.
Five years after he and Josh have been in a committed relationship, but now everything is showing frayed edges. Adding to the tension in his personal life is the fact that Henry becomes involved in a case featuring a murdered local politician. In trying to figure out what really happened (so that he can defend his client), Henry begins to look deeper into himself and past hurts.
At under 200 pages, it's a tremendously fast paced book that, like all books in the series is light in the romance department. And, you know what? That's perfect.
If I have any complaints is that I wanted more scenes between Henry and the therapist. It was good to see someone challenging Henry in a positive way.
TL;DR: A really great mystery for readers who want something else aside from romance between men. As someone reaching his 40s, Herny's personal problems might sound too grown up/realistic to ppl who seek pure escapism. Which is okay; we all pick up books for different reasons. I own a copy of the book, but (for now) the entire series (except for Goldenboy my fave one of the bunch and the recently published Carved in Bone) is also available in Kindle Unlimited.
This is, like all of the books in the series, a novel with a deceptively easy premise that turns out to have a lot of meat, i.e. plot. Once again, the author offers a fascinating mystery that he then combines with themes of moving on from one's past after some deep introspection.
Five years after he and Josh have been in a committed relationship, but now everything is showing frayed edges. Adding to the tension in his personal life is the fact that Henry becomes involved in a case featuring a murdered local politician. In trying to figure out what really happened (so that he can defend his client), Henry begins to look deeper into himself and past hurts.
At under 200 pages, it's a tremendously fast paced book that, like all books in the series is light in the romance department. And, you know what? That's perfect.
If I have any complaints is that I wanted more scenes between Henry and the therapist. It was good to see someone challenging Henry in a positive way.
TL;DR: A really great mystery for readers who want something else aside from romance between men. As someone reaching his 40s, Herny's personal problems might sound too grown up/realistic to ppl who seek pure escapism. Which is okay; we all pick up books for different reasons. I own a copy of the book, but (for now) the entire series (except for Goldenboy my fave one of the bunch and the recently published Carved in Bone) is also available in Kindle Unlimited.
May 8, 2020
I don't have the smarts to do this justice, I just want to say, it's brilliant. If you would like an insight into Mexican-American experience, what their families go through, this is the book. Again his writing is painfully beautiful, as is Henry's journey.
August 16, 2024
The whole Henry Rios series is an exploration of Henry’s identity and how he’s been shaped by his past, and this book is the strongest entry so far when it comes to those themes. I enjoy Nava’s observations about the intersection of race, sexual orientation, the legal system, and politics, and appreciate how much he seems to have drawn from his own experiences when writing the series because it gives Henry a distinct, nuanced point of view.
That being said, I wish certain aspects of Henry’s character were better developed. He feels distant from the world around him; we rarely see him interact with anyone who isn’t necessary to the main plot of the story, and it’s hard to see how he fits into his community other than the ways he directly observes. It’s difficult to get a sense of how reliable his narration is, what other people think of him, or what his flaws are. His interactions with other people often feel judgmental and patronizing because Nava usually ensures Henry has the right answer or the correct advice in order to advance the story and the book’s larger themes. I think some of the conclusions Henry comes to, or conveys to others, would work better as conclusions the reader draws from the characters’ actions than they do as pieces of dialogue.
That being said, I wish certain aspects of Henry’s character were better developed. He feels distant from the world around him; we rarely see him interact with anyone who isn’t necessary to the main plot of the story, and it’s hard to see how he fits into his community other than the ways he directly observes. It’s difficult to get a sense of how reliable his narration is, what other people think of him, or what his flaws are. His interactions with other people often feel judgmental and patronizing because Nava usually ensures Henry has the right answer or the correct advice in order to advance the story and the book’s larger themes. I think some of the conclusions Henry comes to, or conveys to others, would work better as conclusions the reader draws from the characters’ actions than they do as pieces of dialogue.
October 27, 2022
Nava hits it out of the park again. Among authors with gay male protagonists, Nava stands out for the psychological richness of his characters, and this book is no exception. Even as I consider a character’s actions to be wrongheaded, I understand the motivation.
March 22, 2019
This is my second Nava book. Hidden Law is different from How Town but still a good read. There is much more of a Chicano feel to this book and we get to delve into Henry Rios psyche with a case that becomes a personal struggle concerning fathers and sons.
