This book has a split personality. It started off as a thoughtful story about gay people suffering oppression individually and as a community in the early '80's, when AIDS was both feared by many and seen by a number of people as divine retribution for a so called perverted lifestyle. The book was at its best when examining not only the loathing of gays by non gays, but also the self-loathing of some gays living closeted, some in denial of who they are or as a form of self protection. These themes and important issues were brought forth as a natural part of the story, not in the form of a lesson. So for the first excellent half of this book, I give it a four star rating, which it lost in the second half by transforming itself into a novel of romantic suspense. Which would have been fine in its own right, but did not mix well with the first half. It caused the book to lose its focus and purpose which had raised it above such a genre. This second book in the series takes up three years after the ending of the first book The Little Death. Henry Rios, a gay defense lawyer, is now thirty-six and sober after hitting rock bottom. He is active in supporting rights for gays while picking and choosing his cases. He is well respected and intelligent. And he is also a very lonely man who longs to make emotional connections with people even as he keeps his emotional distance from them. He calls it a form of psychological machismo that is getting old as he ages. Henry gets a call from an old friend, asking for a favor. His friend wants him to defend a young gay man accused of murdering another young man who bullied him and threatened to out him to the accused's parents. Henry's friend wants him to make an example of the case with the murder being shown instead as a form of self defense against this kind of psychological tormenting of gays. The problem is, the accused claims he's innocent, though he can't remember how he came to be standing over a dead man, holding the bloody knife that killed him. What happens next is where the story faltered, when Henry becomes involved with a star witness who might also be a suspect in the murder. Among other things that went wrong here, I failed to see what Henry saw in this man, other than maybe something of himself as a younger man. This part of the book and all that followed, with Henry trying to find out the truth about the murder and killer, did not ring true as did the first half. But I would still recommend this book for what it did have to offer, and I will be giving the next book in the series a try.
4,6 stars!Since I know that a lot of readers browse through reviews to decide if they pick up a book or skip it, it became increasingly difficult for me to review my books. Because when I like a book, I want to share my enthusiasm but at the same time not to give a lot of away. It is why I want to warn you:Henry Rios Mystery series is a MUST READ in the first place for all fans of the gay mystery genre of a high quality.Goldenboy is the second book in the series and I liked it even more than the first book. The plot:When Henry Rios, a gay lawyer in S.Francisco, received a telephone call from his friend and a gay lawyer in L.A Larry Ross, asking for defending a young gay man on trial who was accused of a first-degree murder, he said yes. Not because there war a slight hope of any success. The case was from the beginning hopeless, the evidence against Jim Pears seemed overwhelming. But Henry owned Larry and Larry saw in this case a chance to show the society all threats that came with being gay in 1980s California. So. I expected a very good made courtroom drama. I WAS WRONG.All at once the story took a totally different course that I didn't see coming at all! From a courtroom drama, that suddenly ended with taking my breath away, it faced the artistic circle, cream of Hollywood society, that from the first sight seemed have nothing in common with the previous story.I WAS WRONG.The next turn and I found myself in the middle of an enthralling cat and mouse game-play that suddenly burst into an action thriller. As a bonus, there is a bit more of a romance in the second book. Though I didn't find the romance part particularly convincing.(view spoiler)[As it was already in the first book- I didn't feel any chemistry between Henry and his new boy friend Josh. It was for me more sex out of pity, not to mention a big L word. I just can't buy this sudden attraction between them. Too quickly. Not sex, but the rest. (hide spoiler)]
Do You like book Goldenboy (2013)?
The second in the Henry Rios mysteries is an exciting well thought out murder mystery. We meet Henry three years later, sober after a stint in rehab and still sadden by the murder of his lover. Henry is practicing law still, a profession he thought to be unhappy and disillusion with but in the end realizes he loves.A call from a friend on a murder case has him going to Los Angeles to defend Jim Pears, a self-loathing young gay man who is accused of killing a co-worker who wanted to out the young man to his highly religious parents. Did Jim do this, he says no but isn't able to answer any questions and he was found with tithe murder weapon in his hand. And what of young Josh Mandel, the manager where the two young men worked who witness the two in an argument, is he telling the whole truth of what he saw? Also, why does Henry seem drawn to Josh. These. And other questions can be found in this most satisfying mystery.My advice is to clear your schedule and enjoy!
—Neet
Awesome, this book has everything I like!Dry wit:“I was raised Catholic, Mrs. Pears,” I said, “so I know all about Catholics like you who can’t take a shit without consulting a priest.”Pop references:“Don’t tell me,” Freeman said. “He’s in the shower just like Bobby Ewing.”High references:"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day", was written to another man."Beautiful writing:"His slightly battered nose — it looked like it had been broken, then inexpertly set — and firmly molded jaw gave his face a toughness that kept him from being a pretty boy. But there was prettiness, too, in the shape of his mouth, the long-lashed eyes. At second glance, though, the parts fit together with a kind of masculine elegance that reminded me of dim images from my childhood of an earlier period of male stars, Tyrone Power or John Garfield."And a very engaging mystery plot.
—Giulio
The weakest one of the first three Rios' novel. Less about the characters and more about the plot, the why and who of the case. Which wasn't that interesting in the first place or probably a little too cliché for my taste. The plot : Rios is asked to defend a young gay man accused to have murdered his tormentor at work by an old friend who is dying of AIDS. This is set late 1980's, there are no tri-therapy here, only death and ostracisms to look forward to. This is the novel where Rios meets Josh, who becomes his lover. Josh who is mixed up in the murder, who is in his early twenties. Nava plays with the whole Hollywood dark sides here to mixed results for me. The whole Edward II metaphor didn't hook me. So 3 stars because it sets up Rios' move to LA, his relationship with Josh but the plot is nothing to write home about.
—Writerlibrarian
