The Hidden Law

Henry is deepening as a character, and the temper that strained his relationship with Josh pushes them apart here. But he comes to understand why, and this brings some depth.

Listening to these back to back, I get the sense that Nava isn't the most skilled mystery builder, but his plots are serviceable and are enough of a frame to carry his explorations of Henry's journey. I liked the personification of conflicts between AA and professional counseling.

Los Angeles lawyer Henry Rios is thoroughly connected in the Hispanic and gay communities. When a prominent Hispanic politician is murdered, Henry, a recovering alcoholic, becomes involved through a rehab program. Police quickly identify a suspect, a member of the program who had threatened the politician. Henry works with the suspect, who says he committed the crime, and looks for another answer. At the same time he is dealing with the breakup of his relationship with his lover, whose self-image is being taken over by his HIV-positive status. We learn more about Henry's past through the rather tired but well handled depiction of psychotherapy sessions.

Overall a pretty good mystery. Henry interacts credibly and with apparent integrity. show more The book can stand on its own; I didn't realize it was part of a series till after I had read it. Some readers might be put off by a couple of scenes of gay sex, but they're depicted very much the same way straight sex is shown in many other books, and they add to our picture of Henry. show less

Pretty good mystery. There's a huge separation between Rios' personal life and his work life, but that may actually add to the credibility of his character - and he's a lot more human in this book than Howtown. The plot is good, and the whodunnit and the howdunnit makes it worth the while.