Dick Hardesty

Created by Dorien Grey

DICK HARDESTY got into the P.I. business after his dead-end job working for a public relations firm led him to a closet-full of skeletons belonging to a radical right-wing police chief determined to become governor. While each book of the series stands alone, there are common threads of recurring, interesting and likeable characters which tie them all together. Though Dick is openly gay, the universal themes explored in the stories have resulted in a large crossover readership of mainstream mystery buffs. In fact, four of the ten books, including the most recent, The Paper Mirror, have been finalists for a Lambda Literary Award.

I don't like reality. I much prefer to create my own through my books, each of which I view as a conversation with the reader. The old adage "write what you know" applies: as a gay man, I am most comfortable writing stories with gay backgrounds, though the themes and stories have a universality with which everyone can identify. I firmly believe that today's reader, regardless of sexual orientation, is far more interested in reading a good story well told, with believable and likeable characters, than in who sleeps with whom. My steadily-growing mainstream mystery reader fanbase seems to support this belief.

One of the primary purposes of a novel is to take the reader into places he may not have gone before. Consider this an invitation to step into my world. Every book is like an amusement park ride and I want the reader to just sit back and enjoy the hell out of it.

NOVELS

• The Butcher's Son (2000)..Buy this book...Kindle it!
• The 9th Man  (2001) ..Buy this book...Kindle it!
• The Bar Watcher (2001) ..Buy this book...Kindle it!
• The Hired Man (2002) ..Buy this book
• The Good Cop (2002) ..Buy this book
• The Bottle Ghosts (2003) ..Buy this book
• The Dirt Peddler (2004) ..Buy this book
• The Role Players (2004) ..Buy this book
• The Popsicle Tree (2005) ..Buy this book
• The Paper Mirror (2005)..Buy this book
• The Angel Singers (2008)..Buy this book
• The Dream Ender (2008)...Buy this book...Kindle it!
• The Secret Keeper (2009)...Buy this book
• The Peripheal Son (2011)...Buy this book...Kindle it!

RELATED LINKS

• The Dorien Grey Web Page

Further information on Dorien Grey and his books.

• Down These Mean Streets A Gay Man Must Also Go

Drewey Wayne Gunn looks at the history of the gay P.I.

• What Were Once Vices...

Gay and Lesbian Eyes

Special thanks for the heads up to Dorien Grey for this report.

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"...and I'll tell you right out that I'm a man who likes talking to a man who likes to talk."