The Bone Polisher, Simeon Grist #6

The six Simeon Grist private-eye novels by 2011 Edgar and Macavity Award nominee Timothy Hallinan have become cult favorites and are now available for the first time since the 1990s. The sixth in the series, THE BONE POLISHER, earned starred reviews all around. It takes place in the West Hollywood of 1995, where the community is shaken by the brutal killing of an older man who was widely loved for his generosity and kindness. In a time when the police were largely indifferent to crimes against gay people, Simeon is hired to catch the murderer—and finds himself up against the most dangerous adversary of his career, a man who kills his victims one once, but twice: once physically and once in spirit. The story's climax occurs at a memorable Halloween-themed wake, but there's a big plot twist yet to come.