As a writer of gay mystery, I try to read as widely as I can—both to learn from writers who have gone before me and for the pleasure of the books themselves. I’m always thrilled when I find writers like the ones I’ve shared in this list: people who think deeply and carefully about the complexities (and, occasionally, the agonies) of being a gay man, while, at the same time, weaving in the suspense and puzzles inherent in mysteries.
I wrote...
The Same Breath
By
Gregory Ashe
What is my book about?
Teancum Leon, who goes by Tean, is a wildlife veterinarian. His life has settled into a holding pattern: he loves his job, he hates first dates, and he only occasionally has to deal with his neighbor Mrs. Wish’s cat-related disasters. All of that changes when a man asks for help to find his brother. Jem is convinced that something bad has happened to Benny. Tean isn’t sure, but he’s willing to try. After all, Jem is charming and sweet, and surprisingly vulnerable. Oh. And hot.
Then things get strange: phone calls with no one on the other end; surveillance footage that shows what might be an abduction; a truck that tries to run Tean and Jem off the road. As Tean and Jem investigate, they realize that Benny might have stumbled onto a conspiracy and that someone is willing to kill to keep the truth from coming out.
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The Books I Picked & Why
Lay Your Sleeping Head: A Henry Rios Novel
By
Michael Nava
Why this book?
The first book in Nava’s best-known series, Lay Your Sleeping Head introduces defense attorney Henry Rios. Rios is struggling with addiction and an existential crisis; when he is drawn into investigating the murder of a young man he loved, he finds he is the only one willing to dig for the truth. Nava’s books are lyrical, intricate, and intensely thoughtful about what it means to be a gay man.
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Fadeout
By
Joseph Hansen
Why this book?
Fadeout is the first book in Hansen’s Dave Brandstetter mysteries. The protagonist, an openly gay insurance investigator in 1970s California, is convinced that a man who has been reported dead is actually still alive, and he must hurry to find him. Another classic in the gay mystery canon, Fadeout is vividly noir, grittily honest, and rejects cliches and stereotypes in a way that is still shocking over fifty years later.
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Boystown: Three Nick Nowak Mysteries
By
Marshall Thornton
Why this book?
Thornton, one of the most frequent winners of the Lambda Literary Award, kicks off his Nick Nowak series with a collection of novella-length stories. Nick is a former police officer turned private investigator. Set in the 80s, the series follows Nick through the AIDS crisis against the backdrop of heart-pounding (and heartbreaking) mysteries.
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Simple Justice
By
John Morgan Wilson
Why this book?
Benjamin Justice is a broken man—a former prize-winning journalist whose career (and life) has been shattered by the death of his lover and a scandal surrounding his best-known writing. Recruited by his former boss to assist an up-and-coming journalist, Ben finds himself investigating a murder that occurred outside a gay bar. The series is tightly written and casts a dark glamor across gay life in ’90s California.
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The Cold Cold Ground
By
Adrian McKinty
Why this book?
Set in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, The Cold Cold Ground is my most adventurous pick for this list because its protagonist, Sean Duffy, isn’t exactly gay. Or perhaps he just isn’t out. It’s impossible to tell—most likely because Sean himself doesn’t know. The series plays with Sean’s attraction to men, including his work as a police detective investigating the deaths of murdered gay men, while Sean pursues relationships with women. McKinty manages to turn the violence and despair of that time into gorgeous, gripping prose and powerful stories.
