The True Detective

by Theodore Weesner

In the sleepy confines of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Gil Dulac, a small town investigator, broods over a deteriorating city he’s grown to adopt as his own; a once proud city that’s been infested with a sexual pathology that—in its breadth of depravity—is breaking out like a pandemic. Increasingly feeling as if he’s a walking anachronism, Dulac wonders if it all passed him by, until a twelve-year-old boy is abducted; the crime sending the tight-knit community into a tailspin. Now, as the clock winds down to a horrifying conclusion, Dulac must use his wits and his experience to somehow find the boy alive.

Weesner’s critically acclaimed literary style shines with The True Detective, as unflinching insight and master storytelling combine seamlessly to create a lightning quick suspense drama that rises to the level of great American literature.

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

American author and Professor at Emerson College.

Reviews

[Stephanie (Once Upon a Chapter) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

The True Detective by Theodore Weesner is like one really long episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit minus the “non-existent” heat between Benson and Stabler. Oh and you know who the bad guy is from. the. beginning.

I blame myself for this. When I read the description that was sent to me, I assumed that the story would pick up post abduction and horrifying conclusion. I thought there would be some mystery for the reader. I couldn’t have been more wrong. This still isn’t what concerned me about the book. I was about 30% through the book and so very confused. Something to keep in mind here is that this is a reprinted book under a new publisher in anticipation of a new release from Weesner. The original book was published in 1988 and set in 1981. Through the first part of the book we are introduced to the abductor. He is a very shy, socially dysfunctional young adult who has recently been rejected by his younger gay partner. The thing that kept going through my mind (this is open to my interpretation and may not be what was intended) is that the message was “he’s a child molester because he’s gay”. It was always mentioned that he was gay and a child molester. The two are clearly very different. It isn’t until much later in the book that this distinction is made. I remember looking at my husband and saying “I can’t review this! There’s no way that this is even appropriate.” I think it was that back in the 80s being publicly gay was still a new experience for everyone, gay and straight alike, and that the attitude was not as it is today. (Does that even make sense?) Reading a book in 2012 that was set and written in the 80s, primarily about the new wave in pedophiles and involving the gay community, I never really shook that feeling.

There were also a lot of smaller reasons that this book just did not do it for me. There are a lot of sexual scenes in this book. I read romance, I’m okay if a book gets a little steamy. Almost every single one of these scenes is in no way romantic sex. Just off the top of my head I can think of two scenes that are just this side of consensual. Gay scenes, child molestation (more than once), bondage including children, four or five scenes with oral sex, masturbation, and the list just went on and on. There was definitely too much information, both before and after, as far as the molestation of Eric Wells was concerned. It was enough to know what was done but we got the details. Yeah…. I won’t be forgetting about that for awhile.

Then to top it all off there were twenty+ words that were just wrong. There would be a letter off but it would change the whole word. After the first five or so instances I decided to try and keep a list. It got to be tedious quick. A few examples: Mate instead of Matt, hoy instead of boy, cats instead of cars, horns instead of hours, surt instead of sure. Normally, I wouldn’t even bring this up but the Kindle version is $5.79. It’s important to note that I received a review copy but I want to make sure that you’re aware in case you decide you want to give this book a go and I did indeed receive the same version available on Amazon.

After all the negatives that I’ve listed above how could I have still given this book 2.5 stars? I know, right? Despite all of the scenes that had me on the verge of being sick, I couldn’t put it down. I wanted to know how it ended. I wanted to know how certain characters reacted. I can’t even explain why but it did have me riveted. The low rating is because I can’t in good conscience recommend this to anyone but for me personally it did keep me glued to it through most of the book.

[Hira · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is probably the first book I could not finish. I say 'could' instead of 'did' because it wasn't my choice. I ALWAYS finish books, no matter how bad they are. In fact, I have this habit of always finishing whatever I start no matter how long it takes. So before this, I've finished all books I ever read, even if they were the worst books ever. This book wasn't the 'worst'. It just wasn't my type. The writing was too plain. And it felt like it was being dragged on. The story seemed interesting at first, but it was so long that in the end I didn't even care what would happen to the boy.

One impact that this book left on me was of fear. It's scary because what happened to the poor boy, and more importantly what happened to Vernon, can actually happen to anyone in real life. Some people are twisted. And that scares me to death. To think that your neighbor, who seems so normal, could be plotting your murder right next door. I may seem paranoid, but that's what happens. That's what you read in the newspapers.

The boy only took a ride home. From a completely normal and friendly person. Who would've thought that he would end up kidnapped and sexually abused?

So in the end I would just say, this wasn't a bad book. It just wasn't for me. So please don't let my review stop you from reading the book! If you like pychological mysteries then you might like this one.

[Rob Trans · Rating 2 out of 5]

I stumbled on this book as a recommendation "if you liked this..., then you might like..." The story is about a crime against a child and I don't especially like stories with violence against women or children. So right off the topic was unpleasant. The most important problem I had with the book is the amount of time devoted to exploring the feelings and reactions of the characters including the criminal. I found myself skimming paragraphs more and more as I continued. If you happen to enjoy that kind of exploration of emotions, then you might find this a good read. I didn't think the author did a bad job with what he was trying to accomplish, it just wasn't for me. A small quibble was the way the author used language. It was if the book was translated from another language or it was written in a dialect of English which was just a bit uncommon. It was a slight distraction as i read. I don't expect to read this author again.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pulp detective story written in a literary style. In an age where these stories are all over cable TV at every hour of the day, this might not age well. I enjoyed reading it, but I found it really upsetting, as I find most crime TV shows.

[Joan Leicht · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story the characters were well drawn. I thought is went on too long.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: in Portsmouth NH, Gil Dulac, the town investigator, handles the abduction of a twelve-year-old boy.