The Paper Mirror

A Dick Hardesty Mystery #10

by Dorien Grey

No. 10 of the Dick Hardesty Mystery Series

Genres: M M Romance, Mystery, LGBT

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

If it is possible to have a split personality without being schizophrenic, Dorien Grey qualifies. When long-time book and magazine editor Roger Margason chose the pseudonym “Dorien Grey” for his first book, it set off a chain of circumstances which has led to the comfortable division of labor and responsibility. Roger has charge of day-to-day existence, freeing Dorien—with the help of Roger’s fingers—to write. It has reached the point where Roger merely sits back and reads the stories Dorien brings forth on the computer screen.

It’s not as though Roger has not had an uninteresting life of his own. Two years into college, he left to join the Naval Aviation Cadet program. Washing out after a year, he spent the rest of his brief military career on an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean at the height of the cold war. The journal he kept of his time in the military, in the form of letters home, honed his writing skills and provided him with a wealth of experiences to draw from in his future writing. These letters will be appearing in book form shortly.

Returning to Northern Illinois University after service, he graduated with a B.A. in English, and embarked on a series of jobs which worked him into the editing field. While working for a Los Angeles publishing house, he was instrumental in establishing a division exclusively for the publication of gay paperbacks and magazines, of which he became editor. He moved on to edit a leading L.A. based international gay men's magazine.

Tiring of earthquakes, brush fires, mud slides, and riots, he returned to the Midwest, where Dorien emerged, full-blown, like Venus from the sea. They’ve been inseparable (and interchangeable) ever since.

He . . . and Dorien of course…moved back to Chicago in 2006, where they now devote full time to writing. After having published fourteen books in the popular Dick Hardesty Mystery series, four books in the Elliott Smith (paranormal) Mystery series, and the stand-alone western/romance/adventure novel, Calico, he is busily at work on yet another Dick Hardesty mystery.

But for a greater insight into the "real person" behind Dorien Grey, the curious are invited to check out his website (http://www.doriengrey.com), where you can read the first chapter of any or all of his books for free, and his various blogs: Dorien Grey and Me (http://www.doriengreyandme.com) and A Life in Photos (http://www.doriengreyphotolife.blogsp...) among them.

Dorien passed away on November 1, 2015.

Reviews

[Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

So not only do I not know where this series takes place - the author even went a little meta by mentioning an author whose books all take place in unnamed locations - but now I'm having to reassess when this series takes place. I had assumed early 80s from the start, but it's been quite a few years now, AIDS has only gotten a cursory mention or two, and it's finally mentioned here that a character has a brand new Datsun 280ZX, which were manufactured from 1978 to 1983. So at least the first handful of books must take place in the mid to late 70s. (And as for location, the author throws in names of institutions and locales from all over the U.S. map. About the only that can be said for certain is wherever this takes place, it's en route to California from Wisconsin and at least a three-day drive from CA and an overnight drive from WI. So I'm sticking with one of the Dakotas for now. :D )

But none of that is here nor there. It's just a fun little project for my brain to work on while I'm reading.

The mystery here is pretty convoluted, which is par for the course, but aside from the personal aspects regarding one of the deceased involved in the case, it didn't really hold my attention too much and I was ready for it to be over sooner than it was. At least it kept me guessing on the whodunit, and that's always good. (I did suspect the whodunit at one point, but Grey knows how to give possible motives to multiple characters.)

There wasn't as much time spent on the home front as I would have liked either. It kind of felt like Jonathan (and Joshua) got stuck in the backseat for this one, and since Jonathan's entered the series, those parts have always been my favorite. At least Joshua is a convincing 4-year old. :D

[RJ McGill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paper Mirror is the tenth installment in the popular Hardesty Mystery series. Author, Dorien Grey has crafted a fast paced mystery that continues an established and much loved series, yet easily stands alone, welcoming new readers. Private investigator extraordinaire, Dick Hardesty was settling into the role of family man after adopting Joshua, his partner’s orphaned nephew when an invitation to a highly publicized gala leads to the most intriguing case of his career. Once a crotch-tingling playboy, Hardesty had never been particularly fond of black tie functions, he was more of the party persuasion. Jonathan, on the other hand, was always eager to square his bow tie and rub elbows with the wealthy and well to do. The fact that his favorite author, Evan Knight, would be attending this noteworthy event, just added fuel to Jonathan’s barely containable excitement. The BurrowsLibrary had been literally willed into existence by the late Chester Burrows, an eccentric collector of homosexual writings. It was said that his, was the largest private collection of books on the subject. With such a colorful character as the library’s benefactor and namesake, it was not surprising that the opening night celebration was slated to be the social event of the season. At the very moment Jonathan is being introduced to famed author, Evan Knight, the courtesies are interrupted, when Dick is informed the body of a library cataloger had been discovered in the basement. Police surmise Taylor Cate’s death was the result of blunt force trauma caused by an accidental fall down the stairs. However, due to lingering doubts among board members, Dick is asked to investigate the incident. As the story progresses readers are treated to a collage of friendships, romantic entanglements, and secrets among individuals with long shared histories.