::READERS REVIEWS::

LA Redemption - I really enjoyed this book and will try others by author John Morgan Wilson based on what I found here. And what that was in the aggregate amounted to an original plot, evocative setting and thoroughly enjoyable collection of characters. In the latter context, the author has created a protagonist with depth--lots of issues, but humanity and principles--and a supporting cast that is largely multi-dimensional and credible.

As a bi-coaster, I found the political and corporate cynicism that enfolds this novel to ring true. Southern California and Washington DC have a lot in common when it comes to facade building and hollow appeals to the public for patronage and support.

I'm not going into the plot here as other reviewers have done that pretty well over the years that the book has been out. But I can add that this book will provide challenge and enjoyment to most mystery fans and general readers--gay or straight--alike. Recommended.

Well-Deserved Award - This book won an Edgar as best first novel of 1996, and the award was well-deserved. It's well-written and affecting, with a tortured hero who finds a measure of personal redemption in solving the mystery. Benjamin Justice was a hot-shot investigative reporter, but when it was discovered that he had faked his Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial series, he lost the prize, his job and his self-respect. Now the editor who took the fall with him comes to him for a favor-- do some research, teach what you know to a new hotshot. The possibility for resurrection appears. It's a good read.
Neil Plakcy, author of Mahu Surfer: A Hawaiian Mystery (An Alyson Mystery)

great protagonist, enlightening plot - I bought this book at a used book store, so I guess I didn't put any money in Mr. Wilson's coffers at that point, but now he's got me hooked and buying the rest of the series at regular prices, so I don't think he's going to be too miffed about the used bookstore thingie.

I typically like protagonists who are flawed, sometimes seriously so, but willing to admit those flaws and attempt to live fully in spite of them. I also like sarcasmos like Benjamin Justice, and when I read within the first few pages his attempts to figuratively smack around an ex-colleague with a tendency to make racist comments, I really liked him a lot.

Throughout this book, the reader gets involved in not only a mystery that needs solving (in this case, the mystery of who killed young gay man) but also in a tale that opens doors to new understanding of the protagonist's lifestyle and personality. Okay, that might not make sense. What I mean is that for some readers, those like me, gay friends and family members are not a rarity, but specific details about their lifestyles may well be, and this book was enlightening on that front.

There is sex in this book, some of it fairly graphic. You don't just hear that Justice is gay; you get to see him living the life of a gay man, having sexual relations, etc. In my experience as a mystery reader, that's a bit rare, unless I pick up a mystery that is specifically geared for gay readers, and this one isn't (at least, not in my opinion). It's decidely mainstream in its audience focus, but also very frank and realistic.

You're not gonna get to know Benjamin Justice WITHOUT REALLY GETTING TO KNOW HIM. Sexuality, sarcasm, and personality warts in all. He's not perfect. He's capable of brutality. He's capable of shame. He's capable of horniness. He's capable of compassion. Seeing all the aspects of his life made him a human being, rather than a flat character on a page, to me, and in a sense, he made other people real to me in the way that reading about different cultural experiences helps me understand other cultures better and allows me to see the similarities between us, the ways in which we are remarkably similar. Similarities it's really easy to forget sometimes.

Oh, boy, that went all over the place.

What I liked about this book: the mystery, which I really didn't completely figure out until the very end (a good thing indeed; sometimes I know from the first ten pages whodidit, and that really bugs me; the way Wilson develops Justice's character and gives us pieces of his past to help us understand him better; the weird actions of other characters in the book, evidence that human beings really are goofy sometimes (hey, Alexandra, I mean you!); and the very solid writing (good word choice, interesting and authentic dialogue, excellent pacing).

Pick up this book; you won't be disappointed!

What a start for a series, and what a novel ending - I first read JM Wilson's fourth novel and found it well worth going back to the start and getting this first novel. I was very, very impressed with the writing. Read a chapter of "Simple Justice" and then one of Grafton's "S is for Silence" and you'll get a clear picture of good fiction and interesting sentence structure versus the mundane, dumbed down language increasingly common in American mystery novels. Wilson's writing and characters are just far, far more complicated and interesting than Grafton's.

While I could figure out the ending in Wilson's first novel, the last scene is so twisted and captivating that you'll find your eyebrows raised and a "wow!" coming from your lips.

I'm now into novel 2 of Wilson's and haven't been as excited about discovering a new author to read since I found out about James Lee Burke.

Troubled sleuth - Mr.Wilson's debut novel is set in a very specific environment. Gay and lesbian world of LA. Benjamin Justice, his sleuth, is a man on a brink of destruction. Overwhelmed with grief and regrets he spends his days drinking cheap wine. The writer is blunt and to the point, and he doesn't care(and he shouldn't)who gets offended. There is no law that forces anybody to read or finish the book they started.Everybody is intitled to his own opinion or bigotry but what always amazes me is the inability to understand those different that we are.That simple thing is the key of coexistence in this world. This is a good book and I am happy I found it.