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A Pinx Video Mystery #3
Late Fees
It’s Thanksgiving, 1992 and Noah Valentine is late picking his mother up from the airport. When he arrives he discovers that she’s made a friend on the flight whose also waiting for her son. When women’s son doesn’t show up, they eventually take the woman home for breakfast with neighbor’s Marc and Louis. Soon after, they learn that the woman’s son has overdosed—or has he? Noah and his motley crew investigate over the holiday weekend; which includes a fabulous dinner, a chat with a male stripper, a tiny little burglary and some help from Detective Tall, Dark, and Delicious.
222 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 10, 2018
50 people are currently reading
157 people want to read
About the author
Marshall Thornton
56 books629 followersThree-time Lambda Award-winning author, Marshall Thornton is best known for the Boystown and Pinx Video mystery series. Other novels include the erotic comedy The Perils of Praline, or the Amorous Adventures of a Southern Gentleman in Hollywood, Desert Run and Full Release. Marshall has an MFA in screenwriting from UCLA, where he received the Carl David Memorial Fellowship and was recognized in the Samuel Goldwyn Writing awards.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
April 22, 2021
Full blown 5+++++ stars.
2021 just got better. Finally I get to rate a book 5 stars that is not a reread. Yay!
Thankfully, New York, New York had not yet decorated for Christmas. There was still a cardboard turkey over the bar, and yellow and orange streamers. The place was packed, of course, and Whitney Houston wailed about how she’d always love us.
The way Marshall writes is just fantastic.
I love Noah and his friends. They are a bunch of fun people to hang out with. Noah is becoming so good at sleuthing that I find it very entertaining and not even bothered that he is doing it.
Everything works. The dry humor is on point as always. The conversations between the characters are so enjoyable and light hearted that I want to just hang out with them and become their best friend. Nothing is forced, it all just fits. GAAAAAHHH!!
The mystery was interesting and engaging. It almost read like a script. I had a very clear picture of the setting and the characters.
Noah's mum gets the award for the best supporting character. I loved her. And Noah? Gaaah! I freaking love Noah. He is such an amazing lovable character. I just hope he gets all the best things in book life. He deserves the world.
2021 just got better. Finally I get to rate a book 5 stars that is not a reread. Yay!
Thankfully, New York, New York had not yet decorated for Christmas. There was still a cardboard turkey over the bar, and yellow and orange streamers. The place was packed, of course, and Whitney Houston wailed about how she’d always love us.
The way Marshall writes is just fantastic.
I love Noah and his friends. They are a bunch of fun people to hang out with. Noah is becoming so good at sleuthing that I find it very entertaining and not even bothered that he is doing it.
Everything works. The dry humor is on point as always. The conversations between the characters are so enjoyable and light hearted that I want to just hang out with them and become their best friend. Nothing is forced, it all just fits. GAAAAAHHH!!
The mystery was interesting and engaging. It almost read like a script. I had a very clear picture of the setting and the characters.
Noah's mum gets the award for the best supporting character. I loved her. And Noah? Gaaah! I freaking love Noah. He is such an amazing lovable character. I just hope he gets all the best things in book life. He deserves the world.
February 14, 2022
This was CLEARLY the best book in the series so far.
It was seriously gorgeous from the beginning to the end.
A GREAT mystery !
Amazing character development !
And Noah's mom Angie ! OMG I loved her :-)
Noah's mom is coming to LA, visiting her son for Thanksgiving. Being the cool lady that she is, she met a fellow woman in an airport bar and they discovered that they are BOTH coming to LA to visit their gay sons.
It's just that.... when Noah shows up to pick up his mom, Joanne's son Rod doesn't.
As an act of goodwill, Noah invites Joanne to drive her to her son's apartment, hoping the man will be there, having for some reason overslept or forgotten to pick up his mom.
The thing is, though, and you may have guessed, Rod is dead.
The police put the case to rest quickly, stating that it was an overdose, but Noah, his mom and most of all the devastated mother Joanne are not so sure.
Together, they start an investigation that leads them to married straight strippers working in gay clubs, taking us deep into the problems of gay men in the early 90s.
It was an absolutely fascinating read.
And gosh, Javier O'Shea just pops up a few times in the course of the story, stopping the show with his swoonworthyness.
But still, Noah is certain that a relationship will never be possible with his handsome cop. Because damn, even in book 3, Noah isn't ready to talk about his feelings....
This was so, so well written. I absolutely LOVED it! And this series doesn't even have ANY sex, which is something I have yet to wrap my mind around. Because it doesn't feel like anything is missing. It is just perfect the way it is.
And OMG, if Javier and Noah don't end up together, I'll EAT MY KINDLE!!!!
5 stars, of course!!!
It was seriously gorgeous from the beginning to the end.
A GREAT mystery !
Amazing character development !
