Review: Careless Whisper by T.S. Hunter

Title: Careless Whisper

Series: Soho Noir: Book Three

Author: T.S. Hunter

Length: 106 Pages

Category: Murder Mystery

At a Glance: T.S. Hunter has offered up yet another satisfying installment in this cozy mystery series, and if I were forced to choose a favorite so far, Careless Whisper would be it.

Reviewed By: Lisa

Blurb: LOOSE LIPS COST LIVES.

It’s 1986, and Adam Cave, lead singer of the pop sensation Loose Lips, is struggling to stay in the closet, especially as his group is going through a messy split, and media speculation about the reasons behind it are high.

Joe Stone is assigned to Adam as a runner for the behind-the-scenes, warts and all expose of the recording of the bands last album, and an unlikely friendship begins to form.

But when Adam’s manager, Jack Eddy, is found dead in Adam’s hotel room, in what looks like a sex game gone wrong, Joe turns to his flatmate, Russell, to help him clear the pop star’s name, and keep his secret.

Russell, meanwhile, has a secret of his own. He’s just been for a test, the results of which may change his life forever.

Review: Joe Stone and Russell Dixon—friends, flat mates, and partners in the sleuthing business—are back and as clever as ever in this third book in the Soho Noir Mystery series, Careless Whisper, and they have only grown more endearing as author T.S. Hunter has given them the opportunity to evolve into true champions of justice for the victims the police—one homophobic detective in particular—are uninterested in treating with equal integrity. Joe and Russell are great MCs, and they carry the series on their capable shoulders while charming readers along with them as they parse through the clues to solve each case in the way only they seem able to do.

As he’s done all along, Hunter invokes the sense of time and place with the casual mention of music—thus the novella titles—as well as clothing and the social climate of the time for the LGBT+ community. In fact, the murder mystery this time around takes place within the music biz itself, circa 1986, when the fear of being outed was real and could derail a career. The topic of HIV/AIDS hits close to home as well, and the emotional impact of it is what makes this particular chapter within the whole of the series resonate a bit more profoundly as it figures into the storyline.

T.S. Hunter has offered up yet another satisfying installment in this cozy mystery series, and if I were forced to choose a favorite so far, Careless Whisper would be it. Relationships for both Joe and Russell are dealt with as secondary to the mysteries, but they are presented with just the right attention to be meaningful. These books are single sitting reads, perfect for a weekend afternoon of murder mystery that recalls the not-too-distant past and are solved in short order by a couple of good guys.

You can buy Careless Whisper here:
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