You wouldn’t think that there would be too many laughs to be found in murder and prostitution, but you might change your mind after reading Scott Sherman’s debut mystery, “First You Fall” (Alyson Books).
I picked up the book after hearing the writer speak at a panel at the annual Bouchercon mystery writers’ conference in Baltimore in October and I’m glad I did. Sherman has pulled off the mean feat of writing a Janet Evanovich-style comic crime novel about a New York City male escort named Kevin Connor.
The range of professions in amateur sleuth crime fiction these days is quite amazing. Coffee shop operators, nurses, gardeners, crossword puzzle creators, tattoo parlor managers — you name the job and there’s a good chance some clever author has used it as a jumping off point for a mystery series.
Sherman breaks new ground with his escort hero who juggles a number of compelling personal problems — including the sudden death of a dear friend, a surprise visit from his hysterical mother who is convinced Kevin’s dad is cheating on her, and the search for a stable romantic partner — while plying his trade in the oldest profession.
What makes the book distinctive (and memorable) is the way that Sherman juggles laughs and drama (and terrific plot twists) in a story that opens a door into the world of men who make their livings as sex workers. The author doesn’t glamorize prostitution, but he shows us how attractive “the life” can be for young people who are just starting out in New York. What other job pays several hundred dollars an hour and often includes fine dining and free trips to the best cultural attractions Manhattan has to offer?
Kevin Connor makes a very nice living working for “Mrs. Cherry,” a madam of unknown gender with a large stable of male escorts (the name Sherman chose for the escort manager is just the first of many sly references to gay icon Barbra Streisand in the novel — Mrs. Cherry was the very odd madam played by Yiddish theater legend Molly Picon in the 1974 Streisand epic, “For Pete’s Sake”).
Most of Kevin’s clients are low maintenance types who are willing to pay considerable amounts of money for companionship and role-playing. But the young man’s work leaves him in a very vulnerable position when his own life appears to be in danger — going to the cops is not an option for an escort in trouble.
Mystery and tragedy enter the book early on when one of Kevin’s older friends — not a client but a regular customer for some of Connor’s associates — falls to his death from a fancy Central Park West apartment. The cops rule the death a suicide, but Kevin knows that the late Allen Harrington would never kill himself. Soon we meet a large pool of murder suspects, ranging from the man’s homophobic grown sons to at least one of Kevin’s fellow escorts.
Through Kevin’s search for Allen’s killer, Sherman explores the unique mix of high life and low life that makes Manhattan such a compelling — and sometimes dangerous — place. The result is an unusually substantial piece of light entertainment that will leave most readers wondering what might happen to Kevin in follow-up novels.