And Noah's mom Angie ! OMG I loved her :-)
Noah's mom is coming to LA, visiting her son for Thanksgiving. Being the cool lady that she is, she met a fellow woman in an airport bar and they discovered that they are BOTH coming to LA to visit their gay sons.
It's just that.... when Noah shows up to pick up his mom, Joanne's son Rod doesn't.
As an act of goodwill, Noah invites Joanne to drive her to her son's apartment, hoping the man will be there, having for some reason overslept or forgotten to pick up his mom.
The thing is, though, and you may have guessed, Rod is dead.
The police put the case to rest quickly, stating that it was an overdose, but Noah, his mom and most of all the devastated mother Joanne are not so sure.
Together, they start an investigation that leads them to married straight strippers working in gay clubs, taking us deep into the problems of gay men in the early 90s.
It was an absolutely fascinating read.
And gosh, Javier O'Shea just pops up a few times in the course of the story, stopping the show with his swoonworthyness.
But still, Noah is certain that a relationship will never be possible with his handsome cop. Because damn, even in book 3, Noah isn't ready to talk about his feelings....
This was so, so well written. I absolutely LOVED it! And this series doesn't even have ANY sex, which is something I have yet to wrap my mind around. Because it doesn't feel like anything is missing. It is just perfect the way it is.
And OMG, if Javier and Noah don't end up together, I'll EAT MY KINDLE!!!!
5 stars, of course!!!
September 6, 2021
"Late Fees" finds Noah and his small group of friends getting ready for Thanksgiving and the arrival of Noah's mother Angie for the holiday. Angie meets Joanne on the plane trip --"We found out we had all these things in common." "Like that we were both on our way to L.A. to visit our gay sons!" -- and when Joanne's son doesn't come to the airport to pick her up, Noah gives Joanne a ride only to find the son dead in his apartment, apparently a suicide.
But Noah, Matt, Louis and Leon aren't so sure and do some investigating of their own, with Angie proving to be a valuable addition to the group, picking locks with a bobby pin and engaging in a little bit of breaking and entering. As always, the murder mystery is secondary to the thoroughly engaging cast of characters and I loved Matt and Louis' elaborate Thanksgiving dinner (plus the recipes at the end of the book.)
Detective Javier O'Shea makes an appearance here, and while there's nary a kiss, O'Shea reluctantly tells Noah he can't stop thinking about him, and you just know there is more to come in the incredibly slow-burning saga of Noah and Javier. O'Shea now has a boyfriend Tim, but not to worry, as Noah's mother tells him:
I received an ARC from the author, in exchange for an honest review.
Visit my blog, Sinfully Good Gay Book Reviews
But Noah, Matt, Louis and Leon aren't so sure and do some investigating of their own, with Angie proving to be a valuable addition to the group, picking locks with a bobby pin and engaging in a little bit of breaking and entering. As always, the murder mystery is secondary to the thoroughly engaging cast of characters and I loved Matt and Louis' elaborate Thanksgiving dinner (plus the recipes at the end of the book.)
Detective Javier O'Shea makes an appearance here, and while there's nary a kiss, O'Shea reluctantly tells Noah he can't stop thinking about him, and you just know there is more to come in the incredibly slow-burning saga of Noah and Javier. O'Shea now has a boyfriend Tim, but not to worry, as Noah's mother tells him:
"Oh, that's not going to last."Noah continues to come to terms with being HIV positive (in the days when AZT was the only drug in town) but he's working toward being in a better frame of mine:
"Mom, what do you know about it?"
"I wasn't born yesterday. See, in every couple there's a pretty one. Tim thinks he's the pretty one, but he's not. As soon as he figures that out, it's over."
I did sometimes wonder what my life would have been like if I'd never met Jeffer, never fallen in love with him, never trusted -- but I couldn't ever get a clear picture. The only thing I knew for sure was that it would be different and I wouldn't be where I was right now. And now was not too bad. I liked now.4.5 stars and a Recommended Read for "Late Fees" and I awaiting the next book in this series!
I received an ARC from the author, in exchange for an honest review.
Visit my blog, Sinfully Good Gay Book Reviews
March 20, 2020
31st Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalist
3,5 stars rounded up
I wish I could have loved it more. ☹
It was a fun read, and the series, with its unmistakable humor and charm could make for sure a delightful TV series (as many other books by Marshall Thornton). I think that my modest exciting about it could be explained by me not being a fan of a sleuth fiction.
3,5 stars rounded up
I wish I could have loved it more. ☹
It was a fun read, and the series, with its unmistakable humor and charm could make for sure a delightful TV series (as many other books by Marshall Thornton). I think that my modest exciting about it could be explained by me not being a fan of a sleuth fiction.
January 13, 2019
4.5 stars
There's a wry, raw honesty that runs through this book. I couldn't help but see it as a screenplay in the hands of a director like Nicole Holofcener- everyday realism with an affectionate sense of the ridiculous in Noah's quirky friends and the visit of Noah's delightful mom lending a bittersweet feel.
