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Dave Brandstetter #11
The Boy Who Was Buried this Morning
When a paintball player gets hit with a real bullet, Dave Brandstetter catches the case.
Insurance investigator Dave Brandstetter has spent the last few years drifting in and out of retirement. For the sake of his boyfriend, Cecil, he has attempted to forgo dangerous jobs. But when a close friend’s death sends Dave into a depressive funk, Cecil recognizes that work is the only cure.
During a high-stakes paintball game, a hardcore supremacist gets hit by a very real bullet. Although the police claim the death was accidental - nothing but a stray round from a nearby hunting preserve - Dave knows that a man this hated seldom dies by chance. His investigation takes him into the strange world of make-believe war - a grown-up version of cowboys and Indians whose players sometimes have trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality. If Dave isn’t careful, he’ll find himself stained with something more permanent than paint.
Insurance investigator Dave Brandstetter has spent the last few years drifting in and out of retirement. For the sake of his boyfriend, Cecil, he has attempted to forgo dangerous jobs. But when a close friend’s death sends Dave into a depressive funk, Cecil recognizes that work is the only cure.
During a high-stakes paintball game, a hardcore supremacist gets hit by a very real bullet. Although the police claim the death was accidental - nothing but a stray round from a nearby hunting preserve - Dave knows that a man this hated seldom dies by chance. His investigation takes him into the strange world of make-believe war - a grown-up version of cowboys and Indians whose players sometimes have trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality. If Dave isn’t careful, he’ll find himself stained with something more permanent than paint.
6 pages, Audiobook
First published January 1, 1990
14 people are currently reading
231 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Hansen
133 books157 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 31 reviews
June 18, 2019
Another entertaining Dave Brandstetter mystery in which Dave comes out of retirement to investigate the case of a outdoor war games player killed by a real live shogun, and soon he is embroiled in a case involving blackmail and a White Power organization recruiting skinheads in Sourthern California.
As always, Hansen distinguishes himself by his matter-of-fact treatment of his hero's homosexuality and his honest and poignant treatment of his hero's aging--who, unlike almost every other literary detective, ages in real time.
October 23, 2013
Set in the late 1980s, the eleventh and penultimate entry in Joseph Hansen's Dave Brandstetter series, is one of the best.
Dave is now officially retired and is showing and feeling his age. He's now on Medicare; other old friends who have populated this series are either dying or retiring themselves, and Dave is feeling the weight of his changing world bearing down on him, both physically and emotionally. But then Vaughn Thomas, an employee of a local television station, is shot and killed while engaged in a paintball game at a place called the Combat Zone.
The police conclude that Thomas was accidentally killed by a stray shot fired by a hunter from outside the Combat Zone and close the books on the case. But the victim was a fellow employee of Dave's lover, Cecil Harris, who also works at Channel 3. Cecil doesn't buy the official explanation of the death and asks Dave to look into it. Cecil would prefer, of course, that Dave do so quietly and without exposing himself to any sort of risk. But as any reader of crime fiction would say to that, "Fat chance," and in very short order, Dave is in deep trouble and grave danger.
Dave quickly discovers that Vaughn Thomas was a troubled young man with disturbing views about life. In particular, he was a virulent anti-Semite and a racist who longed to be a soldier of fortune and who had spent time training with a militia group in a small rural community named Winter Creek. As he investigates the case, Dave stirs up a hornets' nest and anger some pretty violent and reprehensible people. Other murders will follow and the case takes a lot of unexpected twists and turns.
Fans of the series will welcome this addition (or did, of course, since it first appeared twenty-two years ago) and crime fiction fans unfamiliar with the series would almost certainly enjoy it.
The only reservation I have about the book is the fact that Dave's lover, Cecil, would care enough about Vaughn Thomas's death to ask Dave to get involved in the first place, let alone risk life and limb to solve the mystery. Cecil is a black man and it's hard to imagine that he and Thomas could possibly have been friends at all, given the murdered man's racial views. But Dave needs some way into the case and this is as good as any. This is another very satisfying book from Hansen.
Dave is now officially retired and is showing and feeling his age. He's now on Medicare; other old friends who have populated this series are either dying or retiring themselves, and Dave is feeling the weight of his changing world bearing down on him, both physically and emotionally. But then Vaughn Thomas, an employee of a local television station, is shot and killed while engaged in a paintball game at a place called the Combat Zone.
The police conclude that Thomas was accidentally killed by a stray shot fired by a hunter from outside the Combat Zone and close the books on the case. But the victim was a fellow employee of Dave's lover, Cecil Harris, who also works at Channel 3. Cecil doesn't buy the official explanation of the death and asks Dave to look into it. Cecil would prefer, of course, that Dave do so quietly and without exposing himself to any sort of risk. But as any reader of crime fiction would say to that, "Fat chance," and in very short order, Dave is in deep trouble and grave danger.
Dave quickly discovers that Vaughn Thomas was a troubled young man with disturbing views about life. In particular, he was a virulent anti-Semite and a racist who longed to be a soldier of fortune and who had spent time training with a militia group in a small rural community named Winter Creek. As he investigates the case, Dave stirs up a hornets' nest and anger some pretty violent and reprehensible people. Other murders will follow and the case takes a lot of unexpected twists and turns.
