Fadeout by Joseph Hansen

In 1970, Hansen gave us Dave Brandstetter, the first openly gay private eye in the mystery genre. “When I sat down to write ‘Fadeout’ in 1967, I wanted to write a good, compelling whodunit, but I also wanted to right some wrongs,” Hansen said. “Almost all the folksay about homosexuals is false. So I had some fun turning clichés and stereotypes on their heads in that book. It was easy.” In this wry and rollicking novel, he accomplished that and more. Library catalog link.