This series is shaping up to be a slow burning gem. I'm in.
There's a wry, raw honesty that runs through this book. I couldn't help but see it as a screenplay in the hands of a director like Nicole Holofcener- everyday realism with an affectionate sense of the ridiculous in Noah's quirky friends and the visit of Noah's delightful mom lending a bittersweet feel.
This series is shaping up to be a slow burning gem. I'm in.
July 11, 2021
For uncounted reasons--I mean literally, I'm not even going to attempt to come up with a list, I've got better things to do--fictional characters should generally all be orphans. So when I started this third Pinx mystery and found Noah's mother was coming to visit I cringed in the same way one might when invited to an acquaintance's family gathering.
This was a lot of fun though. The mystery worked better for me than the one in the previous book, and revolved around something I don't really recall seeing used before, so that was interesting, although and this is the most minor of spoilers if it is one
Noah's personal development continues to be handled well, though I do wish he would just hurry up and tell Marc and Louis his secret, which I think Louis at least already suspects.
I really like how Thornton is handling the HIV/AIDS aspects. I flinched more at the mentions of Rampart than any of the HIV/AIDS references and had to google the Rampart scandal to check if it was likely to play any role in the series. (I doubt it.)
Looking forward to the next one.
This was a lot of fun though. The mystery worked better for me than the one in the previous book, and revolved around something I don't really recall seeing used before, so that was interesting, although and this is the most minor of spoilers if it is one
Noah's personal development continues to be handled well, though I do wish he would just hurry up and tell Marc and Louis his secret, which I think Louis at least already suspects.
I really like how Thornton is handling the HIV/AIDS aspects. I flinched more at the mentions of Rampart than any of the HIV/AIDS references and had to google the Rampart scandal to check if it was likely to play any role in the series. (I doubt it.)
Looking forward to the next one.
January 1, 2019
Late Fees (Pinx Video Mystery 3)
By Marshall Thornton
Published by Kenmore Books, 2018
Five stars
“Mom, after this visit I don’t think I have any secrets left.”
“Well, then, I suggest you get busy.”
Dear lord, I want Angela Valentine to move to Los Angeles.
Angie is Noah Valentine’s widowed sixty-something mother, and the entire plot of this book includes her, on a long-weekend visit to her son in L.A. Together, because of a stranger Angie met in an airport bar in Chicago, Noah and his mom are dragged into yet another murder that Noah desperately tries to deny is a murder.
Noah is (you should pardon the expression) the straight man in this darkish comedy. He deadpans his way through his stable-but-fragile life, avoiding difficult conversations and unpleasant truths. Noah, still in his late twenties, is HIV positive, infected by his late ex-lover, who cheated on him and lied. It is the early 1990s, and Noah is on AZT, which might just keep him alive. It takes a writer as good as Marshall Thornton to pull off this slight of hand. His dark and powerful Boystown series puts us in the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic, where there is little hope and lots of anger. Nick Nowak is a tough guy, a cop forced to deal with his own truth in the face of a plague. Noah Valentine, however, is a sweetie. A gentle, slightly feckless young man, who runs away to Hollywood and falls in love – at the wrong time in history. Unlike Nick, Noah knows there is hope out there, but that only makes his anxiety the more poignant.
Death and AIDS are both characters in this book, more than in the previous two. In spite of that, it is funnier than the previous two volumes, filled with wry asides that made me laugh out loud (or at least snort with amusement). Noah’s friends and neighbors, Louis and Marc, are both a comic duo and a sincere homage to those gay couples who survived the 1980s. All the characters who gather in the patio of Noah’s apartment building represent the lower-level denizens of the Industry – the worker-bees who make Hollywood function without reaping the big-scale benefits of fame or fortune. They also represent a kind of makeshift family who care about Noah and look out for him (in that somewhat selfish Hollywood way, as long as Noah’s needs don’t interfere with their personal agendas). These folks have made Noah’s life – good.
“And now was not too bad. I liked now.”
It is, in the end, Angie Valentine’s presence in Noah’s world during this current mystery that seems to cast a warm, benevolent light on Noah’s “now.” Forced to drive endlessly around Los Angeles together, they talk. Noah begins to understand that the family he ran away from was probably far better than he’d realized. His mother is innocent, wise, and filled with a quiet love for her endangered son. She is also pretty amusing. All of this makes an incremental difference as the narrative unrolls.
The very last line in the book is: “Um, my name is Noah.” It made me cry, and when you read this you’ll understand why.
By Marshall Thornton
Published by Kenmore Books, 2018
Five stars
“Mom, after this visit I don’t think I have any secrets left.”
“Well, then, I suggest you get busy.”
Dear lord, I want Angela Valentine to move to Los Angeles.
Angie is Noah Valentine’s widowed sixty-something mother, and the entire plot of this book includes her, on a long-weekend visit to her son in L.A. Together, because of a stranger Angie met in an airport bar in Chicago, Noah and his mom are dragged into yet another murder that Noah desperately tries to deny is a murder.
Noah is (you should pardon the expression) the straight man in this darkish comedy. He deadpans his way through his stable-but-fragile life, avoiding difficult conversations and unpleasant truths. Noah, still in his late twenties, is HIV positive, infected by his late ex-lover, who cheated on him and lied. It is the early 1990s, and Noah is on AZT, which might just keep him alive. It takes a writer as good as Marshall Thornton to pull off this slight of hand. His dark and powerful Boystown series puts us in the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic, where there is little hope and lots of anger. Nick Nowak is a tough guy, a cop forced to deal with his own truth in the face of a plague. Noah Valentine, however, is a sweetie. A gentle, slightly feckless young man, who runs away to Hollywood and falls in love – at the wrong time in history. Unlike Nick, Noah knows there is hope out there, but that only makes his anxiety the more poignant.
Death and AIDS are both characters in this book, more than in the previous two. In spite of that, it is funnier than the previous two volumes, filled with wry asides that made me laugh out loud (or at least snort with amusement). Noah’s friends and neighbors, Louis and Marc, are both a comic duo and a sincere homage to those gay couples who survived the 1980s. All the characters who gather in the patio of Noah’s apartment building represent the lower-level denizens of the Industry – the worker-bees who make Hollywood function without reaping the big-scale benefits of fame or fortune. They also represent a kind of makeshift family who care about Noah and look out for him (in that somewhat selfish Hollywood way, as long as Noah’s needs don’t interfere with their personal agendas). These folks have made Noah’s life – good.
“And now was not too bad. I liked now.”
It is, in the end, Angie Valentine’s presence in Noah’s world during this current mystery that seems to cast a warm, benevolent light on Noah’s “now.” Forced to drive endlessly around Los Angeles together, they talk. Noah begins to understand that the family he ran away from was probably far better than he’d realized. His mother is innocent, wise, and filled with a quiet love for her endangered son. She is also pretty amusing. All of this makes an incremental difference as the narrative unrolls.
The very last line in the book is: “Um, my name is Noah.” It made me cry, and when you read this you’ll understand why.
November 28, 2025
El día de acción de gracias ha llegado, y con el su madre. Pero ella no ha llegado sola, se consiguió con una señora que también venía a los ángeles y se hicieron "amigas". El problema es que cuando van a dejar a la señora en casa de su hijo, este no responde. Y los peores temores de Noah se hacen realidad, se ve envuelto, de nuevo, en otro asesinato, y la presión de su madre y sus amigos, lo instan a investigar. Pero este nuevo "caso" no es tan fácil de resolver, depende de mucha gente que no conoce y con un detective en el caso, que no es "lindo-peligroso", que realmente parece odiarlo, su madre, sus amigos y él tendrán que ingeniárselas para averiguar quien asesino al joven y porque.
Otro libro divertido, entretenido y con otro misterio de la época. Quién iba a decir que los secretos que guardaban la mayoría de las personas con HIV en los 90's podrían llegar al asesinato? Seria cierto eso de los seguros de vida? De todas formas, ha resultado tan divertido y entretenido como los libros anteriores de la serie. Me gusta mucho Noah y las locuras que hacer "aunque no quiera", solo por resolver un misterio, y en este libro esta su mamá, que resulta por momento, hilarante, y en otros dulce y comprensiva.
En fin, voy a continuar con este serie, quiero saber si Noah va a aceptar salir con "lindo-peligroso", y como va a enfrentar su vida en remisión.
Otro libro divertido, entretenido y con otro misterio de la época. Quién iba a decir que los secretos que guardaban la mayoría de las personas con HIV en los 90's podrían llegar al asesinato? Seria cierto eso de los seguros de vida? De todas formas, ha resultado tan divertido y entretenido como los libros anteriores de la serie. Me gusta mucho Noah y las locuras que hacer "aunque no quiera", solo por resolver un misterio, y en este libro esta su mamá, que resulta por momento, hilarante, y en otros dulce y comprensiva.
En fin, voy a continuar con este serie, quiero saber si Noah va a aceptar salir con "lindo-peligroso", y como va a enfrentar su vida en remisión.
November 19, 2018
Pretty good! Not my favorite of the series—I think something about the storyline with the moms just didn't do it for me entirely. And, man, sometimes his friends just annoy the hell out of me. :)
But overall, very enjoyable, per ushe!!
(PS This is the slowest slow burn romance of all time.)
But overall, very enjoyable, per ushe!!
(PS This is the slowest slow burn romance of all time.)
