Stephen R. Donaldson The Man Who Risked His Partner Review

Overall Rating

The Man Who Risked His Partner
Stephen R. Donaldson
Forge, Nov 2003, $24.95, 272 pp.
ISBN: 0765302047

In Puerto del Sol in the southwest desert, private sleuth Mick "Brew" Axbrewder feels self loathing and guilt. During an alcoholic stupor, he killed his brother. Adding to his despondency, his detective partner and lover at that time Ginny Fistoulari blew off her hand with a grenade saving his butt from his latest blunder. Though a doubting Thomas about his abilities, Brew struggles with sobriety vowing in a personal covenant to take care of the depressed Gin, who has not mentally recovered from her trauma.

Gin and Brew are hired to protect First Puerta del Sol National Bank Chief Accountant Reg Haskell. He tells them he lost a lot of money gambling at the El Machismo and has been threatened if he fails to pay off his debt. Though they doubt Reg's claim, Brew serves as his personal bodyguard. However as the sleuths investigate his story they find other fabrications and conclude the entire tale is fiction. When several murder attempts occur, Brew and Gin struggle to put aside their personal problems to uncover the person wanting their mendacious client dead.

THE MAN WHO RISKED HIS PARTNER is the second tale of an expansion of novels written in the 1980s under the name Reed Stephens (see THE MAN WHO FOUGHT ALONE). The story line mixes a hardboiled detective story inside an angst relationship drama. Though Reg is a great support character with his changing explanations fun to follow, the tale suffers from an overabundance of negativity. While Gin behaves semi comatose barely living, Brew is the poster boy for guilty loser. Their angst overwhelms a solid private detective tale, depressing the reader.

Harriet Klausner

Members' Comments onHarriet Klausner's Review

• David Rice on 20th Dec 2003

  I found the review very well-written, though I do not agree that the angst-ridden and gray meime of the two main characters "depresses the reader". Readers will find that Brew and Ginny are courageous and heroic specifically because they ignore their personal pain to save each other, and still do the job they were hired to do.

• Harriet Klausner on 22nd Dec 2003

  Mr. Rice's comment is interesting. We have two individuals who have read the same novel. We agree on the traits of the protagonists, yet disagree on its impact on the reader.
  
  This reminds me of historiography in which the author's background and perspective may be as important as the event itself to understand what happened.
  
  Thanks for the feedback.