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A review by kaje_harper
Three Nick Nowak Mysteries by Marshall Thornton
4.0
The three novellas in this book comprise three cases for PI Nick Nowak. They are imbued with the feel of the era in which they are set - pre-AIDS in the early eighties in Chicago. Being gay is no longer illegal, but it does lead to harassment, some of it from the authorities themselves. In this brief span of time, when gay sex is not a death risk from either law or disease, it's a more casual thing. "We're guys, it feels good, why not..?" Although there are longterm gay relationships, including Nick's failed disaster of a relationship with his ex-boyfriend Daniel a year and a half earlier, there is also a lot of casual "We're both gay - let's fuck" sex.
Nick tells himself he's content with available hot bodies, and his investigative career, but there is a wistfulness that pervades his stories. He's never had closure on what happened with Daniel, he lost his police job and his fellow boys in blue now harass him periodically, and for all his casual sex, he's clearly unsatisfied and searching. The last novella ends with a possibility for more, and I will be moving quickly to book 2 (stories 4-6) to see what happens.
The cases are interesting, not complex, but plausible. To me, they serve more as a very good framework for the progression of Nick as a man, and for the exposition of a time and place that would change, drastically, in a very short span of time. Recommended.
Nick tells himself he's content with available hot bodies, and his investigative career, but there is a wistfulness that pervades his stories. He's never had closure on what happened with Daniel, he lost his police job and his fellow boys in blue now harass him periodically, and for all his casual sex, he's clearly unsatisfied and searching. The last novella ends with a possibility for more, and I will be moving quickly to book 2 (stories 4-6) to see what happens.
The cases are interesting, not complex, but plausible. To me, they serve more as a very good framework for the progression of Nick as a man, and for the exposition of a time and place that would change, drastically, in a very short span of time. Recommended.