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Fadeout: A Dave Brandstetter Mystery
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Fadeout: A Dave Brandstetter Mystery
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Fadeout: A Dave Brandstetter Mystery
Ebook193 pages3 hours

Fadeout: A Dave Brandstetter Mystery

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this ebook

Fadeout is the first of Joseph Hansen's twelve classic mysteries featuring rugged Dave Brandstetter, an insurance investigator who is contentedly gay. When entertainer Fox Olson's car plunges off a bridge in a storm, a death claim is filed, but where is Olson's body? As Brandstetter questions family, fans, and detractors, he grows certain Olson is still alive and that Dave must find him before the would-be killer does. Suspenseful and wry, shrewd and deeply felt, Fadeout remains as fresh today as when it startled readers more than thirty years ago.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 15, 2004
ISBN9780299205539
Unavailable
Fadeout: A Dave Brandstetter Mystery

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Reviews for Fadeout

Rating: 3.944444545454546 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the first Brandstetter book. It's a series I dearly love, and Amazon had them all, so I started at the beginning, and discovered I probably hadn't read this one at all. Whee! And it was lovely. Dave Brandstetter is suffering the loss of his long-time lover, throwing himself back into work as an insurance investigator to find out if a death claim is justified, since no one found the body. The first section of the book happens in the rain, and I got off the train so convinced of the weather that I was shocked to find the pavement dry. Good stuff. Highly recommended for mystery lovers.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    My housemate is using the Brandstetter series in her dissertation on gay crime fiction, and assured me that I'd enjoy the series, that it's good, although heartbreaking at times. That last part came through right away, with the painful death of Rod, Dave's lover, as background.

    It reminds me a lot of Chandler, too. Housemate says that's intentional, which I'll have to take on faith, because my edition doesn't have anything by way of introduction. Sometimes it's painfully so, in that Chandler nails it, always, and Hansen nails something that sounds Chandleresque. I assume his voice develops as he writes more about Dave, which will help, but... I love Chandler's imagery, the crisp clarity and difference, which makes every single sentence sound effortless and casual and yet telling and profound. Not a scrap of spare in Chandler's work. In Hansen's work, and probably partly 'cause I'm busy doing a class on microfiction which involves a lot of workshopping, I sometimes wanted to take my red pen to it. That's not to say it's not good. When it doesn't seem, to me, as if it's trying too hard to be Chandler, it works perfectly.

    That sounds much more critical -- less like I enjoyed it -- than is actually the case. Fadeout is pretty short and sweet, in comparison to the books I normally read, and I'd have happily sat down and read it in one go. I like the character of Dave Brandstetter. I don't know him well yet, but I think I will. I like that he has a life outside work, which doesn't really overlap with work: Madge, and his mourning for Rod. He's more of a real person than Phillip Marlowe, maybe.

    The mystery itself wasn't, for me, the centre of things, though it quickly becomes apparent that that, too, is involved with the issue of homosexuality. I did like the characters and lives we see glimpses of, and I rather hope we'll see more of Doug. The mystery itself, because I didn't focus on it, was a bit of a surprise to me -- not how Dave finds out, or the motive, but exactly who it was.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    most of the books only touch on the gay topic until the last few, when things were more open in that arena. They are written like watching an old Perry Mason. Loved them. Mr Hansen now deceased.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A little too short. Good on grief. Brandstetter's lesbian friend is interesting, but we needed more of her.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    As a mystery novel, I'd consider this pretty average.... what makes it interesting is the frank portrayal of homosexuality. There are several gay characters, including the detective, and their lifestyle is described without judgment. The book portrays the difficulties and joys of being gay in a time when homosexuality was illegal in most places.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Synopsis/blurb.....

    Fadeout is the first of Joseph Hansen's twelve classic mysteries featuring rugged Dave Brandstetter, an insurance investigator who is contentedly gay. When entertainer Fox Olson's car plunges off a bridge in a storm, a death claim is filed, but where is Olson's body? As Brandstetter questions family, fans, and detractors, he grows certain Olson is still alive and that Dave must find him before the would-be killer does. Suspenseful and wry, shrewd and deeply felt, Fadeout remains as fresh today as when it startled readers more than thirty years ago.


    Fadeout was July’s selected group read for the Pulp Fiction members on Goodreads. Originally published in 1970 and apparently one of the first PI series to feature a gay man as the protagonist. Truth be told, I would probably have remained ignorant of the book and dozen long series if it hadn’t cropped up on the monthly poll.

    Having stumbled a bit with my reading during June and proclaimed that my mojo was back, Fadeout at less than 200 pages long was the perfect book to zip through quickly. I may have been somewhat premature with my proclamation. No fault of Hansen, but it was incredibly difficult to immerse myself in Brandstetter’s case whilst there was Wimbledon tennis on the box, plus some planning activities required for both a family weekend away (just gone) and some quality couple time together next weekend – it’s not every day you celebrate 25 years of marriage! A tired, old joke.......but my better half would have served less time for murder!

    Back to Hansen and Brandstetter, once I concentrated on the story I found it enjoyable and interesting. Due to distractions previously mentioned I kind of stuttered through the first 50-60 pages before it began to flow for me. Dave Brandstetter was capable, likeable, believable and sympathetic, particularly as Hansen has him coping with the after-effects of losing his long-time partner of 20 years to cancer.

    I think a lot of time with PI fiction I need a personal element to sustain my interest in addition to the mystery case solving tack. On this occasion, Hansen succeeded admirably with both strands of the story and I will be reading more of Brandstetter in the future.

    As mentioned recently on a couple of notable crime fiction blog sites I visit, I do enjoy reading fiction from the pre-tech age, where people mail telegrams and write letters, probably something to do with my age, I guess.

    Note to self; I ought to read more police procedurals where there is more of a focus on a team as opposed to the solitary individual.

    4 from 5

    I think I acquired my copy a month or so ago second hand from Amazon.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Dave Brandstetter is an insurance claims investigator and we first meet him as he is investigating the supposed death of Fox Olson. Olson is a local celebrity who it appears meet is death as his car plunged into a swollen arroyo; but the body has not been found. Convinced that the man did not die in the accident, Dave uncovers a lot more besides Olson’s disappearance as he relentlessly pursues his investigation, including a suspicious relationship between Olson’s wife and his manager, a jealous opponent in the running for local mayor, and the sudden re-appearance of a long lost boyhood friend. What make this different from the normal run of detective thrillers is that Dave is openly gay and thoroughly masculine, and interspersed with the ongoing investigation we enjoy glimpses of his private life and relationships. One of the first things we learn is that is recovering from the death of his partner of over twenty years, leaving him perhaps open for new personal discoveries. Dave, now in his forties, comes over as a caring, patient and likeable man; as Fadeout is the first of the Dave Brandsetter mysteries it will be interesting to see how Joseph Hansen develops the character. Putting aside all other considerations, Fadeout is a well written and carefully constructed mystery with good characterisation. Having read this I was pleased to discover that all the Brandsetter mysteries are now available in one volume: The Complete Brandstetter , ISBN 1842431684 ~ I immediately pace an order!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Hardboiled muder mystery featuring a detective who happens to be gay. Hansen avoids making sexuality the entire focus of the story.