December 6, 2025
Navas Krimis um den schwulen Latino-Strafverteidiger Henry Rios sind von Fall zu Fall besser geworden. Das hier ist Nr. 4 von 7. Danach wurde der Autor dann tatsächlich Richter in Kalifornien, wie es im Buch mal angedeutet wird: Rios könnte Richter werden, wenn er die Finger von dem Fall mit dem ermordeten mexikanisch-amerikanischen Politiker lassen würde, der bei den Jugendbanden der Ghettos aufräumen wollte.
Es steht schon fest, dass die nächste Station, „The Death of Friends“, Henrys AIDS-Fall, besser werden wird, während der vorherige, „Howtown“, der Pädophilie-Fall, zu ambitioniert war, erst eine Menge Nebel warf, um dann holzschnittartig zu enden. Das letzte Buch seiner ersten Werkphase, Nava hat sich als Autor inzwischen noch mal zurückgemeldet, „Rag and Bone“, der, wenn man so will, Familienfindungsfall für Queere, war meines Erachtens nicht der beste von allen, sondern das Buch davor, sein Hollywood-Fall, „The Burning Plain“, das dickste Buch von allen. Mit anderen Worten: Nee, ganz zufrieden bin ich mit „The Hidden Law“ nicht. Das leidet unter der ewigen Schwäche seines Autors: zu viele moralische Anliegen transportieren zu wollen, dafür auf einen Plot zu bauen, der zu spät losgeht und ein paar höchst unglaubwürdige Stellen aufweist.
Man möchte diese Bücher immer von Anfang an mehr lieben – und tut es dann auch erst einmal, bis sie einem gegen Ende hin etwas dünn, durchsichtig, von Verlegenheitslösungen zusammengehalten vorkommen. Feststeht ja immer, dass dieser Autor ein ernsthafter Mensch und disziplinierter Handwerker ist. In den einzelnen Segmenten sind diese Geschichten sympathisch, stecken voller genauer sozialer Details, konfrontieren uns mit Fragen auf, die man in dieser Geradheit in Unterhaltungsbüchern kaum erwartet. Nur sind halt Figuren, Psychologie, Milieus, Parallelgeschichten, Politik und Gesellschaft in Mordkrimis letztlich eher Nebensache, Kulisse, Hintergrund. Die Sache an sich steht und fällt mit der raffiniert ausgetüftelten Verbrechensgeschichte, die andere komplexer und dennoch überzeugender hinbringen als Nava.
Wieder einmal passiert der Mord, auf den die Public-Relations-Texte im Internet selbstverständlich hinweisen, viel zu spät erst, kurz vor der Buchmitte. Und dass Rios' Mandant sich dann dazu bekennt, wie es zumindest auf der deutschen Übersetzung hinten drauf stand, hätte ich da nicht dazugeschrieben. Nach dem nächtlichen Mord an Senator Gus Peña auf dem Parkplatz eines Restaurants, ein einzelner Typ in Gang-Mitglied-Aufmachung wird gesehen, vergehen etliche Seiten, bis der Verdächtigte zum ersten Mal was zur Sache sagt.
Offenkundig hat der Autor sich lieber mit anderen Personen und deren Problemen befasst. Man könnte da schon wittern, dass dermaßen viele Zugaben in einem 200-Seiten-Buch auf eine, sagen wir mal, „überschlanke Mitte“ hindeuten.
Einstweilen macht Nava mit der Krankheit und dem Sterben von Josh Mandel weiter, dem AIDS-kranken Geliebten, den Henry Rios im zweiten Fall, „Goldenboy“, als Kellner, kennen gelernt hat, jetzt ist er Student und schon so krank, dass man zu zweifeln beginnt, ob er den letzten Band je noch erleben wird. Der Moralist Nava, bei dessen ersten Roman man noch spürte, dass er um AIDS herumschreiben wollte, hat sich entschieden, die AIDS-Menschen nicht im Regen stehen zu lassen. Sie kommen ab hier in jedes seiner Bücher hinein und da wird es oft alles andere als gemütlich. Erstaunt müssen wir lesen, dass Josh Henry zuerst einmal sexuell betrügt, dann auf Dauer verlässt für einen, der kränker ist als er selbst. Das bringt Streitgespräche mit sich. „Ich kann mit ihm nicht konkurrieren, weil ich das Virus nicht hab!“ versus „Du arbeitest jeden Tag dran, ein Heiliger zu sein, ein Mensch wäre mir lieber.“ Aber eigentlich weiß man: In dieser Richtung kann weder der Mord passieren noch wird der Mörder sich dort finden.
