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Mark Manning Mystery #1
Flight Dreams
Seit sieben Jahren ist die reiche Helena Carter aus Chicago verschwunden. Wohin, ist trotz aller Gerüchte und Mutmaßungen nie aufgeklärt worden. Und jetzt soll sie offiziell für tot erklärt werden. Das holt Mark Manning auf den Plan. Der Journalist ist der einzige, der fest davon überzeugt ist, dass sie noch am Leben ist, um sich vor einem Geheimnis zu verstecken, welches einfach zu unvorstellbar ist, als dass es an die Öffentlichkeit gelangen dürfte. Und so macht er sich auf die Jagd und muss ein weiteres bis dahin gut gehütetes Geheimnis preisgeben: Er ist schwul. Aber kaum scheint sich alles zum Guten zu wenden, führt ihn eine schockierende Offenbarung in Lebensgefahr ...
230 pages, Hardcover
First published September 20, 2013
40 people are currently reading
238 people want to read
About the author
Michael Craft
44 books57 followersMichael Craft is the author of 20 published novels, four of which have been honored as finalists for Lambda Literary Awards. The first installment of his Dante & Jazz series, "Desert Getaway," was a 2023 MWA Edgars nominee for the Lilian Jackson Braun Award. The second installment, "Desert Deadline," was a Gold Winner of the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award, as was his 2019 mystery, "ChoirMaster." In addition, his prize-winning short fiction has appeared in British as well as American literary journals. Craft grew up in Illinois and spent his middle years in Wisconsin, which inspired the fictitious small-town setting of Dumont, used in many of his earlier books. He holds an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University, Los Angeles, and now lives in Rancho Mirage, California, near Palm Springs, the setting of his current Dante & Jazz mystery series. In 2017, Michael Craft's professional archives were acquired by the Special Collections Department of the Rivera Library at the University of California, Riverside. Visit the author's website at www.michaelcraft.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
dnf
May 22, 2019DNF @ 8%
I just really can't stand the 3rd-person present tense combo. I tried, because investigative reporter isn't a sleuth I've had opportunity to come across yet and the premise was interesting, but that combo is endlessly distracting. I tried changing it to past tense in my head, but that just made it worse. Then the author goes and lets the reader in on what the competition is up to, probably to ramp up tension and raise the stakes, but that actually deflats it for me.
Good news: this takes another five books off my TBR. At least they were free.
I just really can't stand the 3rd-person present tense combo. I tried, because investigative reporter isn't a sleuth I've had opportunity to come across yet and the premise was interesting, but that combo is endlessly distracting. I tried changing it to past tense in my head, but that just made it worse. Then the author goes and lets the reader in on what the competition is up to, probably to ramp up tension and raise the stakes, but that actually deflats it for me.
Good news: this takes another five books off my TBR. At least they were free.
August 13, 2014
Flight Dreams
By Michael Craft
4 stars
“Flight Dreams,” the first of Michael Craft’s Mark Manning Mysteries was published in 1997, which is antique—last century!—in this online book review world.
But Craft’s husband is a Facebook, and when he realized that I review lots of books, he asked if I knew Michael’s books.
I’ll jump at any excuse to read something new, and especially a genre I have loved since Joseph Hansen caught my imagination in the 1970s. I focus on gay lit in my recreational reading for a reason, and a lot of that stems from how important his kind of writing was to me as a newly-out student in the 1970s. Craft, when I friended him, worried that I’d be harsh on this, his first mystery novel.
I love it when people are afraid of me. It’s so ridiculous.
This book is flawed, for sure. But it deserves four stars in spite of its flaws. I have already bought the second volume in the series, “Body Language,” because I was anxious to see what would happen next. If I want to keep reading when I’m done, it’s a good thing.
Craft is a stylish, literate writer, salting his prose with wry elegance such as this:
“The lady with the novel flaps a silk fan. She is the only one present to take action against the heat; the others suffer passively, racking up purgatorial credits in some celestial ledger.”
The mystery, focused on the disappearance seven years previously of Helena Carter, a Chicago airline heiress, is engaging enough, if a little contrived. Through Mark Manning’s investigation—made under some urgency over his career and his reputation—Craft allows us to meet all of the players, past and present, in Mrs. Carter’s life. We are given, bit by bit, a complex backstory that offers a broad landscape of incident and psychological detail. There is a sort of weird stylistic thing, using the present tense in the first person. I got used to it, but it’s not the most comfortable narrative style for me.
My biggest problem with the book, for at least 60 per cent of it, anyway, was Mark himself. I got over it, eventually, but not without a good deal of discomfort about his character. Mark is 39, handsome, and really really well built (Craft rather overemphasizes that he doesn’t LOOK nearly forty, which for someone my age is really really tiresome. And don’t get me started on the 56-year-old Helena Carter being referred to as an “old lady.” Grrr). Manning is also hugely self-assured. Obnoxiously self-assured, I’d go so far as to say. I think I see why Craft did this, but it’s off-putting.
