Boystown 2

Three More Nick Nowak Mysteries

By: Marshall Thornton

Narrated by: Brad Langer

In the second Boystown collection, Chicago private investigator Nick Nowak finds himself involved with a young man who murdered his stepfather but refuses to assist in his own defense. He has been hired to find the murderer of a dead porno star and in a case that traps him between the two men he loves, searching for a serial killer's only living victim.

Set in the second half of 1981, Boystown 2 follows Nick as he juggles his deepening relationship with Detective Bert Harker with the return of his ex, Daniel Laverty. Which man will he choose? Or will he be able to choose?

©2010 Marshall Thornton (P)2013 Marshall Thornton

Great early 80's gay short detective stories

I am enjoying this (to me) new series of gay detective novels. I recommend it.

EYE-OPENING LOOKS INTO THE CHICAGO GAY LIFE OF THE

I received this audio book for free and am giving my honest and voluntary review

Three stories of Nick Nowak and his Private Eye practice. Introducing the hatred of the eighties toward gays. Jack is beginning to hear about a pneumonia that affects homosexuals. He thinks nothing of it. This is the introduction to AIDS.
There is the case of the beaten to death gay porn star, the case of the gay boy who murdered his stepfather and the case of the gay guy who is attacked by the serial killer, dubbed the Bughouse slasher. Daniel re-enters and Nick is torn between him and Harker, his new lover.

The narration is a little monologued but tells a great story.

Enjoyable

I hadn’t read part 1 but it was really easy to get into the character and surrounding story. I am looking forward to the rest of the series.

Smoothly fits in the series but is a cliffhanger

I just finished these stories and I would advise this series be read/listened to in order. Each mystery is sort of a standalone but the personal part of the story is ongoing. I’m really enjoying these stories and getting a little impatient when it comes to Nick’s personal life. Nick is a P.I. who appears to me to half know what he is doing and half lucks out. As he goes through his daily life he looses his attention because of his personal life. He does get the job done but its entertaining to me his daily routine. I feel he fits the Mickey Spillane feel. He is still being reckless in his sex life. I didn’t feel he was as bed hopping in this part of the series as the last. He does have a few guilt feelings that he may be sort of cheating on Bert. Nick’s sort of in a relationship with Bert and then his ex Daniel reappears. That makes him ready to break up with Bert. Nick is centered on Daniel no matter what else he does. Where the cliffhanger got to me is I’m waiting to find out where he is going to end up relationship wise. Before he can break up with Bert there is a little twist in the story. Now is there more to the detective than I had thought? There are no answers in the story so I have to get to the next to see where this is going. If you are easily offended with cheating and very descriptive sex don’t read/listen to this series. It is meant to be all of that and more. It reflects life in the 80’s and I think the author does a great job of giving a feel for that era. The narrator Brad Langer, does a perfect job. He gives the feel for this story.

I'm hooked!!!

I'm hooked on these mysteries...love the narrator...all in all great way to spend your time. Very entertaining...cant wait to listen to the third chapter in the series.

Better with each book

I like the kind of PI Nick is. He's old school, gritty, and smart. The sex in the stories is icing on a nicely done cake. All Nick's casual hook ups makes me think he's marking time until he's back with Dan. Laughs, intrigue, drama (angst in my head for Nick and Dan and Bert)! I'm a romantic, sue me!! The love triangle thickens and what a cliffy and close call at the end!! On to book 3. The narrator was excellent with voices and expressions. I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this story and am giving an honest review.

Triggering, quaint story

4 Blue Roses
4.5 Blue Flames
Narrator Brad Langer dryly delivered the Nick Nowak Mysteries series. His emotionless monotonous narration is as old skool as the plot itself, which for some reason drew me deeper into the life of the most sexually active private investigator; Nick Nowak.

The cases he investigates are kind of intriguing. The longer I listened, the more I wanted to hear. The plot time is depicted in the 1980s. It’s the time of no lube or condoms, only spit, and if you are lucky maybe vaseline. Venereal diseases and GRIDS, or gay-related immunodeficiency syndrome, is just being noticed. Nick, is a dude who has a lot of sex. If it’s male and willing, he is fucking it. I’m not judging, good for him, the more sex the better, but unfortunately in hindsight, we know what happens with HIV. Each time Nick is having sex, I see more and more men getting infected. That left me conflicted between listening and enjoying hot sex scenes.

The victimization of gay men is vividly described, the book conveys a silent internal truthfulness, a very lifelikeness of being gay in the 1980″s, and the reality or consistency of the sad world these characters lived within.

I do recommend this series. It’s one of those, you would miss if you don’t experience it.

An Addicting Series

The second book in the Boystown series is just as good and addicting as the first book. Nick Nowak is a private investigator and deeply flawed man who finds himself embroiled with in life or death situations. The three mysteries that this book contains are both fascinating and thrilling, while the overall series plot continues to build and grow. It’s hard to not like Nick despite all his faults – he’s a man who’s experienced a lot of heartache and trauma in his life and his methods of dealing with these hurts are not always healthy or respectable—however, it is understandable. I fell in love with this series unexpectedly and this sequel only made me hungry for the next book.

Gritty, sexy & fabulous!!

I love Nick and the backdrop of Chicago in the 80’s.

What you get:
Casual sex
Anonymous sex
Relationship sex
Ex sex
A porn studio
Gay for pay actors
A murder
A disappearance
A sickness

Nick deals with it all in his no frills fashion: with his gun and a dab of spit.

My rec? Yes!