Mystery Book Club 2024
True confession: I would never have picked up this book if it hadn't been chosen as a selection for my RL book club. It's never going to be a favourite, I don't expect to ever re-read it, and I doubt that I will read further in the Evander Mills series. Still, I am not unhappy to have read it.
This novel gave me an intimation of what it is like to belong to a persecuted minority. The constant need to be on guard, trying to hide your essential self, is exhausting and it's so easy to mess up. Evander (Andy) Mills came back from the war and opted to become a cop. He spends his spare time drinking and cruising the clubs for sexual encounters in the bathrooms. Until he gets caught in a police raid. Suddenly, he is unemployed, homeless and seriously considering suicide. He has internalized his society's hatred for gay men.
He is both intrigued and uneasy when he is approached by an obviously well-to-do woman to investigate a murder—of her wife. Andy gets to see what life can be like in a found family where everyone can be honest within their community about who they are and who they love.
My curiosity was engaged around the issue of how Andy was going to investigate the matter without his official status and connections. That's what kept me reading. So, intellectually kind of interesting, but I wasn't emotionally engaged. The book ended up feeling more like a vitamin pill rather than a delicious treat.
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