You see, Mark Manning totally believes in himself without hesitation—except about his sexuality, apparently. One of the main thrusts (no pun intended) of the book’s plot is Mark’s coming to grips with a part of himself that he has successfully suppressed all of his life. Apparently, he’s never once considered sex with a man, in spite of being totally hot and successful and a public persona. I guess his Kinsey 4 ability to do it with women has allowed him to hide himself from himself.
Way to piss off a Kinsey 6, you smug bastard.
This sort of panicky closetedness just seems at odds with the kind of man his age in 1997 who is both confident in his beliefs and sure of his abilities—but not, oddly enough, homophobic. Indeed, to my mind both Manning and his best friend Roxanne Exner (great name, BTW) feel like characters stolen out of a gay angst novel from the 1970s, when I was in my twenties and coming out with a vengeance. Roxanne is an interesting woman, just as strong and self-assured as Mark is. But her jealousy of Mark’s friendship, which crossed a few boundaries once upon a time, turns her into a thoroughly unpleasant character for a good chunk of the book, culminating in one of the least enjoyable scenes I’ve ever read. I physically shuddered as I plowed through it, echoes of Ayn Rand’s nasty Howard Roark flickering through my imagination. Effective, I guess, but unpleasant.
But, ultimately I forgave both Manning and Roxanne, because Craft does something very good with his thread of the narrative, which runs parallel to the mystery line. Craft gives us Neil, the beautiful and very out younger architect from Phoenix, whose college friendship with Roxanne adds a sharp edge to the awkward triangle. But it is Neil who forces Mark to look inward. Although this comes very close to what the M/M fiction world refers to as a “gay for you” moment; Craft handles it with emotional fluency. Manning begins to redeem himself with lines like this:
“But the label scares me. Even if no one else knew, I would. I’d be waiting there with the label, and I don’t know what it would do to me.”
It still feels awfully 1970s to me, but at least we are seeing a human, vulnerable Mark Manning. For all his stiffness (Craft never manages to really relax him—I’ll be curious to see how that evolves in the rest of the series), Mark is not surprised by his homosexuality, so much as afraid of it. This refreshing self-doubt creates a dynamic that is honest and believable. Neil’s own brand of serene self-worth and his gifts as an architect (again, shades of Howard Roark!) become the catalysts for what is a genuinely effective romantic subplot. Thank God.
One of the oddest of the book’s surprises was the cats. Abyssinians, to be precise. If you don’t know what these are, you’ll learn just enough to add a strange little bit of unexpected flavor to the story. How Craft stumbled onto this as a plot device I have no idea, but I found myself looking up these exotic, beautiful creatures online because of Craft’s writing about them. This is why I love the Internet.
There is suspense enough and romantic interest enough to pull the reader through this story, in spite of stylistic peculiarities and the above-noted character-based annoyances.
Craft messaged me on Facebook and told me that he’d learned a lot about writing in the seventeen years since this book appeared. Of this I have no doubt, and with this as a first try, I’m very hopeful that I’ll enjoy the others even more.
By Michael Craft
4 stars
“Flight Dreams,” the first of Michael Craft’s Mark Manning Mysteries was published in 1997, which is antique—last century!—in this online book review world.
But Craft’s husband is a Facebook, and when he realized that I review lots of books, he asked if I knew Michael’s books.
I’ll jump at any excuse to read something new, and especially a genre I have loved since Joseph Hansen caught my imagination in the 1970s. I focus on gay lit in my recreational reading for a reason, and a lot of that stems from how important his kind of writing was to me as a newly-out student in the 1970s. Craft, when I friended him, worried that I’d be harsh on this, his first mystery novel.
I love it when people are afraid of me. It’s so ridiculous.
This book is flawed, for sure. But it deserves four stars in spite of its flaws. I have already bought the second volume in the series, “Body Language,” because I was anxious to see what would happen next. If I want to keep reading when I’m done, it’s a good thing.
Craft is a stylish, literate writer, salting his prose with wry elegance such as this:
“The lady with the novel flaps a silk fan. She is the only one present to take action against the heat; the others suffer passively, racking up purgatorial credits in some celestial ledger.”
The mystery, focused on the disappearance seven years previously of Helena Carter, a Chicago airline heiress, is engaging enough, if a little contrived. Through Mark Manning’s investigation—made under some urgency over his career and his reputation—Craft allows us to meet all of the players, past and present, in Mrs. Carter’s life. We are given, bit by bit, a complex backstory that offers a broad landscape of incident and psychological detail. There is a sort of weird stylistic thing, using the present tense in the first person. I got used to it, but it’s not the most comfortable narrative style for me.
