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Dave Brandstetter #12
A Country of Old Men
For the sake of a frightened child, Dave Brandstetter takes on his very last case
In his decades as an insurance investigator, Dave Brandstetter has never shied away from violence, and he’s had more than his share of close calls. Time is catching up with him, his body is slowing down, and his wit is not as sharp as it used to be. But he will forgo retirement once more for the sake of a puzzle no detective could resist.
Walking on the beach, a friend finds a bedraggled child who claims he has witnessed a murder. The victim is a drug-addicted pop star, and the obvious suspect is the dead man’s ex-girlfriend—a junkie whom the child saw standing over the body, gun in hand. In the final installment of Joseph Hansen’s groundbreaking series, Dave looks for justice once more, hoping that he will also find a lasting measure of peace.
A Country of Old Men is book twelve in the Dave Brandstetter Mystery series, which also includes Troublemaker and The Man Everybody Was Afraid Of.
In his decades as an insurance investigator, Dave Brandstetter has never shied away from violence, and he’s had more than his share of close calls. Time is catching up with him, his body is slowing down, and his wit is not as sharp as it used to be. But he will forgo retirement once more for the sake of a puzzle no detective could resist.
Walking on the beach, a friend finds a bedraggled child who claims he has witnessed a murder. The victim is a drug-addicted pop star, and the obvious suspect is the dead man’s ex-girlfriend—a junkie whom the child saw standing over the body, gun in hand. In the final installment of Joseph Hansen’s groundbreaking series, Dave looks for justice once more, hoping that he will also find a lasting measure of peace.
A Country of Old Men is book twelve in the Dave Brandstetter Mystery series, which also includes Troublemaker and The Man Everybody Was Afraid Of.
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 31, 1991
8 people are currently reading
293 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Hansen
133 books157 followersJoseph Hansen (1923–2004) was an American author of mysteries. The son of a South Dakota shoemaker, he moved to a California citrus farm with his family in 1936. He began publishing poetry in the New Yorker in the 1950s, and joined the editorial teams of gay magazines ONE and Tangents in the 1960s. Using the pseudonyms Rose Brock and James Colton, Hansen published five novels and a collection of short stories before the appearance of Fadeout (1970), the first novel published under his own name.
The book introduced street-smart insurance investigator Dave Brandstetter, a complex, openly gay hero who grew and changed over the series’s twelve novels. By the time Hansen concluded the series with A Country of Old Men (1990), Brandstetter was older, melancholy, and ready for retirement. The 1992 recipient of the Private Eye Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Hansen published several more novels before his death in 2004.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
The book introduced street-smart insurance investigator Dave Brandstetter, a complex, openly gay hero who grew and changed over the series’s twelve novels. By the time Hansen concluded the series with A Country of Old Men (1990), Brandstetter was older, melancholy, and ready for retirement. The 1992 recipient of the Private Eye Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Hansen published several more novels before his death in 2004.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
November 27, 2023
This is the twelfth and final entry in Joseph Hansen's excellent series featuring insurance investigator, Dave Brandstetter. Published over a period of twenty-one years, from Fadeout in 1970, to this book in 1991, the series was witty and very well-written, with cleverly-plotted stories and well-drawn characters. Set in southern California, the books also captured perfectly the geography and the social and economic currents of the place and time.
What really set these books apart was the fact that Hansen created in Dave Brandstetter the first openly gay P.I. to inhabit a series like this, and neither Hansen, not his protagonist ever made a big deal out of it. Dave's sexual orientation was made clear from the opening pages of the first book, and it was simply a fact of life, just like the sexual orientation of any other detective. Dave had a love life and was active sexually throughout the series, but it never seemed intrusive or in any way out of the ordinary. In fact, Dave's romantic attachements were much more believable than those of many of his heterosexual fictional contemporaries.
As the series opened, Dave was already a middle-aged man and by the first pages of this one, he is nearing seventy. Many of the friends who populated the series with him are gone now; the others are all retired. Dave himself is not well; he tires easily and aches all over. His long-time lover, Cecil, begs him to see a doctor, but Dave dismisses the idea and claims he hasn't the time.
The story opens when a friend calls Dave in a panic. A young boy has apparently witnessed a murder and was then kidnapped by the woman he saw standing over the body. The boy, who has clearly been abused, manages to escape from his captor, whose name is Rachel Klein, and is found wandering along a beach by Dave's friend. The murdered victim, Cricket Shales, was a musician who has just been released from prison after serving time on a drug charge. He and Klein, who is also an addict, were once an item and she apparently feared he was coming back for her.
