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9781942016687

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Blend atmospheric academic politics at Harvard University with a murder that rocks a New England community, and explores the gay lifestyle operating beneath its veneer of conservatism, for a sense of the different approach that Shade cultivates. [This is] a murder mystery that features an unlikely investigator: Assistant Professor Marcus George, a young, gay faculty member who becomes involved in investigating the murder of one of his former students, the son of a wealthy family. H.N. Hirsch's ability to capture the mercurial mystery in a way that will grab the attention of mystery and general-interest audiences alike is evident from the opening lines of the story: ""At first he did not think it would be anything, just a quick meal with a former student. He didn't know a young life was about to end, or that his own life was, in a way, just beginning."" The issues introduced by lifestyle and culture..., from relationships between disparate age groups to the culture of an Ivy League college community in New England, ... add more depth to the story than the usual whodunit, delving into matters of social and political conflict as well as crime and discovery. Hirsch is particularly adept at ... capturing the atmosphere of a changing world in which the AIDS epidemic is ravaging the gay community. Describing Shade as a ""murder mystery"" alone does it an injustice. ..[H]ighly recommended not just for mystery readers, but for those interested in the culture and special social, political, and psychological challenges of members of the gay community in 1980s New England. ----D. Donovan, Donovan's Bookshelf, Midwest Book Review Shade is part murder mystery, part romance novel, part travelogue, and a delight to read. Murder is gruesome business, especially when it involves a young man in the prime of life, but Hirsch excels in tempering harsh reality with pleasant characters, summertime on the New England coast, academic intrigue and, perhaps best of all, a charming tale of two people falling in love."" ----Anthony Bidulka, author of Crime Writers of Canada Best Crime Novel winner Going to Beautiful and the Merry Bell P.I. trilogy In H. N. Hirsch's Shade, Marcus George, a junior faculty member at Harvard who is gay and in almost every way an outsider, gets drawn into solving the murder of one of his advisees, the son-gay, brilliant, and gorgeous-of an old, elite Massachusetts family. This is a mystery that goes beyond who-done-it to capture the tense, competitive world of academic politics and that vividly puts on the page the Ivy League and ""Miller's Cove,"" a coastal town in Maine. The plot thickens and thickens again, and in the process, Marcus falls into a tender and heartwarming love affair. This novel is beautifully realized, a gripping read from beginning to end. ----Priscilla Long, author, Fire and Stone: Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? Shade is a dilly of a mystery! Set in mid-1980s ivory-tower academia, a gay, untenured Harvard professor discovers that ""publish or perish"" can lead to dark places when he is asked to help find the murderer of a gifted former student. Hirsch brilliantly captures the milieux of Boston and the very rich, the dog-eat-dog world of faculty hierarchy, and gay life at the beginning of AIDS' deadly march. Marcus is an everyman thrust into unexpected and dangerous places, and he must set things right-often at his own peril. This journey is enriched when he meets Bob, who becomes his ""Dr. Watson"" and romantic partner. The two doggedly pursue what seems to be a dead-end case. ----C. Robert Jones, author, The Mystery at Claggett Cover (the Lanky Tales series); Acting Onstage: 55 Practical Tips for Success

Blend atmospheric academic politics at Harvard University with a murder that rocks a New England community, and explores the gay lifestyle operating beneath its veneer of conservatism, for a sense of the different approach that Shade cultivates. [This is] a murder mystery that features an unlikely investigator: Assistant Professor Marcus George, a young, gay faculty member who becomes involved in investigating the murder of one of his former students, the son of a wealthy family. H.N. Hirsch's ability to capture the mercurial mystery in a way that will grab the attention of mystery and general-interest audiences alike is evident from the opening lines of the story: At first he did not think it would be anything, just a quick meal with a former student. He didn't know a young life was about to end, or that his own life was, in a way, just beginning. The issues introduced by lifestyle and culture..., from relationships between disparate age groups to the culture of an Ivy League college community in New England, ... add more depth to the story than the usual whodunit, delving into matters of social and political conflict as well as crime and discovery. Hirsch is particularly adept at ... capturing the atmosphere of a changing world in which the AIDS epidemic is ravaging the gay community. Describing Shade as a murder mystery alone does it an injustice. [It is] highly recommended not just for mystery readers, but for those interested in the culture and special social, political, and psychological challenges of members of the gay community in 1980s New England. ----D. Donovan, Donovan's Bookshelf, Midwest Book Review In H. N. Hirsch's Shade, Marcus George, a junior faculty member at Harvard who is gay and in almost every way an outsider, gets drawn into solving the murder of one of his advisees, the son-gay, brilliant, and gorgeous-of an old, elite Massachusetts family. This is a mystery that goes beyond who-done-it to capture the tense, competitive world of academic politics and that vividly puts on the page the Ivy League and Miller's Cove, a coastal town in Maine. The plot thickens and thickens again, and in the process, Marcus falls into a tender and heartwarming love affair. This novel is beautifully realized, a gripping read from beginning to end. -Priscilla Long, author, Fire and Stone: Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? Shade is a dilly of a mystery! Set in mid-1980s ivory-tower academia, a gay, untenured Harvard professor discovers that publish or perish can lead to dark places when he is asked to help find the murderer of a gifted former student. Author H. N. Hirsch brilliantly captures the milieux of Boston and the very rich, the dog-eat-dog world of faculty hierarchy, and gay life at the beginning of AIDS' deadly march. Like Jimmy Stewart in many of his films, Marcus is an everyman thrust into unexpected and dangerous places, and he must set things right-often at his own peril. This journey is enriched when he meets Bob, who becomes his Dr. Watson and romantic partner. The two doggedly pursue what seems to be a dead-end case, and then ... well, the denouement is part of the fun of, a congenial fillip for those who enjoy mysteries. -C. Robert Jones, author, I Like It Here; The Mystery at Claggett Cover (the Lanky Tales series); Acting Onstage: 55 Practical Tips for Success

Author Information

A graduate of the University of Michigan, with advanced degrees from Princeton University, H.N. Hirsch is the Erwin N. Griswold Professor of Politics Emeritus at Oberlin College in Ohio, where he also held a joint appointment from 2005-2014 in Comparative American Studies; served as Acting Chair of the Department of Politics in 2010-2011; and was Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, 2005-06. He began his career at Harvard, where he was Head Tutor in the Department of Government; he later served as Director of the Legal Studies Program at Macalester College; and chaired the Department of Political Science at the University of California at San Diego and at Macalester. He is the author or editor of ""Office Hours: One Academic Life"" (2016); ""A Theory of Liberty: The Constitution and Minorities"" (1992); and ""The Enigma of Felix Frankfurter"" (1981/2014); and editor of ""The Future of Gay Rights in America"" (2005). Among his areas of legal expertise are Constitutional law and jurisprudence; modern political theory; and gender and sexuality.

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