Fans of the series will welcome this addition (or did, of course, since it first appeared twenty-two years ago) and crime fiction fans unfamiliar with the series would almost certainly enjoy it.
The only reservation I have about the book is the fact that Dave's lover, Cecil, would care enough about Vaughn Thomas's death to ask Dave to get involved in the first place, let alone risk life and limb to solve the mystery. Cecil is a black man and it's hard to imagine that he and Thomas could possibly have been friends at all, given the murdered man's racial views. But Dave needs some way into the case and this is as good as any. This is another very satisfying book from Hansen.
February 19, 2023
Hansen's pen and wit win as always.
White supremacy against Black tenacity
Love against Hate
Brains against Brawn
Greed against life
Sad because this one was the penultimate and I've gotten used to reading a Dave whenever Rosa and me feel like it.
Sleuthing with Rosa
White supremacy against Black tenacity
Love against Hate
Brains against Brawn
Greed against life
Sad because this one was the penultimate and I've gotten used to reading a Dave whenever Rosa and me feel like it.
Sleuthing with Rosa
September 21, 2013
The Boy Who Was Buried this Morning is an excellent penultimate chapter to the Brandstetter series with all of the standard (for this series) appurtenances: colorful, involving characters; apposite evocation of southern California environs; convoluted and largely believable plot and investigation. The Brandstetter series has always taken a stance against racism and anti-gay prejudice, but in this volume the latter played essentially no role since Brandstetter's investigation took him into the white supremacist milieu, where particularly extreme and virulent racism is to be found and where Brandstetter wisely kept his sexual orientation unspoken. Remarkably enough, though the trip through this milieu revealed a great deal about the initial victim's lamentable character, it is an extensively developed red herring leading to the resolution of another murder!
Brandstetter's aging has become a central issue of the series - along with the usual physical failings, Hansen has added the passing of close friends to the mix, as well as the inevitable change - seldom enough for the better - due to economic "progress" which is usually only evident to the older ones among us. (After all, to the young it is all as it ever was.) To my mind this is yet another trait that makes the series unique. Brandstetter is blessed - not only by close and loyal friends, but since he inherited his father's quite significant wealth, he has been able to express the generosity of spirit which has always been an appealing aspect of his character in yet other ways. It is remarkable how much Hansen is able to squeeze into 192 pages...
Brandstetter's aging has become a central issue of the series - along with the usual physical failings, Hansen has added the passing of close friends to the mix, as well as the inevitable change - seldom enough for the better - due to economic "progress" which is usually only evident to the older ones among us. (After all, to the young it is all as it ever was.) To my mind this is yet another trait that makes the series unique. Brandstetter is blessed - not only by close and loyal friends, but since he inherited his father's quite significant wealth, he has been able to express the generosity of spirit which has always been an appealing aspect of his character in yet other ways. It is remarkable how much Hansen is able to squeeze into 192 pages...
February 20, 2023
I cannot believe it's more than 13 years ago that I read Brandstetter #10. And it's quite refreshing to read a strictly sleuthing title without it being a blended M-M romance or infused with some paranormal flavor of sorts! Dave's particular style of hard-nosing about other people's business which may occasionally take a dip into illegal waters (or at least waters that law enforcement consider beyond the bounds) continue to land him in situations that go well out of his control; way on the other side of the scale from cozy mysteries. However, readers are quickly made aware that Dave has been in this line of work for decades and his body (and mental health) have definitely been put through the wringer of life. It's been lovely to reconnect with Dave and Cecil and how these two have been keeping home together in that very distinctive two level building/house. So I've got one of more book left to go now in this landmark series and will be very sad when it all finishes up.
August 25, 2019
“Whole United States feels the way I do, but they’ve been brainwashed by the liberal network TV traitors to where they’re afraid to speak out plainly.”
Ugh. This one is almost too relevant, full of white supremacists and their tacit supporters. And a demagogue who pretends that he doesn’t incite violence among his followers. Luckily, Dave and Cecil make it through. Whew.
Ugh. This one is almost too relevant, full of white supremacists and their tacit supporters. And a demagogue who pretends that he doesn’t incite violence among his followers. Luckily, Dave and Cecil make it through. Whew.
August 30, 2016
Poor Dave: what a mix of unsavoury individuals is he meeting! Nazi sympathisers, white suprematists and plain old racists and homophobobes.
Once more a well written story with secondary characters are properly developed, the mystery is perfectly believable and well thought. There are of little details you wouldn't find in another similar story: from the music they hear to the words used to the lovely banter with Cecil.
The theme of getting older is again present, and on top Dave is mourning the death of a dear friend. I don't know if there is a connection with the fact that Dave is again exposing himself to risks. He also shows bravery, bordering with foolishness sometimes. His humanity emerges many times, for ex. also in handling with the old woman living on social security, or in the way he deals with the child involved in the story.
I appreciated Dave's considerations about weapons as he is trying to get back the stolen SIG Sauer. With this and similar bits of wisdom interspersed in his books Hansen reminds me an old friend of mine, a retired protestant priest and historian: he offers guided tours on local history and he always manages to insert here and there a word for liberalism, tolerance and respect for diversity.
Once more a well written story with secondary characters are properly developed, the mystery is perfectly believable and well thought. There are of little details you wouldn't find in another similar story: from the music they hear to the words used to the lovely banter with Cecil.
