Long before TV's Will Truman and Grace Adler made America aware of the intense bond some gay men form with straight women, Nathan Aldyne wrote about such a relationship in four entertaining murder mysteries featuring amateur sleuths Daniel Valentine and Clarisse Lovelace. Aldyne was a pseudonym for writing partners Michael McEachem McDowell and Dennis Schuetz. Vermillion (1980), Cobalt (1982), Slate (1984), and Canary (1986) have all been reprinted in handsome editions by Felony & Mayhem ($14.95).
The young, handsome, masculine bartender Daniel is openly and proudly gay, a welcome rarity in the 1980s. (Joseph Hansen's hard-boiled novels of the 1970s, featuring openly gay insurance investigator David Brandstetter, paved the way for Aldyne, but were much darker, more Chandleresque.) Daniel's best pal, Clarisse, is a real estate agent. They trade Nick and Nora Charles-like quips and have a deep, platonic love for each other. They even have a dog: Veronica Lake.
Vermillion is set in an edgy part of Boston. Daniel is a very popular bartender at a thriving gay bar. Clarisse likes going there because the disco-dancing is great, and she knows her fabulous dresses, shoes, and looks will get lots of well-deserved attention. Daniel happily fends off many, but not all, advances from the hot young men who fill the place up. Before the last call, however, a young hustler is found dead. Clarisse insists on discovering what happened, and compels the distracted Daniel to join her. What they learn about the victim's past is far from pretty, and puts the pair at risk.
Cobalt is the color of handsome Jeff's riveting eyes, which blaze out at Daniel and other hunks in Provincetown, Mass., during its thriving gay summertime scene. Lots of activity takes place on the warm, sandy beach, not just during the day, but also when the sun goes down. When gorgeous Jeff's body is found along the seashore, a pall falls over the once carefree, hedonistic crowd. Daniel and Clarisse investigate. They know the gay scene in a way that the poorly motivated straight cops will never understand. Besides, how many gay men back then would willingly talk to the cops? But their knowledge also endangers them. After all, having murdered once, the killer is not afraid to strike again.
The pair are back in Boston for Slate . Daniel now owns the hottest disco in Beantown, and often tends bar. He knows all too well that many hot gay men lust after hunky bartenders. It's another benefit of being his own boss. Clarisse has enrolled in law school, but a girl can't study for the Bar all day and all night, so she goes to another kind of bar, where her best pal welcomes her warmly. The dancers, their ripped bodies writhing to the music, keep raising the temperature. It doesn't take long for things to get really steamy. Then a body is found. How did he die? The answer, quelle surprise, is not from natural causes. This is not the kind of publicity Daniel wants for his establishment. Patrons could understandably become afraid to return. Plus, the murderer must be brought to justice. Who better than he and Clarisse to find out what happened?
Canary also takes place in Boston. Clarisse and Daniel are now partners in his gay bar. But the murder that the pair solved in Slate has not been good for business. Quite the opposite. When another body turns up at the disco, even Donna Summer's music may not be enough to bring patrons back. The cops are indifferent: who cares what happened to another faggot? So once again, Daniel and Clarisse plunge into an investigation, and once again, they find the killer.
The series was set in the pre-AIDS era and captures that period's young gay male scene well. The prose is light-hearted. The banter is swift and sharp. The friendship between Daniel and Clarisse feels authentic, and their respective romantic interludes are welcome. The stories are cleverly plotted, and the authors play fair with readers.
McDowell (1950-99), using different nommes de plume, authored several other novels. Writing as Axel Young, he penned two thrillers, Blood Rubies (1982) and The Wicked Stepmother (1984). In that same decade, he wrote the "Jack and Susan" murder mystery series, featuring an updated version of Nick and Nora Charles. He also authored the screenplays for Clue (1985) and Beetlejuice (1987), and collaborated on The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). He wrote scripts for several television shows, including Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Tales from the Dark Side . Additionally, he taught writing at Boston University and Tufts. He died from AIDS-related complications.
McDowell's close friend and collaborator Schuetz also wrote for TV's Tales from the Dark Side.