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Now working freelance, Dave Brandstetter digs into an evangelist's secret life. His father's death left Brandstetter with a hole in his heart and an inheritance in his bank account. The money allowed him to venture out on his own, launching a freelance insurance investigation agency that specializes in suspicious deaths. His first case is potentially explosive, and if he isn't careful, it could be his last. Crusading evangelist Gerald Dawson believes that piety and violence go hand-in-hand. show more To clean up his local skid row, he has taken to vigilante justice, ransacking pornography shops and intimidating their owners. When Gerald is found with his neck snapped, the police finger smut peddler Lon Tooker for the crime, but Dave disagrees. As he digs into the holy man's nighttime activities, he finds a collection of sins that would make even the devil blush. show lessTags
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#5 in the Brandstetter series. In this one Dave is looking into the death of a religious zealot. The police have the owner of a local adult bookstore in custody. The deceased had vandalized his store recently. Dave digs into the case and it looks like the son may have done it. With numerous twists and turns we learn who really did him in.
David Brandstetter investigates death of Christian zealot
Der sehr integere Detektiv ermittelt hier in seinem 5. Fall!
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Author Information

51+ Works 4,722 Members
Joseph Hansen was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, on July 19, 1923. He attended Pasasdena City College. Hansen's fiction began to appear in the 60s. He published under the pseudonym James Colton because of the homosexual characters and themes of his work. He had published five novels and a collection of short stories when "Fadeout," the first of show more the Brandstetter mystery novels, was released. It is this series of 12 novels, which was published from 1970 to 1991 for which Hansen was most well known. Hansen wrote almost 40 books, which included novels and a series of semi-autobiographical works. He also taught fiction workshops, published poems in The New Yorker and produced a local radio show in the 60s called "Homosexuality Today." In 1965 he founded the pioneering homosexual journal Tangents. In 1974 Hansen was awarded a grant by the National Endowment for the Arts, and in 1992 he won the lifetime achievement award from the Private Eye Writers of America. Joseph Hansen died on November 24, 2004 at the age of 81 from heart failure. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Skinflick
- Original publication date
- 1979
- People/Characters
- Dave Brandstetter; Gerald "Jerry" Ross Dawson (deceased); Gerald "Bucky" Dawson, Jr.; Lon Tooker; Mildred Dawson; Karen Shiflett (show all 20); Rev. Lyle Shumate; Jack Fullbright; Amanda Brandstetter; Charleen Sims; Spence Odum; Johnny Delgado; Randy Van; Herman Ludwig; Lt. Ken Barker; Russ Cowan; Lt. Jaime Salazar; Billy Jim Tackaberry; Mr. Sims; Mel Fleischer
- Important places
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Dedication
- In memory of Doctor Dreadful who left too soon
- First words
- He parked in sunglare on a steep narrow street whose cracked white cement was seamed with tar.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"I thought the sensible thing for him to do would be put out to sea. I mean, wasn't that logical? And, well, what else would you suggest a young lady wear for a cruise on a warm summer night?"
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- Members
- 274
- Popularity
- 117,706
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.84)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, French, German
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 16
- ASINs
- 8

































