Joshs Vorwürfe, Rios schleppe einen Vaterkomplex mit sich, trage dem Biedermann, der zu Hause seine Kinder prügelte, wenn er besoffen war, der schuld dran war, dass der Sohn sich jahrelang nicht zur Homosexualität durchringen konnte, weiter Hass hinterher und fessele sich damit nur selbst, führen dazu, dass Rios sich in Psychotherapie begibt, was dann auch interessant geschrieben ist, aber natürlich mit der Krimigeschichte kaum was zu tun hat.
Als Nächstes bemüht Agustin Peña, der nämlich noch am Leben und ja auch Alkoholiker ist, die Medien gerade davon überzeugt hat, mit seiner Familie und unter penibler Überwachung einer Therapiestätte werde er die Sucht besiegen, sich um Rios' Respekt und Freundschaft, lockt ihn mit einem Superfall. Rios entscheidet sich erst mal nicht, er bleibt misstrauisch gegen den Showman.
Dann ist Peña in der Suchtklinik, die ein alter Bekannter von Rios leitet. Ein Freund, dem man trauen kann, ist der aber auch nicht. Dort herrscht interner Kleinkrieg, weil der Chef die Stellung einer rabiaten Therapeutin zu untergraben versucht, die man ihm vor seine Nase gesetzt hat, sonst würden die öffentlichen Gelder gestrichen. Mit anderen Worten: Haben denn dann dieser Nicht-Freund und seine aufmüpfige Untergebene was mit dem Verbrechen zu tun? Der Einrichtungsleiter fleddert heimlich die Dokumentationen der Therapeutin, denn Peña ist im Zimmer eines 19-jährigen Drogenabhängigen gelandet, Michael Ruiz, der ständig Streit mit ihm anfängt. Den will man wegen schlechter Führung entlassen, was ihn allerdings sofort zurück hinter Gitter katapultieren würde. Das ist dann der eigentliche Fall für Anwalt Rios: Angeblich, die Therapeutin bestätigt es nicht, hat Michael dem Politiker mit Mord gedroht. Nur kann man ihn darum an sich nicht aus dem Programm werfen, weil es Wissen ist, das auf illegalem Weg erworben wurde.
An dieser Stelle kommt es zur Ursünde dieser Krimi-Konstruktion. Rios, von dem wir als Leser doch wissen, dass er früher oder später einen Mörder wird suchen müssen, fragt einfach gar keinen, wieso eigentlich der Junge den ihm doch wohl unbekannten Gus mit dem Tod bedroht haben sollte. Dafür bräuchte es ein Motiv und das würde in einem Krimi schon auch eine gewisse Rolle spielen. Was Nava natürlich weiß und wenn er uns so was zumutet, hat das seine Gründe.
Jetzt wird Senator Peña ermordet und Rios ist in seinem Fall drin, obwohl ihn Ruiz' Eltern gar nicht haben wollen. Diese wären schon wieder eine Stelle, an der der Roman ins Nebenbei abbiegen könnte. Sie sind nämlich wie Peña, wie Rios selbst, Aufsteiger aus der Minderheit, die sich ohne Rücksicht auf ihre seelische Gesundheit nach oben gekämpft haben und dann einen Preis dafür zahlen mussten. Das wäre wäre also das Thema: Alltägliche Diskriminierung gesellschaftlicher Gruppen lösen in einigen von deren Angehörigen den unbedingten Drang aus, es bis an die Spitze zu schaffen. So ein Aufstieg mag über Leichen gehen und kann Unglücks-Kinder zurücklassen. Rios erkennt sich als das Unglücks-Kind seines am Krebs gestorbenen Vaters.
Alles okay. Alles gut gemeint, ausgezeichnet geschrieben. Aber mal ehrlich: Der Plot für eine von langer Hand vorbereitete Mordtat, den er uns dann serviert, ist ein wenig simpel, er kommt zu spät heraus damit, alles wirkt erzwungen, überkonstruiert. Heißt: tolles Buch, wenn nur der Zwang zum Mordfall nicht gewesen wäre!