My biggest problem with the book, for at least 60 per cent of it, anyway, was Mark himself. I got over it, eventually, but not without a good deal of discomfort about his character. Mark is 39, handsome, and really really well built (Craft rather overemphasizes that he doesn’t LOOK nearly forty, which for someone my age is really really tiresome. And don’t get me started on the 56-year-old Helena Carter being referred to as an “old lady.” Grrr). Manning is also hugely self-assured. Obnoxiously self-assured, I’d go so far as to say. I think I see why Craft did this, but it’s off-putting.
You see, Mark Manning totally believes in himself without hesitation—except about his sexuality, apparently. One of the main thrusts (no pun intended) of the book’s plot is Mark’s coming to grips with a part of himself that he has successfully suppressed all of his life. Apparently, he’s never once considered sex with a man, in spite of being totally hot and successful and a public persona. I guess his Kinsey 4 ability to do it with women has allowed him to hide himself from himself.
Way to piss off a Kinsey 6, you smug bastard.
This sort of panicky closetedness just seems at odds with the kind of man his age in 1997 who is both confident in his beliefs and sure of his abilities—but not, oddly enough, homophobic. Indeed, to my mind both Manning and his best friend Roxanne Exner (great name, BTW) feel like characters stolen out of a gay angst novel from the 1970s, when I was in my twenties and coming out with a vengeance. Roxanne is an interesting woman, just as strong and self-assured as Mark is. But her jealousy of Mark’s friendship, which crossed a few boundaries once upon a time, turns her into a thoroughly unpleasant character for a good chunk of the book, culminating in one of the least enjoyable scenes I’ve ever read. I physically shuddered as I plowed through it, echoes of Ayn Rand’s nasty Howard Roark flickering through my imagination. Effective, I guess, but unpleasant.
But, ultimately I forgave both Manning and Roxanne, because Craft does something very good with his thread of the narrative, which runs parallel to the mystery line. Craft gives us Neil, the beautiful and very out younger architect from Phoenix, whose college friendship with Roxanne adds a sharp edge to the awkward triangle. But it is Neil who forces Mark to look inward. Although this comes very close to what the M/M fiction world refers to as a “gay for you” moment; Craft handles it with emotional fluency. Manning begins to redeem himself with lines like this:
“But the label scares me. Even if no one else knew, I would. I’d be waiting there with the label, and I don’t know what it would do to me.”
It still feels awfully 1970s to me, but at least we are seeing a human, vulnerable Mark Manning. For all his stiffness (Craft never manages to really relax him—I’ll be curious to see how that evolves in the rest of the series), Mark is not surprised by his homosexuality, so much as afraid of it. This refreshing self-doubt creates a dynamic that is honest and believable. Neil’s own brand of serene self-worth and his gifts as an architect (again, shades of Howard Roark!) become the catalysts for what is a genuinely effective romantic subplot. Thank God.
One of the oddest of the book’s surprises was the cats. Abyssinians, to be precise. If you don’t know what these are, you’ll learn just enough to add a strange little bit of unexpected flavor to the story. How Craft stumbled onto this as a plot device I have no idea, but I found myself looking up these exotic, beautiful creatures online because of Craft’s writing about them. This is why I love the Internet.
There is suspense enough and romantic interest enough to pull the reader through this story, in spite of stylistic peculiarities and the above-noted character-based annoyances.
Craft messaged me on Facebook and told me that he’d learned a lot about writing in the seventeen years since this book appeared. Of this I have no doubt, and with this as a first try, I’m very hopeful that I’ll enjoy the others even more.
April 18, 2014
This was quite an enjoyable story. It was first published in 1998 and so I think it would be unfair to judge it against the kind of gay literature that we have today. Today there is a plethora of stories with gay main characters. We now have popular gay romance (m/m), gay mysteries, gay contemporary fiction, as well as so many urban fantasy, and paranormal series which have gay characters. The writing environment for gay literature has become highly diverse and very competitive.
Having said all that I don't think this story falls short in any way but I just think readers of mm should be aware that this is a little different. First of all this is a mystery story. The main focus is about a missing heiress and the fact that certain parties want her to be declared dead so that they can inherit her money. Mark Manning is a journalist and a lone voice in the wilderness because he believes the heiress - Helena Carter is still lives.
What follows then is a race against time as Mark seeks to discover what has happened to Helena. Along the way he meets a host of characters all with their different agendas. He also meets a man that he falls in love with and he meets plenty of cats. It is a great story, with a good pace. It does have a strong anti - religious feel to it which some times felt a bit too over emphasised.
The romance between Mark and Neil was nice. It was gentle and loving but it wasn't the 'story'. It was a minor story line but an interesting one because it showed Mark coming to terms with his own sexuality and allowing himself to fall in love with another man.
The mystery itself wasn't too hard to figure out but seeing how all the characters were woven into the story enriched the story and gave it so many interesting perspectives.
The only thing I didn't like about the story was the present tense. It felt kind of uneven in places and was a little distracting but once I got into the rhythm of the story it was ok.
This is the first book in a series and I definitely want to read more. It is set up to be an interesting series with a very interesting protagonist.
