Boystown: Three Nick Nowak Mysteries by Marshall Thornton

Boystown: Three Nick Nowak Mysteries by Marshall Thornton
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: Gay Erotic Romance, Contemporary, Mystery
Length: 144 pages

Review Copy Received from Publisher

Summary:

A former police officer turned private investigator, Nick Nowak is haunted by his abrupt departure from the department, as well as, the traumatic end of his relationship with librarian Daniel Laverty. In these three stories set in Chicago during the early eighties, Nick locates a missing young man for a mysterious client, solves a case of arson at a popular nightspot, and goes undercover to prove a dramatic suicide was actually murder. 

When he isn’t detecting, and sometimes when he is, Nick moves through a series of casual relationships. But his long suppressed romantic side surfaces when he meets Detective Bert Harker. Will he give love another chance? Or, will he continue to bury himself in the arms of strangers?


Kris’s review:

This book had always tempted me but I had not been sold on either the eighties or the casual flings the summary seems to imply. And boy was I wrong. Yes, it's the eighties, and yes this is chock full of sex so casual it will make you cringe after it makes you hot, but these are the two factors that make Marshall Thornton's Boystown a hit.

The three short stories are written as a first person point of view through the eyes of P.I Nick Nowack. It's the eighties, his car's the worst working wreck in Chicago, and his job is grueling and sometimes just not that clean. The atmosphere is gritty and bleak, with Nowak's outlook on life being varying shades of cynical: he's a P.I and even before leaving the force had only been a cop on the beat--his cases are not supposed to be exciting, but the fact that he's gay tends to recommend him in certain circles. In the three short stories Nowak investigates a missing twenty-year-old, arson, and a suicide, all three cases coming his way by chance and because of his proclivities.

Mr. Thornton paints a cold and bleak Chicago through Nowak's eyes, a city that is almost as cold and as detached as he is: the casual sex Nowak has on and off the job with both clients, pick-ups, and fuck buddies verges almost on the unbelievable until you remember that it's the eighties in all their glory. But the most telling thing is the way he treats his partners afterwards: 'asshole' is the only way to put it. And therein comes the very subtle touch of Mr. Thornton's stortelling: bit by bit we get a glimpse of Nowak's previous relationship, its disastrous ending, and the multiple ways in which it is still impacting his life and his work three years on. However, Mr. Thornton does not focus on resolving those issues: the stories are first and foremost P.I-on-a-case-with-added-benefits stories.

There was only one typo that I could find. And while the style is not lyrical the prose is solid and the matter-of-factness of the storytelling is what makes Nowak's point of view so powerful: he's a matter-of-fact man who makes no apologies but is not blind to his own not-so-great behaviour. The fact that there are three distinct stories also makes the book quite enjoyable to read, with the ability to spread the reading out over a longer period of time. The ending of the last story, which supposedly introduces a light at the end of the tunnel for Nowak’s bleak outlook on life, is quite abrupt and left me wanting. In addition, the sex was, well... a bit unbelievable. But then, as I said, it’s set in the eighties.

...In brief, Marshall Thornton's Boystown is an extremely satisfying read: it's gritty with a strong lead and a lot of subtle character development accompanied by great sex scenes. But it's mostly the eighties detective work that is the most appealing: Nowak has some luck and his guts and not much else, and it's that which makes the reader root for him something fierce.

Rated 4 Delightful Divas by Kris!

PS: Boystown 2 is announced for late July. It is definitely on my to-buy list, just so I can finally see Nowak have some more meaningful sex with, hopefully, some love thrown in too.



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