The cops arrest Klein and are ready to declare the case closed. But Dave is not so sure that Klein is guilty and so continues his own investigation of the case, even though he has allegedly been retired himself for a couple of years. In the process, he will put his own life and health in jeopardy.
The story itself is a good one, with lots of twists and turns, but in this book, the mystery takes a back seat to the health problems that are obviously ailing Dave. Along with Cecil, readers have worried over Dave's physical decline, especially in the last couple of books, and it's clear where this one is headed. As one nears the end of the book, it becomes especially hard to turn the pages and you want to linger over every last word.
When we finally reach the end of the case, and of Dave's career, it's a sad and elegiac moment. But one closes the book with a deep appreciation of what was a ground-breaking and very special series. Hansen was as good as any other crime writer of his era and this is a series that readers will remember long after they have forgotten most others.
What really set these books apart was the fact that Hansen created in Dave Brandstetter the first openly gay P.I. to inhabit a series like this, and neither Hansen, not his protagonist ever made a big deal out of it. Dave's sexual orientation was made clear from the opening pages of the first book, and it was simply a fact of life, just like the sexual orientation of any other detective. Dave had a love life and was active sexually throughout the series, but it never seemed intrusive or in any way out of the ordinary. In fact, Dave's romantic attachements were much more believable than those of many of his heterosexual fictional contemporaries.
As the series opened, Dave was already a middle-aged man and by the first pages of this one, he is nearing seventy. Many of the friends who populated the series with him are gone now; the others are all retired. Dave himself is not well; he tires easily and aches all over. His long-time lover, Cecil, begs him to see a doctor, but Dave dismisses the idea and claims he hasn't the time.
The story opens when a friend calls Dave in a panic. A young boy has apparently witnessed a murder and was then kidnapped by the woman he saw standing over the body. The boy, who has clearly been abused, manages to escape from his captor, whose name is Rachel Klein, and is found wandering along a beach by Dave's friend. The murdered victim, Cricket Shales, was a musician who has just been released from prison after serving time on a drug charge. He and Klein, who is also an addict, were once an item and she apparently feared he was coming back for her.
The cops arrest Klein and are ready to declare the case closed. But Dave is not so sure that Klein is guilty and so continues his own investigation of the case, even though he has allegedly been retired himself for a couple of years. In the process, he will put his own life and health in jeopardy.
The story itself is a good one, with lots of twists and turns, but in this book, the mystery takes a back seat to the health problems that are obviously ailing Dave. Along with Cecil, readers have worried over Dave's physical decline, especially in the last couple of books, and it's clear where this one is headed. As one nears the end of the book, it becomes especially hard to turn the pages and you want to linger over every last word.
When we finally reach the end of the case, and of Dave's career, it's a sad and elegiac moment. But one closes the book with a deep appreciation of what was a ground-breaking and very special series. Hansen was as good as any other crime writer of his era and this is a series that readers will remember long after they have forgotten most others.
January 31, 2020
When Dave's old friend Madge Dunstan finds a small boy wandering on the beach, her call leads Dave out of retirement and into a complicated case involving the murder of a junkie guitarist. Dave is old now, and his heart isn't what he used to be: will he have the stamina necessary to solve this murder?
I like this book, and found it a fitting end to an honest series. I also found it interesting that the subplot involves an old friend of Dave's, novelist Jack Helmers (same initials as Joseph Hansen) who is writing an autobiographical novel about his adolescence which is causing a lot of people worry.
November 27, 2010
The last book of the series. There's not quite no way out of it, but it's still a pretty decisive end for a lot of the characters, and maybe for Dave.
You know, I don't really judge these stories anymore on how well the mystery was written. I'm in it for Dave, how good he is, how much he loves the people around him, how much he wants to do the right thing and see the truth told. And for Dave's friends, too.
I feel a little like I'm losing a friend, putting down the book this time. I have no doubt that I'll read this series again. There's a quiet, controlled quality to it -- there isn't the over the top violence and dramatic danger that I found in Raymond Chandler's work -- and that's restful, even as you're reading about people killing other people for insurance money. And the existence of Dave Brandstetter and his friends reminds you, all the time, that good people exist even in all that chaos.
You know, I don't really judge these stories anymore on how well the mystery was written. I'm in it for Dave, how good he is, how much he loves the people around him, how much he wants to do the right thing and see the truth told. And for Dave's friends, too.
I feel a little like I'm losing a friend, putting down the book this time. I have no doubt that I'll read this series again. There's a quiet, controlled quality to it -- there isn't the over the top violence and dramatic danger that I found in Raymond Chandler's work -- and that's restful, even as you're reading about people killing other people for insurance money. And the existence of Dave Brandstetter and his friends reminds you, all the time, that good people exist even in all that chaos.