Having said all that I don't think this story falls short in any way but I just think readers of mm should be aware that this is a little different. First of all this is a mystery story. The main focus is about a missing heiress and the fact that certain parties want her to be declared dead so that they can inherit her money. Mark Manning is a journalist and a lone voice in the wilderness because he believes the heiress - Helena Carter is still lives.
What follows then is a race against time as Mark seeks to discover what has happened to Helena. Along the way he meets a host of characters all with their different agendas. He also meets a man that he falls in love with and he meets plenty of cats. It is a great story, with a good pace. It does have a strong anti - religious feel to it which some times felt a bit too over emphasised.
The romance between Mark and Neil was nice. It was gentle and loving but it wasn't the 'story'. It was a minor story line but an interesting one because it showed Mark coming to terms with his own sexuality and allowing himself to fall in love with another man.
The mystery itself wasn't too hard to figure out but seeing how all the characters were woven into the story enriched the story and gave it so many interesting perspectives.
The only thing I didn't like about the story was the present tense. It felt kind of uneven in places and was a little distracting but once I got into the rhythm of the story it was ok.
This is the first book in a series and I definitely want to read more. It is set up to be an interesting series with a very interesting protagonist.
February 5, 2017
Where is the line between 'dated' and 'historically interesting'? Somewhere behind this book, I guess, since it was approaching the boundary, but hadn't made the leap. Originally published in 1997.
The book wants desperately to be literary (present tense narration for no reason; some POV hopping), and the writing is just overdone in large part. The mystery was kind of silly. And the insta-love between the main character and the love interest was possibly the most unbelievable I've read in a long time: the MC comes out at 45ish to date the LI, flies to his house in Arizona to spend Christmas after having known him for a couple of days (and not having talked to him for weeks in the interim?), the LI MOVES TO CHICAGO to be with the MC, leaving his house that he DESIGNED HIMSELF? To move into the MC's unfinished loft? Uhhh. Well.
Also the sex scenes were the most unappealing I think I've ever read. They were SO BAD. I can usually just skip them, but these were so terrible that I felt like I had to keep reading. I will share just one image (behind a spoiler cut for explicit-sex-description): I think that is the single most un-sexy thing I have EVER read. And I've read a lot.
The novel wasn't all bad. I enjoyed some of the depictions of life in the mid 90s (dated, but verging on historical, as I said). I cared about the story enough to want to finish it. And it was free from the publisher on Amazon! I might even read the second one, IDK. (It was also free.) But... paste.
The book wants desperately to be literary (present tense narration for no reason; some POV hopping), and the writing is just overdone in large part. The mystery was kind of silly. And the insta-love between the main character and the love interest was possibly the most unbelievable I've read in a long time: the MC comes out at 45ish to date the LI, flies to his house in Arizona to spend Christmas after having known him for a couple of days (and not having talked to him for weeks in the interim?), the LI MOVES TO CHICAGO to be with the MC, leaving his house that he DESIGNED HIMSELF? To move into the MC's unfinished loft? Uhhh. Well.
Also the sex scenes were the most unappealing I think I've ever read. They were SO BAD. I can usually just skip them, but these were so terrible that I felt like I had to keep reading. I will share just one image (behind a spoiler cut for explicit-sex-description): I think that is the single most un-sexy thing I have EVER read. And I've read a lot.
The novel wasn't all bad. I enjoyed some of the depictions of life in the mid 90s (dated, but verging on historical, as I said). I cared about the story enough to want to finish it. And it was free from the publisher on Amazon! I might even read the second one, IDK. (It was also free.) But... paste.
August 4, 2013
First I want to say that I think it's great that Open Road Media is publishing digital editions of so many out-of-print and backlist titles. That may be the best thing about ebooks - being able to read books that have long been unavailable.
Second, I appreciate that this book features a gay man as a serious investigative journalist; I do think it's important to see all types of gay characters.
However, this is not a very good book. The mystery is not that interesting, and somehow it's hard to take a plot that centers around cat shows seriously as a crime novel. The villain is cartoony and the romance is too fast and easy to be believable, considering the main character is almost 40 and has been in denial about his homosexuality his whole life.
Most problematic is the narrative style. The majority of the book is told from the main character's point of view, third person present, except when paragraphs randomly switch POV, which makes me cringe anyway, but for some reason even more so in present tense.
Second, I appreciate that this book features a gay man as a serious investigative journalist; I do think it's important to see all types of gay characters.
However, this is not a very good book. The mystery is not that interesting, and somehow it's hard to take a plot that centers around cat shows seriously as a crime novel. The villain is cartoony and the romance is too fast and easy to be believable, considering the main character is almost 40 and has been in denial about his homosexuality his whole life.
Most problematic is the narrative style. The majority of the book is told from the main character's point of view, third person present, except when paragraphs randomly switch POV, which makes me cringe anyway, but for some reason even more so in present tense.
July 17, 2022
This was book 1 in the
"Mark Manning Mysteries"
. This was my first time reading this author. Investigative journalist Mark Manning is on the trail of a story that could make his career. Airline heiress Helena Carter, who vanished seven years ago, is about to be declared legally dead. Her fortune, valued at over one hundred million dollars, will go to the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago and the Federated Cat Clubs of America. Manning is the only one who believes that the missing Chicago socialite is still alive. And he’s just been given an ultimatum by his publisher: Prove it, or he’s history. Determined to keep his job and hoping to secure the five hundred thousand dollar reward from Carter’s estate, as well as the coveted Partridge Prize for investigative journalism Manning enters a world of religious fanatics who could turn back the clock on gay rights. At the same time, Manning grapples with his own sexuality as he falls in love for the first time with the man of his dreams. I loved the idea of this book but it was boring at times. The book went back and forth between the past and present. Mark was annoying in this book he is 39 good-looking and coming to terms with his sexuality late in life. This book was well written with no errors in grammar or spelling.
August 7, 2013
Original Blog Post: http://headouttheoven.blogspot.com/20...
I am currently in the mood for mysteries and thrillers and few fluffies on the side. I saw this offered in Netgalley and found it interesting. Knowing this was written in 1998, some date it 1997, I thought to compare the writing style of the present MM writers to that period when LGBTQ media were not only unheard of by most of the population but also frowned upon. I would just like to point out that Open Road Media is currently very active in re-publishing these older books and re-introducing these authors to the new generation LGBT fans like myself.
This is a mystery thriller and in the middle of it are Mark and Neil who meet and fall for each other. I guess this is the start of a beautiful relationship for the succeeding books still involve these two men.
Mark is a hotshot reporter and is basically considered the newspaper's golden boy. He gets involved in a mystery involving the cold case of an heiress' disappearance. He has no filter whatsoever and makes it known to one and all his opinions, no matter if the listener does not want to. The setting is at a time when cigarette smoking was beginning to be frowned upon and yet still widely accepted so it was kind of a flashback setting for me.
The character and plot developments were well done and the sequence of events well paced. It leaves no room for boredom to set in, something I find quite common in many mystery or thriller novels. For a book that is neither a slash-and-gore type, it was quite graphic so it was not difficult to get a visual on what Mark was seeing, thinking and experiencing. This is just the beginning of the series and already it establishes the feel of the succeeding books.
For those who like mystery-thrillers and a romance between two hot men on the side, this is quite an appealing book to consider. It took me some time to read this thinking it was a setting I would not be too interested in, but I opened this and saw that it was a great way to spend some time before going to bed.
Great read and will definitely pick up the next books.
Review based on a copy provided through Netgalley by Open Road Media.
I am currently in the mood for mysteries and thrillers and few fluffies on the side. I saw this offered in Netgalley and found it interesting. Knowing this was written in 1998, some date it 1997, I thought to compare the writing style of the present MM writers to that period when LGBTQ media were not only unheard of by most of the population but also frowned upon. I would just like to point out that Open Road Media is currently very active in re-publishing these older books and re-introducing these authors to the new generation LGBT fans like myself.
This is a mystery thriller and in the middle of it are Mark and Neil who meet and fall for each other. I guess this is the start of a beautiful relationship for the succeeding books still involve these two men.
Mark is a hotshot reporter and is basically considered the newspaper's golden boy. He gets involved in a mystery involving the cold case of an heiress' disappearance. He has no filter whatsoever and makes it known to one and all his opinions, no matter if the listener does not want to. The setting is at a time when cigarette smoking was beginning to be frowned upon and yet still widely accepted so it was kind of a flashback setting for me.
The character and plot developments were well done and the sequence of events well paced. It leaves no room for boredom to set in, something I find quite common in many mystery or thriller novels. For a book that is neither a slash-and-gore type, it was quite graphic so it was not difficult to get a visual on what Mark was seeing, thinking and experiencing. This is just the beginning of the series and already it establishes the feel of the succeeding books.
For those who like mystery-thrillers and a romance between two hot men on the side, this is quite an appealing book to consider. It took me some time to read this thinking it was a setting I would not be too interested in, but I opened this and saw that it was a great way to spend some time before going to bed.
Great read and will definitely pick up the next books.
Review based on a copy provided through Netgalley by Open Road Media.
October 24, 2021
DNF at about 42%. This was dated, and by that I mean that this book was dated even before it was released. A book released in the late 1990's but felt like it was written in the 1970s.
February 13, 2025
Good mystery. Interesting to have the POV from a journalist instead of a detective. Head hopped a bit to much for me, but still gave an interesting story.
March 16, 2015
3.75 stars
Flight Dreams is the first novel in the Mark Manning series. It was published for the first time in 1997. Thanks to the Open Road Media, we can now enjoy the series in the digital format. It’s also one of the author’s earliest works. You can see that especially in the characterization and the novel is somewhat dated, but author still delivers a satisfying mystery and gives us a good set up for the rest of the series.
