Goldenboy

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From Publishers WeeklyGay attorney Henry Rios, hero of Nava's previous The Little Death, appears here for the first time in hardcover, venturing from the Bay Area to Los Angeles to solve a series of grisly murders in a fast-paced novel that is as troubling as it is entertaining. When a gay teenager is arrested for the murder of a co-worker, who threatened to expose his homosexuality, Rios is called to L.A. by Larry Ross, a close friend and fellow lawyer who is dying of AIDS; too ill to rise to the boy's defense himself, Ross asks Rios to "balance the accounts" by preserving the accused murderer's life in exchange for Ross's own. Both, he explains, are afflicted by the same diseasethe bigotry that "shows itself in letting people die of AIDS, making it so difficult for them to come out that it's easier to murder." Nava's palpable anger at that prejudiceand its tragic consequencescomes through with an urgency that transcends the central detective story. Despite a shamelessly sentimental ending, it is the many rough edges of Goldenboy that linger in the reader's mind long after the breathless conclusion. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalAsked to defend a young homosexual accused of murder, well-known criminal lawyer Henry Rios ( The Little Death ) hesitates. With the trial date a mere two days away, and with overwhelming evidence against the man, Rios needs time to prepare. As series protagonist and narrator, Henry not only voices the theme of heterosexual bigotry against gays, but also denigrates the exploitation of gays by other homosexuals. Unfortunately, Nava subordinates these themes and solution of the mystery itself to a rather precipitous love affair between Rios and a prosecution witness. A notch or two above Joseph Hansen in quality, this is, overall, well-written and interesting. REKCopyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.