February 5, 2019
I'm currently re-reading this series. I was lucky to discover Joseph's books in the early 2000's, and managed to find a contact address for him. I sent him a message saying how much I enjoyed his writing, and was surprised and extremely happy to receive a reply from him, just a month before he passed away:
Dear (real name),
Thanks for writing to me. That doesn't happen often these days. It's good to know you enjoy my books. And I'm grateful to you for taking the time to tell me so. I'm an old man living alone in a small beach town in Southern California, and I often think these days that I and my work have been forgotten. So ... you have cheered me up.
With good wishes,
Joseph Hansen.
Saturday, 23rd of October 2004.
Leaving this here to share some of Joseph's last thoughts, and to remind me that we should never hesitate to thank someone for the enjoyment their writing brings us.
Dear (real name),
Thanks for writing to me. That doesn't happen often these days. It's good to know you enjoy my books. And I'm grateful to you for taking the time to tell me so. I'm an old man living alone in a small beach town in Southern California, and I often think these days that I and my work have been forgotten. So ... you have cheered me up.
With good wishes,
Joseph Hansen.
Saturday, 23rd of October 2004.
Leaving this here to share some of Joseph's last thoughts, and to remind me that we should never hesitate to thank someone for the enjoyment their writing brings us.
January 10, 2017
The last book in the series, so named from the start. Dave isn't that old yet, but he's finding himself tiring more easily, and his mood is frequently melancholy. Despite Cecil still in his life, he seems to feel that he has outlived his span. A couple of cases come his way via old friends - one the case of a small boy kidnapped after witnessing a murder, the other a more benign issue of what an old writer friend is likely to reveal of their shared youth, and that of friends with more at stake, in an unpublished memoir.
Dave investigates with his usual acuity and compassion. Cecil's frustration at his unwillingness to take care of himself better is palpable. I wished he would too. There are few men with more integrity, compassion and fairness than Dave, for all his cool exterior. But as the cases wound their convoluted way forward, I could only savor this last look at a man I'd come to really care about, in Dave Brandstetter's last case.
Dave investigates with his usual acuity and compassion. Cecil's frustration at his unwillingness to take care of himself better is palpable. I wished he would too. There are few men with more integrity, compassion and fairness than Dave, for all his cool exterior. But as the cases wound their convoluted way forward, I could only savor this last look at a man I'd come to really care about, in Dave Brandstetter's last case.
March 31, 2013
In this final volume of the Dave Brandstetter series one finds all the elements that made the series gripping: believable, colorful characters; precise descriptions of the southern Californian setting and the particular social milieus entering into the story; interesting, twisting plots and investigations which maintained one's interest. But, as with other readers (judging by the comments made here in earlier reviews), the central attraction of the series is the character of Dave Brandstetter himself. It was a real pleasure to be in the presence of his large-heartedness and personal integrity. Brandstetter had so much love and commitment for his friends - even for most of the strangers he met - and received so much back from them. Indeed, even if he was approaching 70 years of age, he was in a completely enviable position at any stage of life - loving friends; the respect of his peers; as much money as any human being could spend; not to mention an intelligent, attractive lover one-third his age. So, Joseph, why the devil did he become suicidal??! Yes, close friends of his were dead or dying; yes, he was no longer at the mental and physical peak of his life; yes, he did not want to die a long and lingering death. Frankly, the weighing of pros and cons is rather one-sidedly obvious here.
Could it simply be that you wanted to end the series in an irrevocable manner - you had simply grown tired of the character? Or, was one of the main secondary characters in this book speaking for you when he said that the detective novels he had been writing for most of his career are unimportant, and he wanted to write something significant - autobiographical novels. Which, in fact, is exactly what you then did, Joseph. That is fine, Joe; everyone must make his own choices. But I must say that I find it mean-spirited of you to kill Dave off as you did. So, for me, Dave is still enjoying his meals at Max's, is still helping friends and strangers, and is still spending every night in Cecil's arms after a glass or two of Glenlivet...
Could it simply be that you wanted to end the series in an irrevocable manner - you had simply grown tired of the character? Or, was one of the main secondary characters in this book speaking for you when he said that the detective novels he had been writing for most of his career are unimportant, and he wanted to write something significant - autobiographical novels. Which, in fact, is exactly what you then did, Joseph. That is fine, Joe; everyone must make his own choices. But I must say that I find it mean-spirited of you to kill Dave off as you did. So, for me, Dave is still enjoying his meals at Max's, is still helping friends and strangers, and is still spending every night in Cecil's arms after a glass or two of Glenlivet...