The theme of getting older is again present, and on top Dave is mourning the death of a dear friend. I don't know if there is a connection with the fact that Dave is again exposing himself to risks. He also shows bravery, bordering with foolishness sometimes. His humanity emerges many times, for ex. also in handling with the old woman living on social security, or in the way he deals with the child involved in the story.
I appreciated Dave's considerations about weapons as he is trying to get back the stolen SIG Sauer. With this and similar bits of wisdom interspersed in his books Hansen reminds me an old friend of mine, a retired protestant priest and historian: he offers guided tours on local history and he always manages to insert here and there a word for liberalism, tolerance and respect for diversity.
September 18, 2025
What's there to say about this Dave Brandstetter books that hasn't already been said? Another fantastic book filled with morally grey characters in a morally grey world baking in the Californian sun.
November 11, 2015
4.0 of 5 stars – This Series Continues to Impress.
I love gay mysteries and romances, and this has been one of the best series combining both, and in the process rightfully became for Joseph Hansen a classic in gay literature. This eleventh in the series was just as good as the earlier high-quality ones and continued to build the story.
I liked this for the same reasons I liked each in the series. First off, for those interested, it worked well as a standalone, with its own self-contained mystery, while also further developing the character and life of the MC, his boyfriend and other supporting characters, and smoothly providing any explanations needed to bring a first-time reader up on previous happenings.
Also, it was a nice, short, easy read, with a good, well-paced plot and character development. I enjoyed the walk back in time to my earlier years, with moments of what was then current situations and culture vividly described by Hansen in a way that helped me remember those times. And I liked that the main focus was on the mystery, with the gay aspect and any romance as a major subplot. The mystery itself was engaging and suspenseful, with the investigation having realistic twists and turns. It had a refreshing approach of not featuring your typical detective or PI but an insurance investigator pursuing the clues. In this one, as is characteristic now of Hansen, I appreciated the storyline revolving around some aspect of culture and particularly prejudice, in this case white supremacy and para-militarism, and how that raised the tension. However, for whatever reason, I found I was not as invested in this story, maybe because I wasn't sure about some motives, like why the MC's lover would care enough about the victim to suggest a case that would outweigh his concerns for the MC's health and retirement. That said, I did appreciate the case, and within that the care that the MC showed toward some of the victims to help them out, and I again liked the descriptions of the southern California settings.
Hansen also developed nicely the whole set of characters. Of course there was more on the MC, with Hansen really getting into the life and mindset of a hard-boiled, matter-of-fact, honorable, self-accepting, sometimes melancholy and grieving gay man who I grew to like for all his skills, heart and humanness. As for the supporting cast, I also got a good feel for who they were, with some new ones to keep things fresh. For those who read the previous books, it was nice that some characters returned; but don't worry first-time readers, they were introduced and described just as if it’s a standalone. A nice bonus has been the MC’s gay life and relationships; and while I continued to enjoy his continuing relationship with his partner and its interracial, intergenerational diversity, I was a bit disappointed I didn't see more of it. But as a nice consolation I did get to see something that I rarely see in such series, that of an aging sleuth realistically dealing with retirement, failing health and the loss of close friends.
I continue to be impressed with the level of quality that Hansen maintains in this series, and I look forward to the last one.
I love gay mysteries and romances, and this has been one of the best series combining both, and in the process rightfully became for Joseph Hansen a classic in gay literature. This eleventh in the series was just as good as the earlier high-quality ones and continued to build the story.
I liked this for the same reasons I liked each in the series. First off, for those interested, it worked well as a standalone, with its own self-contained mystery, while also further developing the character and life of the MC, his boyfriend and other supporting characters, and smoothly providing any explanations needed to bring a first-time reader up on previous happenings.
Also, it was a nice, short, easy read, with a good, well-paced plot and character development. I enjoyed the walk back in time to my earlier years, with moments of what was then current situations and culture vividly described by Hansen in a way that helped me remember those times. And I liked that the main focus was on the mystery, with the gay aspect and any romance as a major subplot. The mystery itself was engaging and suspenseful, with the investigation having realistic twists and turns. It had a refreshing approach of not featuring your typical detective or PI but an insurance investigator pursuing the clues. In this one, as is characteristic now of Hansen, I appreciated the storyline revolving around some aspect of culture and particularly prejudice, in this case white supremacy and para-militarism, and how that raised the tension. However, for whatever reason, I found I was not as invested in this story, maybe because I wasn't sure about some motives, like why the MC's lover would care enough about the victim to suggest a case that would outweigh his concerns for the MC's health and retirement. That said, I did appreciate the case, and within that the care that the MC showed toward some of the victims to help them out, and I again liked the descriptions of the southern California settings.
Hansen also developed nicely the whole set of characters. Of course there was more on the MC, with Hansen really getting into the life and mindset of a hard-boiled, matter-of-fact, honorable, self-accepting, sometimes melancholy and grieving gay man who I grew to like for all his skills, heart and humanness. As for the supporting cast, I also got a good feel for who they were, with some new ones to keep things fresh. For those who read the previous books, it was nice that some characters returned; but don't worry first-time readers, they were introduced and described just as if it’s a standalone. A nice bonus has been the MC’s gay life and relationships; and while I continued to enjoy his continuing relationship with his partner and its interracial, intergenerational diversity, I was a bit disappointed I didn't see more of it. But as a nice consolation I did get to see something that I rarely see in such series, that of an aging sleuth realistically dealing with retirement, failing health and the loss of close friends.