January 7, 2019
4,5 stars
About a year ago now I picked up the first book in this series. For the most part I wasn't sold on it and was going to leave the rest of the series and was satisfied with just reading that one. Then the ending happened and I was hooked, needed to know more. Now? I'm totally addicted and in love with this series and keep hoping for more books.
It's almost Thanksgiving and Noah's mother, Angie, is flying in to spend the holidays in Los Angeles. Only he's late picking her up from the airport, and during that time she made a friend who's also waiting for her son. Noah offers to drive Joanne to her son's apartment on his way home. But when they arrive, there's no son in sight and they soon finds out he's died during the night in an apparent suicide.
Only Noah and his gang of friends aren't so sure, so they start investigating. Noah is more than reluctant to get involved with another murder investigation. Especially since his mother is determined to partake in it - but that makes it all the more fun for the reader.
The series has this strange combination of gritty, but also the cosy mystery feel to it. The action is (very) low key and the pacing is not this intense can't breathe and nonstop action kind of thing. On the contrary, it feels real, not only because it's life, but also because it really fits with the 90's where that stress of doing and being everywhere at once isn't as pronounced as it is today. Nothing is instant - the coffee or flow of information.
There's still no romance near this series, maybe the fantasy or wishful thinking of one, but I honestly don't mind that. This series is good as it is, and I do see something happening down the line, but there's no need to rush it. Noah isn't there yet, he's still got a lot to work through and this book sees him start that journey. And one I I'm so looking forward to be part of.
A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
About a year ago now I picked up the first book in this series. For the most part I wasn't sold on it and was going to leave the rest of the series and was satisfied with just reading that one. Then the ending happened and I was hooked, needed to know more. Now? I'm totally addicted and in love with this series and keep hoping for more books.
It's almost Thanksgiving and Noah's mother, Angie, is flying in to spend the holidays in Los Angeles. Only he's late picking her up from the airport, and during that time she made a friend who's also waiting for her son. Noah offers to drive Joanne to her son's apartment on his way home. But when they arrive, there's no son in sight and they soon finds out he's died during the night in an apparent suicide.
Only Noah and his gang of friends aren't so sure, so they start investigating. Noah is more than reluctant to get involved with another murder investigation. Especially since his mother is determined to partake in it - but that makes it all the more fun for the reader.
The series has this strange combination of gritty, but also the cosy mystery feel to it. The action is (very) low key and the pacing is not this intense can't breathe and nonstop action kind of thing. On the contrary, it feels real, not only because it's life, but also because it really fits with the 90's where that stress of doing and being everywhere at once isn't as pronounced as it is today. Nothing is instant - the coffee or flow of information.
There's still no romance near this series, maybe the fantasy or wishful thinking of one, but I honestly don't mind that. This series is good as it is, and I do see something happening down the line, but there's no need to rush it. Noah isn't there yet, he's still got a lot to work through and this book sees him start that journey. And one I I'm so looking forward to be part of.
A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
December 14, 2018
A Joyfully Jay review.
5 stars
I will begin by saying that I really enjoy the Pinx Video Mystery series by Marshall Thornton. You should know that this has to be the most slow-burning romance side plot in history. These novels are about Noah’s life and his discovery he became HIV+ from a man he trusted and loved. His partner has passed away at the beginning of this series, but in this third book, Late Fees, we still feel the impact of the legacy Noah unknowingly received. Murder finds poor Noah Valentine over and over it seems, but with the help of his intrepid friends, neighbors Matt and Louis, the sarcastically intrusive Leon, and the handsome recently out and proud Detective Javier O’Shea, luckily death merely brushes up against him occasionally.
Read Sammy’s review in its entirety here.
5 stars
I will begin by saying that I really enjoy the Pinx Video Mystery series by Marshall Thornton. You should know that this has to be the most slow-burning romance side plot in history. These novels are about Noah’s life and his discovery he became HIV+ from a man he trusted and loved. His partner has passed away at the beginning of this series, but in this third book, Late Fees, we still feel the impact of the legacy Noah unknowingly received. Murder finds poor Noah Valentine over and over it seems, but with the help of his intrepid friends, neighbors Matt and Louis, the sarcastically intrusive Leon, and the handsome recently out and proud Detective Javier O’Shea, luckily death merely brushes up against him occasionally.
Read Sammy’s review in its entirety here.
May 21, 2019
I love Noah Valentine solving murders. Marshall Thornton’s Pinx Video Mysteries have me hooked! I can’t wait to start reading the next book. An HIV+ mid 90’s video store owner who stumbles into sleuthing. What’s not to love?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 7, 2023
I’m devouring this series too fast, but I can’t stop myself. I adored this book! Having Noah’s mom in town for the holidays and helping to solve a mystery was fabulous. I hope we see her again.
November 11, 2018
I am really enjoying this series.
