Hot Rocks

Nick Hoffman #7

by Lev Raphael

"Raphael's series hero, Nick Hoffman, is in midlife crisis when he and partner Stefan Borowski return from their Caribbean vacation (marred by murder, of course; see Tropic of Murder, 2004) to resume teaching at the State University of Michigan. Nick's musings over getting older halt abruptly when he realizes that his companion in the health-club steam room is head trainer and all-around stud Vlado Zamario, and he's dead. Before you can say "smoldering temptress," series regular Professor Juno Dromgoole is on the scene, spreading the news that it's murder and proposing to solve it with Nick, the obvious suspect because of his previous involvements with homicide. Given Vlado's encounters with the women at Michigan Muscle, the plot quickly and deliciously thickens into layers of domestic discord highly seasoned with compromising photos. Raphael's latest smoothly delivers a satisfying mystery while providing insight into the middle-aging of America, gay marriage, the excitement of sleuthing as a means of exercising control over our lives, the "Orwellian" Patriot Act, and more." Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Gay

217 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 15, 2011

About the author

I've wanted to be an author since I was in second grade and fell in love with "The Three Musketeers", which I read to pieces. It hasn't been a swashbuckling life exactly, but one full of surprises, including recently selling my literary papers to Michigan State University's Libraries.

Since second grade, I've loved all sorts of books and have ended up writing nineteen books in many genres: memoir, mystery, short story collections, a children's book, and more. I've been an academic, a radio DJ, had my own talk show, and currently have three terrific giugs.

I write a monthly column for Bibliobuffet.com called Book Brunch. I blog at Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lev-rap...). And I do a monthly "Under the Radar" book review for WKAR 90.5 FM in East Lansing, MI. I'm always on the lookout for beautifully written books in any genre, but I more and more favor books from smaller presses, because they need more exposure.

I love reading my work and have done hundreds of readings on three different continents. Readings are performances, and I practice, practice, practice.

Reviews

[Jim Rhodes · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this book from the library thinking it would be a quick easy read. It was. Unfortunately, it was also pretentious and not written very well.

It follows a college professor from a fictional town of "Michiganopolis" which, let's face it, is Lansing. He teaches at a fake university there, and discovers the body of a trainer in the steamroom of his gym. His best friend, his partner, and he solve the mystery, but not without ridiculous, unnecessary references to books that most of us read in undergraduate school years ago, and have no interest in reliving. Yes, we're impressed you can quote them. We get it. You're smart.

I love Michigan, and was hoping for an escapest, fun mystery, however, it wasn't the case.

[Margery · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the first 2 books in this series years ago and thought I remembered liking them, so when I saw this one in the library, I checked it out, hoping for an enjoyable time reading. But as other reviewers have mentioned, the constant, constant, CONSTANT references to books, movies, and music were intensely annoying. At some point, they quit doing anything to define the character and just persuaded me that the author wanted to show his readers how clever and well informed he is. Argh!

Amazingly, I did finish the book, having just enough interest in finding out whether I was correct about us who the murderer was (yep).

[Neet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 7th Nick Hoffmann murder mystery.This is a week after the previous book, and we find Nick & Stefan back from their Club Med vacation, but still on winter break. Shock upon shock, Nick finds another dead body, this time in the steam room of his gym. The victim this time is a fitness instructor who we find out was popular with the women clientele he's training. Soon we find Nick & his gal pal Juno investigating.I think this series characters are starting to wear thin. I get sick of Nick & company snobby attitude. Stefan really has an attitude, he's either really loving towards Nick or angry and insulting. Nick is annoying with his putdowns of others, hurt about Stefan, and panting over Juno. I can see I still plan to read the other books in the series,but still will read the final 2 and will gladly take a break from this series.

[Tyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most enjoyable gay mysteries I've read in the past year. Nick Hoffman, an associate professor at a state university in Michigan, discovers a dead trainer in the steam room at Michigan Muscle, a cross between an old-school exclusive men's (now co-ed) athletic club and a Bally's or Gold's. Between Nick's past proximity to crimes and prodding from his friend Juno, Nick finds himself involved in the investigation, and ultimately solves the mystery.

What I enjoyed most about the novel is its portrayal of the protagonist and his partner as a well-adjusted, established gay couple--who happen to be in slightly extraordinary circumstances. Nick and Stefan are both in their late 30s / near 40, have been together for several years, and they are more focused on advancing their careers and continuing to build up their home. The dramas of youth, social status, and romance are behind them -- mostly.

Too often in contemporary mystery novels with a gay protagonist, the author seems to fall into the trap of using a (straight) romance fiction trope: the weak, insecure, but bright narrator (aka damsel in distress) and a strong, stoic romantic interest (aka knight in shining armor). Thankfully, Lev doesn't do that -- he gives Nick and Stefan much greater parity. They both have strengths and weaknesses, and they come across as a believable couple in real life. They are humans, not myth.

Even Juno, Nick's brassy partner in crime, gained my respect. Early in the novel she struck me as too diva, too queen bee, to be sympathetic. But around halfway through the book I found myself rooting for her.

If there's one critique I have, it's that the mystery could have used more urgency; Nick didn't have enough at stake personally (either through physical or reputational threat). This is a minor critique though on what is otherwise a very enjoyable read.

Looking forward to reading the previous books in the series.

[Chelsea Courtois · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave this book three stars because I thought it was a mediocre attempt at a comedic mystery. If you've watched enough episodes of Law and Order, you'll be guessing the killer within minutes-not so bad if that's what you're looking for in a novel. The rapid influx of literary and pop culture references while reading can overwhelming at times.

What really irritates me about "Hot Rocks" though is the author's name for the city in which the novel takes place, "Michiganapolis". Clearly, written about Lansing... Even worse is the alternative name given for Michigan State University, "State University of Michigan" or "SUM", a university which is supposedly, "begun over 150 years ago as an agricultural college and had never quite outgrown its humble origins." The author takes a couple subtle digs at the school comparing it to U of M too- surprise surprise.

[SuperCat · Rating 2 out of 5]

The narrator of these books (it's part of a mystery series) is a gay and snotty academic who grew up in New York and now lives in Michigan. The good part of these books is the portrayal of the politics at the University. The bad part is the over-abundance of allusions and references to both high culture and pop culture, at an average of 3 per page. Although I did enjoy the part about the post-post-modern holocaust novel "everything is cremated"

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Lev Raphael look at academic politics, although this one focused more on health club politics among the well off and bored.

As usual, Mr. Raphael snarks with the best of them, but with engaging wit that you just grin and love it.

[Lev Raphael]

Now available for Kindle and Nook.