Fadeout

Fadeout, by Joseph Hansen

Hansen’s Brandstetter series bridges the gap between Phillip Marlowe and Evander Mills. There’s poetry in the descriptions, but the prose is spare. The mystery itself plays out at a decent pace, but Hansen is almost stingy with Dave’s background and personal details, leaving a trail of breadcrumbs that picks up again just when you think you’ve lost it.

These are short (this copy of Fadeout is 160 pages) but each page packs a punch, and they’re compulsively readable. I only stopped long enough to write this review because someone else has the third book checked out.

Dave Brandstetter works for his father as an insurance investigator. Fadeout introduces Dave on his first case after losing his long term partner to cancer. A radio personality’s car went over a bridge but there’s no sign of the body. Things aren’t adding up, so Dave does a little digging. Lots of layers gently peeling away in this one. Apparently insurance investigators are like onions, too.

Amazon | Bookshop.org

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Disclaimer: I checked this book out through The Queer Liberation Library as part of the public service they offer. The opinions above are my own.