Synopsis
After a young woman dies from AIDS, Dr. Clare Burtonall becomes involved in an extensive search to find the girl's boyfriend in order to tell him her last words, only to find herself in severe danger as she suddenly becomes deeply involved with the criminal underworld
Reviews
The British author of the Lovejoy series gives the imaginative sleuthing pair of respected cardiologist, Clare Burtonall, with male prostitute, Bonn, an intriguing second outing following Different Women Dancing (1997). Clare's world is medical research: hospitals, stifling bureaucracy, an outwardly respectable but malign husband and the occasional paid-for tryst with Bonn. Bonn, the ex-seminary student turned "goer" (male prostitute) inhabits a world of "uppers" (female customers), "pollen" (illicit drugs) and much violence. A last act of kindness to a young drug addict dying of AIDS makes Clare the target of a psychotic criminal and thrusts her into an unfamiliar underworld she's unequipped to cope with. Enter Bonn, who moves through his deadly, highly organized but volatile milieu like a Candide?a part of it but largely untouched. Clare provides the grounding?a smart and decent, essentially conventional person?while the disarmingly nonchalant Bonn, living according to his own standards, is fawned and fought over by men and women alike. In edgy, slangy and original prose, Gash captures his quirky cast and unusual settings to create entertainment of the first rank.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Readers familiar with Gash's hilarious Lovejoy novels may be surprised at the much darker tone of his new Dr. Clare Burtonall series. A talented physician, Burtonall is cool and competent on the job but unhappy at home, where she's trapped in a marriage of convenience with a husband who uses her prestigious position to cover up his illicit schemes. To relieve her anger, Clare has taken a lover, Bonn, a handsome male prostitute. Little does Clare suspect that Bonn is inextricably linked to the city's underworld, nor does she realize that the death of a young AIDS patient named Marie will lead her into Bonn's precarious world of drug addicts, thieves, and killers. As she lays dying, Marie begs Clare to deliver a final message to her boyfriend Jase. Feeling obligated to carry out the dying girl's wish, Clare sets out to find the elusive Jase, only to realize that she's entered an unforgiving world where life is cheap, and death and disaster come quickly to the weak and the disobedient. Brilliantly written, mysterious, menacing, and filled with unforgettable characters, this second Burtonall novel (following Different Women Dancing ) is another winner in an extraordinary new series, though it may find favor more with Carol O'Connell readers than with Lovejoy fans. Emily Melton
The unlikely team of cardiologist Clare Burtonall and her lover, male prostitute Bonn, risk murder when they attempt to carry out an AIDS patient's last request. The second in Gash's non-Lovejoy?but thoroughly entertaining?series (Different Women Dancing, LJ 6/1/97).
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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