Bob Lind Reviews
COME CLEAN
by Kevin J Porter
 (a Kevin J. Porter Mystery) by Kevin J. Porter ISBN 0595245722 Writer's Club Press 2002, 316 pages, paper $16.95 |
Come Clean
is
one of the most original, suspenseful and outright terrifying mystery
novels I have
ever read. The author is skilled at feeding the reader carefully-timed
tidbits of information, before they become evident to those trying to
solve the case, making the reader feel smart and leading to "obvious" conclusions. Unfortunately, what seems obvious in the last chapter is proved to be impossible in the next, and one is left frustrated and doubting how this will all be tied together somehow, but it is, masterfully. In a nutshell, retired RCMP detective Kevin Porter (same name as the author) discovers a murder scene, after his boyfriend Brent (about half of Kevin's age; Kevin is Brent's "senior toy") asks him to check on a university colleague who did not return from her weekend retreat for her Monday morning classes. The unique "clean fettish" of the killer also serves to erase all of the usual sources of evidence, frustrating the RCMP investigator (a former subordinate of Porter's) who is assigned to the case. The chapters alternate between the Porter's and the killer's perspectives, and we learn early on (Note: NOT a spoiler, as this is within the first two chapters) that the killer works as a make-up artist on the Vancouver-based filming of the "X-Files" TV show. A series of complicated incidents result in Porter's being "outed" to his former RCMP colleagues, and his lover Brent becoming a suspect in the murder, two developments that are handled quite realistically. The investigation goes on while Vancouver police are also investigating the latest in a series of gay-bashing murders in a public park, and readers learn there is a connection before the investigators do. The tale is not for the squeemish, and a comparison of the murderer to Hannibal Lector isn't far fetched. I recommend it highly; 5 stars out of 5. Link to the author's website, where you can read more about him (the author / narrator) |
About the reviewer... Bob Lind is
a 53 year
old openly-gay professional, who lives in Phoenix, AZ, with
one
spoiled cat, a former stray. He has written for some
professional
publications, has volunteered for several local community
organizations, and is an avid reader, mostly of gay fiction.
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