Collections
Series
Publication
Los Angeles, Calif.: Alyson Books, 2001.
Description
"Death Claims is the second of Joseph Hansen's acclaimed mysteries featuring ruggedly masculine Dave Brandstetter, a gay insurance investigator. When John Oats's body is found washed up on a beach, his young lover April Stannard is sure it was no accident. Brandstetter agrees: Oats's college-age son, the beneficiary of the life insurance policy, has gone missing.
Language
Original language
English
Media reviews
User reviews
LibraryThing member richardderus
Rating: 4* of five
The Book Description: "My name is David Brandstetter. I'm a claims investigator for the Medallion Life Insurance Company." He handed her a card. She didn't glance at it. "I'm looking for Peter Oats," he said.
"He's not here. I wish he were. Maybe you can help me. The police don't
She was April Stannard. Her lover, Peter's father, had died. April believed he'd been murdered.
Dave Brandstetter's investigation takes him through the rare-book world, to backstage at a community theatre, to the home of a world-famous television performer. Along the way, Dave soon comes to agree with April.
My Review: Small-town California has a lot of atmosphere, according to Hansen; I don't remember it that way, but I was young and miserable, so I'll go with the man who found there something that led to this description of an old mill made into a theater:
The waterwheel was twice a man’s height, wider than a man’s two stretched arms. The timbers, braced and bolted with rusty iron were heavy, hand-hewn, swollen with a century of wet. Moss bearded the paddles, which dripped as they rose. The sounds were good. Wooden stutter like children running down a hall at the end of school. Grudging axle thud like the heartbeat of a strong old man.
Beautiful.
It's with this book, second in the series, that Hansen's chops come fully into play. He's here to wow you, and he's got the story to keep you sitting right there flipping pages. April, the bereaved, is Rita Hayworth in my mind; Oates, the dead guy, looks like John Garfield; Peter, the son and heir, is Cabaret-era Michael York; and so on and so on. (Eve, Oates' ex-wife, is Barbara Stanwyck.) I do this a lot, cast the perfect movie cast as I read along. But this time it felt as if it was all done for me. Oates' murderer, when revealed, was a surprise to me even though this was a re-read. And the actor I'd put in the role was perfect...no testament to my skills, just an example of how beautifully Hansen draws his characters.
Dave's got a man, too...how amazing for the 1970s! I so wish this had been a TV series. Magnum PI only gay! *sigh* What might have been....
The Book Description: "My name is David Brandstetter. I'm a claims investigator for the Medallion Life Insurance Company." He handed her a card. She didn't glance at it. "I'm looking for Peter Oats," he said.
"He's not here. I wish he were. Maybe you can help me. The police don't
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seem to care."She was April Stannard. Her lover, Peter's father, had died. April believed he'd been murdered.
Dave Brandstetter's investigation takes him through the rare-book world, to backstage at a community theatre, to the home of a world-famous television performer. Along the way, Dave soon comes to agree with April.
My Review: Small-town California has a lot of atmosphere, according to Hansen; I don't remember it that way, but I was young and miserable, so I'll go with the man who found there something that led to this description of an old mill made into a theater:
The waterwheel was twice a man’s height, wider than a man’s two stretched arms. The timbers, braced and bolted with rusty iron were heavy, hand-hewn, swollen with a century of wet. Moss bearded the paddles, which dripped as they rose. The sounds were good. Wooden stutter like children running down a hall at the end of school. Grudging axle thud like the heartbeat of a strong old man.
Beautiful.
It's with this book, second in the series, that Hansen's chops come fully into play. He's here to wow you, and he's got the story to keep you sitting right there flipping pages. April, the bereaved, is Rita Hayworth in my mind; Oates, the dead guy, looks like John Garfield; Peter, the son and heir, is Cabaret-era Michael York; and so on and so on. (Eve, Oates' ex-wife, is Barbara Stanwyck.) I do this a lot, cast the perfect movie cast as I read along. But this time it felt as if it was all done for me. Oates' murderer, when revealed, was a surprise to me even though this was a re-read. And the actor I'd put in the role was perfect...no testament to my skills, just an example of how beautifully Hansen draws his characters.
Dave's got a man, too...how amazing for the 1970s! I so wish this had been a TV series. Magnum PI only gay! *sigh* What might have been....
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LibraryThing member AlexTheHunn
Hardboiled muder mystery featuring a detective who happens to be gay. Hansen avoids making sexuality the entire focus of the story. His detective is an insurance investigator.
LibraryThing member imayb1
The second of Hansen's "Dave Brandstetter" Mysteries follows Brandstetter, an insurance claim investigator, looking into a fishy-seeming 'accidental' drowning. Piece by piece, he uncovers suspects, lies, motives, and passions, taking him into the local theater and the rare books business until he
Brandstetter comes across tough, jaded, and wholly logical. The story is completely told in second person, but the reader never sees the inside of Brandstetter's head and never sees him crack. The story is a series of facts, all the way to its conclusion. At its end, I'm left with only a cold feeling of 'mission complete', without any sense of accomplishment for the main character, or any feeling for the other characters.
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solves the murder and catches the culprit.Brandstetter comes across tough, jaded, and wholly logical. The story is completely told in second person, but the reader never sees the inside of Brandstetter's head and never sees him crack. The story is a series of facts, all the way to its conclusion. At its end, I'm left with only a cold feeling of 'mission complete', without any sense of accomplishment for the main character, or any feeling for the other characters.
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LibraryThing member Johnny1978
This is a great novel: Hansen is a disciplined and entertaining writer. The action is fast-paced and unpredictable. "Death Claims" is expertly crafted genre-fiction and a beautifully-written piece of literature.
LibraryThing member pnorman4345
Our hero is an insurance investigator working in the Los Angeles area. Fear of being outed as homosexual plays a large role. Quite good.
LibraryThing member ffortsa
Insurance investigator Brandstetter is checking into what would seem to us now to be a modest death claim, and finds a curiously incomplete story he can't resist completing. Although the book rings the changes among just about everyone who could have done it, the story is engaging, and we learn
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even more about Dave's personal life. Show Less
LibraryThing member Gwendydd
Dave Brandstetter returns, this time to investigate the drowning of a man with a large life insurance policy. The police ruled the death and accident, but Brandstetter disagrees. Like the first book in the series, this one is remarkable for its frank discussion of homosexuality. Aside from that,
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it's a pretty average mystery. Show Less
LibraryThing member ChrisWeir
Brandstetter mystery where he looking into the death of a former bookseller. At the start ot looks like his son did it foe the insurance money. But the more Dave digs the more suspects turn up. The deceased was blackmailing former friends and associates.