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A Nick Williams Mystery #16
The Rotten Rancher
Friday, November 11, 1955
It's Veteran's Day, and a gorgeous one at that. Parades of flying flags and grizzled old soldiers marching to the tunes of John Philip Souza are definitely in the works.
Meanwhile, Nick and Carter are heading south on Highway 1 for a relaxing week down in Big Sur, just south of beautiful Carmel-By-The-Sea. They'll be staying at the home of one Dr. Parnell Williams, Nick's father. It's a modern sort of thing, made of wood and glass, and perched right on the cliff's edge with dramatic views of the ocean and the incoming banks of fog.
But when the power goes out late at night and the newly-installed generator kicks on, it's not long before Carter is dragging a bewildered Nick to the front door because, it turns out, someone intentionally disconnected the vent and the house quickly fills up with deadly carbon monoxide.
As they search for their would-be murderer, Nick and Carter quickly discover all sorts of secrets, hidden away among the verdant valleys and stands of Monterey pines. Secrets that go back twenty years, or more, and stories of wild times that would deeply shock the gawking tourists from Topeka and Des Moines, if they only knew.
Will Nick and Carter uncover the killer before he, or she, strikes again?
To find out, jump into the nearest convertible and follow the narrow, twisting highway that takes you through the land of towering, ancient redwoods and mountains that crash into the bright, blue ocean below.
It's gonna be a wild ride!
251 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 29, 2017
21 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Frank W. Butterfield
123 books106 followersFrank W. Butterfield, not an assumed name, loves old movies, wise-cracking smart guys with hearts of gold, and writing for fun.
Although he worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast.
Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983.
After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he currently makes his home in a hurricane-proof apartment with superior water pressure that was built in 1926.
While he hasn't met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.
Although he worships San Francisco, he lives at the beach on another coast.
Born on a windy day in November of 1966, he was elected President of his high school Spanish Club in the spring of 1983.
After moving across these United States like a rapid-fire pinball, he currently makes his home in a hurricane-proof apartment with superior water pressure that was built in 1926.
While he hasn't met any dolphins personally, that invitation is always open.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 5, 2017
Love this series! This was an emotional one - it was more about Nick and Carter than it was about the mystery. I enjoyed the mystery aspect in this book the least so far in this series. I can’t wait to read the next book!! I need to know what’s gonna happen!! Personally I love it when they work on a really involved case that includes flirting with other guys. I really loved the Story when they met Nacho in Ensenada and Nick became enamored. Can’t wait!
December 22, 2017
Big Sur, Henry Miller, and Paris - what's not to love about this book. Another charming story in this continuing series.
October 30, 2017
Nick and Carter go to stay in one of Nick's father's house and it isn't long before trouble turns up. Someone is out to get them. Then they find a body. But who was the intended victim?
Another winner to add to the collection
Another winner to add to the collection
January 3, 2020
Nick and Carter drive up the coast around Big Sur and end up escaping a gas leak, finding a dead body, dealing with homophobia and prejudice - you know, standard fare for the series. They meet Henry Miller who thinks it's going to be difficult in the upcoming years to be gay and infamous and suggest they strongly consider leaving the US and relocating overseas. So far in the series, we've watched Nick and Carter form a supportive community and defy the odds, but it's sobering to realize that even huge sums of money cannot save them. 4 stars.
Visit my new blog, Sinfully Good Gay Book Reviews
Visit my new blog, Sinfully Good Gay Book Reviews
February 17, 2018
The Rotten Rancher (Nick Williams #16)
By Frank W. Butterfield
Published by the author, 2017
Four stars
“Anyway, this Ginsberg kid, he told me about you, how you stood up to George Hearst.”
The sixteenth in the great shaggy dog story of the Nick and Carter adventures is another, literal, road trip, leaving the Bay Area for Big Sur, driving along the Roosevelt Highway past Monterey. Here Nick and Carter meet novelist Henry Miller, whose “Tropic of Cancer” was banned in the USA in the 1930s, making him the hero of the nascent counterculture in America back in the year I was born. The Ginsberg kid that Henry Miller refers to is Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac’s friend and fellow traveler, and author of the epic poem, “Howl.” Ginsberg is seen as one of the seminal icons of queer liberation, although he himself had nothing to do with any of the seminal homophile organizations in post-McCarthy America.
So, why?
Once again, we have our beloved Nick and his soi-disant husband Carter discovering both the beauties of California landscape and the dark underbelly of the Land of the Free. There is another abortive attempt at a quiet weekend by the ocean, a baffling murder, and a jumble of interactions with local citizens, some of whom are friendly, and some of whom are openly hostile to our boys and their kind. Even in our post-Trump world, it is startling how openly hateful the homophobia is, reminding us repeatedly that our love was not just despised, but illegal everywhere in America, something that didn’t really change until I was coming out in the 1970s. Part of the point of this whole book is the consistent discovery by Nick and Carter that they are now officially the most famous queers in America. With Hoover heading the FBI and War hero Ike in the White House, it goes without saying that this is Not a Good Thing.
I say this with great affection: Butterfield’s plots are less important than the overarching truths he has carefully woven into the background of this series of novels since “The Unexpected Heiress” first appeared. Nick and Carter (and the whole crew of Consolidated Investigations) are out there fighting for truth, justice and the American Way. Problem is, most of America is against them, and it is in this book that the limits of Nick’s superpowers (i.e. his endless supply of money) begin to become evident.
Gay men and women survived in the bad old days by keeping their heads down. If you could assimilate, if you could create a plausible camouflage for your entire life, then you might be OK. You might even (as my husband’s uncle Phil did) live with a life partner and not be hassled. What you didn’t do was fight City Hall; or the D.A.; or the County Sherriff; or the Governor; or Congress. You didn’t fight. You hid. And hoped for the best.
Why am I going on like this? Because the REAL purpose of this book—every bit as fun and visually rich as the others have been, is not about the murders or the cool cars or even the Big Sur. It is about the gathering clouds on the horizon—like the fog forever looming off the coast of Monterey—that threatens to destroy Nick and Carter’s family of choice, because they have made themselves such large, bright, irritating targets to all the forces of darkness (i.e. conformity) in the nation.
Well. I was almost in tears at the end. What comes next for our boys, my dear friends?
Ball’s in your court, Frank.
By Frank W. Butterfield
Published by the author, 2017
Four stars
“Anyway, this Ginsberg kid, he told me about you, how you stood up to George Hearst.”
The sixteenth in the great shaggy dog story of the Nick and Carter adventures is another, literal, road trip, leaving the Bay Area for Big Sur, driving along the Roosevelt Highway past Monterey. Here Nick and Carter meet novelist Henry Miller, whose “Tropic of Cancer” was banned in the USA in the 1930s, making him the hero of the nascent counterculture in America back in the year I was born. The Ginsberg kid that Henry Miller refers to is Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac’s friend and fellow traveler, and author of the epic poem, “Howl.” Ginsberg is seen as one of the seminal icons of queer liberation, although he himself had nothing to do with any of the seminal homophile organizations in post-McCarthy America.
So, why?
Once again, we have our beloved Nick and his soi-disant husband Carter discovering both the beauties of California landscape and the dark underbelly of the Land of the Free. There is another abortive attempt at a quiet weekend by the ocean, a baffling murder, and a jumble of interactions with local citizens, some of whom are friendly, and some of whom are openly hostile to our boys and their kind. Even in our post-Trump world, it is startling how openly hateful the homophobia is, reminding us repeatedly that our love was not just despised, but illegal everywhere in America, something that didn’t really change until I was coming out in the 1970s. Part of the point of this whole book is the consistent discovery by Nick and Carter that they are now officially the most famous queers in America. With Hoover heading the FBI and War hero Ike in the White House, it goes without saying that this is Not a Good Thing.
I say this with great affection: Butterfield’s plots are less important than the overarching truths he has carefully woven into the background of this series of novels since “The Unexpected Heiress” first appeared. Nick and Carter (and the whole crew of Consolidated Investigations) are out there fighting for truth, justice and the American Way. Problem is, most of America is against them, and it is in this book that the limits of Nick’s superpowers (i.e. his endless supply of money) begin to become evident.
Gay men and women survived in the bad old days by keeping their heads down. If you could assimilate, if you could create a plausible camouflage for your entire life, then you might be OK. You might even (as my husband’s uncle Phil did) live with a life partner and not be hassled. What you didn’t do was fight City Hall; or the D.A.; or the County Sherriff; or the Governor; or Congress. You didn’t fight. You hid. And hoped for the best.
Why am I going on like this? Because the REAL purpose of this book—every bit as fun and visually rich as the others have been, is not about the murders or the cool cars or even the Big Sur. It is about the gathering clouds on the horizon—like the fog forever looming off the coast of Monterey—that threatens to destroy Nick and Carter’s family of choice, because they have made themselves such large, bright, irritating targets to all the forces of darkness (i.e. conformity) in the nation.
Well. I was almost in tears at the end. What comes next for our boys, my dear friends?
Ball’s in your court, Frank.
December 24, 2017
The book is very uninsteresting.The plot makes it look like a soap opera, but the main characters are not really very effective. Their discoveries are not due to their intelligence, but to the fact that they are rich and well known (...nothing against the rich).
The positive fact in this book is that some sexual tension between the characters does not mean that the story has to contain a lot of sexual descriptions. That was positive, from my point of view.
Illogically, every man in this book has to be gay. This makes the plot sound fake, artificial and a poor try to value the gay culture.
The positive fact in this book is that some sexual tension between the characters does not mean that the story has to contain a lot of sexual descriptions. That was positive, from my point of view.
Illogically, every man in this book has to be gay. This makes the plot sound fake, artificial and a poor try to value the gay culture.
April 6, 2019
Love this series
History mixed with fictional characters in a noir detective style. I love the characters drawn from real and imagined folks gay, straight and in between. Frank butterfield writes excellent dialogue in the vernacular of the dark years of 1950s censorship. I am hooked, and this is only halfway through the series. Sexy but not lurid l!!
History mixed with fictional characters in a noir detective style. I love the characters drawn from real and imagined folks gay, straight and in between. Frank butterfield writes excellent dialogue in the vernacular of the dark years of 1950s censorship. I am hooked, and this is only halfway through the series. Sexy but not lurid l!!
September 16, 2025
Intense Emotions
The storyline carries several plots, each building off the other and eventually resolved by book’s end. Character development continues for Nick and Carter. New characters are introduced, some background is learned on others. The book ends well, if a bit somber and gently leads into the next installment.
The storyline carries several plots, each building off the other and eventually resolved by book’s end. Character development continues for Nick and Carter. New characters are introduced, some background is learned on others. The book ends well, if a bit somber and gently leads into the next installment.
January 26, 2020
Wowza
This book! Nick and Carter’s story gets better and better. They take some time away from work and make a HUGE life changing decision that leaves their friends and family in shock. Onward to the next book. I can’t say it enough about this 5 star series.
This book! Nick and Carter’s story gets better and better. They take some time away from work and make a HUGE life changing decision that leaves their friends and family in shock. Onward to the next book. I can’t say it enough about this 5 star series.
August 24, 2018
Awesome story. I am loving this series. Well written with well developed characters.
March 13, 2018
loved it but sad.
Nick & Carter, please don't go.
Adrien and Jake who?
Nick & Carter, please don't go.
Adrien and Jake who?
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews