Reviews and Comments:
By Craig Burke, Musings of a Wordsmith (Entry for September 24, 2008), http://craigburke.wordpress.com/:
It is certainly hard for me to believe that The Angel Singers is the twelfth book in the Dick Hardesty mystery series. It doesn’t seem that long ago that The Butcher’s Son kicked off this wonderful series with a tale of arson and mayhem, and introduced us to one of the most endearing, not to mention enduring gay investigators, Dick Hardesty.
The Angel Singers takes us into the world of a gay men’s chorus (and by the way gives quite good information and insight into that particularly fascinating world) and introduces us to a particulary nasty man named Grant Jefferson who happens to be sponsored by one of the choral group’s benefactors. It is not long however until Grant is scattered far and wide by a car bomb which lets the reader know there was some serious dislike for Mister Jefferson. Due to his nastiness there is no shortage of suspects for Dick to sift through on the way to revealing the somewhat surprising solution of this murder.
However as entertaining as the solving of the crime is, it is in making the characters come to life that Grey really shines. Just like an elegant merlot chablais, this series has gotten better with time and age, each novel seeming to improve on the last to create a rich tapestry of not only Hardesty’s professional life, but also his home life. Dick, Jonathan and the adorable Joshua are characters we have come to love and to really care about, and I find the home and family life is every bit as entertaining as the mystery. Grey is a master at writing tongue-in-cheek wit, and there is plenty of that to be found in The Angel Singers.
If you already love the Dick Hardesty series, as I do, you will love this one too, and if you have never read a Dick Hardesty book (and shame on you if you have not) this is as good as any of them as a place to start.
From Eric C. Spector, as posted on Amazon.com:
An admission: I'm prejudiced. Yes, I've read the other 11 volumes in the Dick Hardesty series, several times. Therefore, my expectations for the 12th were high. And my expectations were more than fulfilled in this well-written addition to the series.
The story line is complex--the murder of a member of a gay men's chorus that Jonathan has joined. Does the murder involve the chorus or is it just a coincidence that the victim is one of the singers? We read on to see how Dick solves the mystery, following various alternatives to the solution, to the final conclusion. We delight in the process as Dick questions himself, trying to separate his emotions from the evidence, and trying to resolve sub-plots that develop during his investigation.
The main reason I enjoy the Dick Hardesty series is the development of the characters: the continued growth of Dick as an individual and in his relationship with both Jonathan and as a parent of Joshua, the maturation of Jonathan as a complete character apart from Dick, and the presentation of Joshua as a true typical five year old.
Lastly, I want to comment as a member of a gay men's chorus. Not only has Dorien gotten his facts correct as to the organization of a chorus, and putting on a concert, but he expertly relates the emotional values within a chorus--the relationships between the singers, the feeling of family, the love of music.
I recommend not just The Angel Singers, but the entire Dick Hardesty series.
Amazon Customer Reviews: http://www.amazon.com/review/product/1934841064/ref=cm_cr_dp_hist_5?_encoding=UTF8&filterBy=addFiveStar |