I continue to be impressed with the level of quality that Hansen maintains in this series, and I look forward to the last one.
May 6, 2017
Damn, I love these books so much.
In this one, Dave comes out of retirement because Cecil has asked him to look into the death of a co-worker at the station. Dave has been in a funk, after the death of a friend, and Cecil has picked up that a sad and depressed Dave is better when he is on a case.
It was supposed to look like a hunting bullet gone off course that caused the death of Cecil's co-worker, but when Dave starts to pull on threads and talk to people, he starts to notice how things aren't that simple. It plunges him into the heart of white-supremacists, putting himself in danger.
Dave has aged throughout the series and is older in this book. He frequently berates himself when he forgets this - usually when his body doesn't do things like it did in the past, when his reaction time is slower, and he hasn't put things together as quickly as he did in the past. But it doesn't keep him from getting those pieces together and figuring things out.
I love the ending. It was fitting for it to happen, and I can't wait to see how it plays out in the last and final book. That's not to say that I won't be sad when it all ends. I've read library books of this series, but it is one that I will have to purchase for my own library so that I can always have them.
In this one, Dave comes out of retirement because Cecil has asked him to look into the death of a co-worker at the station. Dave has been in a funk, after the death of a friend, and Cecil has picked up that a sad and depressed Dave is better when he is on a case.
It was supposed to look like a hunting bullet gone off course that caused the death of Cecil's co-worker, but when Dave starts to pull on threads and talk to people, he starts to notice how things aren't that simple. It plunges him into the heart of white-supremacists, putting himself in danger.
Dave has aged throughout the series and is older in this book. He frequently berates himself when he forgets this - usually when his body doesn't do things like it did in the past, when his reaction time is slower, and he hasn't put things together as quickly as he did in the past. But it doesn't keep him from getting those pieces together and figuring things out.
I love the ending. It was fitting for it to happen, and I can't wait to see how it plays out in the last and final book. That's not to say that I won't be sad when it all ends. I've read library books of this series, but it is one that I will have to purchase for my own library so that I can always have them.
April 24, 2014
This is 11th Dave Brandstetter book and one of the best. In this one Dave has been asked to investigate the death of a young man who is shot while paint balling. The police think it's just a hunting accident, but Dave isn't so sure. He's especially concerned when he finds out that the woman he was living with her and her young son went missing shortly after she found out about his death. He fears for her safety and with good reason. His investigation leads him into a nest of skinhead KKK types.
What I love about Hansen's work is his style and characters. He's easy to read even though some of the subject matter is quite heavy. Plus, he writes about a main character who just happens to be gay. It's not the focus of the book, but it's part of who Dave is. When the books were written, that was extremely rare.
I was very happy to finally get a copy of the book which has been out of print for years.
What I love about Hansen's work is his style and characters. He's easy to read even though some of the subject matter is quite heavy. Plus, he writes about a main character who just happens to be gay. It's not the focus of the book, but it's part of who Dave is. When the books were written, that was extremely rare.
I was very happy to finally get a copy of the book which has been out of print for years.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 23, 2018
Another one where the killer was pretty obvious from the start, it was just a matter of finding all the right connections to link them to the crime. White supremacists suck in every way possible. . As usual, there's a plethora of suspects with just as many motives. Dave works the mystery in his usual calm and sometimes snarky manner. Poor guy just wants to retire. :P He and Cecil continue to be one of my favorite pairings ever.
I'm sad to be coming up on the last book in this series. I had a shaky start with this writer's style, but now I want the series to go on forever. But I also want Dave to get his happy retirement too, so... Onto the last one.
I'm sad to be coming up on the last book in this series. I had a shaky start with this writer's style, but now I want the series to go on forever. But I also want Dave to get his happy retirement too, so... Onto the last one.
January 10, 2017
This book finds Dave changing, as he's supposedly retired and out to pasture. His friends are older and he's losing them to both age and the increasing ravages of AIDS in the community. He's starting to wonder why he's still around.
Cecil knows that nothing will make Dave feel more like himself than an investigation, and while he hates seeing Dave in danger, he still proposes that Dave check out the death of a co-worker. The case leads Dave into white-supremacist territory, and pits him against a bunch of suspects who are dangerous in different ways and for different reasons. There's a bit of fatality about Dave here that made me hold my breath at the risks he took (and sometimes want to shake sense into him) but I enjoyed both the mystery and the themes of aging and change.
Cecil knows that nothing will make Dave feel more like himself than an investigation, and while he hates seeing Dave in danger, he still proposes that Dave check out the death of a co-worker. The case leads Dave into white-supremacist territory, and pits him against a bunch of suspects who are dangerous in different ways and for different reasons. There's a bit of fatality about Dave here that made me hold my breath at the risks he took (and sometimes want to shake sense into him) but I enjoyed both the mystery and the themes of aging and change.
