The Death of Friends (Audible Audio Edition) Michael Nava Gregory St John Audible Studios Books
Download As PDF : The Death of Friends (Audible Audio Edition) Michael Nava Gregory St John Audible Studios Books
As protagonist Henry Rios investigates his friend Chris Chandler's murder, he begins to discover that the State Supreme Court judge's life had not been at all what it appeared to be, as Chandler's young gay lover begs for protection and other secrets begin to come to light.
The Death of Friends (Audible Audio Edition) Michael Nava Gregory St John Audible Studios Books
“The truth can be painful, but it does not produce evil. Lies are the source of evil.”Thus says Henry Rios, recovering alcoholic, self-accepting gay man, lawyer for the weak and undefended. If Michael Nava’s preceding book in this series, “The Hidden Law,” was all about Chicano rage, “The Death of Friends” is all about the destructive forces of lies.
The story starts with an earthquake—the Northridge quake of 1994 that rattled Los Angles, killing 60 and injuring 9000. While there is a plot-driven reason for the earthquake’s presence in the story, it is an apt metaphor for what is about to happen to Henry’s world. Once again, Michael Nava weaves his tale with smart, beautifully crisp prose and a lawyer’s gift for layered thinking.
I cried a little more at this one, but at least this time I was at home and not on public transportation. Like his other books, “The Death of Friends” hits close to home for a gay man of my generation. Michael Nava’s age places him exactly between my husband and myself. None among those of us who survived the 1980s experienced the devastation of AIDS in exactly the same way; but all of us saw our friends die. All of us lived in the shadow of fear that our uncaring government did nothing to dispel or assuage.
Death is always a central theme in a murder mystery, but here the narrative is bookended by death, and it involves two men about whom Henry Rios cares deeply. Chris Chandler’s murder, and the complicated, ugly truths it reveals, sets the stage for another impending death, that of Josh Mandel, Henry’s friend and former lover. This is no spoiler. I lived through this, there were no miracle drugs yet. There was no escape once the virus destroyed your immune system. It was all a matter of how and when. Josh’s fate is preordained. All we have to learn is how and when.
The greatest joy in these novels is not the courtroom dramatics (which are pretty great), nor the brilliant character studies Nava gives us as we meet the various actors in this tragic history of life in America. No, the bright, vivid center of this series is the increasingly detailed and loving portrait of Henry Rios himself that emerges a little more with each passing volume. This young man, just entering middle age, has rebuilt his life into something strong and good and filled with a desire for justice that has no taint of superiority or self-righteousness. Henry is not perfect, not by a long shot. He has his prejudices, but they are neither thoughtless nor unbending. Henry is fully aware of his own shortcomings, and that awareness gives him the generosity of spirit he needs to see what other people turn away from.
“The Death of Friends” is, in the end, the saddest of the books so far, but it leaves you wishing that Henry Rios was your best friend, and simultaneously wondering if you’d be worthy.
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The Death of Friends (Audible Audio Edition) Michael Nava Gregory St John Audible Studios Books Reviews
Another satisfying Henry Rios mystery in Nava's wonderful legal sleuth series, this book tackles the thorny issue of being gay and commited to a set of human values which include love and honest connections to self and the real world, illustrating the tragedies which can befall us without them.
As usual, Nava's book goes way beyond cheap thrills and leaves the reader reluctantly turning the last page and longing to hear more from him.
I've read the whole series and would recommend every title in it.
I hav eread all of these Henry Rios murder mysteries. I like his insight and way of teeling stories with integrity exposing human natures darker side as well as the honesty of the imperfections of the main character.
There are several story lines coursing through the book, each one alone makes the book and "can't put it down". Nava is gifted in writing a who-done-it, but even better in providing the gay philosophical nuances that give the story its depth. The total authenticity makes the book a great read.
Excellent m/m crime/mystery novels. Read them if you can find them. I purchased mine used on .
I picked up this book at the recommendation of a friend. The book started rather slowly for a murder mystery but I kept reading. Nava did a good job of portraying Henry Rios, but the mystery played a very secondary fiddle to the development of the characters. If this book had been labeled a literary book, I would have expected the way it unfolded so slowly and dwelt on the relationships in exclusion, I felt, to the mystery. The mystery was not that great, pretty ho-hum, but I did like the character development.
Once again Nava gives us a great plot and gritty insight into the law as it is, not as usually portrayed on TV. Plea bargains, suppression of evidence. This isn't a police procedural, it's a legal procedural. In the background is a heart rending picture of the impact of being HIV positive and having full blown AIDS. Underlying this is a picture of a society with an increasing gap between the Haves and Have nots. Of bankrupt counties. Underfunded government services and a society decaying from within. America is like a frog in boiling water. It may have jumped in when the water was cold, but it's too late to jump out now. Yet no one seems to realise this.
Only two authors write at this highest level in this genre, Michael Nava and Josh Lanyon and of the two Michael Nava might be the more
insightful. Nava's characters have depth and complex personalities, fully developed with backgrounds and the author speaks with real understanding of what it's like to be a gay man. Not that Lanyon doesn't but I believe that Josh Lanyon is the pseudonym of a straight woman (of this I am not certain) but if it's so she cannot possibly understand the nuances of growing up gay in America.
“The truth can be painful, but it does not produce evil. Lies are the source of evil.”
Thus says Henry Rios, recovering alcoholic, self-accepting gay man, lawyer for the weak and undefended. If Michael Nava’s preceding book in this series, “The Hidden Law,” was all about Chicano rage, “The Death of Friends” is all about the destructive forces of lies.
The story starts with an earthquake—the Northridge quake of 1994 that rattled Los Angles, killing 60 and injuring 9000. While there is a plot-driven reason for the earthquake’s presence in the story, it is an apt metaphor for what is about to happen to Henry’s world. Once again, Michael Nava weaves his tale with smart, beautifully crisp prose and a lawyer’s gift for layered thinking.
I cried a little more at this one, but at least this time I was at home and not on public transportation. Like his other books, “The Death of Friends” hits close to home for a gay man of my generation. Michael Nava’s age places him exactly between my husband and myself. None among those of us who survived the 1980s experienced the devastation of AIDS in exactly the same way; but all of us saw our friends die. All of us lived in the shadow of fear that our uncaring government did nothing to dispel or assuage.
Death is always a central theme in a murder mystery, but here the narrative is bookended by death, and it involves two men about whom Henry Rios cares deeply. Chris Chandler’s murder, and the complicated, ugly truths it reveals, sets the stage for another impending death, that of Josh Mandel, Henry’s friend and former lover. This is no spoiler. I lived through this, there were no miracle drugs yet. There was no escape once the virus destroyed your immune system. It was all a matter of how and when. Josh’s fate is preordained. All we have to learn is how and when.
The greatest joy in these novels is not the courtroom dramatics (which are pretty great), nor the brilliant character studies Nava gives us as we meet the various actors in this tragic history of life in America. No, the bright, vivid center of this series is the increasingly detailed and loving portrait of Henry Rios himself that emerges a little more with each passing volume. This young man, just entering middle age, has rebuilt his life into something strong and good and filled with a desire for justice that has no taint of superiority or self-righteousness. Henry is not perfect, not by a long shot. He has his prejudices, but they are neither thoughtless nor unbending. Henry is fully aware of his own shortcomings, and that awareness gives him the generosity of spirit he needs to see what other people turn away from.
“The Death of Friends” is, in the end, the saddest of the books so far, but it leaves you wishing that Henry Rios was your best friend, and simultaneously wondering if you’d be worthy.
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