The GLBTRT has been reviewing books and movies in its newsletter since the early 1990s. Trace the evolution of queer publishing through these historic reviews. This review was originally published in Vol. 4, No. 4, Winter 1992.

Holy Family. By John L. Myers. Alyson, 1992. Paper. $8.95. (ISBN 1-55583-200-8)

David Harriman pushes his way through a January blizzard to reach the Lodge, one of Washington, DC’s popular late night gay bars. He is picked up by Michael Hudson, an intensely handsome stud, and they repair to David’s apartment. The following day, David discovers that the man of his dreams had been murdered after they separated and that he is the prime suspect. Michael’s nude body had been found hanging in a haunted boarded-up section of the St. Aloysius Franciscan Seminary where there had been a suicide 55 years earlier.

Father Alexander Tucker has been summoned to exorcise the spirits from the boarded-up section of the Seminary. Father Alexander, troubled by his past, tries to confront it with a visit to the Lodge where he meets David Harriman.

One night Harriman is cruising the streets and comes up with 14-year-old “Snake” whose nickname is appropriately chosen. Throughout the novel, Harriman is sorely tempted by the presence of streetwise Snake.

Gay Detective Rod Daniels, who is recently out of a relationship, is assigned to investigate the murder. Will a new involvement develop?

The two parallel stories and four themes are intricately interwoven in this suspensefully written mystery that the reader will reluctantly interrupt to attend to bothersome tasks. The relationship to Snake is tastefully handled although it is a bit pat and legally suspect; Father Alexander confronts his demons; David is proven  innocent; and Rod Daniels? Hopefully this is a character that could be developed into a series. Recommended for all mystery collections.

Reviewed by David Streeter
Pomona Public Library
Pomona,CA