May 14, 2025
Zweitletzter Brandstetter-Fall und so langsam leuchtet's einem ein: Vielleicht doch besser, wenn alte Leute dann mal aufhören. Hansen will noch mal ein großes gesellschaftspolitisches Problem in Griff kriegen, Rassismus, Neofaschismus, Hass auf alle, die „nicht so sind wie wir“. Aber er kriegt mehr oder weniger gar nichts mehr in den Griff. Dave, sein zur Ruhe gesetzter Detektiv, ist jetzt fast 70, forscht nicht gegen den Rat seines jungen schwarzen Freundes Cecil Harris nach, sondern wird von ihm, dessen Fernsehstation einen jungen Mitarbeiter hat, der beim Kriegspielen mit Farbpatronengewehren von einem Schützen im Tarnanzug niedergestreckt wurde, auf die Suche nach Motiv und möglichen Tätern geschickt. Und dieses Mal muss nicht Cecil seinen Alten aus akuter Todesgefahr raushauen, sondern Dave rettet ihn.
Aber sonst! Allen Ernstes wird uns ein schwarzer Buchautor, dessen Vater, als Wachmann tätig, bei einem Brand umkam, mit dem man ein neues Wohngebiet für Arme torpedieren wollte, als möglicher Täter präsentiert. Ich sage mal nichts dazu. Zum Inhalt dieses Buches darf man eh kaum was sagen, sonst ist alles schon verraten - und wir wissen doch: Joseph Hansens großer Twist wird erst in Kapitel 17 gezogen!
Anyway. Dave, in seinem Alter, wird natürlich nicht mehr von jungen Typen angemacht. Aber es wird auch nicht mehr angedeutet, dass er „ehelichen“ Sex mit seinem Lover im Horseshoe-Canyon-Traumhaus hätte. Er trifft dieses Mal auch keine Nachbarn. Wird nicht nachts von Mafiosi oder Soldaten belästigt. Max Romano ist gestorben, sein Lokal geschlossen, also kein gutes italienisches Essen mehr. Immer noch zu viel Alkohol und zu viele Zigaretten, aber Dave muss ja mal sterben an irgendwas. Und auch keine Jugendfreude aus ferner Vergangenheit. Und der millionenschwere Papa ist mittlerweile Jahre tot. Und seine junge Frau, die Innenarchitektin und gute Freundin Amanda, befindet sich im Ausland. Und Madge, die Lesbe, wird nicht mal mehr erwähnt. Und mit der Polizei streiten muss er nicht, weil die meistens im Urlaub oder außer Haus sind, wenn er sie mal was fragen will.
Was denn stattdessen? Also, der große fiese, unanfechtbare Skinhead-Anführer. Der wird so ausführlich verdächtigt, dass jeder, der schon mal drei Brandstetters vorher gelesen hat, kommen sieht, am Ende war's der doch nicht. Aber der „Junge“, der mit dem Farbgewehr, war eine Zeitlang in seiner Armee, hat ihm dann den Rücken gekehrt, seinen Sohn vor ihm gewarnt, aber baldigen Reichtum angekündigt. „Erpressung“, fällt Dave ungefähr vier Kapitel vor Ende ein. So weit ist es gekommen mit ihm.
Ja und was noch? Das Buch ist so dick wie alle von der Serie! Ach, mein Gott. Wer in diesem Buch jemals zu Wort kommt, der sagt immer sehr viel. Auch Dave selbst hält so lange Reden wie noch nie. Und der Nazi predigt Rassismus, was denn sonst, aber was man sich selbst denken konnte, hat dieser Autor früher mal eher nicht geschrieben. Auch ist es komisch, dass ein Detektiv außer Amt und Würden und ohne zahlenden Kunden, er soll sich nur bisschen umschauen, weil Cecil nicht versteht, was hier los war, in die Häuser und Büros der zugeknöpftesten Leute hinein kommt, dann, erst mal drinnen, im Zuge eines Wutanfalls dort einfach stehen gelassen wird, sodass er Schubladen aufziehen kann. Nicht mehr durch Fenster klettern muss wie früher, als er fitter war. Das mutet uns Hansen dann gleich zwei Mal zu: Dave in einem Haus, in dem man ihn absolut nicht drin haben will, und keiner achtet auf ihn, er zieht Schubladen auf, blättert Akten an, hat jedes Mal genau das, was ihn an dieser Stelle weiterbringt!
Man fragt sich selbst: Was ist hier gerade los mit mir? War ich immer schon so „altersmilde“? Hab ich zehn Bücher dieses handgestrickte Pippi-Langstrumpf-Gumshoe-Spiel für bare Münze gehalten?
Aber sonst! Allen Ernstes wird uns ein schwarzer Buchautor, dessen Vater, als Wachmann tätig, bei einem Brand umkam, mit dem man ein neues Wohngebiet für Arme torpedieren wollte, als möglicher Täter präsentiert. Ich sage mal nichts dazu. Zum Inhalt dieses Buches darf man eh kaum was sagen, sonst ist alles schon verraten - und wir wissen doch: Joseph Hansens großer Twist wird erst in Kapitel 17 gezogen!
