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Dave Brandstetter #3
Troublemaker
Who killed gay bar owner and all-around nice guy Rick Wendell? Was it Larry Johns, the attractive young man found wiping his prints off the still-smoking gun mere moments after the murder? If so, why was Johns naked? And what happened to the large sum of money Wendell had just withdrawn from the bar's bank account? Hard-boiled, openly gay insurance claims investigator Dave Brandstetter aims to find out in Troublemaker, the third volume in Joseph Hansen's legendary and critically acclaimed Brandstetter mystery series.
155 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
35 people are currently reading
324 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Hansen
133 books158 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 117 reviews
March 2, 2020
The third adventure starring Dave Brandstetter, the openly gay death-claims insurance investigator from L.A., is entertaining and intellectually satisfying. The mystery itself isn't much--something about the murder of the owner of a gay bar and an outstanding claim of $25,000 (more than a hundred thousand bucks in today's money), but I read my mysteries for the characters, the atmosphere and the setting (particularly if the setting is a city), and "Troublemaker" didn't disappoint me in any of these areas.
Besides, the prose is spare and elegant--as always--and Hansen give us a rare peek--rare at least as far as the mystery genre is concerned--into gay life in Southern California in the '70's and '80's from the standpoint, not of a young gay activist, but of a man in his fifties who has been living in that culture for more than a quarter of a century.
May 25, 2013
Rating: 4* of five
The Book Description: Who killed gay bar owner and all-around nice guy Rick Wendell? Was it Larry Johns, the attractive young man found wiping his prints off the still-smoking gun mere moments after the murder? If so, why was Johns naked? And what happened to the large sum of money Wendell had just withdrawn from the bar's bank account? Hard-boiled, openly gay insurance claims investigator Dave Brandstetter aims to find out in Troublemaker, the third volume in Joseph Hansen's legendary and critically acclaimed Brandstetter mystery series.
My Review: It's always risky to read or perhaps especially re-read an entire series back-to-back. Fortunately for me, the noir tropes overlaid (!) with gay tropes whisked me past any potential eyerolling and gusty sighing over the flaws present in any book.
I've heard tell that some folks don't find Hansen's descriptive passages all that much fun. I don't understand this opinion. I can see, hear, feel along with Dave...and Hansen's words cause that. Since I experience Brandstetterworld so viscerally, I am verschmeckeled by reports others can't.
This story is a real downer for family-oriented types. Dave neglects his man Doug, the families of exactly no one in the story are anything other than vile, venal, and grasping...sounds like the real world to me. At least it accords with my own experience of family life. The mystery of who kills the victim is more easily solved than the mystery of why any of these people aren't dead at each others' hand. And frankly, good riddance!
Dave, of course, solves the crime and Justice prevails. The idea that someone would kill for $25,000 doubtless made more sense forty years ago. Now that's not enough to buy a decent new car.
What a wonderful treat it was to immerse myself in this series again. Now it needs to be made into a TV series. Who knows someone who could make that happen? Anyone?
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
The Book Description: Who killed gay bar owner and all-around nice guy Rick Wendell? Was it Larry Johns, the attractive young man found wiping his prints off the still-smoking gun mere moments after the murder? If so, why was Johns naked? And what happened to the large sum of money Wendell had just withdrawn from the bar's bank account? Hard-boiled, openly gay insurance claims investigator Dave Brandstetter aims to find out in Troublemaker, the third volume in Joseph Hansen's legendary and critically acclaimed Brandstetter mystery series.
My Review: It's always risky to read or perhaps especially re-read an entire series back-to-back. Fortunately for me, the noir tropes overlaid (!) with gay tropes whisked me past any potential eyerolling and gusty sighing over the flaws present in any book.
I've heard tell that some folks don't find Hansen's descriptive passages all that much fun. I don't understand this opinion. I can see, hear, feel along with Dave...and Hansen's words cause that. Since I experience Brandstetterworld so viscerally, I am verschmeckeled by reports others can't.
This story is a real downer for family-oriented types. Dave neglects his man Doug, the families of exactly no one in the story are anything other than vile, venal, and grasping...sounds like the real world to me. At least it accords with my own experience of family life. The mystery of who kills the victim is more easily solved than the mystery of why any of these people aren't dead at each others' hand. And frankly, good riddance!
Dave, of course, solves the crime and Justice prevails. The idea that someone would kill for $25,000 doubtless made more sense forty years ago. Now that's not enough to buy a decent new car.
What a wonderful treat it was to immerse myself in this series again. Now it needs to be made into a TV series. Who knows someone who could make that happen? Anyone?
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
September 15, 2014
It's a cliche to use the term "master of the written word," isn't it?
Fuck it.
Once again Hansen proves he is a master of the written word.
(There. Actually, that entire sentence is a cliche. Oh well. It's true nonetheless.)
Usually I cannot stand an overuse of metaphors, similes...analogies...you know, stuff. JUST SAY WHAT YOU MEAN, PEOPLE. Whenever I read about the crashing waves of love along the shores of...of...I don't know, I can't even do it. But when I come across such writing, I feel like I can see the writer hunched over their computer, crying as they write cause it's just so awesome.
Ok, Dorothy and I may be stating our case a bit strongly. My point is that when Hansen writes the surf lipped pale sand beyond a stagger of red dune fences, I barely notice. Out of context it seems just as overwrought as "love's crashing shores," but while reading it's effortless. It adds to the story, to individual characterizations, instead of jarring the reader. Whether you're 10 or you're 40 and you want to be a writer when you're all growed up -- study this man.
Despite the beautiful writing I just didn't find Troublemaker as compelling as the first two books in the Dave Brandstetter series. In Fadeout & Death Claims Dave was struggling with different romantic relationships; I loved how his musing over his personal life effected his view of whatever mystery he was solving and how whatever mystery he was solving effected his view of his personal life. It's not really the romantic subplot I missed (cause, as previously stated, NOT A ROMANCE), but the effect that subplot had on the story and Dave overall. Dave seemed less personally effected by this mystery and as a result I felt less emotionally invested.
But I did love the mystery. Books about dead people are my faves.
Sometimes I wonder if there's something seriously wrong with me. And by "sometimes" I mean "all the time."
3.5 stars
Thanks for the BR, Sofia, my sweet!
March 5, 2013
This is the third outing for Joseph Hansen's insurance investigator, Dave Brandstetter. Medallion, Dave's company, is carrying a life insurance policy on Richard Wendell. Wendell has been shot to death and his mother, Heather, finds Larry Johns, one of Richard's lovers, standing over the body with a gun in his hand.
To the police, it looks like an open and shut case, which is bad news for Medallion who will be out $25,000. This book was published in 1975 when $25,000 no doubt seemed like a lot more money than it does today, and so Dave goes out to investigate. He's troubled because the physical evidence suggests that the police might have jumped to the wrong conclusion. Most important, the fatal wound is a contact wound and the accused man did not have gunshot residue on his hands. It's at least possible that Wendell committed suicide. It's even possible that Heather Wendell who disapproved of her son's gay lifestyle might have shot him. In either case, Medallion would be off the hook.
The victim was co-owner of a gay bar, and the deeper Dave probes into the case, the more suspects seem to emerge. The hunt takes Dave, who is also gay, through the homosexual subculture of L.A. and through a variety of interesting twists and turns before reaching a conclusion that many readers will have gotten to ahead of him.
This is a solid entry in the Dave Brandstetter series although it is not one of the best of them. As usual, Dave' father, the chairman of Medallion, makes an appearance and it's always fun to watch the interaction between the gay son and the solidly heterosexual sixty-five year-old father who is currently working on wife number nine.
Dave's father has heart trouble and his doctor has advised him to stop drinking, smoking, screwing and working so hard. Dave allows that this might be good advice as Dad lights a cigarette and mixes a pitcher of martinis. Dad's not having any of that and warns Dave that he should be prepared to go freelance when the elder Mr. Brandstetter kicks the bucket because the Board won't keep Dave on the payroll due to his lifestyle.
To this Dave just shruggs. "I like the job," he said. "But I feel about it the way you feel about your heart. I'm not ready to give up my sex life for it." Well said, Dave.
To the police, it looks like an open and shut case, which is bad news for Medallion who will be out $25,000. This book was published in 1975 when $25,000 no doubt seemed like a lot more money than it does today, and so Dave goes out to investigate. He's troubled because the physical evidence suggests that the police might have jumped to the wrong conclusion. Most important, the fatal wound is a contact wound and the accused man did not have gunshot residue on his hands. It's at least possible that Wendell committed suicide. It's even possible that Heather Wendell who disapproved of her son's gay lifestyle might have shot him. In either case, Medallion would be off the hook.
The victim was co-owner of a gay bar, and the deeper Dave probes into the case, the more suspects seem to emerge. The hunt takes Dave, who is also gay, through the homosexual subculture of L.A. and through a variety of interesting twists and turns before reaching a conclusion that many readers will have gotten to ahead of him.
This is a solid entry in the Dave Brandstetter series although it is not one of the best of them. As usual, Dave' father, the chairman of Medallion, makes an appearance and it's always fun to watch the interaction between the gay son and the solidly heterosexual sixty-five year-old father who is currently working on wife number nine.
Dave's father has heart trouble and his doctor has advised him to stop drinking, smoking, screwing and working so hard. Dave allows that this might be good advice as Dad lights a cigarette and mixes a pitcher of martinis. Dad's not having any of that and warns Dave that he should be prepared to go freelance when the elder Mr. Brandstetter kicks the bucket because the Board won't keep Dave on the payroll due to his lifestyle.
To this Dave just shruggs. "I like the job," he said. "But I feel about it the way you feel about your heart. I'm not ready to give up my sex life for it." Well said, Dave.
July 6, 2014
Hansen paints and his medium is words. Beautiful, spare, visual writing.
Dave is more distant than usual in this one. At the same time we see little glimmers of him. The man, who appears uncaring, cares. I saw this in the interactions with Doug’s mother, with any animal that is around, with the seemingly non-relationship with his father. I think it was the first time in this series that homophobia touches the protective bubble Dave seems to live in.
As is typical for Hansen’s writing, the human factor always wins out. I find his writings to be character studies, people, who they are and what they do, intricately woven with plot. Cause and effect. Always a treat as was this one.
BR with Rosa - love the sharing Girl
August 9, 2021
The 3rd in the series. The writing in these books is just so good, the mysteries solid, and this is no exception, and with such a human investigator (it's difficult to ascribe a better quality to both the books and the main character). The pacing is relaxed (or not fast and furious, in any case), but definitely not slacking, just right and realistic. I highly recommend it!
July 26, 2016
3,5 stars
Troublemaker is the third case of Dave Branstetter and though I liked the first two books more than the third one, I can assure you - it was not the writing that influenced my rating.
The writing of Joseph Hansen is masterful and one of his biggest talent.
His books are less suited for the reading in-between.
You have to forget everyday life around you to fully concentrate on his wording to detect the small jewels that are hidden on every page.
The inconspicuous things like:
Something had offended her and failed to apologize. Not lately-long ago. Life, probably.
or:
Cement trucks climbed dirt trails, tanks turning, turning, like pregnant iron girls in sleep.
His sense of perfectionism made him to re-write some of the passages sometimes over 30 times and you feel his great attention to detail in every line.
The mystery in Troublemaker was actually good, but not as good as in the previous books. I think that my biggest problem was the number of the murder suspects. Toward the end of the book it became hard to follow the story and I had to page back to understand who was going and what was happening, whom Dave was talking with and why he suspected this person at all.
My next personal problem became sex scenes. Or better to say totally absence of them. In spite of the fact, that Troublemaker is the most gay case of Dave Brandstetter until now- he tries to find a murderer of a gay bar owner Rick Wendell - it is also the most sterile story until now. I know, Dave Brandstetter's Mystery is in the first place a gay mystery. And I knew what I was getting into. I am not complaining about almost non-existent romance part. But I need at least one BJ or FUCK or ASS or COCK or DICK, SOMETHING, that brings a little, tiny, small, invisible - I don't ask for more, you see!- joy, satisfaction for my naughty part. You won't find it here. And though I said already in my previous reviews that I was very surprised how up-to date and modern the stories appeared, it is the point where I consider the series a bit old-fashioned. It is like in the old black and white movies: The bedroom doors would be closed in front of your nose, and all you have is your own imagination. In Troublemaker Joseph Hansen didn't let us to come even close to the bedroom door. And I need SEX in my MM books. I miss it here.
I have to pause for something hot, silly, less sophisticated and overloaded with sex and then I'll be back to Dave.
I hope that my tiny problems will be solved in some way in his further cases.
But the writing and the mystery is totally worth it to try.
Still HIGHLY recommended.
January 24, 2022
Hansen’s third offering in his Dave Brandstetter mystery series has the death claims insurance investigator looking into the gunshot death of Rick Wendell, co-owner of a gay bar. The police have arrested handsome, sweet Larry Johns of the killing as he was found with the gun in his hands, but Brandstetter’s inquiries lead to ‘Mr. Marvelous’, a wealthy architect and several more possible suspects.
Hansen includes the riotous California gay sex scene of the time [it was a decade before the advent of HIV] and has the older gay Brandstetter feeling uncomfortable in it. The investigator prefers more traditional, long-term relationships like the twenty-year one he had before his lover died.
Enjoy Hansen’s California noir tale.
Hansen includes the riotous California gay sex scene of the time [it was a decade before the advent of HIV] and has the older gay Brandstetter feeling uncomfortable in it. The investigator prefers more traditional, long-term relationships like the twenty-year one he had before his lover died.
Enjoy Hansen’s California noir tale.
May 15, 2018
In Troublemaker, we get a murder right from the get-go. Brandstetter's investigating the death of a policyholder, which is pretty clearly murder, and the police already have a suspect in custody. Only, Brandstetter thinks they've got the wrong person.
This book has a way higher gay character ratio than the previous two novels. The victim owns a gay bar, the man the police have arrested is at least a one night stand, possibly more, who's been living with a well known architect, and the victim's business partner is busy training one of twelve competitors for a sort of talent competition between a bunch of the local gay bars. On top of Brandstetter's own circle of friends.
There's not as much personal stuff in this one either. We do see Dave's partner, Doug, Doug's mother, an unwelcome house guest, and a couple of their friends, but the book doesn't linger on them, which suits me fine.
I noticed at least one reviewer complaining about the lack of sex. To which I would like to point out, this book came out in 1975. That, and the fact that it portrays gay people doing normal things, having normal lives, and not as sex-fiends, or as if being gay is some kind of fate worse than death, is hugely important, and if you can't fathom that, just please never speak to me.
I really don't know why I never tried these when I was younger. I've been vagely aware of Hansen for decades at least. More than likely it was because by the time I had heard of him, I'd already developed the very strong impression that all gay fiction was depressing, woe-is-we kind of BS where the best you could hope for was to die pretty.
Anyway, this was awesome, and I look forward to the rest of the series.
This book has a way higher gay character ratio than the previous two novels. The victim owns a gay bar, the man the police have arrested is at least a one night stand, possibly more, who's been living with a well known architect, and the victim's business partner is busy training one of twelve competitors for a sort of talent competition between a bunch of the local gay bars. On top of Brandstetter's own circle of friends.
There's not as much personal stuff in this one either. We do see Dave's partner, Doug, Doug's mother, an unwelcome house guest, and a couple of their friends, but the book doesn't linger on them, which suits me fine.
I noticed at least one reviewer complaining about the lack of sex. To which I would like to point out, this book came out in 1975. That, and the fact that it portrays gay people doing normal things, having normal lives, and not as sex-fiends, or as if being gay is some kind of fate worse than death, is hugely important, and if you can't fathom that, just please never speak to me.
I really don't know why I never tried these when I was younger. I've been vagely aware of Hansen for decades at least. More than likely it was because by the time I had heard of him, I'd already developed the very strong impression that all gay fiction was depressing, woe-is-we kind of BS where the best you could hope for was to die pretty.
Anyway, this was awesome, and I look forward to the rest of the series.
January 30, 2020
3.5 starsThere
Another solid story, though the mystery felt like it was hanging together by frayed threads. Dave is developing into an interesting character who sometimes gets overwhelmed by the events in his life, like we all do.
Another solid story, though the mystery felt like it was hanging together by frayed threads. Dave is developing into an interesting character who sometimes gets overwhelmed by the events in his life, like we all do.
March 1, 2021
Insurance investigator Dave Brandstetter is checking out a death by gunshot that appears to be a homicide, but he has to make sure it's not suicide, or the insurance company couldn't pay the death benefit to the victim's mother. A young man has been arrested, but he claims someone else shot Rick Wendell. Tracking down the associates of Wendell leads Dave into many different places. There are so many characters in the book, I had to stop reading after a few chapters to go back and list all of them, with a description of who they were. Most of the characters, as well as the protagonist, are gay, which is unusual for a detective novel written in the mid-1970's.
December 23, 2021
I am loving the Dave Brandstetter mysteries right now. This is the third of three titles that are being re-released in January, 2022. After this, it's one title a month through October. Joseph Hansen's Dave Brandstetter is a wonderful character—a gay man in the 1960s and 1970s (when the books were originally published) who is genuinely comfortable with his identity, despite the stereotypes and derision he encounters on a daily basis.
Of the three mysteries I've read thus far, Troublemaker is the only one in which I've been able to confidently guess who the killer was before the big reveal. Nonetheless, the plot is complex, with plenty of interesting characters with a variety of motivations: the architect with broken legs who's currently bed-bound, his new drifter/lover, his sister and niece, a pair of bar owners, a sleezey lawyer and the drifter's ex-wife he's working for/taking advantage of, a recently reunited husband and wife, and a whole stable full of rescue horses. The mystery takes place as a group of gay bars are putting on their annual Mr. Marvelous competition, which makes for a enjoyable side story.
This really is a series to look out for—both for its value as a breakthrough in detective fiction, but even more so because Hansen is a gifted writer whose plots and prose are consistently engrossing.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss+; the opinions are my own.
Of the three mysteries I've read thus far, Troublemaker is the only one in which I've been able to confidently guess who the killer was before the big reveal. Nonetheless, the plot is complex, with plenty of interesting characters with a variety of motivations: the architect with broken legs who's currently bed-bound, his new drifter/lover, his sister and niece, a pair of bar owners, a sleezey lawyer and the drifter's ex-wife he's working for/taking advantage of, a recently reunited husband and wife, and a whole stable full of rescue horses. The mystery takes place as a group of gay bars are putting on their annual Mr. Marvelous competition, which makes for a enjoyable side story.
This really is a series to look out for—both for its value as a breakthrough in detective fiction, but even more so because Hansen is a gifted writer whose plots and prose are consistently engrossing.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss+; the opinions are my own.
October 24, 2010
I liked the mystery in this one -- I actually got there pretty quickly, then discarded the thought, only to take it up again later. I only liked a couple of the characters involved, mostly Tom Owens, but because of him I cared about how it all shook out, so there you go.
I have my usual reservations about Hansen's writing, but I'm getting used to it. And it's not bad, anyway: I whisper it to myself, generally, because it sounds good -- I always do that with well-written books, like with Chandler, and not with Agatha Christie. Like that. Anyway, the problem with Hansen's description is that there's so much of it, sometimes it turns meaningless by the end of the paragraph and becomes just sound. Which is a shame, because used a bit more conservatively, it'd be amazing.
I wanted to see more of Doug. I guess Brandstetter's life is always going to come in snatches between the plot, but I do want more of it. I want to see Doug's reaction when Dave gets home after not being able to help Doug because he was too busy minding everyone else's business. I want to know if that's alright with Doug -- and I kinda think/hope it would be.
I have my usual reservations about Hansen's writing, but I'm getting used to it. And it's not bad, anyway: I whisper it to myself, generally, because it sounds good -- I always do that with well-written books, like with Chandler, and not with Agatha Christie. Like that. Anyway, the problem with Hansen's description is that there's so much of it, sometimes it turns meaningless by the end of the paragraph and becomes just sound. Which is a shame, because used a bit more conservatively, it'd be amazing.
I wanted to see more of Doug. I guess Brandstetter's life is always going to come in snatches between the plot, but I do want more of it. I want to see Doug's reaction when Dave gets home after not being able to help Doug because he was too busy minding everyone else's business. I want to know if that's alright with Doug -- and I kinda think/hope it would be.
May 18, 2012
Though the murder mystery and Dave's investigation perhaps intrigued me even more here than in the previous two books, I would have loved a little more space had been given at the end to Doug's reaction to Dave not being able to be there for him when Doug needed him. Just a minor complaint in an overall very enjoyable book, where Dave's self-deprecation at his handling of the investigation goes hand in hand with his human compassion, his people skills, his persistence and intuition.
December 23, 2021
This is the first in the Dave Brandstetter mysteries, and eventually, I'll read more of them. Dave is like all those Humphrey Bogart PIs -- noir, but on the light side, and with a '60s/'70s bent. And, he's gay in an era when being out isn't done.
Brandstetter is an insurance claims guy in a California beach community working in his father's firm, and his job in this case is to look into a death before the company pays out on the insurance. It's clearly a murder, the police haven't dug deep enough, and Dave wants to get to the bottom of it before his company cuts a check. Because the victim was also gay and owned a popular gay bar, Dave can call upon many friends in the community to help him solve the crime, capturing that world in that era in what is now a perfect amber for a reader today. He also works with local police, who clearly know his work and respect him. I loved that the ones who knew Dave was gay didn't seem to care. I also loved that while his father wasn't happy about it, he handled it, partly because he clearly had an ethic that you love your kid no matter what, and partially because he knew Dave was good at what he did.
What seems to be a cut-and-dry shooting by a "rent boy" is, of course, not so cut and dry, but along the way, the author manages to point the finger at everyone from the rent boy's former young wife to the victim's mother and almost everyone in between, and it's fun watching Dave piece together the clues in a story that ends up in a "beauty contest" in the area's biggest gay bar.
For a book written in 1975, I'm pretty sure this was a rather daring publication. It was well worth it then, and it still is.