July 22, 2016
I wasn't eager to read the 12th and final book in the Dave Brandstetter's mysteries, exactly because I knew it was the last. Of course Hansen had to stop the series somewhere, still it was so good that I would have liked it to go on forever. Anyway, given that unending series don't exist, somehow the end fitted.
We find again Dave mourning departed friends and noticing that he is getting old. Some some symptoms appear that he wants to ignore, even though Cecil is worried.
I really didn't want to let go of Dave and Cecil. Hansen excels also in depicting secondary characters though: they come alive in his pages, even when their appearance is short.
BTW I wondered how much of Joseph Hansen self is in the character of David's old friend Jack Helmers, also a mystery writer: the initial are the same, he lost his wife (Hansen was married to a lesbian: "a gay man and a woman who happened to love each other."), he had a slightly contemptuous view of mysteries (''I can write those in my sleep. This book meant something...'').
Once more I can't help noticing the light years separating these books from most other similar books I've read. I wish Hansen would have been more appreciated. Here The Guardian's obituary: http://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/...
Hansen's blog still exists, it is a bit sad to read his last entries. I wish it would be possible to eliminate the spam that was posted to the last entry and mixed to the comments expressing appreciation of Hansen's work: http://josephhansen.blogspot.fi/
We find again Dave mourning departed friends and noticing that he is getting old. Some some symptoms appear that he wants to ignore, even though Cecil is worried.
I really didn't want to let go of Dave and Cecil. Hansen excels also in depicting secondary characters though: they come alive in his pages, even when their appearance is short.
BTW I wondered how much of Joseph Hansen self is in the character of David's old friend Jack Helmers, also a mystery writer: the initial are the same, he lost his wife (Hansen was married to a lesbian: "a gay man and a woman who happened to love each other."), he had a slightly contemptuous view of mysteries (''I can write those in my sleep. This book meant something...'').
Once more I can't help noticing the light years separating these books from most other similar books I've read. I wish Hansen would have been more appreciated. Here The Guardian's obituary: http://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/...
Hansen's blog still exists, it is a bit sad to read his last entries. I wish it would be possible to eliminate the spam that was posted to the last entry and mixed to the comments expressing appreciation of Hansen's work: http://josephhansen.blogspot.fi/
July 23, 2012
An excellent conclusion to one of my favourite detective series. Hansen's portrayal of an aging but incapable-of-giving-up-working Dave Brandstetter is even richer and more poignant here than in previous books, in my view. So many moving moments within the narration, all filtered through Dave's perspective, his humanity and integrity shining as always but perhaps taking an even more compelling quality and significance here. I've grown so fond of Dave, Cecil, Amanda and some of the minor recurring characters in this series as if they're my real life friends that it's really difficult to let them go and not to wish for an additional scene, an additional conversation, but this is just my greed talking. In fact, so much is already revealed from relatively few words, actions and thoughts, which makes them even more significant and memorable.
February 15, 2008
The last Dave Brandstetter mystery. Not his best, perhaps, but as a fan of the Brandstetter series from its inception, this was a bittersweet read. I can do no better than echo the sentiments on the dust-jacket:
"Brandstetter still shows that quiet compassion for the human condition that has won him the affection of readers everywhere."
Goodbye, Dave - you will be missed.
"Brandstetter still shows that quiet compassion for the human condition that has won him the affection of readers everywhere."
Goodbye, Dave - you will be missed.
May 12, 2024
Not expecting that.
Very meta, very sad.
Keep this history.
Very meta, very sad.
Keep this history.
January 7, 2024
There's a part of me that's parting with this series feeling like Jess in front of Dirty Dancing in the New Girl premiere. It's been about a year at the time of this review since I finished the first book, and here we are, wrapping up A Country of Old Men. There are so many ways why this ended up fitting as Dave's final case. We're reunited with several side characters (both on page and referenced) we started the series with, which makes book 12 not one for the casual reader. Hansen continues to work his magic on addressing the hot topics of the time period, and even had me reflecting on how Dave's aging body lined up with others. There was something so powerful with this that made the subplots feel out of place with the main mystery. While they served as good comedic materials, their endings lacked punch in the way the actual ending did. IYKYK
The mystery itself was fascinating and had plenty of leads to keep me invested. Again, Hansen tinkered with elements he'd played with in the past, but still livened them up to make sure Dave's investigation into a musician's murder wasn't dull. There were still the fun reveals, the close run-ins, and a nicely executed culprit build-up that had me reminiscing on his first case. This was handled better here. A relationship with the suspect was more clearly established. I still enjoy Dave's sense of humor, although I echo other readers at the melancholic note it takes. Does he treat himself like he's out of retirement here? No. But deep in his heart, he knows this is going to be the last time he puts himself in crosshairs like this.
