Dom Reilly is back. In this follow up to Year of the Rat, Dom helps clear three men wrongly convicted of rape while also following a pet project—the twenty-year-old case of a man accused of killing his lover in 1976. Meanwhile, Dom gets wind that someone is looking for him. A private detective from Chicago. Concerned that he might be putting his lover Ronnie in danger, he begins to make plans to disappear. Forever.
Three-time Lambda Award-winning author, Marshall Thornton is best known for the Boystown and Pinx Video mystery series. Other novels include the erotic comedy The Perils of Praline, or the Amorous Adventures of a Southern Gentleman in Hollywood, Desert Run and Full Release. Marshall has an MFA in screenwriting from UCLA, where he received the Carl David Memorial Fellowship and was recognized in the Samuel Goldwyn Writing awards.
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What I think about? I think that Marshall Thornton is one of the best "I-feel-good-mystery" writers. We all know in meantime that Dom Reilly is old Nick but I would rather compare Dom Reilly series to A Pinx Video Mystery Series than to Boystown Series. It has less dramatic and emotional effects, despite the earnestness of the subject - rape & false accusation. Yes, I know the 80s..the AIDS epidemic...nothing cosy about...And yes, Nick became older, wiser, more faithful. But NOT totally trouble-free. And it is a fun factor actually. It means we are not finished here, not yet, not yet.
I enjoyed it and I am looking forward to the next book.
I hope we get many more books from this series. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. The cases really pulled my heartstrings and Dom’s uncertain future had them up in knots. I’ve only read Marshall’s mysteries, so I’m going to check out his comedies and standalone novels next.
Damn, I think this was better than the first one. I need to stop neglecting all the rest of Thornton's books. Been too focused on Pinx and Henry. These aren't cozies like those, but damn, they're good, and #3 is out in a few days. Yay. :)
Great series! I really enjoyed this one. I like Marshall Thornton’s writing I never read the Boystown series so I don’t know all the background but I’m taking Dom as he is and enjoying the books a lot.
Highly recommend for lovers of mysteries and little romance.
What a joy to get back into another fictional romp with MC Dominick. Multiple investigative story-lines blend seamlessly with existential peril hanging over Dom and his new life with lover Ronnie all add to a consistent progressive plot pacing. The author also reintroduces multiple characters and some plot threads from his other Boystown and Pinx Video series - which may or may not affect those unfamiliar with those; these same brought little frissons of recognition/excitement for me. Dom's work colleagues Lydia and Karen continue to be nicely fleshed out (the latter having her very own brand of sass).
There were a couple of 'negatives' such as a character mix-up around the 66% way mark inducing momentary confusion. I missed the familial drama with the 'fading into the background' of Ronnie's mother's character; one can only hope she'll be brought back in a later title. Some of the escalating relational tensions between Dom and Ronnie reminded me of with the final statement of this book ringing ominous bells for all sorts of reasons ack; I can barely wait for the next book now!
I liked both of these mysteries and I appreciated that one was focused on identifying issues in the original legal proceeding instead of finding the people who actually committed the crimes at issue because realistically, that’s what an organization like Freedom Agenda would be doing most of the time. I thought Thornton’s handling of the subject of rape was sufficiently sensitive and liked that the investigation wasn’t about discrediting the victims. And I appreciated that the book explored some of the nuances of working to exonerate people and showed that the legal question of whether a conviction was proper is separate from the question of whether the accused is a good person. The conclusion of the story and the way it made that particular point was a bit too heavy-handed, though.
The flashbacks to one of the crimes being investigated worked much better in this book than the previous book, though I liked that both books used the flashbacks and investigations to explore the experiences of queer people at different points in history.
I’m enjoying Dom as a character, but I find him less compelling than Nick in the Boystown series because Dom doesn’t really feel like he has flaws. He’s made mistakes but he’s recognized and tried to correct them almost immediately, giving them relatively little impact on the story and Dom’s relationships. It feels a little like he’s been written to be above criticism. Similarly, although Ronnie has a strong personality, we haven’t seen many of his flaws, and as a result, I don’t feel like I know him as well as I should at this point. The biggest issue Ronnie’s dealt with is his relationship with his mother, and I wish he and Dom had more than just cursory conversations about that. One thing I loved about the Boystown series was that all of the characters had their flaws and not everyone was likable. In particular, I liked that Nick had to learn to appreciate Franklin and Mrs. Harker for what they offered to people he cared about, even if he didn’t always like spending time with them. This series doesn’t have any comparable characters so far.