Es steht schon fest, dass die nächste Station, „The Death of Friends“, Henrys AIDS-Fall, besser werden wird, während der vorherige, „Howtown“, der Pädophilie-Fall, zu ambitioniert war, erst eine Menge Nebel warf, um dann holzschnittartig zu enden. Das letzte Buch seiner ersten Werkphase, Nava hat sich als Autor inzwischen noch mal zurückgemeldet, „Rag and Bone“, der, wenn man so will, Familienfindungsfall für Queere, war meines Erachtens nicht der beste von allen, sondern das Buch davor, sein Hollywood-Fall, „The Burning Plain“, das dickste Buch von allen. Mit anderen Worten: Nee, ganz zufrieden bin ich mit „The Hidden Law“ nicht. Das leidet unter der ewigen Schwäche seines Autors: zu viele moralische Anliegen transportieren zu wollen, dafür auf einen Plot zu bauen, der zu spät losgeht und ein paar höchst unglaubwürdige Stellen aufweist.
Man möchte diese Bücher immer von Anfang an mehr lieben – und tut es dann auch erst einmal, bis sie einem gegen Ende hin etwas dünn, durchsichtig, von Verlegenheitslösungen zusammengehalten vorkommen. Feststeht ja immer, dass dieser Autor ein ernsthafter Mensch und disziplinierter Handwerker ist. In den einzelnen Segmenten sind diese Geschichten sympathisch, stecken voller genauer sozialer Details, konfrontieren uns mit Fragen auf, die man in dieser Geradheit in Unterhaltungsbüchern kaum erwartet. Nur sind halt Figuren, Psychologie, Milieus, Parallelgeschichten, Politik und Gesellschaft in Mordkrimis letztlich eher Nebensache, Kulisse, Hintergrund. Die Sache an sich steht und fällt mit der raffiniert ausgetüftelten Verbrechensgeschichte, die andere komplexer und dennoch überzeugender hinbringen als Nava.
Wieder einmal passiert der Mord, auf den die Public-Relations-Texte im Internet selbstverständlich hinweisen, viel zu spät erst, kurz vor der Buchmitte. Und dass Rios' Mandant sich dann dazu bekennt, wie es zumindest auf der deutschen Übersetzung hinten drauf stand, hätte ich da nicht dazugeschrieben. Nach dem nächtlichen Mord an Senator Gus Peña auf dem Parkplatz eines Restaurants, ein einzelner Typ in Gang-Mitglied-Aufmachung wird gesehen, vergehen etliche Seiten, bis der Verdächtigte zum ersten Mal was zur Sache sagt.
Offenkundig hat der Autor sich lieber mit anderen Personen und deren Problemen befasst. Man könnte da schon wittern, dass dermaßen viele Zugaben in einem 200-Seiten-Buch auf eine, sagen wir mal, „überschlanke Mitte“ hindeuten.
Einstweilen macht Nava mit der Krankheit und dem Sterben von Josh Mandel weiter, dem AIDS-kranken Geliebten, den Henry Rios im zweiten Fall, „Goldenboy“, als Kellner, kennen gelernt hat, jetzt ist er Student und schon so krank, dass man zu zweifeln beginnt, ob er den letzten Band je noch erleben wird. Der Moralist Nava, bei dessen ersten Roman man noch spürte, dass er um AIDS herumschreiben wollte, hat sich entschieden, die AIDS-Menschen nicht im Regen stehen zu lassen. Sie kommen ab hier in jedes seiner Bücher hinein und da wird es oft alles andere als gemütlich. Erstaunt müssen wir lesen, dass Josh Henry zuerst einmal sexuell betrügt, dann auf Dauer verlässt für einen, der kränker ist als er selbst. Das bringt Streitgespräche mit sich. „Ich kann mit ihm nicht konkurrieren, weil ich das Virus nicht hab!“ versus „Du arbeitest jeden Tag dran, ein Heiliger zu sein, ein Mensch wäre mir lieber.“ Aber eigentlich weiß man: In dieser Richtung kann weder der Mord passieren noch wird der Mörder sich dort finden.
Joshs Vorwürfe, Rios schleppe einen Vaterkomplex mit sich, trage dem Biedermann, der zu Hause seine Kinder prügelte, wenn er besoffen war, der schuld dran war, dass der Sohn sich jahrelang nicht zur Homosexualität durchringen konnte, weiter Hass hinterher und fessele sich damit nur selbst, führen dazu, dass Rios sich in Psychotherapie begibt, was dann auch interessant geschrieben ist, aber natürlich mit der Krimigeschichte kaum was zu tun hat.
Als Nächstes bemüht Agustin Peña, der nämlich noch am Leben und ja auch Alkoholiker ist, die Medien gerade davon überzeugt hat, mit seiner Familie und unter penibler Überwachung einer Therapiestätte werde er die Sucht besiegen, sich um Rios' Respekt und Freundschaft, lockt ihn mit einem Superfall. Rios entscheidet sich erst mal nicht, er bleibt misstrauisch gegen den Showman.
Dann ist Peña in der Suchtklinik, die ein alter Bekannter von Rios leitet. Ein Freund, dem man trauen kann, ist der aber auch nicht. Dort herrscht interner Kleinkrieg, weil der Chef die Stellung einer rabiaten Therapeutin zu untergraben versucht, die man ihm vor seine Nase gesetzt hat, sonst würden die öffentlichen Gelder gestrichen. Mit anderen Worten: Haben denn dann dieser Nicht-Freund und seine aufmüpfige Untergebene was mit dem Verbrechen zu tun? Der Einrichtungsleiter fleddert heimlich die Dokumentationen der Therapeutin, denn Peña ist im Zimmer eines 19-jährigen Drogenabhängigen gelandet, Michael Ruiz, der ständig Streit mit ihm anfängt. Den will man wegen schlechter Führung entlassen, was ihn allerdings sofort zurück hinter Gitter katapultieren würde. Das ist dann der eigentliche Fall für Anwalt Rios: Angeblich, die Therapeutin bestätigt es nicht, hat Michael dem Politiker mit Mord gedroht. Nur kann man ihn darum an sich nicht aus dem Programm werfen, weil es Wissen ist, das auf illegalem Weg erworben wurde.
An dieser Stelle kommt es zur Ursünde dieser Krimi-Konstruktion. Rios, von dem wir als Leser doch wissen, dass er früher oder später einen Mörder wird suchen müssen, fragt einfach gar keinen, wieso eigentlich der Junge den ihm doch wohl unbekannten Gus mit dem Tod bedroht haben sollte. Dafür bräuchte es ein Motiv und das würde in einem Krimi schon auch eine gewisse Rolle spielen. Was Nava natürlich weiß und wenn er uns so was zumutet, hat das seine Gründe.
Jetzt wird Senator Peña ermordet und Rios ist in seinem Fall drin, obwohl ihn Ruiz' Eltern gar nicht haben wollen. Diese wären schon wieder eine Stelle, an der der Roman ins Nebenbei abbiegen könnte. Sie sind nämlich wie Peña, wie Rios selbst, Aufsteiger aus der Minderheit, die sich ohne Rücksicht auf ihre seelische Gesundheit nach oben gekämpft haben und dann einen Preis dafür zahlen mussten. Das wäre wäre also das Thema: Alltägliche Diskriminierung gesellschaftlicher Gruppen lösen in einigen von deren Angehörigen den unbedingten Drang aus, es bis an die Spitze zu schaffen. So ein Aufstieg mag über Leichen gehen und kann Unglücks-Kinder zurücklassen. Rios erkennt sich als das Unglücks-Kind seines am Krebs gestorbenen Vaters.
Alles okay. Alles gut gemeint, ausgezeichnet geschrieben. Aber mal ehrlich: Der Plot für eine von langer Hand vorbereitete Mordtat, den er uns dann serviert, ist ein wenig simpel, er kommt zu spät heraus damit, alles wirkt erzwungen, überkonstruiert. Heißt: tolles Buch, wenn nur der Zwang zum Mordfall nicht gewesen wäre!
March 31, 2010
Reading Michael Nava's Henry Rios series always make me feel subdued. I don't know why. There is a sense of sadness in his stories *sigh*. The fourth book from Henry Rios brings Henry in investigation of the murder of a State Senator. However, I feel that the murder mystery and investigation don't really take position as the driver. Instead, I feel that the book is more on Henry's personal life ... from dealing with the end of his five-year-old relationship with his lover, Josh, who battles with AIDS, and his own personal issues on how deep down inside, he still resent his father. This is for the first time, I think, I read Henry visit a therapist -- though his first intention is to work on his "marital problems" with Josh, but he uncovers so much more. The ending, is bitter-sweet. Now I'm worried to read the next book because of the title. Gosh, if book #4 can make me this mellow, what will happen if I read book #5? *shudder*
July 20, 2017
Such a great series.
They mystery was good, but not the main focus this time. It was nice to learn about Henry's childhood, and personal insights. I'm sure there is more to the story with the sister, but she did not endear herself in this one. She's not very likable here. Maybe the future will hold enlightenment.
Okay, Josh. I was never really feeling it with Josh, but the ending here made me sad.
I kinda expected him to be murdered, or for the age difference to play a part in a break up. I just never thought they were solid enough for domesticity. I didn't dislike him though, so even though I wasn't rooting for a hea, I was still sad about how things turned out.
They mystery was good, but not the main focus this time. It was nice to learn about Henry's childhood, and personal insights. I'm sure there is more to the story with the sister, but she did not endear herself in this one. She's not very likable here. Maybe the future will hold enlightenment.
Okay, Josh. I was never really feeling it with Josh, but the ending here made me sad.
I kinda expected him to be murdered, or for the age difference to play a part in a break up. I just never thought they were solid enough for domesticity. I didn't dislike him though, so even though I wasn't rooting for a hea, I was still sad about how things turned out.
Read
March 22, 2013Far more emotional than the first three Henry Rios novels, but one of the best as the reader learns so much more about what makes Rios tick...an excellent, if not somber read....great insight into characterization.
November 5, 2015
The Hidden Law.
Henry is good human, very vulnerable. Being gay makes living, relationships very hard. Abused children, alcohol, drugs and HIV.
"The invisible rules that run our lives and which we, in turn spend our lives running from".
Henry is good human, very vulnerable. Being gay makes living, relationships very hard. Abused children, alcohol, drugs and HIV.
"The invisible rules that run our lives and which we, in turn spend our lives running from".
June 1, 2014
Such a beautiful, touching, brilliant book and a great series. This one is my favorite of the series so far. I highly recommend it!
April 30, 2021
One of the best and most emotional of the Henry Rios books. I couldn't keep it dry. God I miss books like this that don't get written anymore.
March 30, 2021
This is the fourth mystery / law procedural novel featuring Henry Rios that I read during the last few months. The author, Michael Nava, writes straight-forward yet engaging plotlines that follow the pattern of most procedural narratives: a problem is presented, investigated, and solved using procedures common to the protagonist’s career. In Nava’s case, his protagonist, criminal defense attorney Henry Rios, often must solve a murder case that police and prosecutors were all too eager to close.
Though Nava’s plots are fun to read, what I most enjoy is his development of the protagonist. Henry Rios is a likeable, good, yet flawed and damaged man who often must confront personal demons as he dedicates his life to the pursuit of justice.
In the afterward of The Hidden Law, Nava states that in revising his books, he came to observe that “I was not aware that on deeper levels I was, as James Baldwin says, writing the same story over and over again. What is that story? The one I return to obsessively? It’s the story of how we become who we are.”
In writing about how his protagonist became the man he is, Nava explains that “his is a character initially formed in opposition to received truths, both those he received from his father about what it means to be a man and those from the culture regarding his homosexuality.”
Nava writes that “his (Henry Rios’s) coming out represented a decision to go through this life as a whole person, not one divided against himself. His “No” was also a doorway to moral freedom. Once he shook off the shackles of his father’s and society’s expectations of who he should be as a man, he was at liberty to challenge other aspects of the social status quo.”
Using Rios, Nava explores what it means to be a man and to live an authentic life. He questions and criticizes a concept of masculinity in which “a man is defined by his physical abilities, not his intellectual capacity.” He goes on to note that “Henry’s gentleness, his introversion, his love of learning would have been viewed at first with suspicion and then with hostility by his father. The idea that Henry was homosexual would have been unspeakable.”
As readers learn, Henry’s father, an alcoholic and abusive man, often beat his young son and berated him for not acting man enough. Once, he even dislocated the young boy’s shoulder as he beat his son for carrying his schoolbooks across his chest— “like a girl”—rather than art waist level.
Though Nava focuses on the concept of machismo in the Latino community, his novels question a definition of manhood that appears in many other cultures. Like Rios, I am unable to forget my seventh-grade study hall monitor who “taught” me to carry my books “like a boy” by parading me in front of the cafeteria study hall filled with other students. In short, Nava’s mystery novels are far “deeper” than plot.
Nava notes that “The tragedy of being male is that our insecurities about our masculinity can so often subvert our basic humanity. The irony is that masculinity is a cultural fabrication, amorphous and moveable, so that, in a very real sense, no man can ever be “man” enough.”
It is this toxic masculinity that lies at the heart of The Hidden Law.
Shortly after leaving a rehabilitation center for problems with alcohol, state senator, Gus Pena, is murdered while leaving a restaurant in LA. Within days, a young drug addict, Michael Ruiz, confesses.
Making that confession even more believable, the young man, who was also a resident at the rehab clinic, had earlier told his therapist that he was angry with Pena, angry enough to kill him.
Soon, Rios, a gay recovering alcoholic, finds himself involved and thinking Ruiz is innocent.
