November 3, 1988
Some of L.A.'s sleaziest characters come to life on the pages of Hansen's taut novel, where Dave Brandstetter makes his 10th appearance as a now-aging private-eye. With a few tricks still in his bag, Brandstetter proves a formidable investigator whose reputation is enhanced by a Time magazine interview. This accolade to his credit, the public defenders' office hires him to probe the murder of a prominent Vietnamese businessman and clear their client, Andy Flanagan, a suspect in the killing. During the investigation, he stumbles onto two more murders in the Vietnamese community, linking them to a startling drug smuggling discovery in the dead importer's waterfront warehouse. Brandstetter's relationship with Cecil Harris, his housemate from Early Grave (1987) continues, this aspect of the story handled with intelligence and sensitivity. The mystery, though contrived, is fast-paced and literate, while revealing little-known facts about Indo-Chinese lifestyles in America. Hansen readers should delight in this latest caper.
April 29, 1991
Fans of Hansen's spare style and wit, refined in the 11 titles from Fadeout to The Boy Who Was Buried This Morning , will mourn if this bears out its subtitle, The Last Dave Brandstetter Mystery . Ex-insurance claims investigator Brandstetter, in his 60s now, is lured out of retirement by an old friend who's found an abused little boy on her beach with a story that hints at murder. It turns out that the boy was kidnapped by a young woman who may have witnessed the murder of her ex-lover. She's a suspect, but there are others: the boy's father, the young woman's father, her current lover. Brandstetter's dogged work uncovers the surprising villain after an enjoyable tour of an L.A. peopled with colorful characters. The subplot involves the memoirs of Dave's high school pal, which worry some ``respectable'' classmates. Hansen's lean style is true to the hard-boiled school and his matter-of-fact approach to Brandstetter's homosexuality is still refreshing. The final scene seems to fulfill the subtitle, but it's also the ending that Brandstetter would want for a class act.