Finally, I can’t read or watch legal fiction without complaining about legal inaccuracies:
* Paying someone $1 does not create an attorney-client relationship. Payment is not required to create an A/C relationship, and simply giving money to an attorney isn’t enough; the parties have to intend and agree to form that relationship. If you give someone cash and don’t make a record of it, then your testimony is the only way to prove the payment occurred – meaning that a cash payment has the same evidentiary value as simply saying to the other person that you’re forming an A/C relationship.
* Dom and Lydia keep saying that DNA evidence has “proved someone’s innocence,” but this is false on several levels. Although the legal claim Lydia would be making in most of these cases is “actual innocence,” the legal standard for those claims isn’t to prove that you’re innocent, it’s to show that no reasonable juror would have convicted the person in light of the new evidence. Legally speaking, there’s a material difference between meeting that legal standard and “proving innocence,” and a lawyer like Lydia would be focused at all times on establishing that the legal standard was met. Showing that DNA evidence doesn’t match a particular person often isn’t enough to meet the legal standard for actual innocence claims because the physical evidence being ruled out by DNA often isn’t the only evidence that led to the conviction, and reasonable jurors could still believe a conviction was warranted even without that physical evidence. I don’t really expect a fictional mystery to get into the weeds on legal standards, but the difference between “innocent” and “not guilty” is fundamental enough to be incorporated to some extent.
* Only partially a legal inaccuracy: I’m glad Thornton figured out halfway through writing this book that it’s Lexis/Nexis and not Lexus Nexus, but I wish he was better at editing his books for consistent use of proper nouns, correct homonyms, and other issues that spellcheck can’t pick up. I spot more issues in his books than I’d expect from someone who’s published as many as he has.
Despite how much space I’ve taken up complaining about them, these are pretty minor issues and I don’t think they’d detract from the story for the majority of readers. I’ve included them here mainly because legal issues get stuck in my brain and I need to write them down to get them out.
I'd say in this book Nick is more like Nick, as in trying to be a good guy while managing to be very selfish lol But at least he doesn't seem to check out every man he meets like in the previous book series hahah
Gotta say, I'm still not sure I understand what kind of person Ronnie is. One moment he is practical af and then another he is ready to commit to something very risky and maybe even dumb. I really like the supporting characters, I think this author is pretty good at writing women characters. And considering that topic of this book, it all worked out quite well in my opinion (despite the heaviness and delicacy of it). I was obviously super worried about the background plot of this series (Nick having to conceal his identity), with this author you just never know lol
The only thing I didn't really like was Larry's case (although I did like the emotional part of that case: two boys in love and all). I just thought the way Nick came to conclusions about it was too far fetched; I don't think it's possible to be able to tell much from pictures taken for school or that someone guilty would actually tell him a lot about the case. Still, it was entertaining to read. Definitely looking forward to the next book.
I'm still in love with Dom Reilly, or Nick Nowak or...if you read the book, you'll understand. Thornton includes a few mysteries that need to be solved, all intriguing and gripping. And the action and suspense don't stop when most of the mysteries are solved. I'm eager for the series to continue.
Was missing my Boystown characters, glad Marshall started this new series. I loved seeing little snippets of Dom's former life in this book. Please write faster I need the next book!!!!
paamiepie@yahoo.com, Just completed this book at 3 A.M. I was only going to read a couple of chapters till bedtime. However I could not put down love the characters, the book was just a great read. Mr. Thornton, please continue this series.
In the second installment of the Dom Reilly mysteries, it’s 1996 in LA, and Dom is once again investigating old convictions for the legal non-profit The Freedom Agenda. This time, he’s helping his boss Lydia Gonsalez build a case against overzealous LAPD detective Brenda Wellesley, last seen harassing Noah Valentine in Thornton’s Pinx Video series.
When Dom receives a letter from Larry Wilkes, who’s in prison for the 1976 murder of fellow teenager Pete Michaels, Dom also starts looking for evidence of Wilkes’s innocence. Meanwhile, a private investigator appears to be searching for Dom, which could mean Dom’s life is in danger, and that he’ll have to disappear, leaving his boyfriend Ronnie behind. …
Since he’s a private citizen, Dom spends a lot of time driving around California, trying to find and elicit information from witnesses, many of them hostile. This could make for a frustrating read, but Thornton’s gift for characterization and pacing makes A Mean Season continually engaging. Even the scenes explaining the ways lawyers challenge wrongful convictions are lively and imbued with the offhand authority of a writer who knows what he’s talking about.
Even if this were not such a well-plotted mystery, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend A Mean Season, because Thornton has such a such a spectacular voice—Dom Reilly is smart, sardonic, and occasionally wise. Readers are privy to the secrets he keeps, and the glimpses we get into Dom’s interior life (and past) are a treat. Highly recommended!
It’s an interesting angle, having this series in the 90s when DNA testing became a thing. All those cold cases and old convictions being revisited by Dom and friends makes for a lot of ambiguities - which were on display in this book as well, when several rape convictions get reopened (for good or ill), as does an old murder charge that has Dom sentimental.
We learn more about Dom’s past. I do hope he opens up to Ronnie soon.
but the series after the Boystown Mysteries is closer to my heart. If you haven’t read them, you’ll understand this one fine, but you’re missing out. I’m so glad to see what happens to Dom. This is carefully plotted and as always, the characters spring to life. I’m more or less Dom’s age; the settings are flawless and, in the earlier series, harrowing. Life’s better in the 1990s than in the 70s.
Loved this book. The mystery was great and yet again I didn't solve whodunnit until it was revealed. Dom is still hiding out and thinks someone may be onto him and he contemplates leaving California. I am hoping there will be another book in the series.
Love Dom (Nick) character! He is one of my favorite characters ever. I hope next book is coming soon. Every book by Marshall Thornton is a treat to savor.
A Mean Season (Dom Reilly 2) By Marshall Thornton Published by Kenmore Books, 2022 Five stars
By this time, we all know that Dom Reilly is the reinvented Nick Nowak from the remarkable Boystown series. However, this is not really the old Nick. He is older, wiser, sadder – but also more emotionally adult, more complex (if that is possible), and almost painfully aware of protecting the people he cares about – even if some of those people are relative strangers to him.
With his history of violence and loss, Dominick Reilly is settled down in a comfortable arts & crafts house with his half-Asian boyfriend, Ronnie, who’s a young hotshot real estate agent (at the perfect moment in Los Angeles history, the late 1990s). They share their house with two eccentric gay roommates, who both amuse and irritate Dom by turns.
Working with a mission-driven young lawyer, Lydia, and her Freedom Agenda organization, Dom finds himself engulfed in a series of murky police cases – three rape convictions recently thrown into uncertainty by new DNA testing – as well as a longtime murder conviction that emerges as problematic. He also finds out that his colleague/friend Lydia has learned of his former identity from the very author whose book he reluctantly assisted with. All this together opens up a torrent of curiosity and anxiety, mixed emotions that cast a bright light on this man and his new/old persona.
Dom is not warm and fuzzy, although he is clearly a good friend and a loving partner. There are still significant emotional walls around him, which is no surprise. But there is a vulnerability that has carried over from the first books – a desperate yearning to be happy, which couples with a sad conviction that he is fated never to find happiness.
As always with Marshall Thornton’s detective books, there is delicious moral ambiguity – what is lawful and legal versus what is good and right. Dom gets fully caught up in it because few characters I’ve ever come across understand that messy truth so well. Being haunted by the sense that you yourself are wrong, are unworthy of peace and joy, is hard to convey on the page, but Thornton made my heart hurt for Dom – which is a long way from the way I felt about Nick Nowak in the first book of the Boystown series.
This book was fascinating, moving, oddly funny, and a great mixture of darkness and light. Thornton resolves this story well – for now. He left me hungry to find out what comes next.
Another gripping story following Dom Reilly's investigations for the Freedom Agenda. This story split up it's time between 4 different cases, but having read the first book in the series I expected the intricate web that Thornton would weave. The ethical questions that were brought up throughout the book and posed more succinctly by Lydia towards the end directly to Dom were a lot to ruminate on. I'm looking forward to the next adventure in the series.
Dom Reilly and crew are at it again, defending the innocent, tracking down the guilty while Dom keeps evading a stranger tailing him with possible bad intent. Strong characters, good plotting-- a well written, well paced adventure. A can't put down page turner.
An excellent but personally difficult instalment. I have to admit being impressed at how the author handles the many, many shades of grey, albeit reading the story left me incensed at many points. Content warnings for rape; detailed accounts of rape kits, post-rape visits to the ER; underage rape; teacher-student rape; victim-blaming. I hope the series continues.
Enjoyed reading Dom's investigations into the mis trials, and the consequences and also Larry's story. I haven't read the Boystown stories so some of that background was a bit lost on me so the impact of that story line will mean more to those who have. I like that Ronnie doesn't let him get away his bullshit!!