The book is written in present tense which might not appeal to some readers. While I’m not a fan of such narrative, I got used to it (which isn’t always the case) and hardly noticed it by the end of the book. From the first scene, there is something old-fashioned in the atmosphere of the novel. It’s not just the superficial things, like all the characters smoking or absence of (now everywhere) available technology, but in the way the characters speak, the way scenes are constructed, etc. I heard that the author’s novels were compared to those of Agatha Christie, but the atmosphere has something of Raymond Chandler, even if Mark Manning is no Philip Marlowe.
Mark is the 39-year-old star of a fictitious Chicago newspaper. He was given the ultimatum: prove his pet theory that missing heiress Helena Carter is alive, or lose his job. If you are anything like me, chances are you wouldn’t like Mark very much. Mark has an opinion on everything – and it’s a definite opinion. He is not afraid to share it with everyone and tell them how wrong they are. Not to mention the fact that he talks too much and not always at the most appropriate moments. His quest for the truth is interlaced with his gradual acceptance of his sexuality. It’s not something that comes naturally from the narrative – it is rather a secondary, independent narrative and only at the very end, it merges with the main story line. I couldn’t quite get a handle on the characters, on who they are out of the confines of the pages. What makes Neil, Mark’s love interest, so appealing that Mark decides to step out of the closet? What makes Roxanne, Mark’s friend, such a mess? (Warning to readers: Mark has a very brief, angry sex scene with Roxanne.)
The best part of the novel is the mystery. As Mark visits all the parties interested in Helena’s fortune, her friends and family members, an image of the woman’s troubled family past emerges. Past a certain point, it’s not difficult to guess what happened but it’s still interesting to watch Mark getting there. The mystery was well paced and I didn’t think it needed the somewhat melodramatic twist in the end. It had one of the most interesting clues I have ever encountered in a mystery. Another thing that I enjoyed is the character of Humphrey Hasting, journalist of a rival paper, an epitome of trashy journalism.
All in all, Flight Dreams is a decent mystery and a good opener for the series. I hope the sequels will show Mark’s growth as a character and further explore his and Neil’s connection. If you enjoy mysteries in general, somewhat old-fashioned in particular, I think you would enjoy this novel. Recommended with some reservations.
Flight Dreams is the first novel in the Mark Manning series. It was published for the first time in 1997. Thanks to the Open Road Media, we can now enjoy the series in the digital format. It’s also one of the author’s earliest works. You can see that especially in the characterization and the novel is somewhat dated, but author still delivers a satisfying mystery and gives us a good set up for the rest of the series.
The book is written in present tense which might not appeal to some readers. While I’m not a fan of such narrative, I got used to it (which isn’t always the case) and hardly noticed it by the end of the book. From the first scene, there is something old-fashioned in the atmosphere of the novel. It’s not just the superficial things, like all the characters smoking or absence of (now everywhere) available technology, but in the way the characters speak, the way scenes are constructed, etc. I heard that the author’s novels were compared to those of Agatha Christie, but the atmosphere has something of Raymond Chandler, even if Mark Manning is no Philip Marlowe.
Mark is the 39-year-old star of a fictitious Chicago newspaper. He was given the ultimatum: prove his pet theory that missing heiress Helena Carter is alive, or lose his job. If you are anything like me, chances are you wouldn’t like Mark very much. Mark has an opinion on everything – and it’s a definite opinion. He is not afraid to share it with everyone and tell them how wrong they are. Not to mention the fact that he talks too much and not always at the most appropriate moments. His quest for the truth is interlaced with his gradual acceptance of his sexuality. It’s not something that comes naturally from the narrative – it is rather a secondary, independent narrative and only at the very end, it merges with the main story line. I couldn’t quite get a handle on the characters, on who they are out of the confines of the pages. What makes Neil, Mark’s love interest, so appealing that Mark decides to step out of the closet? What makes Roxanne, Mark’s friend, such a mess? (Warning to readers: Mark has a very brief, angry sex scene with Roxanne.)
The best part of the novel is the mystery. As Mark visits all the parties interested in Helena’s fortune, her friends and family members, an image of the woman’s troubled family past emerges. Past a certain point, it’s not difficult to guess what happened but it’s still interesting to watch Mark getting there. The mystery was well paced and I didn’t think it needed the somewhat melodramatic twist in the end. It had one of the most interesting clues I have ever encountered in a mystery. Another thing that I enjoyed is the character of Humphrey Hasting, journalist of a rival paper, an epitome of trashy journalism.
All in all, Flight Dreams is a decent mystery and a good opener for the series. I hope the sequels will show Mark’s growth as a character and further explore his and Neil’s connection. If you enjoy mysteries in general, somewhat old-fashioned in particular, I think you would enjoy this novel. Recommended with some reservations.
