Between the Covers

Bob Lind reviews a mystery, a collection of short stories and an anthology by Latino writers.

By Bob Lind

Deadly Kind of Love

A Deadly Kind of Love

By Victor J. Banis
(Dreamspinner Press, June 2011, $14.99 softcover)
4 Stars

Former San Francisco police-turned-private detectives Tom Danzel and his life partner Stanley Korski are back. On a road trip to Palm Springs they're coming to the aid of their friend Chris, who was on holiday at an exclusive gay resort and found a murdered man in his bed.

The image of Palm Springs as a playland for financially successful, older gay men is reinforced heavily here. The focus is on a gay resort that encourages handsome younger men to become part of the decor, and do what they will to snare a rich sugar daddy.

The murder victim was one of those young men, and the manner in which he was killed, involving the particularly lethal snake venom, suggests the death was not just a sudden crime of passion.

Working with a homicide detective, who warns them that powerful locals are watching, Tom and Stanley find additional victims, while the killer sends a clear message that they could be next, unless they back off.

Author Victor J. Banis is a master at crafting a suspenseful, credible mystery and this, the latest in his "Deadly" series featuring Tom and Stanley, is no exception. It seems that the author might be tiring a bit of the characters, and their interplay is somewhat inconsistent, but it is still a great read and much recommended to mystery buffs.

The Adobe of Bliss

The Abode of Bliss: Ten Stories for Adam

By Alex Jeffers
(Lethe Press, August 2011, $18 softcover)
5 Stars

Sometimes it helps to relate personal experiences to a third party, in order to put them in proper perspective. That seems to be the message of this book, in which Ziya, a bilingual young gay man raised in Istanbul, relates 10 stories about his past life to his new lover, Adam.

Since the stories are told chronologically, this book reads more like a novel than a series of short stories. We learn about the formative experiences in his childhood, his relationship with his parents and siblings, his introspective attitude toward his sexuality and his approach to relating to new acquaintances. By the end of the book, we know Ziya much better and he seems to have learned as well.

Alex Jeffers is an excellent writer, who manages to include seemingly exhaustive detail in his stories without making it a distraction or burden for the reader. The pace is somewhat slow but concise, and the reader needs to fill in some gaps between the individual stories based on assumptions that can be made from what's learned in the readings. It makes you think, which perhaps isn't ideal for lazy readers who demand to be entertained, but is rewarding for those who appreciate such writings.

Ambientes

Ambientes: New Queer Latino Writing

Edited by Lazaro Lima and Felice Picano
(University of Wisconsin Press, May 2011, $22.95 softcover)
4 Stars

In his introduction to this anthology, Lazaro Lima points out the diversity of queer Latino writers, with their varying experiences and ideas. The idea is reflected in 17 stories, ranging in scope from edgy memoirs of urban childhood adventures to life lessons learned from a variety of shared experiences.

Unlike most anthologies, none of the stories especially stood out as noteworthy for me. The writing is generally good, though sometimes difficult to navigate for someone who is not bilingual. Some of the authors use phrases and sometimes entire paragraphs in Spanish, which was beyond the scope of my limited high school language courses.

There is no central theme to the essays, perhaps illustrating how "queer Latino writing" is just as diverse as any writing. That makes the need for the book far from compelling for me, perhaps reflecting a cultural bias on my part.

Bob Lind has been an avid reader of LGBT literature for more than 30 years. His reviews have also appeared online at Amazon, BN.com, Lambda Rising and on his Yahoo book discussion group, Our Bookshelf.