This image is the cover for the book Vermilion, Valentine & Lovelace

Vermilion, Valentine & Lovelace

Two misfit sleuths search for a street hustler’s killer in this mystery series debut first published in 1980 and set in Boston’s gay scene.

Daniel Valentine is a gay bartender and former social worker. Clarisse Lovelace is his straight pal who works in real estate. They make an unconventional investigative duo—but sometimes unconventional is exactly what’s called for.

When Billy Golacinsky, a teenage street hustler, is found dead on the lawn of a homophobic lawmaker, everyone wants the case swept under the rug. Everyone except Valentine and Lovelace. Now they’re combing through Boston’s gay scene—from bars to bath houses—in a time before AIDS, yet full of other dangers.

Nathan Aldyne

Michael McDowell was a novelist and screenwriter who wrote under several pseudonyms and in many genres, including mystery and horror. His screen credits include "Beetlejuice" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Among many other things, McDowell wrote four gay-themed mysteries (with his friend Dennis Schuetz), published under the pseudonym Nathan Aldyne.

Felony & Mayhem Press