Brandstetter is an insurance claims guy in a California beach community working in his father's firm, and his job in this case is to look into a death before the company pays out on the insurance. It's clearly a murder, the police haven't dug deep enough, and Dave wants to get to the bottom of it before his company cuts a check. Because the victim was also gay and owned a popular gay bar, Dave can call upon many friends in the community to help him solve the crime, capturing that world in that era in what is now a perfect amber for a reader today. He also works with local police, who clearly know his work and respect him. I loved that the ones who knew Dave was gay didn't seem to care. I also loved that while his father wasn't happy about it, he handled it, partly because he clearly had an ethic that you love your kid no matter what, and partially because he knew Dave was good at what he did.
What seems to be a cut-and-dry shooting by a "rent boy" is, of course, not so cut and dry, but along the way, the author manages to point the finger at everyone from the rent boy's former young wife to the victim's mother and almost everyone in between, and it's fun watching Dave piece together the clues in a story that ends up in a "beauty contest" in the area's biggest gay bar.
For a book written in 1975, I'm pretty sure this was a rather daring publication. It was well worth it then, and it still is.
Read
July 22, 2021Rick Wendell, part owner of an LA gay bar, lay naked and dead near his desk at the horse ranch he shared with his mother outside LA. In the next room, his mother walked in to find Larry Johns, naked and with a gun. Clearly, Larry had killed the well-liked bar owner, but insurance death claims investigator, Dave Brandstetter, is not so sure.
His investigation takes him from gay bars along the beach, to a horse ranch, and to the home of an architect to movie creators. It also takes him to his own home where he and his lover, Doug, have just moved and Doug has opened an art gallery while caring for his aging mother.
I enjoyed this third book in the Dave Brandstetter mystery series though, because there were so many twists and turns in the plot that I could not keep all the possible suspects and motives straight, the ending felt a little unsatisfying. Perhaps a second reading of the book, or some notetaking, would have helped me see where the clues were pointing. Still, the book was fun especially because of Hansen’s skill at creating his 1970s Los Angeles setting. Hansen is a worthy successor to the great LA noir authors who preceded him.
A recommended book.
His investigation takes him from gay bars along the beach, to a horse ranch, and to the home of an architect to movie creators. It also takes him to his own home where he and his lover, Doug, have just moved and Doug has opened an art gallery while caring for his aging mother.
I enjoyed this third book in the Dave Brandstetter mystery series though, because there were so many twists and turns in the plot that I could not keep all the possible suspects and motives straight, the ending felt a little unsatisfying. Perhaps a second reading of the book, or some notetaking, would have helped me see where the clues were pointing. Still, the book was fun especially because of Hansen’s skill at creating his 1970s Los Angeles setting. Hansen is a worthy successor to the great LA noir authors who preceded him.
A recommended book.
September 4, 2022
Once again, Dave Brandstetter investigates a suspicious death for his father's insurance company. If the co-owner of a gay bar died by his own hand or if the beneficiary murdered him, there can be no payout.
The police are happy to arrest the young man found holding the gun, but as usual when Brandstetter gets involved, we find that nothing is ever that cut and dried.
So far I have enjoyed all the novels in this series, rereleased from the 1970s, when they were a little ahead of their audience. Hansen is great with California description, interior decoration, clothes, curious characters, and a way of life I don't know much about. I love how he paints a scene: "Backgrounding him, the Pacific wrote white scribbles to itself on a blue slate under a wide smile of sky. The surf lipped pale sand beyond a stagger of red dune fences."
This particular episode is dizzying because there are so many characters with agendas that might lead to murder or accidental homicide. Hansen kept me (and his detective) guessing right up to a shooting at the raucous Mr Marvelous beefcake contest. The ending was exciting.
I was glad that Brandstetter's relationship with Doug is no longer so fraught, and I look forward to seeing if the investigator ever goes independent. His father has warned him that in the case of his death, the company board would surely fire the openly gay son.
The police are happy to arrest the young man found holding the gun, but as usual when Brandstetter gets involved, we find that nothing is ever that cut and dried.
So far I have enjoyed all the novels in this series, rereleased from the 1970s, when they were a little ahead of their audience. Hansen is great with California description, interior decoration, clothes, curious characters, and a way of life I don't know much about. I love how he paints a scene: "Backgrounding him, the Pacific wrote white scribbles to itself on a blue slate under a wide smile of sky. The surf lipped pale sand beyond a stagger of red dune fences."
This particular episode is dizzying because there are so many characters with agendas that might lead to murder or accidental homicide. Hansen kept me (and his detective) guessing right up to a shooting at the raucous Mr Marvelous beefcake contest. The ending was exciting.
I was glad that Brandstetter's relationship with Doug is no longer so fraught, and I look forward to seeing if the investigator ever goes independent. His father has warned him that in the case of his death, the company board would surely fire the openly gay son.
February 15, 2025
3.75 rounded up to 4 stars
That’s it? I could use one more chapter! (At least tell me how the event will affect Dave and Doug’s relationship!)
While the murderer was pretty easy to identify, I still thoroughly enjoyed the mystery in this book. Joseph Hansen wrote his mystery in such a stripped-to-the-bare-bone style that spared me the excess of gratuitous deductions and emotional entanglements commonly observed in the M/M mystery genre. The narrative flowed with a sharp focus on the plot and characters, free from melodrama or unnecessary psychological exploration. All of these combined to deliver a refreshing and relaxing reading experience (at least for me), despite the series being set in a period rampant with homophobia.
That’s it? I could use one more chapter! (At least tell me how the event will affect Dave and Doug’s relationship!)
While the murderer was pretty easy to identify, I still thoroughly enjoyed the mystery in this book. Joseph Hansen wrote his mystery in such a stripped-to-the-bare-bone style that spared me the excess of gratuitous deductions and emotional entanglements commonly observed in the M/M mystery genre. The narrative flowed with a sharp focus on the plot and characters, free from melodrama or unnecessary psychological exploration. All of these combined to deliver a refreshing and relaxing reading experience (at least for me), despite the series being set in a period rampant with homophobia.
February 24, 2022
Third book in the Dave Brandsetter series I’ve read, and this time I really struggled to get into it.
Lots of good ingredients - gay insurance investigator investigating the murder of man whose male lover is found holding the gun. It’s written very much in the American Noir detective style. Dare I say, it just struggled to hold my interest, which might be purely down to the style.
Lots of good ingredients - gay insurance investigator investigating the murder of man whose male lover is found holding the gun. It’s written very much in the American Noir detective style. Dare I say, it just struggled to hold my interest, which might be purely down to the style.
May 14, 2019
The weakest of the series that I’ve read—too many characters & not enough characterization. Too much plot, not enough mystery.
April 2, 2024
This series gets better by the book. More detective novel fans should read these books.
September 20, 2022
This series is historical in the sense that it was written 30/40 years ago. It is set in what was the author's present. Strongly atmospheric with an apologetically gay detective. Tending a bit towards hardboiled. I really like them.
February 12, 2024
This third Dave Brandstetter mystery is the gayest one yet - with much of the action related to the Mr. Marvelous content out together by a group of coastal gay bars. I read these novels to soak in the atmosphere of 1970s Southern California - a very different time to be an out gay man. I was sometimes lost in the mix of the mystery, but the Hansen’s atmosphere is so strong I’m glad to just go for the ride. The writing is spare and beautiful as always: “Sandpipers hemstitched the wet edge of the sand.”
November 8, 2022
The third Dave Brandstetter mystery marked my switch from e-books to actual physical version - a beautiful, brand-new print from Syndicate Books. So naturally, first I'm going to marvel at the design of these. The covers might look simplistic at first, but it's done in a style I find quite agreeable, so for me, they're joy to look at. Not to mention the colour scheme, which, frankly, took me by surprise at first, until I put the first 6 books side to side and the revelation hit. Hard. I don't think I can express how much I love the idea behind.
Seriously. Marvel:
The reprint of all 12 Brandstetter mysteries should have come out by the end of 2022, but the last half of the series got delayed, so I can only hope the publishing house would indeed manage to print them in their entirety. I need the set on my bookshelf.
As to the story itself, I was not disappointed.
I quite like Hansen's style - there's certain rugged charm in it, in the descriptions of the environment and characters, in the feel of it all. It has a mild noir vibe, it has a tongue in cheek observations that put a smile on my face and amused huff out of my lungs, it has a good plot that leaves me guessing - not a straightforward investigation nor dark and grim pseudo-psychological thriller, oh no. There's red herrings, there's hunches that might prove to be wrong, and there's a cast of characters whose numbers might be, at times, confusing. The readers get to see something from Dave's private life, not enough to distract from the actual investigation, just enough to realise that there's a depth in this character that we've yet to see.
And I am looking forward to reading about in in the next book.
Seriously. Marvel:
The reprint of all 12 Brandstetter mysteries should have come out by the end of 2022, but the last half of the series got delayed, so I can only hope the publishing house would indeed manage to print them in their entirety. I need the set on my bookshelf.
As to the story itself, I was not disappointed.
I quite like Hansen's style - there's certain rugged charm in it, in the descriptions of the environment and characters, in the feel of it all. It has a mild noir vibe, it has a tongue in cheek observations that put a smile on my face and amused huff out of my lungs, it has a good plot that leaves me guessing - not a straightforward investigation nor dark and grim pseudo-psychological thriller, oh no. There's red herrings, there's hunches that might prove to be wrong, and there's a cast of characters whose numbers might be, at times, confusing. The readers get to see something from Dave's private life, not enough to distract from the actual investigation, just enough to realise that there's a depth in this character that we've yet to see.
And I am looking forward to reading about in in the next book.
June 21, 2023
This marks the third Brandstetter mystery novel that I’ve read. The sheen is starting to dull on the series for me. I don’t mind spending time with our hard boiled protagonist and the mysteries are serviceable enough. However, I get the sneaking suspicion that I desire more from both the novel’s mystery and our protagonist. Upon closing the book after the climactic finale, I feel as though I might not get what I want.
While Queerness has always been a hallmark of the Brandstetter mysteries, this is the very first that deals with it so straightforwardly (pun intended). Brandstetter finds himself reviewing the death of a gay man shot dead in his house with his lover standing over the body, holding the gun. It’s an open-and-shut case for everyone but not for our eagle-eyed death claims investigator. Brandstetter, in his usual fashion, continues to question (and smoke and drink) his way into an underground world of hustlers and gay bars. While trying to convince others that the man they have in the slammer is innocent, Brandstetter grapples with his aging father, his partner’s mother losing her marbles, and an unwelcome houseguest that just doesn’t seem to get the hint.
I’m not sure what to say about this novel that I haven’t already mused over in the first two reviews. This mystery follows the same beats that have come before it. Someone dies suspiciously, Medallion sends Brandstetter to investigate, everyone thinks it’s an open-and-shut case, but Brandstetter thinks otherwise. His investigation gives us multiple suspects before the true murderer is revealed right before an abrupt end. Sprinkled sparsely into the mystery are glimpses of Brandstetter’s personal life that are not nearly enough to satiate this reader. I find the biggest issue that I have with this series at this juncture is Brandstetter himself. The man is just truly coldhearted when dealing with people, regardless of whether they’re a suspect or a loved one.
