Review: Boystown 2: Three Nick Nowak Mysteries by Marshall Thornton

This review can also be found at Three Dollar Bill Reviews.

I really enjoyed the first collection of stories in the Boystown series and was looking forward to finding out how Nick got on in his new relationship with Bert. I was hoping that Bert would be able to soften some of the cynicism in Nick. In the end, that wasn't the case, but I still liked these stories a great deal.

Like the previous book, Boystown 2 is divided into three short stories, each one containing a mystery for Nick to solve. The stories are connected not only to each other but also with the three stories in the previous book through Nick's story arc mostly to do with the relationships he has with various men. Whilst I liked the mysteries which are all very well written and surprising, it's this overall story arc which kept me reading as I hoped that Nick would find someone to love. In the case of this book, Nick is torn over his relationship with Bert. He feels that he loves him, but is still holding back slightly and also still having sex with random strangers. Nick sees the irony in his situation with Bert, as the main contention between them is the fact that Bert is a closeted cop - the same situation Nick had, when he was a cop, with his former lover Daniel and what ultimately caused the split between them. Despite this, Nick is harsh with Bert, putting him an almost impossible situation, and my sympathies were with Bert on this as he struggles with his job and the demands that Nick places on him.

As with the last book, the mysteries were all well executed and realistic in that most of Nick's time is spent doggedly interviewing people and chasing up clues. Out of the three mysteries my favourite was the final one where things start to come to a head with Bert and Nick and also Nick's former lover Daniel makes an appearance. All through the book Nick is confused about his feelings for Bert, but things become clearer for him in this story and I felt that for the first time he knew what he wanted. Having said that, the story ends on a bit of a downbeat cliffhanger which left me feeling not particularly hopeful for Nick or Bert. I only hope that Boystown 3 is coming out soon!

Nick is one of those characters who is difficult to like at times, even as I sympathised with him. He's cynical and downright morose most and his life is made up of mostly dull detective work interspersed with sex. The sex scenes are almost cold in their descriptions, even thought what is happening is often very erotic. This is due both to my feelings of disgust that Nick would consistently cheat on Bert and also that Nick often holds back emotionally during sex, analysing his feelings even when with Bert. It's only in the final sex scene that I felt a difference in Nick and thought the author had done well to show the reader how this time it was more than just sex for Nick. The fact that I had such strong feelings about Nick, that I liked but also disliked him at the same time, shows just how much he got under my skin as a character, and also how well rounded he is. This was the case for the secondary characters too even if they are shown to us through the limited first person narrative of Nick.

Once again the 1980's Chicago setting featured strongly in the stories and not just in the descriptions of the clothes, the music or hair (I was giggling over the fact that one of the characters has a mullet). The spectre of AIDS is beginning to rear its ugly head but not to the point where anyone really understands what its impact will be to the gay community. The setting is also there in the attitude of the characters and the corruption and rampant homophobia. It meant that these are not easy stories to read and are quite bleak in places.

Some of the problems I had with the flow of the narrative in the previous book were ironed out here and really the only problems I had with the book were to do with the way that Nick tom-catted his way through the story. Having said that, I also appreciate that Nick had his reasons for behaving in that way - but that didn't mean I had to like them!

Overall, I thought this book was an engrossing read which contained a very flawed hero. I may not have liked Nick at times, but he was certainly compelling enough as a character to keep me reading the book. Those who are looking for a set of downbeat, hard-boiled mysteries or those who read and liked Boystown 1 will really like this book. I did and I'm giving this a grade of 'Excellent'.  I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Buy this book HERE.