Synopsis
What happens to a detective with more secrets than the killers he investigates?
Lieutenant Simon Goldtree is the boy wonder of the Essex City Police Department in upstate New York. The man who gets all the really tough homicide cases, Simon can stand in the center if a case and simply feel the lies. The media love him and women seem fascinated by him. The other detectives may consider Simon a grandstander, but as Simon tells his friend Andrea, all he really cares about is the truth. But what about his own truth, his own lies? What about the secret desires he tells no one but Andrea?
When insurance executive Martin Stanstead turns up dead in his own car, Simon's partner, Sergeant Frank Garrowey, throws himself into the hard work of the investigation. From the beginning, however, Simon knows that this case is different. He knows this is the one that could destroy him.
Slowly the two detectives close in on Stanstead's killer. They discover mob ties only to see a cover-up take shape right in front of them. Knowing that Frank has too much to lose, Simon prepares to take on Essex City's gang boss, his own police department, and anyone else, to expose the lies-- until his own secrets explode in the local media.
Publicly humiliated and forced to resign from the force, Simon decides at last to follow his heart and become the person he always wanted to be. But what about the Stanstead case? If a desire for truth pulls the ex-cop back to Essex City, what will happen to his new life-- assuming the gang boss lets the former investigator live at all?
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About the Author
Rachel Pollack is the World Fantasy Award-winning author of Godmother Night. She lives in New York's Hudson River Valley.
Reviews
Throughout part one, Pollack (Godmother Night) succeeds in building suspense over the identity of the mysterious woman of the title, but once the secret is out in part two, the novel becomes a treatise on transsexualism with much talk about a central character's symbolic journey along the road to finding one's true inner self. Two police detectives Lt. Simon Goldtree, known for his aggressive, intimidating manner, and his partner, Sgt. Frank Garrowey answer the call when someone shoots insurance executive Martin Stanstead dead in his car one night in rural Essex City, N.Y. Simon and Frank's investigation at first moves easily through various suspects including Stanstead's wife, business partner and ex-girlfriend, but then is stymied by corrupt police brass with links to a powerful mafia boss. The murder case gets abruptly sidelined midway part two, as one of the principals wrestles with the prospect of a sex change then undergoes the required surgery, which generates sensational stories and photos in the local press. The case later resumes after Stanstead's daughter, Alice, using computer files, tries to place blame on the mobster in control of the victim's business. The only real surprises occur in the third and final part, when determined probing reveals Stanstead's own secret identity and an unexpectedly close-to-home killer. Those seriously into transgender issues will have fun, but fans of more traditional police procedurals probably won't.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Discovery of a gangster-style murder in an Essex City, NY, parking lot sets detectives Frank Garrowey and Simon Goldtree who have the good cop/bad cop routine down pat on the trail of an ever-present but elusive local crime boss. When they start pressuring the guy, he pushes back by digging up dirt on Goldtree, who, apparently having no significant other of either sex, seems pure as the proverbial driven snow. His secret shocks many and almost affects the outcome of the case. Marked with occasional humor, in-depth characterization, and clever plotting, this fine procedural from the author of Godmother Night is recommended for most mystery as well as gay and lesbian fiction collections.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
A prolific writer of fantasies featuring lesbian heroines, Pollack switches genres this time, producing probably the first police procedural starring a transsexual cop. Simon and Frank work homicide in the fictional metropolis of Essex City. You'd think they'd be pleased when a local pug confesses to an unsolved murder that was starting to look unsolvable. Instead, the two cops are convinced the pug's confession was a put-up job, orchestrated by Alvin Landowski, who runs the city's rackets. As the detectives dig deeper into the fabric of the syndicate, Simon finds himself the target of a counter-investigation launched by Landowski. Will Simon's secret life as a transsexual preparing for a sex-change operation be revealed? Pollack, who manages to write convincingly from both male and female points of view, handles Simon's sexual transformation with sensitivity and without forcing the issue on the main story. A fine procedural, both groundbreaking and engaging. Mary Frances Wilkens
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