An alternate history mystery novella.

21082652

Publishing year: 2008

Format: ebook

Publisher: WMG Publishing Inc.

Wordcount from GoodReads: 56

The story is set a couple of months after President Kennedy was shot. New York homicide detective Seamus O’Reilly is called early in the morning to a crime scene next to a house where people know that gay people party. So, nobody has been in a hurry to investigate the two men who have been shot. To his shock, the bodies turn out to be J. Edgar Hoover and his closest associate. FBI Agent Frank Bryce is also called to investigate. The inter-office rivalry is forgotten in the face of this crime.

Meanwhile, Robert Kennedy is racing to get his hands on Hoover’s secret files about all the politicians in Washington. Including himself and his later brother.

This is a wonderful, tight story. It’s a great crime story and a great historical fiction story. Despite the short length, we get invested in three distinct POV characters and we understand the scope of the disaster. They’re all very good at their jobs. The story shows the prejudices common in that time without condoning them. The prejudices frustrate the POV characters because they get in the way of proper investigation.