This series has been a fun ride. I enjoyed getting to mature alongside Dave and see what he got up to. This ending may have lacked some finesse of my favorite entries, but it was satisfying enough in an emotional and thematic way. Mysteries now need more heroes like Hansen's. I understand why queer readers liked him so much. He had true power.
Now for a series ranking...
Five Stars
1: Gravedigger
2: Troublemaker
3: Early Graves
4: Nightwork
5: The Boy Who Was Buried This Morning
Four Stars
6: The Man Everybody Was Afraid Of
7: Obedience
8: A Country of Old Men
Three and a Half Stars
9: Fadeout
Three Stars
10: The Little Dog Laughed
11: Death Claims
12: Skinflick
The mystery itself was fascinating and had plenty of leads to keep me invested. Again, Hansen tinkered with elements he'd played with in the past, but still livened them up to make sure Dave's investigation into a musician's murder wasn't dull. There were still the fun reveals, the close run-ins, and a nicely executed culprit build-up that had me reminiscing on his first case. This was handled better here. A relationship with the suspect was more clearly established. I still enjoy Dave's sense of humor, although I echo other readers at the melancholic note it takes. Does he treat himself like he's out of retirement here? No. But deep in his heart, he knows this is going to be the last time he puts himself in crosshairs like this.
This series has been a fun ride. I enjoyed getting to mature alongside Dave and see what he got up to. This ending may have lacked some finesse of my favorite entries, but it was satisfying enough in an emotional and thematic way. Mysteries now need more heroes like Hansen's. I understand why queer readers liked him so much. He had true power.
Now for a series ranking...
Five Stars
1: Gravedigger
2: Troublemaker
3: Early Graves
4: Nightwork
5: The Boy Who Was Buried This Morning
Four Stars
6: The Man Everybody Was Afraid Of
7: Obedience
8: A Country of Old Men
Three and a Half Stars
9: Fadeout
Three Stars
10: The Little Dog Laughed
11: Death Claims
12: Skinflick
October 17, 2019
Not the best Brandstetter, but everyone's in it (including Joseph Hansen!), and it makes for a fitting ending. A terrific series that I look forward to revisiting.
May 1, 2020
A nice finish to a series I enjoyed.
May 10, 2017
It took me longer to read this book than the rest of the books in the series. For one, it was the last book and I didn't want the series to end. Two, I had cheated and read the last page, and needed time to reconcile myself to how it ends. I've decided to have my own head canon as to what happens after things fade to black. It's the only way I could finish the book.
Dave is brilliant in this one, as it always is. I love how he sees the connection to the little pieces of evidence he finds. I love how he can't walk away from from a tangled mess of intrigue, how he has to find the truth in it, and how he can't let someone take the blame, even though circumstantial evidence might lean that way.
Dave is older in this book and definitely feeling that way. Friends are growing old along with him and dying. Cecil is worried about him, wishing that Dave would take better care of himself, and I worried right along with him.
I decided that I had to have this series, so I bought the entire thing. I have already convinced a book friend of mine to read them, even though he isn't always comfortable with gay issues. What a better way to broaden one's perspective than spending time with this great and memorable character.
Dave is brilliant in this one, as it always is. I love how he sees the connection to the little pieces of evidence he finds. I love how he can't walk away from from a tangled mess of intrigue, how he has to find the truth in it, and how he can't let someone take the blame, even though circumstantial evidence might lean that way.
Dave is older in this book and definitely feeling that way. Friends are growing old along with him and dying. Cecil is worried about him, wishing that Dave would take better care of himself, and I worried right along with him.
I decided that I had to have this series, so I bought the entire thing. I have already convinced a book friend of mine to read them, even though he isn't always comfortable with gay issues. What a better way to broaden one's perspective than spending time with this great and memorable character.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 25, 2018
I tore through this last book and now wished I'd taken the time to savor it longer. This was equal parts mystery and Dave's personal life, and it balances out in a melancholy way as Dave works his last case and remembers all the friends he's lost in his life. The whodunit was as layered as always and I didn't have this one figured out until just before Dave did. As for the end of the series itself, well, that wasn't surprising but it still feels sudden. It's always sudden. I'm going to miss Dave and Cecil and Amanda and all the rest. This will be a series to reread.
August 8, 2017
How does one stop crying at the loss of a best friend? I ask you, because I do not know.