With the help of a private investigator, Freeman Vidor, Rios connects Ruiz with Pena’s son, a young college student who had occasionally used Rios as an alibi when he wanted to see his older girlfriend behind the back of his overbearing father.
Though the plot can occasionally be a little too obvious, Michael Nava holds the attention of readers with his sensitive portrayal of the damaged and heroic, Henry Rios, his partner Josh who is struggling with his diagnosis of AIDS, and young men harmed by the cultural beliefs about how men should act.
Like other books featuring Henry Rios, this one tells the story of his working to solve a crime and protect his client, his coming to know and understand himself, and his searching for love in a world that does not help. With its direct prose and straightforward plot, The Hidden Law is quick to read but is still a mystery that causes readers to reflect on their own cultural beliefs. A recommended book.
Though Nava’s plots are fun to read, what I most enjoy is his development of the protagonist. Henry Rios is a likeable, good, yet flawed and damaged man who often must confront personal demons as he dedicates his life to the pursuit of justice.
In the afterward of The Hidden Law, Nava states that in revising his books, he came to observe that “I was not aware that on deeper levels I was, as James Baldwin says, writing the same story over and over again. What is that story? The one I return to obsessively? It’s the story of how we become who we are.”
In writing about how his protagonist became the man he is, Nava explains that “his is a character initially formed in opposition to received truths, both those he received from his father about what it means to be a man and those from the culture regarding his homosexuality.”
Nava writes that “his (Henry Rios’s) coming out represented a decision to go through this life as a whole person, not one divided against himself. His “No” was also a doorway to moral freedom. Once he shook off the shackles of his father’s and society’s expectations of who he should be as a man, he was at liberty to challenge other aspects of the social status quo.”
Using Rios, Nava explores what it means to be a man and to live an authentic life. He questions and criticizes a concept of masculinity in which “a man is defined by his physical abilities, not his intellectual capacity.” He goes on to note that “Henry’s gentleness, his introversion, his love of learning would have been viewed at first with suspicion and then with hostility by his father. The idea that Henry was homosexual would have been unspeakable.”
As readers learn, Henry’s father, an alcoholic and abusive man, often beat his young son and berated him for not acting man enough. Once, he even dislocated the young boy’s shoulder as he beat his son for carrying his schoolbooks across his chest— “like a girl”—rather than art waist level.
Though Nava focuses on the concept of machismo in the Latino community, his novels question a definition of manhood that appears in many other cultures. Like Rios, I am unable to forget my seventh-grade study hall monitor who “taught” me to carry my books “like a boy” by parading me in front of the cafeteria study hall filled with other students. In short, Nava’s mystery novels are far “deeper” than plot.
Nava notes that “The tragedy of being male is that our insecurities about our masculinity can so often subvert our basic humanity. The irony is that masculinity is a cultural fabrication, amorphous and moveable, so that, in a very real sense, no man can ever be “man” enough.”
It is this toxic masculinity that lies at the heart of The Hidden Law.
Shortly after leaving a rehabilitation center for problems with alcohol, state senator, Gus Pena, is murdered while leaving a restaurant in LA. Within days, a young drug addict, Michael Ruiz, confesses.
Making that confession even more believable, the young man, who was also a resident at the rehab clinic, had earlier told his therapist that he was angry with Pena, angry enough to kill him.
Soon, Rios, a gay recovering alcoholic, finds himself involved and thinking Ruiz is innocent.
With the help of a private investigator, Freeman Vidor, Rios connects Ruiz with Pena’s son, a young college student who had occasionally used Rios as an alibi when he wanted to see his older girlfriend behind the back of his overbearing father.
Though the plot can occasionally be a little too obvious, Michael Nava holds the attention of readers with his sensitive portrayal of the damaged and heroic, Henry Rios, his partner Josh who is struggling with his diagnosis of AIDS, and young men harmed by the cultural beliefs about how men should act.
Like other books featuring Henry Rios, this one tells the story of his working to solve a crime and protect his client, his coming to know and understand himself, and his searching for love in a world that does not help. With its direct prose and straightforward plot, The Hidden Law is quick to read but is still a mystery that causes readers to reflect on their own cultural beliefs. A recommended book.
February 17, 2024
I stopped at a poem called “The Hidden Law” and read it over and over again. It was a short work, about the inner traumas we refused to acknowledge. By refusing to face them, we empower them until, invisibly they run our lives, making us miserable. We run from that misery, trying to “escape It in a car” or “forget It in a bar” but our attempts at escape themselves are merely “the ways we’re punished by/ The Hidden Law.”