Set around Thanksgiving 1992, Noah's mom is coming out to spend the holiday with him. As things progress he is pulled into a murder, which of course at the beginning nobody thinks is a murder.
The main secondary characters are all there.
An intriguing mystery which had me guessing right up until the big reveal.
Can't wait for the next in the series.
Set around Thanksgiving 1992, Noah's mom is coming out to spend the holiday with him. As things progress he is pulled into a murder, which of course at the beginning nobody thinks is a murder.
The main secondary characters are all there.
An intriguing mystery which had me guessing right up until the big reveal.
Can't wait for the next in the series.
February 15, 2021
4.5 stars
Another win! This time with Noah’s mom. So adorable and funny 🤣 I don’t think I can find any fault with his series. Except there’s no romance for Noah. Yet? Hopefully?!
Another win! This time with Noah’s mom. So adorable and funny 🤣 I don’t think I can find any fault with his series. Except there’s no romance for Noah. Yet? Hopefully?!
January 28, 2020
I love the nostalgia! Things like the smoking section on planes and "something outrageous" involving Sinead O'Connor on Saturday Night Live and pagers . . . Oh, and there's a murder mystery, too. Can't wait to read the next one.
January 9, 2020
I just adore this series! This might be my favorite. I'll have to do a re-read someday. 😉 Read the blurb to know what the story is about. No spoilers from me! This has so many good lines!
I mixed up my Valium with my sleeping pills. I gave her Halcion. Two of them.”
“Sleeping pills?”
“I’m afraid they’re kind of strong.”
“You think she’ll be okay?” I asked. It really wouldn’t be good if we’d killed the woman. (Bahahaha!!!!!!)
“We don’t have to whisper. Remember? You drugged her.” (Yep, you certainly did. 😉)
(Noah talks about coming out and being afraid how his parents would react.) “I guess it’s that I grew up knowing good Christians threw their gay kids out and never saw them again. You and Dad were good Christians.”
She looked at me a moment and then said, “Not that good, dear.” (Can I get an amen? 🙏)
I plan to start reading book 4 asap! Need to clear my current pile and then it's mine! The blurb is so mm-mm-mm-mm yummy! Who loves a good mystery? 🤔 This girl! 🙋)
I mixed up my Valium with my sleeping pills. I gave her Halcion. Two of them.”
“Sleeping pills?”
“I’m afraid they’re kind of strong.”
“You think she’ll be okay?” I asked. It really wouldn’t be good if we’d killed the woman. (Bahahaha!!!!!!)
“We don’t have to whisper. Remember? You drugged her.” (Yep, you certainly did. 😉)
(Noah talks about coming out and being afraid how his parents would react.) “I guess it’s that I grew up knowing good Christians threw their gay kids out and never saw them again. You and Dad were good Christians.”
She looked at me a moment and then said, “Not that good, dear.” (Can I get an amen? 🙏)
I plan to start reading book 4 asap! Need to clear my current pile and then it's mine! The blurb is so mm-mm-mm-mm yummy! Who loves a good mystery? 🤔 This girl! 🙋)
December 6, 2018
Noah's mom is the bomb.
February 20, 2022
5-Stars
Late Fees, Marshall Thornton’s third volume in his ‘Pinx Video Mystery’ series, is every bit as much fun as the first two.
It's Thanksgiving and Noah Valentine’s mother, Angie, has come to LA for a visit - a visit Noah had attempted to forestall for years. When she arrives she is accompanied by another women, Joanne, who Angie had met in a bar at Chicago’s O’Hare airport while changing planes on her trip from Grand Rapids. Joanne has also come to LA to visit her son, Rod Brusco, who, of course, is also a gay man.
Angie quickly fits in with Noah’s friends and neighbors, Marc, Louis, and Leon, becoming the latest member of their team trying to unravel a motive and identify the murderer in this amazing series.
The story line of Noah’s personal life also advances - although not along the lines I had hoped. Having been ‘rejected’ by Noah, recently out gay LAPD Homicide Detective Javier O’Shea now has a boyfriend. Javier is clearly still more attracted to Noah as is Noah to him. Surely in subsequent volumes thee two will have to find their HEA ending.
As always Late Fees is filled with the array of fascinating secondary characters Thornton typically creates, all of whom become instrument to the resolution of the mystery.
This time I was absolutely certain that I had identified the murderer before the perpetrator was finally revealed by the author.
I hadn’t.
On to Rewind, volume 4 in Thorntons wonderful ‘Pinx Video Mystery’ series of mystery, murder, and mayhem.
Late Fees, Marshall Thornton’s third volume in his ‘Pinx Video Mystery’ series, is every bit as much fun as the first two.
It's Thanksgiving and Noah Valentine’s mother, Angie, has come to LA for a visit - a visit Noah had attempted to forestall for years. When she arrives she is accompanied by another women, Joanne, who Angie had met in a bar at Chicago’s O’Hare airport while changing planes on her trip from Grand Rapids. Joanne has also come to LA to visit her son, Rod Brusco, who, of course, is also a gay man.
