The Latent: A Miami Novel
The Latent: A Miami Novel
Marshall Frank
Publish America
2006
Reviewed by: Laura T.
Marshall Frank is back, and in full force with his latest mystery novel, The Latent. In this fast paced read, a string of homosexual men who choose to dress as women are being found brutally murdered throughout the southeastern United States. No one knows who is behind what seems to be a very well planned operation of executions. The trail of dead transvestites populating the landscape has the entire community in an absolute panic. As the amount of bodies pile up, the detective in charge feels like this is only the beginning.
Leading the investigation is "hard luck" Rock Burgamy, whose career has taken a nosedive due to his drinking, black-outs, and family struggles, and does not seem to be stopping in it's decline. Burgamy is an award winning homicide detective, well known for his practice of recovering latent fingerprints developed from the surface of a victim's human skin. Never before has Burgamy handled a case that is so immersed in the "gay world."
From there, he enters this world that is totally unknown to him, this subculture of gay men who live their lives as women; they dress as women, with the walk, talk, and pitch of voice of a woman, and they find men attractive. They dress beautifully and, ironically, are gorgeous. But, their lives are expendable in the real world, which sees and treats them as freaks.
"Lara" Lawson, a well-liked transvestite bartender, is one of the victims of this ongoing slaughter, and latent prints have been lifted from her right foot. The rub here is that the prints belong to Rock Burgamy himself. He is horrified when he realizes that during an alcoholic black-out, he has slept with one of the victims.
Burgamy goes to trial with a capable team consisting of his lawyer Harry Grubbs and his ex-wife Kathryn, who is also a lawyer, backing him all the way. Yet in the end, he finds himself sitting on Death Row, pondering all the men whom he has sent there himself in the past....were they really guilty, or an innocent man such as he?
Meanwhile, Grubbs and Kathryn are determined to locate the real killer, along with help from Burgamy's friend and mentor, Lieutenant Reed Christopher. All three feel that regardless of Burgamy's drinking, his rough life, and a childhood which still haunts him, there is no way their friend could be the killer. The only clue they have to go on is a description of a bushy-headed, mustached biker who has been seen by several witnesses at or nearby the scenes of the crimes. What follows is one heck of a wild ride, in which you just can't turn the pages of this book fast enough.
The police tales which Marshall Frank writes go beyond their sub-genre in that he brings insights that illuminate the victim's lives. This device garners sympathy and understanding in the reader, who is drawn very deeply into the investigation. As a writer, Frank proves his talents by sustaining a high level of suspense without exploiting the cases. His quite colorful and realistic characters make for exciting and entertaining reading.
Marshall Frank is a retired captain from the Miami-Dade Police Department, where he investigated major crimes during the majority of his thirty year career there. The Latent is his fifth novel.
Marshall Frank
Publish America
2006
Reviewed by: Laura T.
Marshall Frank is back, and in full force with his latest mystery novel, The Latent. In this fast paced read, a string of homosexual men who choose to dress as women are being found brutally murdered throughout the southeastern United States. No one knows who is behind what seems to be a very well planned operation of executions. The trail of dead transvestites populating the landscape has the entire community in an absolute panic. As the amount of bodies pile up, the detective in charge feels like this is only the beginning.
Leading the investigation is "hard luck" Rock Burgamy, whose career has taken a nosedive due to his drinking, black-outs, and family struggles, and does not seem to be stopping in it's decline. Burgamy is an award winning homicide detective, well known for his practice of recovering latent fingerprints developed from the surface of a victim's human skin. Never before has Burgamy handled a case that is so immersed in the "gay world."
From there, he enters this world that is totally unknown to him, this subculture of gay men who live their lives as women; they dress as women, with the walk, talk, and pitch of voice of a woman, and they find men attractive. They dress beautifully and, ironically, are gorgeous. But, their lives are expendable in the real world, which sees and treats them as freaks.
"Lara" Lawson, a well-liked transvestite bartender, is one of the victims of this ongoing slaughter, and latent prints have been lifted from her right foot. The rub here is that the prints belong to Rock Burgamy himself. He is horrified when he realizes that during an alcoholic black-out, he has slept with one of the victims.
Burgamy goes to trial with a capable team consisting of his lawyer Harry Grubbs and his ex-wife Kathryn, who is also a lawyer, backing him all the way. Yet in the end, he finds himself sitting on Death Row, pondering all the men whom he has sent there himself in the past....were they really guilty, or an innocent man such as he?
Meanwhile, Grubbs and Kathryn are determined to locate the real killer, along with help from Burgamy's friend and mentor, Lieutenant Reed Christopher. All three feel that regardless of Burgamy's drinking, his rough life, and a childhood which still haunts him, there is no way their friend could be the killer. The only clue they have to go on is a description of a bushy-headed, mustached biker who has been seen by several witnesses at or nearby the scenes of the crimes. What follows is one heck of a wild ride, in which you just can't turn the pages of this book fast enough.
The police tales which Marshall Frank writes go beyond their sub-genre in that he brings insights that illuminate the victim's lives. This device garners sympathy and understanding in the reader, who is drawn very deeply into the investigation. As a writer, Frank proves his talents by sustaining a high level of suspense without exploiting the cases. His quite colorful and realistic characters make for exciting and entertaining reading.
Marshall Frank is a retired captain from the Miami-Dade Police Department, where he investigated major crimes during the majority of his thirty year career there. The Latent is his fifth novel.