Fadeout

Written by Patrick Hansen

Review written by Jennifer Palmer

Jennifer Palmer has read crime fiction since her teenage years & enjoys reviewing within the many sub-genres that now exist; as a historian who lectures on real life historical mysteries she particularly appreciates historical cime fiction.


Fadeout
Mullholland Books
RRP: £7.99
Released: January 15, 2015
Pbk

For the under 50 year-olds this is a historical crime novel, for the over 50’s it is provides memories of a very different era; it is also a game changer in crime since it has a gay investigator.

The book was published originally in 1970 and is now being reprinted.  It gives a fascinating view of a strangely innocent period in sexual behaviour before the arrival of AIDS.  Joseph Hansen wrote it in 1967 but it was 1970 before he could get it published.  He, himself, apparently never liked the word gay, he preferred homosexual.  He certainly writes with visceral depth about his protagonist, insurance investigator Dave Brandsetter.   Dave is concerned with the case of a man with large life insurance whose car has gone into a fast moving creek from a high bridge but whose body has not been found.   We are in California, USA in a small ranch town called Pima where this disappearance happened.

Dave is a tough, persistent, low key investigator who gradually accumulates enough knowledge to understand something of what motivates the accident victim and those with whom he interacts.    As his investigation progresses we learn much more about Dave's own background and the sadness he is suffering after a bereavement.  His own homosexuality is fully established as is the persistently demeaning attitude of others that these are weak, useless individuals.  A charge that Dave himself proves absolutely wrong.  He is a middle aged man whose ability to investigate is never compromised by his sexual orientation; but whose attitudes are free of the desire to make judgements.

California is shown as a state of great contrasts in wealth, culture and behaviour.   Most of the characters are flawed and a number are very unappealing.  The raw power of the story carries the reader along with the dry, laid back Californian style.   Obviously originally written as a contemporary novel it is now a historical document.  As I remember the 1970s was the era of expanding boundaries when the crime story burst out of previous limits in particular regarding the identity of detectives.  Women made the break through into US detection with Sarah Paretsky and Sue Grafton in 1982  - hard to remember how much of a dramatic development this was!  In fact P.D.James had established Cordelia Gray as her protagonist in 1972.  Detectives who were black, disabled or homosexual started appearing on the scene with In The Heat of the Night as front runner in 1965.  Hansen's book has the freshness a good storyteller can give though his tale is on a fairly limited palette perhaps by modern standards.

where can i get the abortion pill online online buy abortion pills online
what makes a husband cheat why women cheat with married men what causes women to cheat
how much are abortions read online
spy on phones best spyware for android cell phones phone tracking app
married men that cheat letter to husband who cheated why wifes cheat
letter to husband who cheated open why men cheat on beautiful women
unfaithful husbands nookandlearn.com why women cheat on men they love
why do men have affairs affair dating sites cheaters
celecoxib pill sildenafil citrate pill temovate 0.05%
viagra manufacturer coupon viagra.com coupon drug coupon
coupons for drugs fyter.cn viagra coupon 2016
abortion pill costs fyter.cn walk in abortion clinics
cialis dosage by cialis dosage recommendations
prescription drug cards eblogin.com prescription coupons
adalat oros adalat cr adalat oros
cialis 20mg cheap cialis cheap cialis
voltarene posologie voltarene gel voltarenactigo
where to buy naltrexone naltrexone alcoholism medication naltrexone uses
metoprololsuccinat metoprolol pro medicin metoprololtartrat
priligy thailand priligy hinta priligy 30 mg
abortion pill information aspiration abortion abortion pill is murder
abortion pill alternatives alpinmontservis.cz against abortion pill facts
amoxicillin dermani haqqinda amoxicillin amoxicillin 500 mg
addyi review addiyan chuk chuk addyi wikipedia
cialis free coupon coupon for cialis prescription coupons
abortion pill services aero-restauration-service.fr home abortion pill
free abortion pill laziendaalimentacoes.com.br different types of abortion pill
abortion centers abortion pills online consequences of abortion
abortion clinic atlanta abortion clinics in cincinnati abortions nyc
naltrexone off label uses alcohol antagonist low dose naltrexone reviews
naltrexone fibromyalgia side effects avonotakaronetwork.co.nz ldn for ulcerative colitis
cefuroxim kinder temperaturhvorvi.site cefuroxim alkohol


Home
Book Reviews
Features
Interviews
News
Columns
Authors
Blog
About Us
Contact Us

Privacy Policy | Contact Shots Editor

THIS WEBSITE IS © SHOTS COLLECTIVE. NOT TO BE REPRODUCED ELECTRONICALLY EITHER WHOLLY OR IN PART WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION OF THE EDITOR.