Anyway. Dave, in seinem Alter, wird natürlich nicht mehr von jungen Typen angemacht. Aber es wird auch nicht mehr angedeutet, dass er „ehelichen“ Sex mit seinem Lover im Horseshoe-Canyon-Traumhaus hätte. Er trifft dieses Mal auch keine Nachbarn. Wird nicht nachts von Mafiosi oder Soldaten belästigt. Max Romano ist gestorben, sein Lokal geschlossen, also kein gutes italienisches Essen mehr. Immer noch zu viel Alkohol und zu viele Zigaretten, aber Dave muss ja mal sterben an irgendwas. Und auch keine Jugendfreude aus ferner Vergangenheit. Und der millionenschwere Papa ist mittlerweile Jahre tot. Und seine junge Frau, die Innenarchitektin und gute Freundin Amanda, befindet sich im Ausland. Und Madge, die Lesbe, wird nicht mal mehr erwähnt. Und mit der Polizei streiten muss er nicht, weil die meistens im Urlaub oder außer Haus sind, wenn er sie mal was fragen will.
Was denn stattdessen? Also, der große fiese, unanfechtbare Skinhead-Anführer. Der wird so ausführlich verdächtigt, dass jeder, der schon mal drei Brandstetters vorher gelesen hat, kommen sieht, am Ende war's der doch nicht. Aber der „Junge“, der mit dem Farbgewehr, war eine Zeitlang in seiner Armee, hat ihm dann den Rücken gekehrt, seinen Sohn vor ihm gewarnt, aber baldigen Reichtum angekündigt. „Erpressung“, fällt Dave ungefähr vier Kapitel vor Ende ein. So weit ist es gekommen mit ihm.
Ja und was noch? Das Buch ist so dick wie alle von der Serie! Ach, mein Gott. Wer in diesem Buch jemals zu Wort kommt, der sagt immer sehr viel. Auch Dave selbst hält so lange Reden wie noch nie. Und der Nazi predigt Rassismus, was denn sonst, aber was man sich selbst denken konnte, hat dieser Autor früher mal eher nicht geschrieben. Auch ist es komisch, dass ein Detektiv außer Amt und Würden und ohne zahlenden Kunden, er soll sich nur bisschen umschauen, weil Cecil nicht versteht, was hier los war, in die Häuser und Büros der zugeknöpftesten Leute hinein kommt, dann, erst mal drinnen, im Zuge eines Wutanfalls dort einfach stehen gelassen wird, sodass er Schubladen aufziehen kann. Nicht mehr durch Fenster klettern muss wie früher, als er fitter war. Das mutet uns Hansen dann gleich zwei Mal zu: Dave in einem Haus, in dem man ihn absolut nicht drin haben will, und keiner achtet auf ihn, er zieht Schubladen auf, blättert Akten an, hat jedes Mal genau das, was ihn an dieser Stelle weiterbringt!
Man fragt sich selbst: Was ist hier gerade los mit mir? War ich immer schon so „altersmilde“? Hab ich zehn Bücher dieses handgestrickte Pippi-Langstrumpf-Gumshoe-Spiel für bare Münze gehalten?
February 23, 2022
Once again, insurance investigator Dave Brandstetter, has retired. This time, however, retirement lasted longer than a day. Realizing that after more than forty years he was no longer able to cope with the physical demands of the job that put him in the hospital multiple times, he now stays at the home he shares with lover, Cecil Harris, off Horseshoe Canyon Trail and reads, listens to music, and writes while the younger Cecil continues to work at Channel Three in Los Angeles.
Alone in the house for most of the day, Dave misses people like his friend and restauranteur, Max Romano, who has died of old age. For a couple of years, Max followed his doctor’s orders to lose weight and slow down, but those orders made him unhappy. So, at the age of almost eighty, he died overweight, tired, but happy.
Perhaps because Cecil sees Dave’s unhappiness, he shares with him one day that a fellow employee (a racist and unlikeable man) was shot and killed while playing paintball. The police think a hunter’s stray bullet fired in the forest outside the playing fields had killed the man. Cecil, however, thinks otherwise.
Hansen’s eleventh (and next-to-the-last) book in the Dave Brandstetter mysteries brings Dave out of retirement and into danger, once again. This time his investigation brings him into the world of white supremacists and neo-Nazis.
More than once I forgot the book was more than thirty years old; often I felt like I was reading something set in our time. I also found the book disturbing because Hansen does not shy from the ravages of age. There is loneliness, creaking bones, slowing mind, and death of friends. However, I did rejoice in the long-lasting love between Dave and Cecil—gay men in an interracial relationship in the 1980s and with an age gap between them. Their relationship that spanned multiple books in the series, has been one of the most positive and hopeful ones I have read in LGBTQ+ literature. Love wins.
Another recommended book.
Alone in the house for most of the day, Dave misses people like his friend and restauranteur, Max Romano, who has died of old age. For a couple of years, Max followed his doctor’s orders to lose weight and slow down, but those orders made him unhappy. So, at the age of almost eighty, he died overweight, tired, but happy.
Perhaps because Cecil sees Dave’s unhappiness, he shares with him one day that a fellow employee (a racist and unlikeable man) was shot and killed while playing paintball. The police think a hunter’s stray bullet fired in the forest outside the playing fields had killed the man. Cecil, however, thinks otherwise.
Hansen’s eleventh (and next-to-the-last) book in the Dave Brandstetter mysteries brings Dave out of retirement and into danger, once again. This time his investigation brings him into the world of white supremacists and neo-Nazis.