August 2, 2013
3.5 stars--A nice beginning to a series with much potential. The MCs, Mark and Neil, are smart, talented and sexy--really nice guys, and mutual friend Roxanne is an interesting character as well. Both the mystery and the budding romance between Mark and Neil are well done. I enjoyed reading about the cats and had to look abbies up on line for more info.
I'm not a big fan of this writing style, much preferring first person, but this was only mildly annoying, and each time I sat down to read, it only took a few minutes to acclimate. While the descriptions and background information were well written, I have to admit that I often skimmed over sections that, to me, didn't seem terribly pertinent to the plot.
All things considered, I'm looking forward to read the rest of this series. I really enjoy reading multiple books based on the same MCs, and from what I understand, there are quite a few more here to follow. Yea!!
I'm not a big fan of this writing style, much preferring first person, but this was only mildly annoying, and each time I sat down to read, it only took a few minutes to acclimate. While the descriptions and background information were well written, I have to admit that I often skimmed over sections that, to me, didn't seem terribly pertinent to the plot.
All things considered, I'm looking forward to read the rest of this series. I really enjoy reading multiple books based on the same MCs, and from what I understand, there are quite a few more here to follow. Yea!!
July 22, 2013
Flight Dreams is the story of Mark Manning, an investigative reporter who is determined to solve the case of a missing airline heiress who hasn’t been seen in seven years. Soon she will be declared officially dead, but Manning is convinced that she is still alive. As he unlocks more and more secrets surrounding Mrs. Carter’s disappearance, he becomes more involved with men than ever before. When the case takes Manning to Arizona, he meets the man of his dreams, literally. The two share the same dream that they can fly through the air. Manning has never felt so comfortable with a man ever before and by the end of the novel he has come to terms with his sexuality. Part mystery part erotica, the first novel in Michael Craft’s Mark Manning mystery series is one not to be missed.
July 21, 2013
"Flight Dreams" by Michael Craft is a well written crime story centred around Mark Manning, an investigative journalist who is convinced that airline heiress Helena Carter is still alive. He has three months to prove it to save his career. After that she will be declared dead and her fortune will be given to the Catholic Church.
On the way he and his side kick figure out their sexual chemistry.
The book is a good set up for the rest of the series, the characters, the story and the pace all showed great potential and with the added gay romance sub-plot this should satisfy an under-saturated market of mainstream gay fiction.
On the way he and his side kick figure out their sexual chemistry.
The book is a good set up for the rest of the series, the characters, the story and the pace all showed great potential and with the added gay romance sub-plot this should satisfy an under-saturated market of mainstream gay fiction.
December 4, 2018
An excellent beginning
I read the Mark Manning books back when they first came out, and am now rereading the series. This first entry to the series is a great introduction to Manning and his world, plus a very satisfying mystery and conclusion about a missing businesswoman. I would have liked a little more insight into what makes Manning tick as far as his inner struggle with emerging from the closet. Still, the story is so compelling and un-put-downable that I found myself reading well into the night even though I needed to wake up early for work. This is an excellent beginning.
I read the Mark Manning books back when they first came out, and am now rereading the series. This first entry to the series is a great introduction to Manning and his world, plus a very satisfying mystery and conclusion about a missing businesswoman. I would have liked a little more insight into what makes Manning tick as far as his inner struggle with emerging from the closet. Still, the story is so compelling and un-put-downable that I found myself reading well into the night even though I needed to wake up early for work. This is an excellent beginning.
August 20, 2015
Really enjoyed this - set in Chicago and featuring a missing heiress and two intriguing MCs.
February 8, 2026
A gay love story, cats, and Catholic theological drama. What could go wrong? With this book...everything.
Look, I know it's hard to write a good novel. I don't bother panning books that are just poorly written. But when they're as arrogant and mean-spirited as this one, this Abyssinian's claws come out.
This author never misses a chance to show his revulsion and contempt for overweight people, women, and effeminate men. He's projecting all his internalized sissy-phobia onto his antagonist characters so that his protagonist and boring love interest can display their perfectly assimilated, straight-acting, upper-class minimalist good taste. Which is ironic because the dramatic dialogue in "Flight Dreams" is as unintentionally campy as Madeline Kahn in "Clue" shrieking "Flames on the side of my face!"
Look, I know it's hard to write a good novel. I don't bother panning books that are just poorly written. But when they're as arrogant and mean-spirited as this one, this Abyssinian's claws come out.
This author never misses a chance to show his revulsion and contempt for overweight people, women, and effeminate men. He's projecting all his internalized sissy-phobia onto his antagonist characters so that his protagonist and boring love interest can display their perfectly assimilated, straight-acting, upper-class minimalist good taste. Which is ironic because the dramatic dialogue in "Flight Dreams" is as unintentionally campy as Madeline Kahn in "Clue" shrieking "Flames on the side of my face!"
January 1, 2019
I'm sorry, I tried. I struggle through 1/3 of the book, and it still seemed... too verbose, the dialogues felt stilted, more statements than anything else, the mystery... well at page 200 is still just an idea.
