A Henry Rios Mystery Series by Michael Nava
A Henry Rios Mystery #1
The Little Death
Michael Nava
In the first book of the acclaimed Henry Rios series, a lawyer doggedly pursues a murder investigation into the lions’ den of San Francisco’s moneyed eliteA burnt-out public defender battling alcoholism, Henry Rios has reached a crossroads in his life. While interviewing his former lover Hugh Paris in jail, Rios goes through the motions, but notices that Paris is far more polished and well off than the usual suspects arrested for drug possession. Paris is mysteriously bailed out—but a few weeks later, he turns up on Rios’s doorstep. Skittish and paranoid, he admits to using heroin and says he’s afraid that his wealthy grandfather wants to murder him.Rios tries to help Paris get clean, but when Paris is found dead of an apparent heroin overdose, Rios is the only one who considers foul play. Determined to find Paris’s killer, Rios knocks on San Francisco’s most gilded doors, where he discovers a family tainted by jealousy, greed, and hate. They’ve been warped by a fortune someone’s willing to kill—and kill again—to possess.At once an atmospheric noir mystery and a scathing indictment of a legal system caught in the maws of escalating corruption, The Little Death chronicles one man’s struggle to achieve true justice for all.The Little Death is the first book in the Henry Rios mystery series, which also includes Goldenboy and Howtown.Review“This murder mystery about a gay public defender in the San Francisco area is distinguished by good writing and by skillful adaptation of the genre’s traditions . . . Particularly striking is Nava’s vision of the legal system as a true instrument of justice.” — Publishers Weekly About the AuthorMichael Nava (b. 1954) is the award-winning author of seven novels featuring criminal defense lawyer Henry Rios. Nava wrote The Little Death (1986), the first book in the series, while he was in law school. That debut was followed by Goldenboy (1988), How Town (1990), The Hidden Law (1992), The Death of Friends (1996), The Burning Plain (1997), and Rag and Bone (2001). He is also the co-author of the nonfiction book Created Equal: Why Gay Rights Matter to America (1994). Nava is a six-time recipient of the Lambda Literary Award in the mystery category, as well as the Bill Whitehead Lifetime Achievement Award for gay and lesbian literature. Nava lives in San Francisco, where he works as an appellate lawyer.
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A Henry Rios Mystery #5
The Death of Friends
Michael Nava
When a judge leading a double life is murdered, Henry Rios comes to the controversial defense of the prime suspectChris Chandler, a long-married and closeted California state superior court judge, has been found dead in his chambers—beaten to death with his recent Judge of the Year award. When his young lover, Zack Bowen, is arrested, Henry Rios takes on Bowen’s defense. For Rios, who has kept Judge Chandler’s secret since law school, it means going up against a closed community—including Chandler’s angry wife and son—to defend a man he believes innocent. Then Bowen vanishes.As Rios copes with the loss of a friend, and the impending death of his lover, Josh, he finds himself front and center in a case that becomes a test of his own moral courage.The Death of Friends is the fifth book in the Henry Rios mystery series, which begins with The Little Death and Goldenboy*.
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A Henry Rios Mystery #6
The Burning Plain
Michael Nava
Attorney Henry Rios fights for his freedom and his own life when a homophobic serial killer targets gay men in Los AngelesDefense attorney Henry Rios knows how the system can be weighted against you . . . especially if you’re gay. His worst nightmare becomes a reality when a man he had been on a date with the night before is slain. Relentlessly pursued by a homophobic Los Angeles Police Department cop, Rios goes from prime suspect to target when more gay men are savagely murdered. The victims all suffer the same fate: They’re beaten to death, with a hate message carved into their bodies, and they’re dumped in an alley.Rios must break through a conspiracy of silence that reaches to the highest levels of Los Angeles politics and Hollywood power. And the closer he gets to the truth, the closer he gets to becoming an enraged killer’s next victim. The Burning Plain is the sixth book in the Henry Rios mystery series, which begins with The Little Death and Goldenboy*.
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