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A Nick Williams Mystery #17
A Happy Holiday
Monday, December 19, 1955
It's early in the morning and Carter is worried that he and Nick won't be warm enough for their Christmas trip to Vermont.
Nick, for his part, is wondering if they will ever be able to return to the big pile of rocks he's finally come to love. An exile in France isn't the worst thing in the world but still...
But before they can get much more than halfway from San Francisco to Vermont, they discover that the mob is after them and is on their tails, chasing them across the country as they take planes, trains, and automobiles.
They finally get to Vermont, all covered in freshly-fallen white snow, and begin to wonder if it will be their last Christmas, after all.
328 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 29, 2017
18 people are currently reading
25 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 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 21, 2018
A Happy Holiday (Nick Williams #17)
By Frank W. Butterfield
By the author, 2017
Five stars
OK, folks, how did I miss this one? I bought it. It was on my Kindle, but I skipped from “The Rotten Rancher” to “The Adroit Alien” and didn’t seem to notice that I’d jumped over a bunch of plot. Yeesh, how dim am I?
I think I thought it was a Christmas short, and not part of the main series. Well, I was wrong. “A Happy Holiday” is a lynchpin in the Nick and Carter adventures. It is another step in the startling journey these two young men have taken since they appeared from Frank Butterfield’s pen. It is, in spite of its title, possibly the darkest of all of the books, because Nick is haunted by death, both past deaths and the threat of his own, throughout the story.
We follow Nick and Carter and their extended family across the country in a desperate quest to have one last Christmas together before they begin their exile to France. In the crosshairs of everyone from J. Edgar Hoover to the San Francisco Mob, Nick is finally beginning to see the real downside of being the most famous homosexual in the world. Even his money, he realizes, can’t keep him out of danger.
Once again, Frank Butterfield has done marvelous background research to create authentic settings that bring the book, and the historical period alive. He has played (quite openly) fast and loose with historical reality. This is in complete harmony with my vision of Nick and Carter as a sort of rich gay Batman and Robin (who, frankly, were really pretty gay). Butterfield posits a world that, while full of homophobia and plain meanness of spirit, was also full of allies in unexpected places. Nick’s real super power is finding people who either need his help or are willing to help him.
People also say “I love you” a lot in this book, and that’s a crucial element, especially with the off-kilter holiday theme of the narrative. Love is exactly what gay folks did not have in the bad 1950s (this story takes place the year I was born). Gay men and women sought community below the radar of 1950s moralism and conformity, but often couldn’t find it. Butterfield looks at a fantasy world of gay interconnectedness, and makes us wonder, at least, if it might not have been at least partly true. Ultimately, the power of these supposedly light-hearted books is the way they highlight how badly gay people were treated my lifetime, and how dramatically different today is, with all the uncertainties we still face as a community. Even with all the money that Nick and Carter have, it is ultimately the love surrounding them, and the love they give to others, that is their salvation.
By Frank W. Butterfield
By the author, 2017
Five stars
OK, folks, how did I miss this one? I bought it. It was on my Kindle, but I skipped from “The Rotten Rancher” to “The Adroit Alien” and didn’t seem to notice that I’d jumped over a bunch of plot. Yeesh, how dim am I?
I think I thought it was a Christmas short, and not part of the main series. Well, I was wrong. “A Happy Holiday” is a lynchpin in the Nick and Carter adventures. It is another step in the startling journey these two young men have taken since they appeared from Frank Butterfield’s pen. It is, in spite of its title, possibly the darkest of all of the books, because Nick is haunted by death, both past deaths and the threat of his own, throughout the story.
We follow Nick and Carter and their extended family across the country in a desperate quest to have one last Christmas together before they begin their exile to France. In the crosshairs of everyone from J. Edgar Hoover to the San Francisco Mob, Nick is finally beginning to see the real downside of being the most famous homosexual in the world. Even his money, he realizes, can’t keep him out of danger.
Once again, Frank Butterfield has done marvelous background research to create authentic settings that bring the book, and the historical period alive. He has played (quite openly) fast and loose with historical reality. This is in complete harmony with my vision of Nick and Carter as a sort of rich gay Batman and Robin (who, frankly, were really pretty gay). Butterfield posits a world that, while full of homophobia and plain meanness of spirit, was also full of allies in unexpected places. Nick’s real super power is finding people who either need his help or are willing to help him.
People also say “I love you” a lot in this book, and that’s a crucial element, especially with the off-kilter holiday theme of the narrative. Love is exactly what gay folks did not have in the bad 1950s (this story takes place the year I was born). Gay men and women sought community below the radar of 1950s moralism and conformity, but often couldn’t find it. Butterfield looks at a fantasy world of gay interconnectedness, and makes us wonder, at least, if it might not have been at least partly true. Ultimately, the power of these supposedly light-hearted books is the way they highlight how badly gay people were treated my lifetime, and how dramatically different today is, with all the uncertainties we still face as a community. Even with all the money that Nick and Carter have, it is ultimately the love surrounding them, and the love they give to others, that is their salvation.