More than once I forgot the book was more than thirty years old; often I felt like I was reading something set in our time. I also found the book disturbing because Hansen does not shy from the ravages of age. There is loneliness, creaking bones, slowing mind, and death of friends. However, I did rejoice in the long-lasting love between Dave and Cecil—gay men in an interracial relationship in the 1980s and with an age gap between them. Their relationship that spanned multiple books in the series, has been one of the most positive and hopeful ones I have read in LGBTQ+ literature. Love wins.
Another recommended book.
January 4, 2024
*Warning, there will be spoilers*
With only one mystery to go following The Boy Who Was Buried This Morning, I'm feeling both excited and nervous for it. Brandstetter's eleventh case continues to deliver on Hansen's strong points, but he makes some exciting pivots, too. I was surprised Cecil was the one who got Dave on board Thomas's death given his concern over his partner getting into danger. But when you add in a major side character death, it makes sense IMO. As our titular character continues to get older, we've now reached a point where people he's interacted with are out of commission, both work and life wise. It was nice to see this not be limited to one reference; that's another strength Hansen has. This death pops up throughout the book as Dave reflects, and does circle back at the end.
As far as the case went, I was very entertained. This was another entry I struggled to put down because I wanted to know more. Hansen crafted convincing suspects and leads, even driving me off course with a red herring. The writer's commentary on white supremacists continues to hold relevance for today (at the time of this review, we're entering an election year), and we get to see and hear how frightening these people can be. Hate group leaders and politicians can easily take advantage of small town people's fear and naivety when their way of life is posed as something that can be taken away from them by "outsiders." I have to hand it to Hansen. He was able to paint discourse on homophobia and racism in a way that's abundantly clear throughout the series. It reflects how the world may be "better" as a whole, but digs deeper to show how entrenched our bigotry really is.
With only one mystery to go following The Boy Who Was Buried This Morning, I'm feeling both excited and nervous for it. Brandstetter's eleventh case continues to deliver on Hansen's strong points, but he makes some exciting pivots, too. I was surprised Cecil was the one who got Dave on board Thomas's death given his concern over his partner getting into danger. But when you add in a major side character death, it makes sense IMO. As our titular character continues to get older, we've now reached a point where people he's interacted with are out of commission, both work and life wise. It was nice to see this not be limited to one reference; that's another strength Hansen has. This death pops up throughout the book as Dave reflects, and does circle back at the end.
As far as the case went, I was very entertained. This was another entry I struggled to put down because I wanted to know more. Hansen crafted convincing suspects and leads, even driving me off course with a red herring. The writer's commentary on white supremacists continues to hold relevance for today (at the time of this review, we're entering an election year), and we get to see and hear how frightening these people can be. Hate group leaders and politicians can easily take advantage of small town people's fear and naivety when their way of life is posed as something that can be taken away from them by "outsiders." I have to hand it to Hansen. He was able to paint discourse on homophobia and racism in a way that's abundantly clear throughout the series. It reflects how the world may be "better" as a whole, but digs deeper to show how entrenched our bigotry really is.
March 20, 2021
Dave has finally retired, but he is not happy. The death of his friend Max Romano has hit him hard and I think that's the real reason why Cecil asked him to take a look at this case, not for any real concern about the victim. Vaughn Thomas, shot at a paintball game in what has been determined to be an accident, was a horrid person. He was a profoundly anti-semit and racist person, whose biggest dream was to become a soldier of fortune so he could shoot black people. Cecil couldn't be really hurt for his death.
The case, of course, ends being a lot more than a simple accident and through lots of twist and turns and more murders, Dave will uncover plenty of awful things that will put him in grave danger... again!
The theme of ageing, of losing friends and leaving behind a bit of himself with each of those loses is more present than ever. But I liked the ending a lot.
Just one book left, argh!
The case, of course, ends being a lot more than a simple accident and through lots of twist and turns and more murders, Dave will uncover plenty of awful things that will put him in grave danger... again!
The theme of ageing, of losing friends and leaving behind a bit of himself with each of those loses is more present than ever. But I liked the ending a lot.
Just one book left, argh!
January 20, 2024
Next to last of this book series that has captivated me these past few weeks. Dave is old and depressed and keeps promising to retire and then his lover Cecil's co worker is killed- and thus Dave is propelled into a world of terrible people, neo Nazis and racists and scammers.
This book was written in 1990- and yet it seems especially timely today (2024) which is awful and sad.
There is so much in these stories that was revolutionary- queerness, and an interracial romance, among other constant plot elements throughout the series.
One additional terrific element of this series is its portrait of Southern California as it evolved in the second half of the 20th century; Dave's deep love of the physical landscape and distrust of the changes being wrought upon it is deeply moving.
One more to go and then I will be sad but still grateful for this reading experience.
This book was written in 1990- and yet it seems especially timely today (2024) which is awful and sad.
There is so much in these stories that was revolutionary- queerness, and an interracial romance, among other constant plot elements throughout the series.
One additional terrific element of this series is its portrait of Southern California as it evolved in the second half of the 20th century; Dave's deep love of the physical landscape and distrust of the changes being wrought upon it is deeply moving.
One more to go and then I will be sad but still grateful for this reading experience.
