I’ve been reading Brandstetter mysteries for a few years now. There have been ups (Fadeout & Death Claims) and downs (Troublemaker), but it’s largely remained consistent. You know what you’re getting. There’s a comfortable formula taking shape that’s both cozy and easy. After the middling third novel, I was cautiously curious going into this next story. While not earthshatteringly brilliant, it was certainly a come up. There were themes that, while not fully fleshed out, were complex and interesting. The plot felt a little more cohesive this time around which was a nice cherry on top. In all honesty, at this point I’m in it more for Brandstetter’s hardboiled noir detective persona than for the actual plot itself.

In this mystery, Brandstetter sets out to investigate the murder of a police chief that everyone hated, but that doesn’t stop the police department from quickly throwing the book at a radical gay activist who was petitioning the city to accept gay policemen. Brandstetter doesn’t believe it’s that cut and dry (spoiler, it never is) as he tracks down the dead police chief’s missing daughter and her ex-convict boyfriend newly released from jail.

One thing that this novel confronts that its predecessors skirt around is the gay rights movement in 1970s California. I found it an interesting juxtaposition between the traditional gay rights activists (slowly building consensus toward legislation) and the radical post-Milk era gay activists (who run into the state capital and start openly kissing legislators). Each feels that what they’re doing is right, but diametrically opposed to the other’s tactics. While this theme isn’t written deeply about, I still thought it was a quite intriguing point in the novel.

The major flaw that’s been a hallmark of Brandstetter mysteries is the ultimately convoluted endings Brandstetter finds himself in. For most mysteries that would be a dealbreaker, but for whatever reason these stories have conditioned me for lackluster endings so it doesn’t bother me as much as it used to. I’m convinced you actually can’t solve the murder along with Brandstetter with the information the reader has in front of them. It all remains quite hazy until the end when you’re presented with too many possibilities until it gets whittled down to the most random of people who committed the slaying.

I used to really like the subtle hints and quick chapters that give glimpses into Brandstetter’s personal life. His steely detective persona melts away, if only slightly, when dealing with his souring relationship with Doug, Doug’s ailing mother, or even his own steely father who’s recovering from a heart attack. However, at this juncture it’s starting to get frustrating that Brandstetter’s personal life feels as opaque as it was in the first novel. That could be why the character of Cecil felt so jarring and hard to reconcile.

On the whole, however, it was an enjoyable and much more memorable read. There were more interesting themes at play in this mystery that made the slightly mundane plot more interesting. Just when I thought I had lost the appetite for insurance claims, this novel did an adequate job of piquing my interest for the next mystery. I’m sure I’ll be seeing Brandstetter sooner rather than later.

Hansen's Brandstetter mysteries are highly enjoyable, easy to read, complex tales of social issues in the face of rich WASP male dominated Californian society. Much like Mosley's Rawlins series these books are about crimes committed against minorities by the WASP types as well as by the minorities in reaction to their treatment by those despicable rich white dudes who have made the world such a shit place to live for everyone else. That is the road Hansen has trodden almost by rote in his first three entries but, thankfully, this fourth one mixes things up a bit; the bigotry and crimes against minority is still present, but this time it's a WASP on WASP crime that's the focus of the insurance investigation. That his protagonist passes for a straight rich WASP type is a nice touch from Hansen, allowing him to observe the abhorrent behaviours from a position of trust, and adds a layer of discomfort for the reader as you are left empathising with Brandstetter who's only reaction is to brush this behaviour aside despite knowing the insults and assumptions would also be aimed at him. It's strong stuff if you allow it be but due to Hansen's obvious skill at writing a compelling mystery can be read by the unobservant/unaware as a straight detective piece. This is why I keep coming back to this series.

Closer to 3.5/3.75 but it was still good. Things really started to pick up near the end of the story.

another great addition to this series. i'm a huge fan of Dave Brandstetter.

such a entertaining series. solid writing, interesting characters, and there is great economy in the storytelling. these novels were of an age before it was standard practice to pad the living daylights out of a story. i really appreciate that.

Reading a Dave Bandstetter novel is like watching a master untangle a mess, one knot at a time, until all the threads come loose. Mystery solved. And no one does it better than Dave.

This time it’s the murder of Ben Orton, the man who was The Law in a small town in California. Authorities have their suspect, who had publicly threatened to kill the man; only Dave doesn’t think he was the one who killed him. Coupled with that is some serious life-or-death health problems with his dad and some major commitment problems with his partner Doug that are becoming hard to ignore. Is it any wonder the poor man hasn’t gotten much sleep?

The number of suspects in this one kept me guessing until the end, which I love. But what really has me intrigued is Cecil, a young man who connects with Dave in the book and interestingly, seems to have something going on with his past and his family, if the ending is indicative of what is to come. I can’t wait. Glad to know that the next in the series is on its way to me.

There are moments of atmosphere and certain turns of phrase that are stellar in every single one of these novels, but I'm starting to worry that the ones I really enjoyed were a fluke and not the other way around. Cecil -- one of Dave's boyfriends from later in the series, who I really like in those books -- is introduced here, but doesn't actually have a personality yet, which was disappointing. And this is yet another Hansen mystery that implausibly requires multiple people to have been at the murder site at the time of the crime, yet not be guilty -- as if engraved invitations were sent out.

Appreciate the underlying ACAB theme, though.