[4.4~4.5] the Henry we meet after a hearty time skip is at a crossroads. breaking it down into his relationships: with his partner of the last couple of years where the mentality of us vs. them has driven a wedge between the two, with his abusive father and the lingering ravagings of rejection many years after said man's death, with himself and the state of his own mental landscape.
in isolation, it's easy to say the proceedings lacked the same driving force as our encounters thus far in its topical predictability, but in many ways, that would be fixating on the wrong message. the case's value clearly lies in highlighting the parallels in Henry's own life - the themes and intersectionality of machismo, being a minority in America, and even more so with his sexuality. the cultural trappings we choke ourselves with so we always fail to meet fabricated expectations. so we forever wade in the bath of inferiority and lash out accordingly.
there's nothing i love more in a book of this genre than the way Michael Nava weaves what could be exclusively a mystery into one inextricably linked to Henry's character arc. the raw flayings and Henry's willingness to lower his shield, if only for a moment, make for such emotionally gratifying tales. i like to think the author's legal background lends itself to the straightforward practicality, but equally quiet somberness, of Henry's thoughts and narration.
as for the quote at the top, W. H. Auden & Michael Nava teaming up to call out the unhealthy relationship i have with the roots of my persistent anxiety was not how i expected my reading of this book to go, but they're so valid for that - all par for the course as human beings trying to live our best lives. but perhaps it's time to take a page out of Henry's book and put our feet down on whether we continue to allow the rusted chains of our youth command our lives as adults or not.
August 19, 2022
A politician is gunned down, and Henry Rios steps up to defend the young man accused of his murder. I wasn't especially invested in this instalment. I think it's because a) I think the books work best when they are somewhat longer (even at 250-ish pages max, these are short books, so for The Hidden Law to be only about 160 pages, there just wasn't enough of a story to reach its full potential in my opinion), plus b) my personal preference is a mystery plot woven in with a strong emotional subplot, whether that's Henry's romance or whatever else. As Josh drifts away from Henry, there was capacity in the book for far more exploration of the grief of losing a loved one to AIDS well before his death even occurs, but all this was kept at arm's length. In my opinion the story suffered somewhat for that reason, because I know full well from Lay Your Sleeping Head and Carved in Bone that the author has immense capacity to do this well.
absolutely nothing *~*researchy*~* to see here; an ongoing reading list
1. A Study in Scarlet 2.5/5
2. The Hound of the Baskervilles 5/5
3. The Adventure of the Final Problem 4/5
4. Bath Haus 4.5/5
5. The Forest of Stolen Girls 4/5
6. The Red Palace 2/5
7. The Silence of Bones 1/5
8. Lay Your Sleeping Head 4/5
9. Carved in Bone 5/5
10. Lies with Man 3/5
11. Howtown 2/5
12. The Hidden Law 2/5
absolutely nothing *~*researchy*~* to see here; an ongoing reading list
1. A Study in Scarlet 2.5/5
2. The Hound of the Baskervilles 5/5
3. The Adventure of the Final Problem 4/5
4. Bath Haus 4.5/5
5. The Forest of Stolen Girls 4/5
6. The Red Palace 2/5
7. The Silence of Bones 1/5
8. Lay Your Sleeping Head 4/5
9. Carved in Bone 5/5
10. Lies with Man 3/5
11. Howtown 2/5
12. The Hidden Law 2/5
June 23, 2024
This is Nava’s first novel in the series in which he explicitly comments on Chicano culture and homosexuality, amounting to a pretty standard critique of “machismo” that didn’t feel especially enlightening but intersected well with other social concerns: the ongoing HIV/AIDS crisis of the 90s, the increasing representation of Latina/os among elected officials, the troubles of a serodiscordant relationship, Henry’s ongoing identity as an alcoholic in recovery and now therapy, community uplift in the context of a strong presence of gangs within Latino urban communities. A lot is going on in the background while Henry is learning to work through repressed traumas and let go of his relationship with Josh, who feels himself succumbing to his illness and wants to live and die on his own terms with someone who he thinks will better understand his fears. It doesn’t all cohere and the resolution to the “mystery” of the politician’s death wasn’t so mysterious nor was it pieced together in the most exciting way. Still there is plenty to ruminate over and I appreciate Nava’s effort to help Henry process his race, gender, sexuality, and how the rage of his father continued to affect him into adulthood.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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