November 6, 2019
Nick and Carter want one last Christmas with their family, complete with snow in Vermont, but nothing goes according to plan. There's sabotage and intrigue, a long, long car trip, mafia hit-men, and finally a sad farewell to the life Nick and Carter have built over the years. Sure, they've left everything in able hands, and I'm sure we'll see the usual suspects paying visits to Paris, but it feels like the ending of an era.
January 25, 2018
Christmas, snow in Vermont, a hit-man from Wilkes-Barre, rings, big changes ahead, and a game of Mille Bornes - what's not to love about this series? Okay, maybe we need the recipes for some of the food made in this book...
January 23, 2018
Wowsa!
The most exciting Nick Williams book yet. Thrills, adventure, close calls, romance, family drama, poignant and rollicking. So much fun!
The most exciting Nick Williams book yet. Thrills, adventure, close calls, romance, family drama, poignant and rollicking. So much fun!
November 30, 2017
This episode finds Nick and Carter in trouble with the mob and trying to keep everyone safe while they find a solution. Well written as always.
December 26, 2024
I'll admit once again to jumping around to read entries that fit the holiday currently going on and in doing so I know there are something factors I'm a little unawares about, so there might be a few holes here and there info tidbit-wise that need to be filled, for which I'm truly looking forward to but at the same time I wasn't lost. The main reason I wasn't lost? Nick and Carter stories having mystery and ongoing scenarios but the meat and potatoes of their world is the chemistry and love between them and the ever growing found family they have around them.
A Happy Holiday finds them trying to have possibly one last holiday with family and friends before being exiled in Paris. As par for the course, things don't exactly go as planned but that doesn't mean the holiday cheer is ruined just downsized a bit. That's about the extent plot-wise you'll get out of me but just know Holiday will suck you in until you reach that final page.
When you jump into Nick Williams and Carter Jones' world you never know what you're going to get: pure mystery, pure romance, friendship, family, drama, blend of some, blend of all, holidays, every day, but one thing that is guaranteed: you will always be entertained and taken on an amazing journey.
A Happy Holiday finds them trying to have possibly one last holiday with family and friends before being exiled in Paris. As par for the course, things don't exactly go as planned but that doesn't mean the holiday cheer is ruined just downsized a bit. That's about the extent plot-wise you'll get out of me but just know Holiday will suck you in until you reach that final page.
When you jump into Nick Williams and Carter Jones' world you never know what you're going to get: pure mystery, pure romance, friendship, family, drama, blend of some, blend of all, holidays, every day, but one thing that is guaranteed: you will always be entertained and taken on an amazing journey.
January 28, 2020
Christmas came early
I loved this book. There was so much action as a Nick and Carter are traverse across the country with the mob in hot pursuit. This had a bittersweet ending that had me bawling my eyeballs out. There was so much to enjoy as I devoured each word like it was my last meal. Can’t get enough of Nick and Carter.
I loved this book. There was so much action as a Nick and Carter are traverse across the country with the mob in hot pursuit. This had a bittersweet ending that had me bawling my eyeballs out. There was so much to enjoy as I devoured each word like it was my last meal. Can’t get enough of Nick and Carter.
February 19, 2020
Excellent as always.
I really enjoy each book in t?his series, although I do not review each book, sorry Mr. Butterfield. But this book is leading us on an entirely new journey in a new continent. As always, I appreciate the historical outlines at the end of each book. Please do read those.
I really enjoy each book in t?his series, although I do not review each book, sorry Mr. Butterfield. But this book is leading us on an entirely new journey in a new continent. As always, I appreciate the historical outlines at the end of each book. Please do read those.
December 5, 2017
Excellent
I love all of the other adventures also .They remind of my younger days in northern California and San Francisco
I love all of the other adventures also .They remind of my younger days in northern California and San Francisco
Read
December 28, 2018They just keep getting better and better
Frank, you are amazing. I love you. I feel like I know you personally. I have some really amazing gay friends, who love their husbands. One is my soul mate,the history of homosexuals in San Francisco is both amazing, sad and informative. I have turned them on to your books. I'm so so glad you write sooo many.
Frank, you are amazing. I love you. I feel like I know you personally. I have some really amazing gay friends, who love their husbands. One is my soul mate,the history of homosexuals in San Francisco is both amazing, sad and informative. I have turned them on to your books. I'm so so glad you write sooo many.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews