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SERIES REVIEW: The Wyandot County Mysteries Books 1 & 2 by Marshall Thornton
The Wyandot County Mysteries: The Less Than Spectacular Times of Henry Milch – Marshall Thornton
A new mystery series from the award-winning author of the Boystown and Pinx Mystery series.
Things have not been going well for Henry Milch. After a Saturday night clubbing in his beloved West Hollywood, he took one pill too many and ended up banished to northern lower Michigan to live on a farm with his ultra-conservative grandmother. It was that or rehab.
While working a part-time job for the local land conservancy he stumbles across a dead body in the snow—as if things couldn’t get worse. But then things take a turn for the better, there’s a reward for information leading the man’s killer. All Henry has to do is find the murderer, claim the reward and he can go back to his real life in L.A.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Town
Artist: CASTLEBEAT
Album: VHS
The Wyandot County Mysteries: A Fabulous Unfabulous Summer for Henry Milch- Marshall Thornton
In the second Wyandot County Mystery, things are still not going well for Henry Milch. While stuck in Northern Lower Michigan helping his Nana Cole recover from a stroke, he learns that her favorite pastor has been killed. When Nana Cole asks him to investigate, he refuses—until she offers him money. Money that will help him get back to real life in West Hollywood. That sets Henry off on a journey that includes: off-key choir rehearsals, pole barns, bad haircuts, a hunky doctor and too many get-well-soon casseroles.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Big City Dreams
Artist: Might Not feat. Sofia Insua
Album:
The Wyandot County Mysteries by Marshall Thornton is an LGBTQIA+ murder mystery series I didn’t expect to enjoy as much as I did. It did not have the usual romantic subplot, nor is it cozy. It contains many undesirable elements, yet I was completely hooked!
The series is set in the early 2000s, so people watched cable TV, landlines were still ubiquitous, cell phones were flip phones, and the It gadgets were those colored Macbooks that look so retro now. The news often talks about the war, and people would mention updates about sons or grandsons deployed in the Middle East.
The star of the series, Henry Milch, well, I wouldn’t say he’s a likable character. Vapid, spectacularly self-absorbed, has nothing but uncharitable comments about everyone. In another story, Henry would be the bitchy ex the main character would dump to be with the love interest. Or that friend who’s always a hot mess
Henry used to live in LA, but after an incident that left him with costly hospital bills, he’s broke and now lives with his Nana Cole in a small town in Wyandot County. Henry hates it. One reason is he’s shoved back in the closet. He has big plans to return to LA once he has enough money. And this kicks off the first mystery.
The Less Than Spectacular Times of Henry Milch opens the series. Henry discovered the dead body of Sammy Hart, an out-and-proud gay man. The police weren’t making any efforts to solve the case, so Sammy’s friends offered $15,000 to anyone with information about the killer.
Jumping at the chance to earn the reward, Henry decided to investigate, calling upon the knowledge he picked up from CSI and True Crime.
In A Fabulous Unfabulous Summer for Henry Milch, Henry was offered $2000 by his Nana to find out what really happened to the dead pastor of their church. The man was bludgeoned to death. The police said he was robbed by a meth addict, but Henry thought otherwise.
Still lacking enough funds to move to LA, Henry decided to humor his grandmother and started asking enough questions in an attempt to earn the money.
He struck an antagonistic friendship with Opal, a bisexual a friend of the late Sammy Hart, who helped pooled money for the reward. Henry calls her only when he needs something, and Opal never hesitates to call him on his BS. Born and raised in the area, Opal knows everyone, including suppliers of illicit substances.
Content warning: Henry is very much in denial about his drug addiction, and he’s frequently popping pills. In one very, very gross scene, he seriously contemplated fishing out the pills he puked floating in the toilet bowl so they don’t go to waste. He came to his senses when he realized that’s what drug addicts do, and he tells himself he’s not an addict.
He sleeps with a few guys, most of them forgettable. One time, he dated a gorgeous doctor, a genuinely nice guy very much attracted to Henry. In your usual MM romance, this doctor would be The One. Of course, Henry fucked it up by refusing to give up his pills after the good doctor offered to help him overcome his addiction.
Henry’s relationship with his mother and grandmother is complicated. His mother goes from boyfriend to boyfriend and has a casual parenting style, a.k.a. mostly absent. His mother and grandmother rarely agreed on anything, but surprisingly, they did when it came to him.
Nana Cole is from one of the old families of the county, with typical Christian conservative views. They frequently butt heads. But even with their differences, it’s obvious that Nana Cole cares for her grandchild. Henry is determined not to like his Nana, but he also did not abandon her when she had her stroke.
As an amateur sleuth, Henry notices things that don’t add up but have zero finesse in dealing with people. He just point-blank asks questions. He’s also not above using people to get what he wants. Given his bull-in-a-china shop approach, it was a wonder Henry got answers from the conservative folks of the county.
With such a flawed character taking the lead, the entire thing wouldn’t have worked. But the author magically made the storytelling so damned engaging, even if I didn’t like Henry at all. He takes us to a scathingly humorous fish-out-of-water view of small-town Michigan with many comparisons and palpable longing for the big city way of life.
Many times, I would think, “What a bitchy thing to say, Henry!” while at the same time thinking, “He’s got a point, though.” This leads us to another content warning: Henry’s views about religion and small-town life may offend some.
The Wyandot County Mysteries is one of those mystery stories where I just enjoyed tagging along with our unlikely sleuth, not really caring about who killed who. The cases propel Henry to begrudgingly learn more about his hometown and its people. Twice, he’s on the cusp of leaving, but something or other would prevent him from hightailing it to LA.
Would this snarky twink finally say adios to Wyandot to party and play in LA, or would he feel enough of a connection to the place to call it home?
Maybe the third time’s a charm for our boy. Looking forward to Book 3. Because one thing about a hot mess like Henry: he’s never boring!
P.S.
The Wyandot County Mysteries should be read in order.
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SOUNDTRACK: Town by Castlebeat & Big City Dreams by Might Not feat. Sofia Insua
Soundtrack to The Wyandot County Mysteries: The Less Than Spectacular Times of Henry Milch by Marshall Thornton
Town by Castlebeat for a book about a big city boy forced to learn about the small town he’s stuck in.
We walked around this town
I’m losing it it’s a sign
But i don’t know never mind
I’m walking in then walking outIt’s just one more memory
Before it’s time to leave
Will you wait patiently
Cause one day you will seeSoundtrack to The Wyandot County Mysteries: A Fabulous Unfabulous Summer for Henry Milch by Marshall Thornton
Big City Dreams by Might Not feat. Sofia Insua for a book about a big city dreams that always go awry.
I had a dream
I have to go
A big city dreams with big city goals
I’ve been sitting in this room in the dark
For an hour and a half and there’s something calling
Something calling out my name
It’s a dream it’s a game I don’t know but it’s out there calling
Hey, hey
There’s fire in our hands and we’re never coming back so
Hey, hey
There’s fire in our hands and we’re never coming back no -
Last night we walked around
We walked all over this town
And then spent some time away
But it’s always just the sameCause we walked around this town
We walked around this town
We walked around this town
I’m losing it it’s a sign
But i don’t know never mind
I’m walking in then walking outIt’s just one more memory
Before it’s time to leave
Will you wait patiently
Cause one day you will seeYou will see
You will seeAnd i’ve seen it all before
But i’m knocking on the front door
Is there something going on
Well i think this feeling’s goneCause we walked around this town
We walked around this town
We walked around this town
I’m losing it it’s a sign
But i don’t know never mind
I’m walking in then walking outIt’s just one more memory
Before it’s time to leave
Will you wait patiently
Cause one day you will seeOh
OhWalked around this town
We walked around this town
Walked around this town
We walked around this townI had a dream
I have to go
A big city dreams with big city goals
I’ve been sitting in this room in the dark
For an hour and a half and there’s something calling
Something calling out my name
It’s a dream it’s a game I don’t know but it’s out there calling
Hey, hey
There’s fire in our hands and we’re never coming back so
Hey, hey
There’s fire in our hands and we’re never coming back noI’ve been dreaming
Big city dreamingBig city dream
Big city dream
Do you wanna come with meBig city dream
Do you wanna come with meAnd I saw some things that I’d never seen before
And I’ve done some things I should have never done at allYeah the big city’s gotta hold on me
Yeah the big city gave me everythingI’ve been running out of time
I’ve been running out of rhymes
I’ve been running running running from myself sometimes
I’ve been calling out your name
Call me crazy I’m insane
All I know is that I love it darlingDiamonds in my ring
Diamonds in my soul
Human gasoline yeah
Humans made of goldI’ve been dreaming
Big city dreamingBig city dream
Big city dream
Do you wanna come with meBig city dream
Do you wanna come with me