November 11, 2013
Good by Dave. We will miss you.
March 3, 2022
Sadly, this book is the last of the Dave Brandstetter books. It is a fitting end to this well-written mystery series.
Even though the Private Eye Writers of America awarded Joseph Hansen their Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992, and the Los Angeles Times declared him “simply the most exciting and effective writer of the classic California private-eye novel working today," he never achieved the level of recognition expected.
Hansen refused in the early 1970s to have a Hollywood studio make films of his books when the studio person making the pitch told him Brandstetter, a gay man, would have to be made straight. Then, in 1973, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine refused to print a Brandstetter short story unless Hansen “took the gay out” of his protagonist.
Most people today understand that the country’s homophobia kept Hansen from the kind of recognition authors like Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Ross MacDonald earned.
As Hansen’s Brandstetter series is reissued this year, it will be interesting to see if he now gets that well-deserved recognition.
In this last novel of the series, death claims insurance investigator, Dave Brandstetter, is approaching the age of 70. Age, and a career that often put him in harm’s way and kept him from caring for himself, has clearly taken its toll. But then, age and life has taken a toll on many of Dave’s friends. Restaurant owner, Max Romano, has died. Telephone company vice president, Ray Lollard, has put on weight and become gray while his lover, the gifted potter, Kovaks, is nearing death with AIDS. High school friend and author, Jack Helmers, is depressed and alone following the death of his beloved wife.
As Dave begins to struggle with health issues, long-time lover, Cecil Harris, tries unsuccessfully to get him to stop taking cases, slow down, and go to the doctor, especially since there is heart disease in the family. Dave’s dad, founder of the largest insurance company in California and nine-times married, died of a heart attack while driving his Bentley at high-speed years earlier.
But then, friend and famed designer, Madge Dunston, calls Dave one evening. While walking on the beach near her home, she had come across a young, abused boy who told her he witnessed a murder, was kidnapped, and able to escape. Madge asks Dave to investigate.
The police think the death of drug user and guitarist, Cricket Shales, is simple to explain. He was probably dealing crack in someone else’s territory. Soon, however, Dave uncovers several other people who might want the man dead, including Rachel, his ex-girlfriend; Karen, a record executive who loves Rachel and fears for the woman’s life; a drug counselor who also loved Rachel; and a dying cantor.
As Hansen brings his series to a close, Hansen has written a novel that allows readers the opportunity to say goodbye to the compassionate, hard-working, justice-seeking, and world-weary investigator, Dave Brandstetter.
Though the books can be read out of order, please do not read them that way. Each novel presents readers with a tightly written mystery full of surprises, crisp prose, fascinating characters, and a terrific sense of place, but it is the progressive story Brandstetter’s personal life that makes these novels so good.
I cannot recommend these books enough to readers of mysteries, crime, and noir fiction. In fact, they are some of the most enjoyable literary fiction books I have read in a long time. I found it impossible not to fall in love with Dave, Cecil, Max, Amanda, Madge, and the other people in Dave’s life, and impossible not to appreciate Hansen’s style and ability to produce well-crafted, poetic, musical, yet economical sentences. The man could write.
Even though the Private Eye Writers of America awarded Joseph Hansen their Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992, and the Los Angeles Times declared him “simply the most exciting and effective writer of the classic California private-eye novel working today," he never achieved the level of recognition expected.
Hansen refused in the early 1970s to have a Hollywood studio make films of his books when the studio person making the pitch told him Brandstetter, a gay man, would have to be made straight. Then, in 1973, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine refused to print a Brandstetter short story unless Hansen “took the gay out” of his protagonist.
Most people today understand that the country’s homophobia kept Hansen from the kind of recognition authors like Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Ross MacDonald earned.
As Hansen’s Brandstetter series is reissued this year, it will be interesting to see if he now gets that well-deserved recognition.
In this last novel of the series, death claims insurance investigator, Dave Brandstetter, is approaching the age of 70. Age, and a career that often put him in harm’s way and kept him from caring for himself, has clearly taken its toll. But then, age and life has taken a toll on many of Dave’s friends. Restaurant owner, Max Romano, has died. Telephone company vice president, Ray Lollard, has put on weight and become gray while his lover, the gifted potter, Kovaks, is nearing death with AIDS. High school friend and author, Jack Helmers, is depressed and alone following the death of his beloved wife.
As Dave begins to struggle with health issues, long-time lover, Cecil Harris, tries unsuccessfully to get him to stop taking cases, slow down, and go to the doctor, especially since there is heart disease in the family. Dave’s dad, founder of the largest insurance company in California and nine-times married, died of a heart attack while driving his Bentley at high-speed years earlier.
