Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Unprotected Love
Lieutenant Denny Delaney Series, No 3
John F. Rooney

Senneff House Publishers
February 1, 2011 / ISBN: 0975275615
Gay Fiction / Mystery, Thriller & Suspense / Police Procedurals
Amazon

Reviewed by Beth E. McKenzie

Manhattan detective Lt. Denny Delany is in charge of the squad investigating the murder of several young male prostitutes. When he is not sparing with the FBI on a legacy terrorist case, playing hide-and-seek with an informant or squiring his wife around the Big Apple, he is deflecting the "assistance" he gets from the Sex Crimes Unit. The deaths are designated pattern homicides based on the vital statistics of the victims: young, gay, male, and hustlers; and the killer's signature: a new, unopened condom left in the mouth of the victim.

Something that surprised me was the denigrating descriptions of the johns who buy the gay hustlers. There was no sympathy or excuses made for their behavior. The representation is that all punters are vile and all hustlers are poor lost boys. This surprised me because Rooney's signature work is "The Rice Queen Spy", a compassionate portrayal of a gay man's love and life's work. Less surprising was finding a homosexual sex scene in a book about gay men.

One of John Rooney's greatest talents is making a location one of the characters in the story. The Manhattan Theater District preens and sways through the pages like a prostitute of another type while her patrons sigh and toss their souls under her sparkling feet.

Reviewer's Note: Explicit content - language, sex, violence
Reviewed 2012
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