The white marquee outside said Adult Films Only. Cord McGreevy, on the heels of a talkathon with his shrink, needed some reassurance of his "identity crisis". In the lobby of the Lyric, he found Ellison Greer: his physical twin, if a little smaller, and darker skin. Broad forehead, a blade nose, a chin that won the west; and a natural grace, light and bouncy, an aristocrat in a shadowed skin. Yes, it described both of them except for color: Ellison was a butterscotch prince.
They coupled briefly, became deep friends on other levels, conflict never far from hand. And then: murder. After Ellison is found brutally slain, the police were less than helpful. An unusual sex toy seemed the only clue. It's up to Cord to track down the killer. His search for the truth leads through the strangest underworlds New York has to offer. In the police, in his neighbors, in the people who know the truth about that brutal, perverse, modern urban murder, he comes to where the bizarre meets the beautiful - and his very own being is at stake.
Richard Hall's first novel, a delicious and quirky murder mystery, is newly introduced by Jeffrey Round (Dan Sharp mysteries).
"A deliciously written, softly witty and intricately plotted gay murder mystery ... A delight!" - In Touch
"Hall's canvas is thickly populated with interesting figures and he has a nice touch for the potential of the lurid and banal alike. This is a neat, tidy thriller of the Agatha Christie variety, with an amateur sleuth and a convoluted plot, lots of local color and the pleasant addition of good sex scenes. Richard Hall uses the whodunit to advantage ... humanized it in a way few have before." - George Whitmore, The Advocate
"The Butterscotch Prince has my admiration ... a good read in one sitting." - Michael Lynch, The Body Politic
"Hall writes ... in a measured, often moving voice that explores the difficulties of grief and commitment." - Kirkus Reviews
"The elegance and refinement of Hall's prose have once again marked him as one of our most distinguished writers." - Gay Pride
Author Biography:
Richard Hall was a novelist, an acclaimed short-story writer, and a widely produced playwright. He was book editor of The Advocate from 1976 to 1982 and the first openly gay critic to be elected to the National Book Critics Circle. His landmark essay, "Gay Fiction Comes Home," was the front-page article in The New York Times Book Review in June 1988, and his reviews have also appeared in The New Republic, the San Francisco Chronicle, and The Village Voice. His final two books, Family Fictions: A Novel and a collection of short stories, Fidelities, were published by Penguin. Richard Hall died of AIDS-related complications in October 1992. Jeffrey Round is an award-winning author, filmmaker, and songwriter. His breakout novel, A Cage of Bones, was listed on AfterElton's 50 Best Gay Books. Lake on the Mountain, first of the seven Dan Sharp mysteries, won a Lambda Award in 2013. His latest book is the poetry collection Threads (2022) from Beautiful Dreamer Press.
