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Fools Rush in: A Horatio Storms Story
A decades-old body is found in the decaying San Diego landmark Aztec Hotel. Horatio Rush Storms, struggling bar owner, is dragged into finding out who it was and why they wound up in the closet, literally. Duplicitous drag royalty, childhood heroines gone wrong and unreliable police keep getting in Rush's way while a series of gay-bashings keeps everyone on edge. San Diego in the early 1990's isn't like the tourism brochures said and Rush needs to balance keeping promises with staying in business.
- GenresMystery
Audio CD
Published February 23, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 22, 2020
San Diego in the 1990s is well past Stonewall era but still not the LA/San Francisco of today and LGBTIQ liaison police officers are still a couple of decades away. A mummified corpse is discovered behind a false wall as a landmark hotel is being renovated into luxury apartments. MC Horatio Storms (Rush to his friends) is suddenly prevailed upon by a distraught property developer to uncover the mystery/identity of the victim who's found dressed in drag. Is it coincidence that upper level law enforcement and members of the drag community also expressing similar interest by seeking out Rush's sleuthing skills.
Rather than having Rush trek all over San Diego ferreting out potential suspects, the author employs various plot manipulations bringing 'key witnesses' to 'enlighten' Rush with the milieu faced by the fledgling drag (and therefore LGBT community) in San Diego back in the 1970s. I get the impression Rush feels quite put-upon by his cold-case type investigations but he gets more invested as revelations/evidence suddenly come very close to home. Powerful crime figures and an overbearing homophobic police officer shadow his movements bringing further threat to his struggling business and friends/staff.
Plot pacing is good and there are lots of credible suspects within the drag community, the world of graft/crime and of course corruption within the ranks of the 'boys in blue'. Although the identity of the victim gets revealed quite early on, I was kept guessing as to the motivation for the murder til the very end - and it was quite the surprise with a twist! I would have liked further development for interesting secondary characters such as Rush's BFF and long-suffering business partner Em. Feisty Dougie and Miss Dixie are also great characters well worth developing. Perhaps this will happen in subsequent titles (I do hope the author will continue with the series).
Despite Rush being gay and operating a gay establishment catering to the gay community, readers should be warned there is no M-M romance/action until the very end where there is a promissory hint of action yet to come in future books. HIV/AIDS is not mentioned but understandable given this is a murder procedural with a surprisingly chaste MC. My biggest quibble would be the numerous editorial glitches and spelling errors which disrupted my reading continuity; this book would definitely benefit from much tighter editing. 3 stars - with half a star deducted for said editing issues.
Rather than having Rush trek all over San Diego ferreting out potential suspects, the author employs various plot manipulations bringing 'key witnesses' to 'enlighten' Rush with the milieu faced by the fledgling drag (and therefore LGBT community) in San Diego back in the 1970s. I get the impression Rush feels quite put-upon by his cold-case type investigations but he gets more invested as revelations/evidence suddenly come very close to home. Powerful crime figures and an overbearing homophobic police officer shadow his movements bringing further threat to his struggling business and friends/staff.
Plot pacing is good and there are lots of credible suspects within the drag community, the world of graft/crime and of course corruption within the ranks of the 'boys in blue'. Although the identity of the victim gets revealed quite early on, I was kept guessing as to the motivation for the murder til the very end - and it was quite the surprise with a twist! I would have liked further development for interesting secondary characters such as Rush's BFF and long-suffering business partner Em. Feisty Dougie and Miss Dixie are also great characters well worth developing. Perhaps this will happen in subsequent titles (I do hope the author will continue with the series).
Despite Rush being gay and operating a gay establishment catering to the gay community, readers should be warned there is no M-M romance/action until the very end where there is a promissory hint of action yet to come in future books. HIV/AIDS is not mentioned but understandable given this is a murder procedural with a surprisingly chaste MC. My biggest quibble would be the numerous editorial glitches and spelling errors which disrupted my reading continuity; this book would definitely benefit from much tighter editing. 3 stars - with half a star deducted for said editing issues.
June 4, 2020
Not sure I liked this one but will read next book
I've read this book since it was mentioned by an author I like. And I don't regret reading it. If you have Kindle unlimited I'd say go for it but not sure if I would recommend buying it the regular way.
So reasons for 3 stars:
Plot: I think the mystery was a bit lacking, it had a good base, but honestly the only interesting mystery for me was whether Stringer was an ass or not.
Characters: I think while got what the main character was about, the rest of characters went past me. So wasn't feeling very engaged. And Rush's sudden care for them was puzzling.
Narration: I think the best part of the book. I liked it.
Despite a lot of stuff to pick on, surprisingly, I still enjoyed reading the book. I think the series has a potential. Hopefully, if next book comes out it will fill in the gaps.
Reminds me a bit of Boystown series (I guess because it's gay detective series as well with a PI as an MC XDD)
I've read this book since it was mentioned by an author I like. And I don't regret reading it. If you have Kindle unlimited I'd say go for it but not sure if I would recommend buying it the regular way.
So reasons for 3 stars:
Plot: I think the mystery was a bit lacking, it had a good base, but honestly the only interesting mystery for me was whether Stringer was an ass or not.
Characters: I think while got what the main character was about, the rest of characters went past me. So wasn't feeling very engaged. And Rush's sudden care for them was puzzling.
Narration: I think the best part of the book. I liked it.
Despite a lot of stuff to pick on, surprisingly, I still enjoyed reading the book. I think the series has a potential. Hopefully, if next book comes out it will fill in the gaps.
Reminds me a bit of Boystown series (I guess because it's gay detective series as well with a PI as an MC XDD)
May 1, 2020
Well, I really liked this story. I loved the idea of a decades' old crime being at the heart of it. I loved the feel of that 70s San Diego, with the mob and the drag queens and all the seedy and yet somehow glamorous world in which the crime is set.
I loved how complex and twisted the plot is, and how I had no clue at all, until the very end, of what was really going on. The way in which stuff that seemed not really important ended up being a big part of the story.
I really, really liked Rush and Em's friendship, and I liked them both as characters. And I simply adore Dougie. I really want to know what will come next.
My only complaint? The last chapter. I'd have let that simmer a bit more, but then, that's me :P
All in all, a great, very entertaining read :D
I loved how complex and twisted the plot is, and how I had no clue at all, until the very end, of what was really going on. The way in which stuff that seemed not really important ended up being a big part of the story.
I really, really liked Rush and Em's friendship, and I liked them both as characters. And I simply adore Dougie. I really want to know what will come next.
My only complaint? The last chapter. I'd have let that simmer a bit more, but then, that's me :P
All in all, a great, very entertaining read :D
July 15, 2023
Impressed from the beginning at how excellent the writing and plot flowed--but the last chapter was a big disappointment. It came out of nowhere, there was no sign I picked up of such tension previously. I think the book would have been better without that last twist altogether--or if there had been some signs of it earlier on. Giving it a 4.5 (Sorry to be cryptic, avoiding any spoiler.)
October 16, 2020
It wasn't a bad book and I would give it a recommendation to read. My problem was how the MC went from sleuth to stooge during the book. He really didn't impress me at times for being a PI. Also, what happened to "him" not being my type. The book ended just the way I thought it would.
May 10, 2020
I really enjoyed the mystery and the exploration of the drag scene in the 70s. The ended felt rushed and forced but didn’t detract much.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews