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In the small town of La Caleta, Dave Brandstetter investigates the murder of a very unpopular cop. When Ben Orton's head is found bludgeoned by a heavy flower pot, the people of La Caleta are stunned-not because their police chief has been murdered, but because no one thought to do it sooner. A bruising, violent man, Ben had a commitment to order that did not always take the law into account. But as insurance investigator Dave Brandstetter is about to find out, the corruption in Ben's police show more force did not die with him. By the time Dave arrives in the fading fishing town, a young activist has already been arrested for the murder. Only Dave seems to care that the evidence against the accused is laughably thin. As the people of La Caleta try their best to thwart his investigation, Dave must do whatever it takes to catch Ben's killer. show lessTags
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In the small coastal California of La Caleta, someone killed Police Chief Ben Orton, much to the surprise of everyone in town. Not because he was a good cop, but because he was a hard man that no one dared to cross. Of all his enemies, the police arrested Cliff Kerlee, a gay activist who had threatened Orton recently and publicly. One person, though, doesn't believe he's the guilty party. Dave Brandstetter pays a visit to La Caleta to investigate the death on behalf of his employer, Medallion Life Insurance. The townsfolk don't talk much, Orton's family is downright hostile, and Kerlee has an airtight alibi. But the closer he comes to uncovering the truth, the more someone in this sleepy little town wants him as dead as Orton.
"The Man show more Everybody Was Afraid Of" is a tight little mystery with the perfect amount of twists that kept even me guessing as to what really happened to Orton. Plus, I like Brandstetter. He's an openly gay man but doesn't let what people might think -- even in the late 1970s, which is the setting of the story -- interfere his desire to get to the truth behind Orton's death, no matter who the culprit may be. And he's smart, always thinking one step ahead to keep himself out of too much trouble. It's a smart mystery and a great addition to Hansen's series of novels featuring Brandstetter. show less
"The Man show more Everybody Was Afraid Of" is a tight little mystery with the perfect amount of twists that kept even me guessing as to what really happened to Orton. Plus, I like Brandstetter. He's an openly gay man but doesn't let what people might think -- even in the late 1970s, which is the setting of the story -- interfere his desire to get to the truth behind Orton's death, no matter who the culprit may be. And he's smart, always thinking one step ahead to keep himself out of too much trouble. It's a smart mystery and a great addition to Hansen's series of novels featuring Brandstetter. show less
Book 4 in the series. This one has Dave investigating the murder or a small town police captain. The police have a gay activist formerly from LA in custody but Dave thinks hes innocent. Like any good mystery lots of twists and turns before we learn what really happened.
small town chief of police killed, Brandstetter investigates
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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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Gallimard, Folio (2673)
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Man Everybody Was Afraid Of
- Original publication date
- 1978
- People/Characters
- Dave Brandstetter; Douglas "Doug" Sawyer; Cecil Harris; Carl Brandstetter; Amanda Brandstetter; Ben Orton (deceased) (show all 19); Louise Orton; Clifford "Cliff" Thomas Kerlee; Hector Rodriguez; Jerry Orton; Daisy Flynn; Lester Green; Mona Windrow; Al Franklin; Tyree Smith; Richard T. Nowell; Ophelia Green; Christian Jacques; Frances Orton
- Important places
- La Caleta, California
- Dedication
- For George and Patti Hodgkin
and their genius loci - First words
- In 1964 a tidal wave knocked down the shacks next to the abandoned fish cannery at LA Caleta, and the wreckage the Pacific didn't take, bulldozers did.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"It isn't you," she said.
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- Members
- 264
- Popularity
- 122,338
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.80)
- Languages
- English, French, German
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 18
- ASINs
- 9
