Early Graves

By Joseph Hansen

Book Overview

The brutality of the AIDS epidemic and a nation's growing homophobia set the stage for a serial killer targeting gay men in Los Angeles--and Dave Brandstetter finds himself in the killer's path.

Dave Brandstetter's afternoon does not begin well: his ex-boyfriend picks him up at the airport, and the ride home -- in bumper-to-bumper Los Angeles traffic -- is one long argument between them. The insurance investigator's day gets worse when he finds a man -- bloody, rain-soaked, and ice cold -- lying on his porch, killed by a stab wound while Dave was out of town.

There is a serial killer loose in Los Angeles, and this man is his sixth victim. Like the others, he had already been marked for death - by the unforgiving plague known as AIDS. Someone is targeting sick men in the city, and Dave's search for the killer leads him into the dark side of gay Los Angeles, where death comes without warning and life is a fearful dream.

Decades after its original publication in 1987, Early Graves remains an important literary achievement. The exigence of Joseph Hansen's frontline reportage of the AIDS epidemic is as powerful as his prose craft and mystery plot are clever.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1681990636
• ISBN13: 9781681990637
• Release Date: December 2023
• Publisher: Soho Syndicate
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.1" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

No 9 of the Brandstetter mysteriesHansen certainly manages to ring the changes in his Dave Brandstet

Hansen certainly manages to ring the changes in his Dave Brandstetter mysteries, and the ninth novel in the series, Early Graves is no exception. Dave returns home after a short absence to discover first hand and unpleasantly of the activities of a serial killer who is targeting young gay men afflicted with AIDS. Inevitably drawn into the investigation to find the killer, Dave not only has much more success than the police, he also uncovers more than even he expects, and finds himself the target of the killer. Drawing on all his resources we find a number of old friends from previous novels in the series making an appearance; we also find Dave just that little bit older and thinking of his retirement. Every bit as good as the best of the series, Early Graves is another tense and gripping tale, all the more enthralling for the most likeable of investigators Dave Brandstetter and his, for the moment at least, separated partner Cecil. The continuity throughout the various novels and the inevitable progress of time adds to the considerable to the charm of these stories

A good page turner that you don't want to put down.

Sensitive and exciting story set in the late 80s within the context of a mystery. Brandstetter, a middle aged insurance investigator tracks down a serial killer in and around LA who's been killing gay men who have AIDS.