I can see for the ratings this one has that other people found it appealing, but not me.
Maybe sometime I'll try another book by this author, but not for a while.
I can see for the ratings this one has that other people found it appealing, but not me.
Maybe sometime I'll try another book by this author, but not for a while.
November 29, 2023
I am so glad I started this series. This was a great introduction to characters and was a great investigator book.
The story was done well and I enjoyed how the book was written. The relationships were fun to read about. A little bit of sexy time, but not so much so that it deterred from the story. Book 2 here I come.
The story was done well and I enjoyed how the book was written. The relationships were fun to read about. A little bit of sexy time, but not so much so that it deterred from the story. Book 2 here I come.
January 22, 2019
First one in the series. In this one Mark Manning meets Neil Waite, comes out, and solves the crime of the missing heiress. A very enjoyable read although there is a little too much telling rather than showing. Exposition is given in order to explain details, but the characters are well developed and it intrigued me enough to read more of the series.
March 16, 2019
Engrossing writing despite some odd colloquialisms, likeable characters and a decent plot, even if the main lines of it a fairly obvious and it is perhaps a little slow at the beginning. Good fun.
March 30, 2020
A rough beginning to a decent series.
Read
November 12, 2022*DNF*
(41%)
(41%)
November 19, 2024
Too slow for me
October 17, 2025
Maybe it's just me but the writing style took me out... it feels weirdly juvenile, full of exposition dumps. Even the narrator does not sound like he's in his late 30s.
January 27, 2026
I found this book in the laundry room of my friend's apartment building. The good news is it makes me feel a lot more confident about the mystery novel I've been writing.
December 1, 2015
This book was written around 1998 and, readers still depended on actual newspapers for information. Mark Manning is 39 and a respected journalist for a Chicago paper. Seven years ago a wealthy widow with a passion for breeding expensive cats disappeared. Manning is the one voice of reason. While others are relying on physics and are willing to convict the houseman, Mark maintains there is no evidence that Helena is in fact dead. Mark's paper for some odd reason joins the circus. Mark was given an ultimatum, produce the evidence that Helena is alive or join the ranks of the unemployed.
Mark also faces challenges in his personal life. He has a deeply buried secret. He is gay but fearing the "label" and how his life will change, Mark has stayed firmly in his closet. All that changes when he meets Neil.
Neil brings all the missing pieces into Mark's life. At the age of 40, Mark is finally ready to find himself. He and Neil come together almost seamlessly.
The mystery of Helena will take a little more effort but, Michael Croft manages to toss in a few simple twits and turns to keep the reader interested and wanting to read the next Mark Manning Mystery.
Mark also faces challenges in his personal life. He has a deeply buried secret. He is gay but fearing the "label" and how his life will change, Mark has stayed firmly in his closet. All that changes when he meets Neil.
Neil brings all the missing pieces into Mark's life. At the age of 40, Mark is finally ready to find himself. He and Neil come together almost seamlessly.
The mystery of Helena will take a little more effort but, Michael Croft manages to toss in a few simple twits and turns to keep the reader interested and wanting to read the next Mark Manning Mystery.
August 31, 2015
The online rating system is kind of skewed in that if you start a book and don't finish it because you don't like it you usually just don't review it. This system leaves fewer one star reviews.
Well here's my one star review. I got to 25% and began skimming heavily and got to 35% and stopped. The story is not interesting, the main character unlikable, there's no action, someone not exploring their homosexuality until age 40 seemed homophobic to me for some reason, it was a chore to continue reading.
Well here's my one star review. I got to 25% and began skimming heavily and got to 35% and stopped. The story is not interesting, the main character unlikable, there's no action, someone not exploring their homosexuality until age 40 seemed homophobic to me for some reason, it was a chore to continue reading.
April 3, 2016
Great story
The mystery was good but not really suspenseful although the full stories of the protagonist was a shock
It was clear early on were the story was headed and who was likely troublemaker.
Still it was nice to read , in fact this I believe is my 4th time reading it over the years but this is first time digitally.
I hope they consider audio, would love to hear it on Audible.
The mystery was good but not really suspenseful although the full stories of the protagonist was a shock
It was clear early on were the story was headed and who was likely troublemaker.
Still it was nice to read , in fact this I believe is my 4th time reading it over the years but this is first time digitally.
I hope they consider audio, would love to hear it on Audible.
October 15, 2008
I would've liked this book more if the author hadn't added a melodramatic twist to the plot near the end of the book. The murder mystery stood up well on its own and, in my opinion, was weakened by the addition of a socio-political conspiracy intended to outrage the presumed audience of this novel.
February 4, 2009
This series caught my eye from a review that said "a whodunit like Agatha Christie"...and as I read shounen ai/yaoi, male-male pairings don't bug me at all. I suck at solving mysteries, but I still found this series a great read...especially after he changed to first-person perspective in later books!
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