November 26, 2023
3.5 rounded up
And older and somwhat wiser Dave Brandstetter pursues the killer of a young man playing paintball, which then leads to a series of other killings and a circuitous investigation throughout southwestern California including ne0-Nazis, the demi-monde and victims of racism.
The usual Hansen skill at holding the reader's attention and telling a story with clarity. But some of his other stories have been more interesting.
And older and somwhat wiser Dave Brandstetter pursues the killer of a young man playing paintball, which then leads to a series of other killings and a circuitous investigation throughout southwestern California including ne0-Nazis, the demi-monde and victims of racism.
The usual Hansen skill at holding the reader's attention and telling a story with clarity. But some of his other stories have been more interesting.
June 21, 2018
One of his best. Published in 1990, could have been written today, at least in terms of social issues. California Nazis, housing discrimination, paintball, and crooked business practices, in the days before cell phones.
February 20, 2020
Closer to 3.5. I especially like how pissy people became when they called "paintball" by its old name.
November 29, 2022
It could almost have been written today.
May 1, 2025
Only one more. 😟
June 21, 2025
second to the last in the series. hate to see this come to an end.
November 15, 2025
Fun book with passages that remind me how little things have changed when this book was first published-1990.
June 8, 2024
It was fine, but like I think bc every single person who was murdered was genuinely a horrible person I wasn’t as invested in the story. I actually kinda just want a like weekend in the life where the main character is home with his bf. They’re cute
January 17, 2014
Well, we've reach the 11th and penultimate book in the Dave Brandstetter mysteries and it's with heavy heart I do this review.In this book we find Dave older, sadder, and mourning the death of a friend whose passing has hit him hard.Cecil sees the man he loves being depressed and angry and does the thing that might perk him up a bit,he ask him to investigate the death of a co-worker from Channel 3.Vaughn Thomas was a virtulentracist whose death in a painball game at the Combat Zone is labeled an accident. Dave investigates and discovers that the young man was killed by a high powered rifle that took off his head, and the young man was scared of someone weeks before his death. Dave also finds out that the young man's girlfriend is missing, with her young child the same day that the young man's father told her of his death.Dave's investigation takes him to Winter Creek in search of the young woman whose running in fear, in the path of the leader of a para-miltary group whose insane racist rants Vaughn Thomas followed.This book had me in fear for Dave because he was putting himself in danger(again) to find the truth and get justice.Dave is one of the most fair and decent fictional characters that has been written.I hate to say goodbye to these mysteries and this character.I highly reccommend this book and this series!
November 27, 2010
Dave is getting old, and it's horrible. His friends are dying, things are changing, and he thinks he's getting slow. But he's still going up against White supremacist groups and god knows what, and doing pretty well with it.
I do love the way these books engage not only with LGBT issues but also with issues of race. Maybe it isn't always as sensitive as it could be -- I can't think of a specific example right now, but I know there's been some aspects I didn't like very much -- but it's there. Concern about AIDs, too. Considering the genre, which can be pretty hidebound in some ways, and the close links with Raymond Chandler's work and such, I'm pretty impressed.
I love the end of this book, too -- the engagement with a personal life for Dave that twines in and around his work as a detective, again.
I do love the way these books engage not only with LGBT issues but also with issues of race. Maybe it isn't always as sensitive as it could be -- I can't think of a specific example right now, but I know there's been some aspects I didn't like very much -- but it's there. Concern about AIDs, too. Considering the genre, which can be pretty hidebound in some ways, and the close links with Raymond Chandler's work and such, I'm pretty impressed.
I love the end of this book, too -- the engagement with a personal life for Dave that twines in and around his work as a detective, again.
July 8, 2012
Another superb book in this acclaimed series.
Many different themes are dealt with: Dave getting older (but no less determined to see that justice prevails), some of his closest friends getting older too or having recently died, racism and homophobia (and the social exclusion these bring about), Dave having to deal with a white supremacist and para-military group... But perhaps what stayed the most with me was Dave's decency and sensitivity in dealing with a young boy who's just lost his mother and has barely escaped being murdered himself. Most of the scenes centred around this little boy are beautifully written, and so are those with Dave's thoughts and reactions at the loss of one of his oldest friends and the loss of his favourite restaurant, with all the happy memories connected with that place.
Many different themes are dealt with: Dave getting older (but no less determined to see that justice prevails), some of his closest friends getting older too or having recently died, racism and homophobia (and the social exclusion these bring about), Dave having to deal with a white supremacist and para-military group... But perhaps what stayed the most with me was Dave's decency and sensitivity in dealing with a young boy who's just lost his mother and has barely escaped being murdered himself. Most of the scenes centred around this little boy are beautifully written, and so are those with Dave's thoughts and reactions at the loss of one of his oldest friends and the loss of his favourite restaurant, with all the happy memories connected with that place.
October 24, 2018
I believe I've read all of Hansen (including two non-mysteries). This is one of his better Brandstetter books, most of which I liked very much, although, like many series, they perhaps flagged at points. This one offers plenty of LA setting, not too much of Dave's relationship with his other half, and enough plot to keep a reader pleasantly satisfied. If you've read no Hansen, you have a whole wonderful series awaiting. I believe the author, who started writing in the forties, died not long after this book was published. In it, he deals nicely--incidentally and lightly--with the aging process.
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