But then, friend and famed designer, Madge Dunston, calls Dave one evening. While walking on the beach near her home, she had come across a young, abused boy who told her he witnessed a murder, was kidnapped, and able to escape. Madge asks Dave to investigate.
The police think the death of drug user and guitarist, Cricket Shales, is simple to explain. He was probably dealing crack in someone else’s territory. Soon, however, Dave uncovers several other people who might want the man dead, including Rachel, his ex-girlfriend; Karen, a record executive who loves Rachel and fears for the woman’s life; a drug counselor who also loved Rachel; and a dying cantor.
As Hansen brings his series to a close, Hansen has written a novel that allows readers the opportunity to say goodbye to the compassionate, hard-working, justice-seeking, and world-weary investigator, Dave Brandstetter.
Though the books can be read out of order, please do not read them that way. Each novel presents readers with a tightly written mystery full of surprises, crisp prose, fascinating characters, and a terrific sense of place, but it is the progressive story Brandstetter’s personal life that makes these novels so good.
I cannot recommend these books enough to readers of mysteries, crime, and noir fiction. In fact, they are some of the most enjoyable literary fiction books I have read in a long time. I found it impossible not to fall in love with Dave, Cecil, Max, Amanda, Madge, and the other people in Dave’s life, and impossible not to appreciate Hansen’s style and ability to produce well-crafted, poetic, musical, yet economical sentences. The man could write.
March 20, 2021
And we have arrived at the end. And it was a fitting, honest end to a truly extraordinary series.
We knew Dave as a middle-aged man, and at the beginning of this one he is in his 70s and he's not well. And yet, even when Cecil begs him not to get involved in another case, he can't resist the lure brought by a little kid who swears he managed to escape from his kidnapper, who took him after he witnesses how her commited murder.
There is also the story of an old friend of Dave, a writer named Jack Helmers, whose last, as yet unpublished last book, is creating some stir between old friends. The novel is autobiographical and it seems that there are a lot of people nervous about what it could reveal of their own lives.
And yet... even when the mysteries are good and really enthralling, the story mostly deals with Dave's evidently failing health and, as we are closing to the end we want to stop. Because we know what it's coming :(
But when the book ends, yes, sure, there is a sense of sadness. But mostly, I'm grateful. Dave Brandstetter is such a great character: honest and big-hearted, dedicated to bringing justice and unable to say no to a mystery.
As Hansen says:
I'm happy that I found these books and I know I'll revisit them frequently.
We knew Dave as a middle-aged man, and at the beginning of this one he is in his 70s and he's not well. And yet, even when Cecil begs him not to get involved in another case, he can't resist the lure brought by a little kid who swears he managed to escape from his kidnapper, who took him after he witnesses how her commited murder.
There is also the story of an old friend of Dave, a writer named Jack Helmers, whose last, as yet unpublished last book, is creating some stir between old friends. The novel is autobiographical and it seems that there are a lot of people nervous about what it could reveal of their own lives.
And yet... even when the mysteries are good and really enthralling, the story mostly deals with Dave's evidently failing health and, as we are closing to the end we want to stop. Because we know what it's coming :(
But when the book ends, yes, sure, there is a sense of sadness. But mostly, I'm grateful. Dave Brandstetter is such a great character: honest and big-hearted, dedicated to bringing justice and unable to say no to a mystery.
As Hansen says:
My joke was to take the true hard-boiled character in an American fiction tradition and make him homosexual. He was going to be a nice man, a good man, and he was going to do his job well."
I'm happy that I found these books and I know I'll revisit them frequently.
January 22, 2024
Very much enjoyed this book as well as the entire series. Throughout the series, Dave remained cool, elegant, and very stubborn- the final scene is very sad and viewed by most as the end of Dave's life (I'd like to think the paramedics got there, but the sheer volume of cigarettes and alcohol and cream sauce, not to mention all of the dangerous living with people trying to do Dave in, probably did take its toll.)
This book had a lot of the standard Dave series elements, twisty plot, bad people. innocent but deeply flawed people, surprise villain, but it also had a little more humor and was a little sexier.
The chapter with Dave's old friend now dying of AIDS was heartbreakingly sad.
This series was groundbreaking at the time and perhaps not enough appreciated in Hansen's lifetime; so glad the books have found a 21st century audience and that I got to read them.
This book had a lot of the standard Dave series elements, twisty plot, bad people. innocent but deeply flawed people, surprise villain, but it also had a little more humor and was a little sexier.
The chapter with Dave's old friend now dying of AIDS was heartbreakingly sad.
This series was groundbreaking at the time and perhaps not enough appreciated in Hansen's lifetime; so glad the books have found a 21st century audience and that I got to read them.
May 12, 2023
what a wonderful, wonderful series, and criminally unknown
Strong in its genre critical messaging to the very end, especially with its discussion of the real-life consequences of the life and unhealthy coping mechanisms of your typical hardboiled detective. The abruptness of the ending took me aback initially, but I think that was sort of the point. A long life of self destruction doesn’t exactly give you control over how you go, and the unfinished mystery with Jack highlights exactly how much gets cut short and left behind.
god, I’m gonna miss these books. good thing I’ve signed off to do my undergrad thesis on them. I’ll probably be writing a lot more about this book and others in the future
Strong in its genre critical messaging to the very end, especially with its discussion of the real-life consequences of the life and unhealthy coping mechanisms of your typical hardboiled detective. The abruptness of the ending took me aback initially, but I think that was sort of the point. A long life of self destruction doesn’t exactly give you control over how you go, and the unfinished mystery with Jack highlights exactly how much gets cut short and left behind.
god, I’m gonna miss these books. good thing I’ve signed off to do my undergrad thesis on them. I’ll probably be writing a lot more about this book and others in the future
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 6, 2019
An enjoyable PI series
Each book is a new case. The characters are interesting Dave being the main one whose life\story we follow. Although no outright conclusion at the end of this series, for some bizarre reason it does not bother me as it normally would.
I may not be selling this well, but I if you want a series that (imho) has the right mix of whodunit, relationships and is not what I call fluffy then give this a try.
Each book is a new case. The characters are interesting Dave being the main one whose life\story we follow. Although no outright conclusion at the end of this series, for some bizarre reason it does not bother me as it normally would.
I may not be selling this well, but I if you want a series that (imho) has the right mix of whodunit, relationships and is not what I call fluffy then give this a try.
Read
March 21, 2023According to Hansen’s “A Country of Old Men” the intolerably saintly fag detective Dave “Albert Schweitzer” Brandstetter died of a heart attack 30+ years ago.
Don’t believe it.
After Dave, with the help of his liberal gay pals (including some now defunct friends of mine), purged California of its last white inhabitant, and thereby of its racism, he and Cecil moved to Austin, where they’re repeating their good deed in Texas.
Don’t believe it.
After Dave, with the help of his liberal gay pals (including some now defunct friends of mine), purged California of its last white inhabitant, and thereby of its racism, he and Cecil moved to Austin, where they’re repeating their good deed in Texas.
September 18, 2025
So, I'm ignoring that last page haha.
5 stars more for the entire series rather than this particular book. This was enjoyable by the main mystery wasn't anything stand out. It was nice to revisit some of the characters from previous books, although it was obvious what was being set up.
I think this series has ruined me more noir mystery. Dave Brandstetter is just such a fantastic character.
5 stars more for the entire series rather than this particular book. This was enjoyable by the main mystery wasn't anything stand out. It was nice to revisit some of the characters from previous books, although it was obvious what was being set up.
I think this series has ruined me more noir mystery. Dave Brandstetter is just such a fantastic character.
December 18, 2023
The last entry on a trailblazing detective series. I always found Dave Brandsetter to be too hard boiled and masculine to be a real intimate. However his gayness saves him often—the descriptions of a gentrified Hancock park Gay-owned Victorian in this novel are a good example. Was sad to read his end.
June 3, 2024
I was unaware that this book was part of a series, so my review may not be as accurate as someone who has been a fan. I had trouble keeping track of some of the characters and there were parts I had trouble following. I liked that there were twists and turns.
June 23, 2025
like saying a final farewell to dear old friend...both bitter and sweet.
now that i've read the entire series, i can safely say that even though i really liked every volume, i liked the earlier books the best. i'm a sucker for mid-century noir.
now that i've read the entire series, i can safely say that even though i really liked every volume, i liked the earlier books the best. i'm a sucker for mid-century noir.
December 12, 2025
It’s probably a 4.5 but I love Hansen’s Brandstetter books.
Many characters in this. Side line stories of abused children, drug addiction, older people needing care, losing their homes and families. It all fits together in the end though. And it’s a sad ending.
Many characters in this. Side line stories of abused children, drug addiction, older people needing care, losing their homes and families. It all fits together in the end though. And it’s a sad ending.
December 20, 2018
After mainlining this entire series I can say I feel like I know these people. Loved it--A life well-lived Dave.
September 11, 2021
And thus ends my reread of the Dave Brandsetter mysteries. That ending!
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