Angie quickly fits in with Noah’s friends and neighbors, Marc, Louis, and Leon, becoming the latest member of their team trying to unravel a motive and identify the murderer in this amazing series.
The story line of Noah’s personal life also advances - although not along the lines I had hoped. Having been ‘rejected’ by Noah, recently out gay LAPD Homicide Detective Javier O’Shea now has a boyfriend. Javier is clearly still more attracted to Noah as is Noah to him. Surely in subsequent volumes thee two will have to find their HEA ending.
As always Late Fees is filled with the array of fascinating secondary characters Thornton typically creates, all of whom become instrument to the resolution of the mystery.
This time I was absolutely certain that I had identified the murderer before the perpetrator was finally revealed by the author.
I hadn’t.
On to Rewind, volume 4 in Thorntons wonderful ‘Pinx Video Mystery’ series of mystery, murder, and mayhem.
March 12, 2023
This series has grown on me, but I have to remind myself every time that it's really more of a mystery series than a romance. And this story has less than most of them with any hints at a relationship developing with Javier, our lovely friendly cop. This time around it's Thanksgiving and Noah's mom is in town visiting. His mother's chance meeting in the airport bar has Noah wrapped up in yet another murder, after all his mother can't let her new friend deal with her son's death on her own.
This was a fun mystery with all of Noah's friends making their normal instagatory appearances. I love Noah as the reluctant hero. He isn't out and out trying to get involved, but things do always seem to go that way. He just can't let a niggle that doesn't make sense go, even when the death on the surface looks like just a typical overdose.
This series is a full of quick easy reads that are always enjoyable. I look forward to the next one.
This was a fun mystery with all of Noah's friends making their normal instagatory appearances. I love Noah as the reluctant hero. He isn't out and out trying to get involved, but things do always seem to go that way. He just can't let a niggle that doesn't make sense go, even when the death on the surface looks like just a typical overdose.
This series is a full of quick easy reads that are always enjoyable. I look forward to the next one.
September 3, 2024
I’m so glad Thornton managed to write the “older woman is less sheltered than expected” trope in a way that made Angie feel like a real person instead of a caricature, and that she’s an unequivocally positive and loving presence in Noah’s life. She was a great addition to the team and I liked that she developed her own relationships with Noah’s friends.
February 1, 2019
This book goes from serious to funny and everywhere in between and I love it. I love this series. If I ever felt sorry for anyone, it would be Noah. Lol. That man is a trouble magnet with a capital T and his friends don't help in keeping him out of it either. I'm convinced he needs to give up his video store and just be a PI. Or something.
It's bad enough Noah gets into trouble on his own, now his own mom is in on the 'fun’. Picking her up late at the airport started this whole tale and as usual, Noah ends up with his life possibly at risk. His mom meets someone in the airport bar who is also waiting for her gay son. When the son doesn't show, Noah...well Noah’s mom, volunteers them to take her to her son's apartment. There's no answer by phone or the door, so they decide to try in the morning after hearing he was at a party late. The police call the next morning to inform them the son is dead. But the mom is convinced her son wouldn't kill himself, in spite what the cops are saying. And it leads to a mystery where the cops are not happy with Noah, as usual, the suspects have secrets a mile long, and finding out Noah's mom can perform a B&E.
Noah finds out some things about his mom in this one that gives him a few shocks. Such as the B&E, for example. And she's just as bad about wanting to investigate as his friends are, when all he wants to do is stay home. It always ends up where he's almost shot, stabbed or something and he'd like to remain alive a bit longer. Plus, the cops are really getting pissed at him. Except for Javi, but that's a whole other story.
His mom being in this story just cracked me up so many times. She is a pistol. It had its hard times too. Discussing his HIV status was hard. No good mom wants to lose their child. That's one thing in this story and series I've loved. Although nowadays, with things such as PreP, HIV and AIDS seem to be having better results. Although there's no cure, they seem to be getting a better handle on it. But back then, it was still new and raw. So many had lost their lives. I love that the author uses characters that have the disease though. And shows them in a different light. It's never downplayed and I love it. Good, bad and ugly.
I'm still convinced Noah need to just be a PI. Maybe his friends do too, as much as they keep sticking him in the middle of it lol. But his natural curiosity and need to get at the truth make for an interesting story. Full of mystery, suspense, humor and more. These stories I can never put down. True entertainment. I'm waiting to see if he gets in more trouble soon and what it is next.
http://lovebytesreviews.com
It's bad enough Noah gets into trouble on his own, now his own mom is in on the 'fun’. Picking her up late at the airport started this whole tale and as usual, Noah ends up with his life possibly at risk. His mom meets someone in the airport bar who is also waiting for her gay son. When the son doesn't show, Noah...well Noah’s mom, volunteers them to take her to her son's apartment. There's no answer by phone or the door, so they decide to try in the morning after hearing he was at a party late. The police call the next morning to inform them the son is dead. But the mom is convinced her son wouldn't kill himself, in spite what the cops are saying. And it leads to a mystery where the cops are not happy with Noah, as usual, the suspects have secrets a mile long, and finding out Noah's mom can perform a B&E.
