Reviewers' Comments:
Dorien Grey has been proving his talent for some years now, faithfully narrating
the chronicles of his protagonist, Dick Hardesty, as he battles a variety
of villains ranging from homophobic policemen through to gay civilians. Dick,
a hero likely to appeal to gay and straight readers alike, has grimly fought
his way through a professional life that began with him working as a Public
Relations Officer but quickly changed to a career as a Private Investigator.
Readers who have followed the entire series would first have made his
acquaintance in his relationship with Chris, but that evanesced.
Dick then rattled around in his 'slut phase' but most
fans would be happy that the investigator is once more in a happy relationship,
now with Jonathan Quinlan, the lad who, on his introduction to the anonymous
mid-west town, thought to make a precarious living as a hustler.
Despite his years and sexual orientation Jonathan has
expressed a wish to become a parent. Dick, contrary to his usual habit of
indulging Jonathan's whims, inwardly shudders at this notion. He is happy
when Carlene moves into the apartment above theirs with her young son Kelly
who attends a day care centre run by the Bronson sisters. Dick feels that
Jonathan, who eagerly becomes the friend of Carlene and Kelly, will see that
parenthood is not all joy.
Jonathan's brother Samuel (who seduced his younger brother
when Jonathan was a pre-teen) and Samuel's wife Sheryl want to go on holidays,
but they wish to do so without their four year-old son Joshua. Despite internal
reservations, Dick accedes to Jonathan's enthusiastic pleas that they should
care for the boy while his parents are away. After all, it will only be for
a short period.
Joshua and Kelly become firm friends and Joshua is placed
in the same day-care centre as his friend. Then disaster strikes. Carlene
is killed by a hit and run driver.
Prior to her death, Carlene had confided part of her
life story to Dick, together with the fact that she had been receiving threats
and felt she was being watched, possibly on behalf of a vengeful ex-partner.
Dick, therefore, thinks there is something beyond a mere hit and run involved
in her death and sets out to investigate.
Grey plots his mystery with his usual deft hand and in
his customary idiosyncratic style. I have to admit that, contrary to my
experience with some of this author's earlier books, I did not spot the villain
before Dick's realisation of that identity. To my mind, the portrayal of
the child characters in the novel outshines even the excellent plot. The
writing, beautifully sensitive, displays an intimate knowledge of a young
child's behaviour and excellent strategies to deal with children's stubbornness
without provoking tantrums.
Whether readers are new to the series or dedicated followers
of Dick Hardesty, there is no doubt they will enjoy this veritable lollypop
of a book.
--- Denise Pickles, Australia
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Dick Hardesty, rested and feeling good from his vacation in New York,
is back in an all new fun adventure. When Dick and Jonathon arrive home,
they find that they have a new neighbor, Carlene, a single mom and her
young son, Kelly. Meeting them spurred Jonathon to continue voicing
his desire to have a child, even though he knew how difficult it would be.
Dick takes on a new case involving someone embezzling
from a car
dealership and Carlene asks him to see if he can find out who is
stalking her so when Jonathon wants to keep his 4-year-old nephew for
10 days, Dick just isn't sure that he can handle much more, but decides
that it might be a good idea to let Jonathon find out how hard parenting
can be so he agrees. But then their world gets really complicated when
Carlene is killed by a hit and run driver and one of the owners of the
day care center where Kelly goes hires Dick to find out who killed
Carlene because she doesn't believe it was an accident. The more Dick
digs around in Carlene's life, the more he becomes convinced that it
was murder, especially when everyone tries to discourage him from snooping,
especially the person who cuts his brake lines on his car.
Dick is back in fine form in an adventure that will not
only test his
skills as a detective but try his patience as a parent and a supportive
partner after tragedy strikes Jonathon's family. For a man who never
planned on really settling down, having to adjust to parenthood is as
hard as any case he ever tried to solve. Grey has cooked up a
wonderful adventure for Dick, spiced with just enough romance and danger
to keep
you eagerly turning the pages to see what happens next.
--- Rachel Auton , www.murderandmayhembookclub.com
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The Dick Hardesty Mysteries by Dorien Grey are always an engaging read and
the newest arrival, The Popsicle Tree, proves that author Grey's
powers to charm and compel have lost none of their strength. In addition
to the usual dead body or two, Dick and his lover Jonathan are forced to
confront the possibility of parenthood. The Hardesty mysteries are like peanuts,
you won't be able to stop with just one.
--- Ralph Higgins, Wayves
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We're off in an unexpected new direction in the Dick Hardesty Mystery series.
Dick and Jonathan, Dick's live in lover and sidekick, meet their new neighbors,
one of whom is a small boy named Kelly. Kelly's mother, recently split from
her first lesbian relationship, is killed in a hit and run accident. Even
though Dick and Jonathan are already attached to Kelly, he is whisked away
by Child Services, pending a custody battle initiated by a father who has
never known him. At the same time, Dick and Jonathan agree to baby-sit Jonathan's
four year old nephew Joshua, while his parents vacation in Hawaii.
Dick is asked to investigate Kelly's mother's death by
one of the co-owners of the nursery school both little boys have attended.
As Dick and Jonathan adjust to having a small boy living with them and Dick
begins to investigate the accident that killed Kelly's mother, Dick learns
the PI who had been following Kelly's mother prior to the accident has been
shot dead. Then, at the end of the two weeks when Joshua's parents are to
pick him back up, they are both killed in an automobile accident on the west
coast. Suddenly Jonathan and Dick find themselves the permanent new parents
of Joshua.
This is a great mystery with a lot of unexpected twists
and turns, incorporating characters from Grey's earlier books in this series.
At the same time Dick is solving the murders, although he was a reluctant
daddy at first, he falls, little by little, into the Parent Trap. These two
elements manage to co-exist well, adding even more humanity to this series,
something for which Grey has shown remarkable aptitude anyhow, and one of
the things I love most about his books.
To anyone who is reluctant to read a gay mystery, Grey
is moving more into mainstream with his series. There are allusions of sex
between him and his lover, but they're brief allusions, just enough so you
know it's there. At the same time, Grey's many gay fans know all of his books
create a very positive view of gay life and help show straight people who
read his series that gays are no threat to them and the old stereotypes are
long gone.
I could not stop reading this riveting and fascinating
murder mystery, written by one of today's most talented authors, Dorien Grey.
Don't miss THE POPSICLE TREE, it's a genuine keeper!
--- Beth Anderson
Price: $8.00 for each format
$1.00 for cover
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