Caleb Cra reviews the book “Incent Advanc,” by the cultural historian Jam Polch, and wr about the history of the “homosexual panic” fense anti-gay crim.
Contents:
- BT NOVELS WH A GAY ROMANCE AND CRIME SOLVG PLOT/SUBPLOT
- BE GAY, DO CRIME: 20 MT-READ LGBTQ+ CRIME NOVELS
- GAY CRIME BOOKS
- THE THEORY THAT JTIFIED ANTI-GAY CRIME
- BE GAY, DO CRIM: YA MYSTERY/THRILLERS STARRG LGBTQ+ CHARACTERS
BT NOVELS WH A GAY ROMANCE AND CRIME SOLVG PLOT/SUBPLOT
Books shelved as gay-crime: So This is Christmas by Josh Lanyon, Madison Square Murrs by C.S. Poe, Secret at Skull Hoe by Josh Lanyon, Murr at Pira... * gay crime books *
There isn’t enough space this article (or, ed, a rather long history book) to explore the long and shameful lerary history of amg gay characters as eher victims or villas. Fast forward through several s of margalizg gay voic or treatg gay romance as eroti, and the days, we’ve fally got mastream publishers wakg up to the fact that queer stori have a vast and growg dience, although we ntue to be bted to the outsized ntributns of small prs such as Bywater Books. Of his but, Rs Thomas has wrten, “I had a gay protagonist long before I had a tective protagonist, ” and while this layed the path to publitn, bee for some absurd reason publishers ed to thk women on wanted straight hearthrobs—I subm to you as evince the ENTIRE world of fan fictn—by the time Thomas published Firewatchg, he did so to near-universal acclaim.
Now, I’m close to fishg U Up?, her ice-ld sophomore novel of love and loss LA, and I’m rather annoyed at havg to stop readg to wre this blurb. In 1986 Los Angel, homophobia is an all-time high, and an ultra-nservative anizatn is ready to fan the flam of hatred wh a ballot iative to round up HIV posive Angelos and put them mps. The Savage Kd brgs a new meang to “Be gay.
Bt Novels wh a Gay Romance and Crime Solvg Plot/Subplot (768 books),.
BE GAY, DO CRIME: 20 MT-READ LGBTQ+ CRIME NOVELS
Bt Novels wh a Gay Romance and Crime Solvg Plot/Subplot. Vote/add books featurg gay protagonists who are analyzg, vtigatg or helpg on elucidatg murr s. amatr-slth, crime, gay, gay-romance, gay-slth, killers, m-m, m-m-romance, m-m-spense, murr, murr-mystery, mystery, spense, thriller, whodun.
Insurance vtigator Dave Brandstretter is unapologetilly gay, tough, and mascule, but also tenr. ” Published 1970, the book lnched a groundbreakg seri, the gold standard for ser gay crime fictn. Gay and Lato, Nava’s fense attorney Henry Rs echo Brandstretter’s mixture of vulnerabily and hardboiled edgs.
GAY CRIME BOOKS
She’s a dited, sensive, and skilled tective, but she remas closeted orr to navigate the homophobic LAPD. If this is the sort of thg you like to dive to for whatever reason, check out the 20 mt-read “be gay, do crime” books a range of genr that are full of elaborate plans, queer characters, and a whole lot of revenge.
After beg outed by a raid on a gay bar, officer Evanr Mills is kicked off the force. (shelved 1 time as gay-crime). When I created DS Adam Tyler for Firewatchg, I did so partly bee I wanted to create a fictnal tective who was gay.
There were gay protagonists (rare, but they did exist), and there were gay police officers (often send or third tier the hierarchy of characters), but I uld not thk of a sgle queer protagonist. He explicly stat that he isn’t homosexual, but his obssn wh Dickie Greenleaf, and his tenncy towards unreliable narratn more than suggt otherwise.
THE THEORY THAT JTIFIED ANTI-GAY CRIME
I fd almost nceivable that there was one gay character at the helm of a mystery seri for over twenty years, and I only very recently disvered him! He’s openly gay, or homosexual (Hansen apparently hated the term gay), and though he feels no need to announce to everyone he meets, he’s not ashamed of eher. Firstly, like his ntemporary Delafield, he’s an actual p, an LAPD reer police officer (there seem to be far fewer male gay tectiv than female).
He’s also a big bear of a man who breaks a lot of the earlier stereotyp (so often mysteri and thrillers the gay man is portrayed as a sleazy, sadistic baddie wh unwholome sexual predilectns).
BE GAY, DO CRIM: YA MYSTERY/THRILLERS STARRG LGBTQ+ CHARACTERS
So far, Sturgis has steadfastly avoid beg killed off (a rare skill for a gay supportg st member), which mt make him the longt nng gay character a mystery seri ever. Set 1980s San Francis, he’s unashamed to tackle the thornier issu of gay life—dgs, alhol and the AIDS crisis. Hap Colls is the sensive, broodg workg-class labourer who avoids vlence at almost any st, while Leonard Pe is a gay black Vietnam veteran wh a vlent streak, who’s more than happy to shoot any man who unrtimat him.