Listen, I’ve got a soft spot for Brandstetter. He’s grown on me as much as he irks me to no end. The man doesn’t have a sympathetic bone in his body and we, the reader, are not privy on why that is. I know that he’s probably had a life of adversity due to who he loves in a time that didn’t look kindly upon it. His father, who runs the insurance company, tells him that as soon as he’s dead the board will fire Dave before his father’s casket is lowered into the ground due to his homosexuality. However, his conduct can sometimes verge on just plain cruel. This conduct isn’t just contained to those involved in the case, but also to some of the people he loves. While he showed some sentimentality toward his father when Carl talks about death, he’s cruel to Doug, his partner. Doug’s going through hard things, too. His mother is losing her mind and when Doug needs him the most, Brandstetter tells him ‘no can do’ without any explanation and hangs up on him. I get that if he stopped what he was doing to help others could have died, however, he feels just absolutely devoid of emotional intelligence in the times he needs it the most.
At this point, three novels in, I have to question how the lone gay insurance death claims investigator gets all the gay cases. Is there someone in the company that’s screening these and sending them all to the one Queer person on the payroll? It feels like there’s a lot of gay death claims. You’re telling me the board would fire Brandstetter? It feels like they need to give him a whole gay death claims division. Jeesh…
Also, what is up with Hansen’s inability to name a character something remotely interesting? He names the hustler and prime suspect Larry. The rich architect is named Thomas (okay, that one’s not bad). The Adonis being entered into the Mr. Marvelous competition is named Bobby. The victim’s name is Rick. The blandness of every Tom, Rick, and Larry (see what I did there) in this novel is utterly underwhelming. I want to go back in time, buy a baby names book, and slip it under the author’s door. Give me a few more non-monosyllabic names please!
The biggest issue I had with this novel was the introduction and immediate dismissal of the character of Kovacks. I love when I get glimpses into Brandstetter’s home life. In fact, it’s another issue I have with this series. There’s never enough of Brandstetter’s personal life. Maybe Hansen is playing the long game (there are twelve mysteries after all), but it’s starting to wear on me. For instance, Kovacks, the promiscuous pottery artist who weasels his way into moving in with Doug and Brandstetter, is absolutely hilarious! I loved every word that man said. His attempts to get into Brandstetter and Doug’s pants, respectively, were playful and amusing. He added some much needed levity to the whole Dave/Doug dynamic. While we didn’t necessarily need to get into polyamorous territory (though that would have been an interesting road to take), I wanted him to stick around. There was a lot you could have done with the character and a lot that character could have revealed about Brandstetter and his romantic relationship. Alas, Brandstetter pawns him off on a friend and just like that, Kovacks is no more. Sigh…
A pattern is emerging in these mysteries and they’re starting to feel rather by-the-book. I don’t necessarily mind as there can be a certain comfort in that. I will say that out of the three that I’ve read, this one was by far the more straightforward of them. I did like the fact that we stopped coming just up to the edges of the Queer community and actually delved into it through the sandy gay bars of the California coast and the Mr. Marvelous competition. I’m still sad that the Queer community consists of nothing but gay men and one lone lesbian (Madge). I have to remind myself that for the 70s this was still probably groundbreaking. Regardless, I find myself interested in continuing to read the series not for the mysteries, but for the tiny glimpses into Brandstetter’s life. I need to know more about him, though why I honestly couldn’t tell you.
While this mystery was somewhat elevated by taking the gay community head on and we get more tantalizing glimpses into Brandstetter’s personal life, there were missed opportunities and continued missteps that I can’t quite shake. I’m certainly hooked on the series, if nothing more than to better understand the cruel yet intriguing protagonist. I need to know more about what makes that man tick! The murder mystery might not be remarkable, but it’s the mystery of who Brandstetter is that keeps me coming back. In that, Hansen has certainly succeeded.
While Queerness has always been a hallmark of the Brandstetter mysteries, this is the very first that deals with it so straightforwardly (pun intended). Brandstetter finds himself reviewing the death of a gay man shot dead in his house with his lover standing over the body, holding the gun. It’s an open-and-shut case for everyone but not for our eagle-eyed death claims investigator. Brandstetter, in his usual fashion, continues to question (and smoke and drink) his way into an underground world of hustlers and gay bars. While trying to convince others that the man they have in the slammer is innocent, Brandstetter grapples with his aging father, his partner’s mother losing her marbles, and an unwelcome houseguest that just doesn’t seem to get the hint.
I’m not sure what to say about this novel that I haven’t already mused over in the first two reviews. This mystery follows the same beats that have come before it. Someone dies suspiciously, Medallion sends Brandstetter to investigate, everyone thinks it’s an open-and-shut case, but Brandstetter thinks otherwise. His investigation gives us multiple suspects before the true murderer is revealed right before an abrupt end. Sprinkled sparsely into the mystery are glimpses of Brandstetter’s personal life that are not nearly enough to satiate this reader. I find the biggest issue that I have with this series at this juncture is Brandstetter himself. The man is just truly coldhearted when dealing with people, regardless of whether they’re a suspect or a loved one.
Listen, I’ve got a soft spot for Brandstetter. He’s grown on me as much as he irks me to no end. The man doesn’t have a sympathetic bone in his body and we, the reader, are not privy on why that is. I know that he’s probably had a life of adversity due to who he loves in a time that didn’t look kindly upon it. His father, who runs the insurance company, tells him that as soon as he’s dead the board will fire Dave before his father’s casket is lowered into the ground due to his homosexuality. However, his conduct can sometimes verge on just plain cruel. This conduct isn’t just contained to those involved in the case, but also to some of the people he loves. While he showed some sentimentality toward his father when Carl talks about death, he’s cruel to Doug, his partner. Doug’s going through hard things, too. His mother is losing her mind and when Doug needs him the most, Brandstetter tells him ‘no can do’ without any explanation and hangs up on him. I get that if he stopped what he was doing to help others could have died, however, he feels just absolutely devoid of emotional intelligence in the times he needs it the most.
