“Mr. Olsen, I’ll make you a proposition.”
Looking Francis directly in the eyes, Tiger smiled wryly, and said, “That, Mr. Morley, is what I am afraid of.” [p. 49]
Recommended by a friend on Dreamwidth, this is a short and entertaining novel which does what it says on the tin: but it did it in 1961, when homosexuality was still illegal throughout the United States, and even in San Francisco -- cunningly disguised in The Gay Detective as 'Bay City' -- attitudes were, shall we say, rather less broad-minded than today's.
Francis Morley, formerly 'in the theatre', has inherited a detective agency in Bay City. His first task is to acquire an assistant, which he does by offering car salesman, retired football professional and war hero Tiger Olsen a job -- and then demonstrating in the boxing ring that he can knock Tiger's misconceptions out of his head. Together the dynamic duo investigate a series of murders: the victims were all gay men, and the chief of police suspects a connection with a vice ring operating in the city's underworld. As they venture deeper into the city's dives -- encountering bright young things, Italian gangsters, voyeurs and exhibitionists -- many tropes ensue.
This was great fun. It's heavy on stereotyped effeminacy, but it's surprisingly unmisogynistic. (There are two significant female characters: the sister of one of the victims, and Morley's middle-aged and unflappable secretary Hattie.) A subplot involves an excellent cat. And the introduction gives a good overview of the author, and of the novel as a coded guide to queer San Francisco. Yes, it's pulp fiction, and the prose is sometimes OTT and sometimes deliberately camp: but the story is solid and the characters likeable.
Puzzled, though, as to why this has been reissued as part of Mills and Boon's 'Spice' imprint: there is very little actual sex, even off-page, and apart from veiled hints it's all het.
“Just for the record, Mr. Olsen, let me do the camping in this act. I’ll make with the gay talk. You just be big and beasty. Okay?” [p. 161]
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