Noah finds out some things about his mom in this one that gives him a few shocks. Such as the B&E, for example. And she's just as bad about wanting to investigate as his friends are, when all he wants to do is stay home. It always ends up where he's almost shot, stabbed or something and he'd like to remain alive a bit longer. Plus, the cops are really getting pissed at him. Except for Javi, but that's a whole other story.
His mom being in this story just cracked me up so many times. She is a pistol. It had its hard times too. Discussing his HIV status was hard. No good mom wants to lose their child. That's one thing in this story and series I've loved. Although nowadays, with things such as PreP, HIV and AIDS seem to be having better results. Although there's no cure, they seem to be getting a better handle on it. But back then, it was still new and raw. So many had lost their lives. I love that the author uses characters that have the disease though. And shows them in a different light. It's never downplayed and I love it. Good, bad and ugly.
I'm still convinced Noah need to just be a PI. Maybe his friends do too, as much as they keep sticking him in the middle of it lol. But his natural curiosity and need to get at the truth make for an interesting story. Full of mystery, suspense, humor and more. These stories I can never put down. True entertainment. I'm waiting to see if he gets in more trouble soon and what it is next.
http://lovebytesreviews.com
June 17, 2023
I really enjoy this series so much. It's not quite a cozy mystery but also not NOT a cozy mystery... it just feels a bit gentler and calmer than a lot of other mystery series I read, which is always nice to come back to. I think I've said this in the first two book reviews too but I love that Noah is so low-key and average, and isn't necessarily wanting to get caught up in these mysteries but *does* want answers. In this book, Noah's mom comes to town, and she is a total delight. I cannot imagine bringing my mom to half the places Noah brought his mom, and I'll leave it at that. 😆 The mystery was a good one; there were a lot of details that were difficult to pick up on before the true meaning of them were revealed, but it all ended up making sense.
October 29, 2024
It’s Thanksgiving and Noah’s mom flys in for a visit. Which brings murder and mayhem in for the holiday. I laugh when all his friends, even his mother, drag poor Noah into investigate the murder. This series has a riot of characters which I adore, except maybe Leon. He is a bit of of a snob, but every group of friends has one. I just wish Noah has a bit more romance coming his way.
December 30, 2018
I think it would be awesome if someone made a television series about Noah & his mom solving crimes. I would totally watch that show.
Also, I know this is a mystery series, not a romance but I really hope it turns into one down the line.
Also, I know this is a mystery series, not a romance but I really hope it turns into one down the line.
November 17, 2018
Enjoyed a lot!
December 3, 2018
I always love a Marshall Thornton book and this was really good with mystery and enough snark to make it humorous.
April 23, 2023
I love Noah and his friends so it was wonderful to come back to their adventures. And Noah's mom! She's such a wonderful person! She immediately took to Nah's friends and I loved she was so worried about someone she barely knew and so set on helping her.
The mystery was good and keep me interested throughout the whole book. And Javier O'Shea pops up a couple of times although Noah still can't believe that they could have a future together. And oh, he also has a boyfriend! But Noah's mom isn't very worried about that.
*dies laughing* She's SO right!
I liked (as always) the way in which Thornton deals with issues of HIV/AIDS. It's compassionate without any sugar-coating, and the facts of the time are presented with raw honesty.
Another great story, but then, I wasn't expecting less :P
The mystery was good and keep me interested throughout the whole book. And Javier O'Shea pops up a couple of times although Noah still can't believe that they could have a future together. And oh, he also has a boyfriend! But Noah's mom isn't very worried about that.
(...) See, in every couple there's a pretty one. Tim thinks he's the pretty one, but he's not. As soon as he figures that out, it's over."
*dies laughing* She's SO right!
I liked (as always) the way in which Thornton deals with issues of HIV/AIDS. It's compassionate without any sugar-coating, and the facts of the time are presented with raw honesty.
Another great story, but then, I wasn't expecting less :P
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March 12, 2019Accomplished mystery author Marshall Thornton (the Boystown series) takes readers on a trip back to early 90s Los Angeles in his recent release, Late Fees: a Pinx Video whodunnit. Against a backdrop of nascent antiretroviral HIV treatment, VHS rentals, beepers, phone books, and West Hollywood muscle queens, it’s a well-crafted murder mystery that makes for a fun, nostalgic ride.
Read the rest of my review at Out in Print
Read the rest of my review at Out in Print
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