At this point, three novels in, I have to question how the lone gay insurance death claims investigator gets all the gay cases. Is there someone in the company that’s screening these and sending them all to the one Queer person on the payroll? It feels like there’s a lot of gay death claims. You’re telling me the board would fire Brandstetter? It feels like they need to give him a whole gay death claims division. Jeesh…
Also, what is up with Hansen’s inability to name a character something remotely interesting? He names the hustler and prime suspect Larry. The rich architect is named Thomas (okay, that one’s not bad). The Adonis being entered into the Mr. Marvelous competition is named Bobby. The victim’s name is Rick. The blandness of every Tom, Rick, and Larry (see what I did there) in this novel is utterly underwhelming. I want to go back in time, buy a baby names book, and slip it under the author’s door. Give me a few more non-monosyllabic names please!
The biggest issue I had with this novel was the introduction and immediate dismissal of the character of Kovacks. I love when I get glimpses into Brandstetter’s home life. In fact, it’s another issue I have with this series. There’s never enough of Brandstetter’s personal life. Maybe Hansen is playing the long game (there are twelve mysteries after all), but it’s starting to wear on me. For instance, Kovacks, the promiscuous pottery artist who weasels his way into moving in with Doug and Brandstetter, is absolutely hilarious! I loved every word that man said. His attempts to get into Brandstetter and Doug’s pants, respectively, were playful and amusing. He added some much needed levity to the whole Dave/Doug dynamic. While we didn’t necessarily need to get into polyamorous territory (though that would have been an interesting road to take), I wanted him to stick around. There was a lot you could have done with the character and a lot that character could have revealed about Brandstetter and his romantic relationship. Alas, Brandstetter pawns him off on a friend and just like that, Kovacks is no more. Sigh…
A pattern is emerging in these mysteries and they’re starting to feel rather by-the-book. I don’t necessarily mind as there can be a certain comfort in that. I will say that out of the three that I’ve read, this one was by far the more straightforward of them. I did like the fact that we stopped coming just up to the edges of the Queer community and actually delved into it through the sandy gay bars of the California coast and the Mr. Marvelous competition. I’m still sad that the Queer community consists of nothing but gay men and one lone lesbian (Madge). I have to remind myself that for the 70s this was still probably groundbreaking. Regardless, I find myself interested in continuing to read the series not for the mysteries, but for the tiny glimpses into Brandstetter’s life. I need to know more about him, though why I honestly couldn’t tell you.
While this mystery was somewhat elevated by taking the gay community head on and we get more tantalizing glimpses into Brandstetter’s personal life, there were missed opportunities and continued missteps that I can’t quite shake. I’m certainly hooked on the series, if nothing more than to better understand the cruel yet intriguing protagonist. I need to know more about what makes that man tick! The murder mystery might not be remarkable, but it’s the mystery of who Brandstetter is that keeps me coming back. In that, Hansen has certainly succeeded.
January 10, 2017
The third in the series, with the most complex mystery so far. It's a good one, convoluted and with perhaps a few too many converging suspects to easily keep straight, but well-plotted. Once again it touches on the local gay community, in its resolution. It's an interesting look at the pre-AIDS LA-area scene.
I love the character Hansen has created in Dave, and I wish there'd been a little more of the personal here. Conflict is clearly brewing between Dave, and Doug whom he lives with, but this story skates over the surface of a coming storm. And as usual, the book ends with that personal thread dangling.
Hansen has a distinctive, slightly dry but clear, writing style, that matches the cool, laconic nature of his character. I really enjoy his descriptive turns of phrase, and vivid similes and metaphors that color but do not clutter the book. I've been binge reading this series, so I won't leave a detailed review. But I enjoyed them all, and was pulled along to the end, watching Dave age, and change, and grow, and yet remain essentially the same at heart. Not an emotional series, but by the end, I had fallen hard for Dave Brandstetter.
I love the character Hansen has created in Dave, and I wish there'd been a little more of the personal here. Conflict is clearly brewing between Dave, and Doug whom he lives with, but this story skates over the surface of a coming storm. And as usual, the book ends with that personal thread dangling.
Hansen has a distinctive, slightly dry but clear, writing style, that matches the cool, laconic nature of his character. I really enjoy his descriptive turns of phrase, and vivid similes and metaphors that color but do not clutter the book. I've been binge reading this series, so I won't leave a detailed review. But I enjoyed them all, and was pulled along to the end, watching Dave age, and change, and grow, and yet remain essentially the same at heart. Not an emotional series, but by the end, I had fallen hard for Dave Brandstetter.
December 10, 2013
I've been reading the Brandstetter books in order, and this was a typically tight mystery solved by the gay insurance investigator. This one was a little easier to follow than the first two; and I was appropriately mystified until the very end, just as the detective was. These were breakthrough novels for their time (40 years ago) with a gay sleuth, but they're beginning to wear on me a little. The writing is occasionally over-wrought; and it's beginning to seem as though most of the population of Los Angeles is gay. Certainly the victims, suspects, and perpetrators all seem to be. I'd be interested in one in which Brandstetter has to deal at greater length with the straight world.
June 8, 2024
Didn’t love the plot of this one quite as much as the first, but similar to most book series, there’s some hits and misses but overall if you like one you’ll probably like all of them
December 27, 2013
3.5 stars
I really enjoyed the mystery. It was complex with many interesting characters. What brought the rating down was the author's strange descriptions of things. Many times I had to go back and read over, which pulled me out of the story, to figure out what was going on. At times, I even gave up without figuring it out.
I really enjoyed the mystery. It was complex with many interesting characters. What brought the rating down was the author's strange descriptions of things. Many times I had to go back and read over, which pulled me out of the story, to figure out what was going on. At times, I even gave up without figuring it out.
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